We moved to Golden Courtyard

The goal was certainly not to get the chairman to make an immediate statement, but to get the other side's top executives to take sides; the situation needed to be clarified first.

Manager Ye's face darkened; this woman was not easy to deal with...

"Saying it was all for nothing... isn't that a bit premature?"

Among the executive directors, an elderly man slowly rose to his feet.

His sharp eyes turned to Xu Qi's side, and he slowly said, "If you do something wrong, you should dare to admit it... What, do the new generation of ET kids not even have this much responsibility?!"

Chairman Walter quickly stood up and reassured him, "Mr. Li, please sit down, there's no need to rush."

Xu Qi opened his mouth in surprise—Minister Li, the animation department manager, strictly speaking, as the director of Seed Studio, should be this person's direct superior.

In other words, the direct manager of all animation IP projects should be this Director Li.

The other party was one of the most respected elders, like E.T. and Walter; in other words, they were the founding members.

However, the old man is quite old and obviously doesn't have the energy for it, so each executive director is in charge of an animation project, and he is enjoying his retirement in that position.

Xu Qi seemed to realize what was happening.

He turned to look at Bronya and saw the president looking utterly helpless.

Chairman Walter also looked like he was in a dilemma.

He lowered his voice and asked, "What's going on?"

"The other side are the elders of the old ET faction, while we are the new ET faction. Mr. Walter is caught in the middle, which must be a difficult situation for him."

"Old ET?"

"ETStudio has grown from a small bungalow and a team of dozens of animation workers into a powerhouse in the animation industry, naturally through many rounds of financing."

In this process, many elderly people still stick to their posts; they are considered the old ET faction. Those of us who came later are the new ET faction.

The third director, Director Yang, whom you ousted, was a member of the old guard. However, the old guard itself was also very opposed to Director Yang.

Because Director Yang had always wanted to replace Mr. Walter, and to the old guard, Mr. Walter was their god. Therefore, these people were nowhere to be seen during the struggle with the third board.

When a company grows large, strange things tend to happen.

Now even the old school and the new school have emerged.

Mr. Walter must be feeling quite uncomfortable sitting in that position...

However, the one who is suffering the most right now is probably Rita.

She is the one who is confronting this factional dispute head-on.

To win decisively, the core issue is—what exactly do the old-fashioned people want?

And there is...

Xu Qi looked thoughtfully at Manager Ye, whose complexion was still not very good, and suddenly seemed to understand something, a wicked smile curling up at the corner of his mouth.

Upon hearing Minister Li speak, Rita remained elegant and poised, saying, "Mr. Li, you are right. We certainly acknowledge the mistakes we made during this process."

Mr. Li believes, "How can we prevent such incidents from happening again?"

That was a beautiful move, Rita.

Sure enough, as soon as Rita finished speaking, Manager Ye's expression became difficult to maintain.

Minister Li slowly sat down, his old age showing no arrogance, and said in a low voice: "For things like this, indeed... we still need to strengthen supervision."

I have a suggestion: we could pilot the oversight office's measures at Seed Studios first, and I happen to have a suitable candidate to recommend..."

Rita stopped talking and looked at Xu Qi.

Xu Qi laughed and said directly, "Absolutely no problem, we trust your judgment, Elder Li."

"Ah."

The old man leaned back in his chair and went to rest.

Manager Ye panicked and quickly turned to look at Minister Li. Immediately, several equally elderly executive directors stared at her with indifferent eyes.

You have now lost your value for cooperation.

Walter glanced at Manager Ye, who sat down looking utterly dejected.

"Then let's proceed as Mr. Li suggested. Next one."

His words struck the conference room like a gavel.

687. Once a decision is made, it must be carried through to the end.

When the meeting ended, no one paid any attention to the woman who walked out looking lost and dejected.

After all, everyone knows that she holds the position of HR manager...

It's almost over.

"At this quarterly meeting, it can be said that everyone got what they wanted. We avoided the Delta incident being brought up again for criticism."

Meanwhile, the old guard successfully placed members of their faction into Seed Studios. After all, everyone could see that Alahatse Seed was poised for meteoric success.

For the old-fashioned, giving their younger relatives or nephews a golden plating that would allow them to rise through the ranks in ET in the future is enough to satisfy them.

They knew that although they were considered veterans, they would eventually be replaced by younger generations. They didn't think much of fighting; their main concern was... securing their future.

Fortunately, the old guard was not greedy; in fact, one could say they were overly conservative.

They're only sending one person... and who could it be?

In Bronya's office, watching Xu Qi talk eloquently in her office chair, Bronya crossed her arms and pursed her lips as she spoke.

"You're starting to act more and more like a CEO?"

"No, no, I'm far inferior to you."

Bronya neither confirmed nor denied this.

"At least you've got a pretty good perspective on things. Many things aren't just about considering the people below you. The higher the platform you're on, the more different the things you need to consider become."

I'm pleased that you were able to quickly realize that Manager Ye and the old guard weren't on the same side.

"It wasn't my reaction," Xu Qi laughed, "it was Rita who reacted quickly."

Bronya's expression began to change little by little.

Xu Qi was still talking about Rita.

"She told me that she had prepared everything and that I could just sit back and watch at the meeting. As it turned out, my secretary was indeed very well prepared."

She realized that Manager Ye must have someone backing her, and she also anticipated that the faction supporting her might not be closely connected to her.

We must win over some, divide others, and suppress others. We must clearly understand who our enemies are and who our friends are.

Manager Ye must have been well aware that he was merely a pawn pushed up by the old guard.

She's really loyal... Even though that Director Yang has been out of office for so long, she still can't forget him and even wanted to make a comeback before she left...

Unfortunately, it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot—a futile and overestimating attempt.

It's a real shame.

Upon hearing this, Bronya couldn't help but look at Xu Qi.

"I thought the relationship between Director Yang and Manager Ye was nothing more than a transaction—one selling his body, the other offering status. Now that I think about it… I was probably wrong. Perhaps…"

"There is no such thing as a 'maybe'."

Xu Qi looked at Bronya with great seriousness and certainty.

"To this day, Director Yang still maintains his original family and relationship with Manager Ye, which is little known to others. He has no intention of divorcing and remarrying."

As for Manager Ye... she also has a husband and has no intention of getting a divorce.

You say there's genuine affection between them? Perhaps, but I'm more inclined to believe that, faced with Director Yang's downfall, today is Manager Ye's last stand.

Because the reckoning will inevitably fall on her sooner or later, if she doesn't first find a new powerful ally to cause us trouble and prove her worth, then she can only wait to die.

And now... it's only hastening her death.

……

"And what about us?" Bronya suddenly asked this question.

Xu Qi didn't hesitate for even a second when faced with this.

He stood up and answered Bronya's question just as seriously.

"I've told you everything about myself, my family, my romantic relationships. I never intended to hide any of this, nor did I ever intend to abandon you."

Bronya, no matter how many times you ask me this question, I can always give you the truth—I love you. In this twisted and unequal relationship we've built, I hope you'll stay…

I will definitely keep you here.

I used to naively believe that if any of you were unhappy with the relationship, you could leave at any time. But I was wrong... That was just me running away from the scumbag act I had committed.

The biggest mistake in this idea is that I could so easily shift the responsibility to you and portray myself as a saint without any faults.

That's not how it is... The fault lies with me, so I'll take responsibility!

Xu Qi's answer exceeded Bronya's expectations.

He walked past the desk, came to Bronya, and gently stroked her cheek, as if he were the ET CEO in a superior position.

“I’m so sorry. Now, I’m like an abyss full of mistakes and sins. You accidentally fell into it, and the one who should take responsibility is me.”

……

With a soft sigh, Bronya looked at Xu Qi with a hint of helplessness.

"You always take all the pressure upon yourself without asking. Knowing your situation, you still fell in love with you without asking. My mistake wasn't small either."

Xu Qi's eyes held a hint of mockery.

"I know, but I can't say that."

Bronya was taken aback, then rolled her eyes at Xu Qi with a charming and coquettish look.

"Glib-tongued..."

"No matter how glib I am, I can't outdo you in lying through your teeth, can I?"

Bronya blinked.

"Is there?"

"No?" Xu Qi's smile was playful. His hand, which had been stroking Bronya's cheek, moved down and finally... landed on the president's unspeakably voluptuous breasts.

"You say that everything that happened today is because of your negligence... How can I not believe it?"

Bronya's eyes began to dart away, and she started to stammer.

"Wha...what's wrong? Is it not okay? Can't I miss something occasionally?"

"If it's Alicia, then I'll believe it."

"I have a feeling that you subtly made fun of Ellie just now."

"Don't change the subject." Xu Qi applied a little force with his hand, which made Bronya's cheeks blush.

The large duck-shaped object seemed to be made of clay, constantly changing shape in Xu Qi's hands.

"You...you're annoying. If you want to bully me, just say so. Why make up these excuses?"

“Okay…” Xu Qi shrugged noncommittally, then lowered his head and kissed Bronya’s lips.

"It's been a while since I've been affectionate with my duck wife. I miss you."

"You... um... wait! What... what did you just call me?"

"My duck wife?"

Bronya's eyes flickered. "You...you know that's what you call me..."

"Okay, okay, I know. Didn't I say from the beginning that none of you are getting away? Hurry up and satisfy me first."

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry, you little pervert..."