Chapter Seventeen: Who Dares Defy You?

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Fu Luoning took the documents and glanced through them. She skimmed one letter and then looked at the person opposite her. “Chairman Wang submitted his resignation and still came all this way? I’m afraid your trip was in vain!”

She reached out, and Fang Xue handed her a pen. With fluid grace, Fu Luoning signed the approval immediately.

The expressions of those present stiffened.

Chairman Wang’s face darkened severely. After all, he was one of the company’s veterans. DN Dawn had never been what it once was; it had been barely holding on thanks to its affiliation with Light & Shadow Entertainment. Yet Xu Zhen had simply decided to sell it without any regard for people like them.

Moreover, the new person in charge was a young, inexperienced girl with blonde hair. Surely she would ruin DN Dawn.

He clenched his fists tightly, his brows furrowed, glaring displeasedly at the woman across from him.

This was not what he had expected. Logically, this woman should have asked him to stay.

Fu Luoning raised an eyebrow. “Take care, no need to see you out.”

Fang Xue stepped forward. “Please, Chairman Wang, rest assured I will arrange for someone to handle the remaining work on your plate.”

Chairman Wang snorted coldly and rose to leave.

“Gentlemen,” Fu Luoning scanned the group. “Anyone else planning to leave?”

Silence fell before they all shook their heads.

“Very well,” Fu Luoning nodded. “Next, I will outline the new plan for DN Dawn’s future.”

“At present, DN Dawn’s only notable anchor is Guo Feiyi!” Fu Luoning tapped the photo on her tablet. “Her script skills are atrocious and overly pretentious. Is this really DN Dawn?”

Shen Qi’s expression darkened. “My apologies.”

Though he held the CEO title, his actual power was limited; there were many things beyond his control.

“One of the directors spoke up. “Guo Feiyi’s background… Her father is a political figure, and Chairman Wang is her uncle, so the station has been backing only her.”

Fu Luoning leaned back in her chair. “Drop her contract when it ends! And all those other insiders the station has pushed in—remove them all! From now on, recruitment must be based on merit.”

“President Fu…” Director Li hesitated. “The Guo family wields considerable influence. We can’t afford to offend them.”

Fu Luoning sneered. “Fine, I’ll handle her personally. But within a week, I want to see a new plan and staffing changes for DN Dawn. Understood, Shen Qi?”

Shen Qi glanced uneasily at the directors and said, “I… will try my best.”

“Try is not enough. You must!” Fu Luoning fixed her gaze on him. “If I tell you to act, you act. Anyone who objects can come find me!”

Her words carried a meaning beyond the surface. She cast a sidelong look at the others. “Since DN Dawn belongs to me now, I will not let it perish in this ruinous way. Whether it profits or is pushed out, I trust you all understand the stakes.”

Director Li sighed and raised his teacup. “President Fu is wise. Since DN Dawn is entering a new era, we naturally support it.”

The others nodded in agreement, lifting their cups to signal their stance.

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Fu Luoning raised an eyebrow at Shen Qi. “Don’t disappoint me, CEO Shen.”

Shen Qi nodded solemnly.

After the meeting broke up, Fang Xue escorted the visitors out. Fu Luoning intended to stay a while longer, reclining on the sofa to rest when a knock came at the door.

She looked up to see Gu Linzhou leaning casually against the doorway, a playful glint in his eyes. “What a coincidence, wifey.”

Fu Luoning withdrew her gaze and ignored him.

Gu Linzhou stepped inside, noticing several empty teacups on the coffee table. He looked at Fu Luoning as if she didn’t exist. “Do you play golf?”

“No.”

“Then what are you doing here?” Gu Linzhou asked.

“Playing.”

Gu Linzhou snatched the phone from her hand. Seeing her face harden, his handsome face lit up with delight. “Playing with your phone?”

Fu Luoning glared at him. “Give it back.”

“Beg me.”

Seeing his cheeky expression, Fu Luoning clenched her fists silently. Gu Linzhou caught her glance and stood up instinctively. “What? Planning to hit me again?”

Fu Luoning stared coldly.

Gu Linzhou grinned wickedly. He slipped the phone into his pocket and plopped down on the sofa. “You come and get it.”

Fu Luoning endured it. Then she softened into a gentle smile as she looked at Gu Linzhou. “Please give me back my phone.”

Gu Linzhou raised an eyebrow. “Say ‘husband’ and I might consider it.”

Fu Luoning twitched her mouth, biting her lip to hold back a smile. “Please give me back my phone.”

“Say husband, and I’ll give it to you.” Gu Linzhou crossed his legs and teased her deliberately.

Fu Luoning smiled and stepped forward. “Say husband, huh?”

Gu Linzhou tilted his chin. “Yeah, say it nicely.”

Fu Luoning leaned in close, studying his handsome face. She raised her hand, and Gu Linzhou’s eyes followed her.

Her fair, soft hand caressed his face, sending a shiver through him. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze involuntarily dropped to Fu Luoning’s delicate and refined features.

She was a girl of exquisite beauty.

Her eyebrows were like graceful strokes, her eyes deep pools, lips moist and inviting. Her cheeks were smooth and pale, and even from this close, he could catch the faint scent of her perfume.

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It smelled faintly of jasmine.

Fu Luoning’s fingers traced the contours of his cheek, then slid up the bridge of his nose before giving it a sharp pinch.

“Ah! Damn it!” Gu Linzhou was caught completely off guard. Fu Luoning grabbed his nose with one hand firmly while the other tugged at his cheek. “I haven’t called you husband yet, why are you acting like it already?”

Gu Linzhou’s eyes watered from the pain. “Please… I beg you… let go… quickly.”

Fu Luoning tightened her grip.

Gu Linzhou struggled. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! My nose is going to bleed again, stop pulling my face!”

“Give me back my phone!”

“Okay, okay, okay! I’ll give it back right now, just let me go!”

Fu Luoning hesitated, then released him.

Gu Linzhou’s nose and cheeks flushed red; he rubbed them and tried moving his face to test it, giving Fu Luoning a pitiful look.

“You always get physical with me. Why can’t you be a little gentler?”

“If you didn’t provoke me, I wouldn’t have to. Enough talk, give me my phone.”

Gu Linzhou reached into his pocket, looked at Fu Luoning, then suddenly—

“Ah!”

In a dizzying moment, Fu Luoning was pinned down on the sofa, Gu Linzhou holding her hands in control. “I’m telling you, the last few times I let you win, but this time…”

“Gu Linzhou!” A knock came at the door. Song Yuzhou rapped loudly twice, seemingly spotting Gu Linzhou pinning a woman on the sofa and mistaking it for mischief. “What are you doing? Weren’t you going to dinner?”

Taking advantage of the pause, Gu Linzhou looked up at him. “Wait a moment, I—”

“Smack!”

Song Yuzhou froze.

Gu Linzhou also froze, staring at the woman beneath him in disbelief. “You dare hit me?”

He had never been slapped so hard in his life.

“That’s exactly why I hit you.” The woman kicked him off and stood up. Song Yuzhou saw her face and was even more stunned. “Sis… sister-in-law!”