The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

At breakfast, seeing Li Yan surprised Zhang Yurong a little. She thought he was out all night, but unexpectedly, he came back in the middle of the night. Even more surprising, he wasn't hungover or sluggish from indulgence; he was dressed neatly, and his energy was quite high.

"Staying at a hotel really is something, going out when you want and coming back when you please." Remembering how she went to call him for dinner yesterday but he slipped away without a word and didn't come back at night, Zhang Yurong felt a little annoyed.

Hearing her words, Li Yan laughed, "Whose home isn't a place where you can leave and return as you wish? If you can't leave or come back as you want, then it's not a hotel; it's a prison."

Zhang Yurong's eyebrows furrowed slightly. She found that when bantering with him, she often seemed to be at a disadvantage, even though she was sure her eloquence was better than his.

"If you keep talking like this, be careful not to scare Yue Yao, making her afraid to go out when she wants to."

Hearing Li Yan say this, Zhang Yurong quickly glanced at Yue Yao, signaling that she didn't mean it that way: "Yue Yao wouldn't be like you!"

Yue Yao watched them bicker, smiling but saying nothing. Internally, she felt a bit lost. Politeness is because there's a lack of closeness. Truly close people aren't polite with each other. Although their relationship didn't seem great, deep inside, they already unconsciously accepted each other as part of their own, allowing for unrestrained speech.

Who would really be polite to their husband or wife? Couples who really act with formal courtesy often have issues, just like Li Yan and Zhang Yurong before.

"I heard a factory is striking? Are you going there by yourself today?"

Zhang Yurong glanced at him, "How did you know? Yes, that's happening."

"When are you going? I'll go with you," Li Yan said casually while eating his breakfast.

"You?" Zhang Yurong looked at him in surprise, as it was rare for him to willingly take on tasks, especially troublesome ones.

"Last time, you told Wen Qianyi to give me a break to accompany Shinohara Mirai and them, but I haven't gone back, and she's not clear about that either. So today, I'll not go to the company first, and I'll head straight to the factory to wait for you."

Zhang Yurong paused, then shook her head, "No need, why join the hassle? You don't know anything about these matters. I'm just going there for a bit..."

Li Yan spoke in a serious tone, "What do you mean by hassle? I'm worried about you! The workers below have been stirred up, and with so many people, accidents are likely. Besides, those willing to go barefoot aren't afraid of those in shoes. You can handle those managers and plant supervisors, but the employees might not be afraid of you. If it's just you and Ke Yunyun going, what if someone gets violent?"

Zhang Yurong knew she'd misspoken; while he might not be much help, his intentions were indeed for her safety. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll bring Xiao Yan with me."

Xiao Yan was her driver, somewhat like Li Jie, usually very low-key and inconspicuous, but supposedly a quite capable girl, serving as a driver and bodyguard.

"Xiao Yan isn't enough. You need a man to back you up. If the factory leaders had solutions, they wouldn't need you to step in. For such a small matter, it's not fitting to drag a bunch of executives along. If it's just you girls, it won't be imposing enough."

Li Yan thought a bit more and directly made a decision for her, "Alright! After breakfast, I'll go with you. Just the two of us, we'll solve it and then return to the company. With your capability, my dear wife, I'm sure you can handle it quickly!"

Zhang Yurong didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this man! He really was a bit ridiculous. "No, there's a meeting, and I've already replied that I'd go over after ten."

"Bang!"

Suddenly, Li Yan slammed the table, causing the dishes on the table to tremble a bit.

This unexpected action gave Zhang Yurong a scare, even Yue Yao was unprepared and startled.

"Li Yan, what are you doing?" Zhang Yurong glared at him and asked coldly. Would he throw a tantrum if she didn't agree? Such concern, she could do without!

But Li Yan just laughed innocently, "Oh, nothing, I was just reminding you. You are the CEO! You can slam tables at others, it's not others who slam tables at you. You have the authority to postpone the meeting!"

Zhang Yurong frowned again.

"You've never done that, right? Every situation can have exceptions, from the first time you scold someone to the first time you fire someone, postponing a meeting is no big deal, nor is altering plans or heading out early," Li Yan continued to persuade his wife to break from her routine. "If we head out early, we might catch them off guard! It's settled; I'll fully support you today!"

Listening to his words, Zhang Yurong was a bit tempted as well, yes, she was the company's CEO, and while she should set an example, she didn't need to be overly conservative. Occasionally exercising a bit of privilege was permissible. Li Yan was worried for her and also thinking about work, so she couldn't discourage his enthusiasm.

"Alright. I can let you come along, but you can't mess around!"

"Don't worry, even if I wanted to flirt with those pretty factory girls, there's not enough time for that."

"..." Seeing him interpret 'messing around' in such a way left Zhang Yurong speechless.

...

After finishing her meal, Zhang Yurong first called her assistant Ke Yunyun to postpone this morning's meeting. She had urgent business; they should prepare everything and wait for her return. Then she and Li Yan each drove to the outskirts of the factory.

While eating, Zhang Yurong briefly explained the situation to him. Manufacturing processing only constitutes a small portion of Paradise Group's overall business. The factory having issues now barely generates profits and has been kept running only because it supports an export industry chain. This factory employs about a thousand people, and the current strike is due to dissatisfaction with wages and overtime pay, demanding improved conditions.

These issues can be both simple and complex. Although the amounts of money involved are not substantial, the large number of people affected can lead to major problems. Hence, Zhang Yurong takes this very seriously.

Before going, Zhang Yurong specifically called the factory manager Li Minghui, instructing him to immediately prepare as she would be arriving soon. Though Li Minghui is the manager of the subsidiary factory and doesn't usually work at the group's headquarters, the president had met him before, and he had heard of her reputation. He was already worried about not handling the issue well and being replaced. Seeing her place such importance on the matter, rushing over as soon as she started work, he became more nervous and quickly organized everything.

Despite Li Minghui being on alert, he didn't expect the president to arrive so early. He thought she would start heading over during work hours, but just as those hours began, Zhang Yurong and Li Yan were already at the factory entrance!

No matter the industry, the lowest level of factory production lines is always the hardest. To ensure timely delivery, as long as there are enough orders and business is good, many factories operate nonstop seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. Of course, workers still get rest; 24 hours means shifts or two-shift rotations, and weekly breaks are staggered, like half resting on Saturday and half on Sunday. Only holidays like Labor Day and National Day see unified breaks.

Now the factory is quiet, but there are many people at the gate, some eating breakfast like buns and soy milk and others chatting loudly. It's neither a holiday nor a weekend, and with such matters at hand, no one feels like sleeping in or going out to play. They're all waiting for the issue to be resolved.

Seeing the two cars drive in, people gathered around, particularly those recognizing Zhang Yurong driving a Mercedes, speculating on their identities. Ordinary workers and factory security have a delicate relationship, akin to citizens with city management officials or the people with police, with the latter perceived as representing managerial interests and difficult to blend in with the former. This factory's security wasn't part of the strike.

However, their work is primarily symbolic and doesn't restrain all workers. After registering in the security office, Zhang Yurong and Li Yan drove inside, with security running ahead to lead them to the parking lot and prepare to take them to the office, while simultaneously notifying Li Minghui.

The news quickly spread among the workers: someone from the headquarters has come! The Group's president is here!

...

A few minutes later, Li Minghui hurriedly brought some factory management personnel to welcome Zhang Yurong and Li Yan to the office. In the manager's office, Li Minghui cautiously reported the beginning, development, and detailed situation of the matter to the president.

Already fully immersed in work mode, Zhang Yurong's icy demeanor and stern expression left Li Minghui too scared to utter a sound. "Get the comprehensive reports from the administration, finance, and human resources for me to review!"

Upon hearing the president's instructions, Li Minghui immediately bustled about, found several people, and then transmitted all the information to the manager's office computer for Zhang Yurong to review.

Due to this issue having different people responsible daily, Zhang Yurong didn't know the details. To address the problems, she needed to understand the factory's general condition.

As Zhang Yurong got busy, Li Yan called Li Minghui over and whispered, "Manager Li, I have three tasks for you..."

"Yes, Mr. Li, please go ahead!" Li Minghui wasn't sure of Mr. Li's position, but just like capital officials viewed higher in local areas, it seemed anyone from the headquarters, especially those close to the president, wouldn't be simple, so he listened intently.

"First, gather the management officers for a meeting in the conference room. I want to meet and talk with them."

"Yes."

"Second, arrange for notifying employee representatives and union representatives, and later I'll meet them, or the president might meet them personally."

"Yes, yes."

"Third, notify all employees to assemble. Later, Zhang and I intend to communicate directly with them."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Once Zhang Yurong engaged in her work mode, she became a strong businesswoman or even a superwoman figure, with incredibly robust information handling abilities. While reviewing all work summaries and composite reports, she kept an eye on Li Yan and Li Minghui's situation in the office. Seeing Li Yan converse fluently, methodically, and thoroughly, while Li Minghui nodded respectfully, with such demeanor and presence, he seemed less like a clueless business department employee and more like an experienced executive. This impressed her somewhat. Initially afraid he would stir things up, now she was somewhat eager to see him perform. (To be continued. To know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters, support the author, support authentic reading!)