The press conference concluded, and Liu Hui exited the venue, immediately intercepting Li Zhi and demanding, "Why did you just say in the meeting that Hu Xian’er is my girlfriend?" Li Zhi blinked his eyes, replying innocently, "Boss, only by saying you have a girlfriend will those people believe you’re not gay. Besides, didn't you just nod in agreement yourself? Why are you questioning me now?" "I had no choice just now; if you hadn't said that, how could I have nodded?

Hurry up and tell me honestly, who told you to say that?" Liu Hui pressed, unwilling to believe Li Zhi would volunteer such a statement. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you! Actually, it was your mother who told me to say it.

I had no choice, Boss. Your mother is far more terrifying than the Boss himself—it's just tough on us employees down here," Li Zhi confessed. "It was my mother's idea?" Liu Hui was stunned, immediately beginning to ponder his mother's underlying motives.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ With a "crash," an ashtray smashed onto the old television set in front, utterly wrecking the antique device. "John, I demand an explanation. How was our entire plan recorded, and now those videos have been released, rendering all our preparations useless?" Fu Tuota smashed the television in a fury, roaring at John.

John was sweating profusely. "I don't know why this happened! Everything was planned perfectly; there was no way anyone could find out.

How could someone have filmed it? Could it be that there is a traitor among us?" John immediately fixed the others nearby with a vicious glare. He simply could not accept that his flawlessly orchestrated plan had encountered such a massive leak; the only plausible explanation was betrayal from within.

Seeing John’s suspicion turn toward them, the surrounding people instantly erupted in rage. Combined with the frustration of the mission's failure, they began to curse loudly. They insisted that John had orchestrated the entire plan alone, leaving no one else privy to the details.

If there truly was a traitor, John himself was the prime suspect. John's plan had just collapsed, meaning he stood to lose the most; his mood was intensely foul. Hearing these accusations turned back on him, he exploded in anger and started shouting back at them.

"Enough, all of you, quiet down! It's just a minor setback, and you're all losing your composure. Such clamor is beneath your status," a commanding voice boomed from the speakerphone on the table.

Instantly, the noisy occupants of the room fell silent, showing great deference to the authoritative voice. "This time, we underestimated Liu Hui, allowing him to successfully turn the tables. The fact that he managed to obtain so much evidence against us proves he is no simple man.

We must not take him lightly," the commanding voice stated. "But we don't know exactly how much evidence he holds. If he has recordings of our discussion here, the blow to us will be fatal," Fu Tuota worried.

The authoritative voice sighed. "Whether Liu Hui possesses video evidence pertaining to us, I do not know. However, we must conduct a strict internal investigation immediately to find out which link failed, allowing someone to record our conversation under such tight security.

Furthermore, I refuse to believe there is a traitor among us. Liu Hui must have recorded our conversation through some means we failed to detect. Since Liu Hui chose not to release the videos involving us, it implies either he failed to secure evidence related to us, or he does not wish to openly provoke us yet.

Therefore, we will cease opposing Liu Hui for the time being and lie low. Provoking him into releasing that evidence could prove disastrously costly for all of us." "But we just ceded 20% of the shares in Li Tuo and Vale to him—a huge loss! Are we just going to swallow that insult?" John protested.

"Our contest with Liu Hui has only just begun; it's too soon to call a winner or a loser. Perhaps in the future, we can still acquire Starry Sky Group, and those 20% shares will naturally revert to you then," the commanding voice assured him. Silence descended upon the small room as everyone reluctantly accepted the temporary defeat.

～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ In a rehabilitation center somewhere in China, Guo Jia pulled his gaze away from the television, violently smashing a tempered glass cup onto the floor before waving the group waiting outside the sterile room to leave. "Young Master Guo, are we just giving up? But we were just about ready!" someone asked.

"Give up? What else can we do? We had intended to seize an opportunity while Liu Hui was facing trouble to encroach upon his Starry Sky Group.

It's infuriating that before we even finalized a strategy against him, he managed to turn things around so quickly. Liu Hui's luck is simply too good. We missed this window; who knows when we'll get another chance to deal with him," Guo Jia sighed.

"It’s a good thing we hadn't made a move yet. If we had, given Liu Hui's current turnaround, our losses would have been immense," another person said, shaking with residual fear. Guo Jia fell silent, his eyes constantly darting around.

The others wisely retreated. In a modest office in Kyoto, an elderly man watched Liu Hui's performance on a television, shaking his head with a wry smile. He had great faith in Starry Sky Group’s development potential and had planned to invest 50 billion USD for a 10% stake, intending to leave that equity for his descendants as security, even after he lost his high position.

However, Liu Hui had diffused the massive crisis so swiftly that he found no opening to intervene. Liu Hui was entirely unaware of the maneuvering happening behind the scenes. After the press conference, he declined the celebratory gathering with company executives and rushed home, eager to question his mother.

Unexpectedly, Hu Xian’er was already at his house, diligently cooking and cleaning as usual, while his parents watched them both with warm smiles. "Mom, why did you tell Li Zhi to say in the press conference that Xian’er is my girlfriend?" Liu Hui asked his mother the moment Hu Xian’er was safely in the kitchen. His mother responded by lightly slapping Liu Hui's head and whispering, "Look at Hu Xian’er—how is she not like your girlfriend?

She's smart, capable, has a great figure, and cares for you deeply. She's cooking for you right now! Tell me, with her devotion to you, who wouldn't believe she’s your girlfriend?

You mustn't let such a wonderful girl be snatched away by someone else. That's why I had Li Zhi make your relationship public—to push you to be more proactive, lest you regret it later." "Mom, I know you mean well, but announcing it without consulting Xian’er... How am I supposed to face her now?

She definitely watched the news and knows she's suddenly my girlfriend. The reporters will surely cover it tomorrow," Liu Hui felt his face flush with embarrassment. "Heh heh, don't worry about that.

Didn't you see Xian’er still came to cook for you? That proves she's perfectly happy to be your girlfriend. I trust that if you just give her a little encouragement, she’ll fall right into your arms.

Good women like her are rare these days. I just saw that young man from the sixth floor, Zhong Xu, trying to chat her up. You need to be careful," his mother warned.

"Someone was hitting on Xian’er?" Liu Hui felt a sudden surge of intense jealousy. "Yes. If you don't seize this opportunity quickly, Hu Xian’er might really change her mind.

After all, even the best woman can't resist a persistent suitor. Then where will you go to cry?" his mother teased. Just then, Hu Xian’er brought the food to the table, and the four sat down to eat.

Hu Xian’er acted completely composed, showing no sign of awkwardness, continuously piling food onto Liu Hui’s plate. The next day, Liu Hui arrived at the office. After sitting briefly in his office, he sent his secretary, Li Lian, to discreetly gather information on Zhong Xu.

Li Lian quickly returned with Zhong Xu's file. When Liu Hui saw the man’s photograph—he looked quite handsome—he tossed the file into the waste bin, feeling agitated and unsettled. After much internal debate, Liu Hui headed to the Starry Sky Group's Publicity Department and found Zhong Xu's office.

When the occupants of Zhong Xu’s office saw Liu Hui enter, they immediately stood up and greeted him, "Good day, Boss." Liu Hui pretended to survey the area, confirming the presence of the handsome Zhong Xu. He casually walked over, glanced at Zhong Xu's desk, frowned, and said, "You look quite presentable, so why is this desk covered in dust? And why are these documents arranged so haphazardly?" Zhong Xu apologized nervously, quickly tidying the papers and wiping the desk with a cloth.

"Oh? Are you married?" Liu Hui suddenly noticed a photograph displayed on Zhong Xu's desk—a picture of him with a woman, both dressed in wedding attire. "Yes, I’ve been married for half a year," Zhong Xu replied honestly, unaware of Liu Hui's underlying motives.

"Ahem, in short, you must ensure your workplace hygiene is impeccable; it cannot tarnish the company's image." Liu Hui suddenly felt he might have been misled by his mother and that a misunderstanding had occurred. Moreover, he realized he hadn't looked closely at Zhong Xu’s file and missed the fact that he was already married. After Liu Hui left, the colleagues in Zhong Xu's office immediately gathered around, mockingly telling him, "Zhong Xu, you’re in trouble now.

Yesterday, you insisted on interviewing Miss Hu Xian’er about her relationship history with the Boss, saying you wanted to document their romance for publication in the company paper to be celebrated throughout Starry Sky. Miss Hu Xian’er must have told the Boss, which is why he came looking for trouble today. See how sucking up can backfire?" Liu Hui, overhearing their conversation outside, nearly stumbled and fell.

He quickly quickened his pace to leave the area, fearful of having his awkward expression discovered. He felt intensely mortified; this was the first time in his life that a bout of jealousy had resulted in such an embarrassing blunder. Since Starry Sky Group held its press conference yesterday, public opinion had completely reversed.

The tide had turned from unanimous condemnation of the company to overwhelming praise. Media outlets that had previously been aggressive in smearing Liu Hui and Starry Sky Group were now the most zealous in their accolades, seemingly terrified that Liu Hui might sue them if displeased, as if they had always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the company. Liu Hui had delegated the matter of suing the entities and individuals mentioned in the leaked videos entirely to Starry Sky's legal counsel, Liu Wenqi, an expert in law who knew exactly how to proceed.

Simultaneously, the market showed renewed, feverish demand for Starry Sky Group's "Starry Sky Myopia Relief." Sales rebounded rapidly, and the inventory stacked up at distribution points sold out immediately. Starry Sky Group was forced to release the stock they had held back previously. However, because the general agent for the American market was gone, Liu Hui had temporarily halted shipments to the US, resulting in the most severe shortages there, infuriating American consumers who now harbored intense hatred for their former agent.

Starry Sky Group’s several new drugs had been launched, selling in all markets except the US, leaving domestic American patients desperate. Alerted to this massive commercial opportunity, pharmaceutical traders had already dispatched letters to Starry Sky Group requesting distributorship for the American market, eager to negotiate terms for US agency rights. But Liu Hui decided to let the US market stew a while longer, intentionally building suspense among potential dealers.

Starry Sky Group had performed admirably throughout the crisis. Not a single employee had voluntarily resigned, and during media interviews, they all voiced staunch support for the company, choosing to stand together through thick and thin during the critical moment. Liu Hui was unsure if his employees stayed because Starry Sky offered high salaries or because they were drawn to his charisma, but he felt immense pride in them.

It proved that Starry Sky Group possessed qualities that were inherently attractive. Time flew until the year’s end. Due to the delays caused by crisis management, Starry Sky Group’s annual holiday break had been slightly postponed.

But before the break, one final duty remained: convening an employee assembly for year-end summation and commendations. Liu Hui had despised mandatory company meetings when he was just an employee, but only upon becoming the boss did he realize the necessity of certain corporate gatherings. They allowed employees to grasp the year's achievements and provided a framework for the following year’s tasks.

Most importantly, these meetings were the occasion to hand out New Year bonuses. The logistics of the assembly were handled by the administrative department; Liu Hui only needed to appear when appropriate. Given the sheer size of Starry Sky Group—now numbering tens of thousands—it was impossible to gather everyone, so only a representative subset attended.

Nevertheless, even this group completely filled the newly constructed main hall. When Liu Hui entered the assembly hall, Jiang Lu, the General Manager of Starry Sky Group, was delivering the operational report. "...In summary, within its first year of operation, Starry Sky Group has amassed a total workforce of fifty thousand, largely due to the labor-intensive nature of Starry Sky Logistics and Starry Sky Construction Companies...

This year, Starry Sky Pharmaceutical Company achieved a production value of three hundred billion USD; Starry Sky Logistics brought in total revenue of thirty-one billion USD; Starry Sky Construction earned one billion USD; and Starry Sky Security posted one hundred million USD in revenue... Under the Boss’s brilliant leadership, Starry Sky Group has achieved a record-breaking sales volume of three hundred and thirty billion USD in just one year. Although final statistics from other global enterprises are not yet available, our company has confidently secured the position of the world's second-largest enterprise...

We overcame numerous obstacles to achieve magnificent results, honoring many outstanding individuals... We also recognize shortcomings, such as..." The sales revenue mentioned by Jiang Lu in her report excluded the sales figures of the companies controlled and owned by Wang Yilang's asset management firm, as Starry Sky Group did not hold 100% ownership in those entities—other shareholders were involved. Thus, Jiang Lu did not aggregate those companies into the total.

Had she included them, Starry Sky Group would undoubtedly have become the world’s number one company. Liu Hui listened to Jiang Lu's report with a smile. Although some of the phrasing felt familiar, laden with bureaucratic jargon, it couldn't mask the sheer joy he felt.

This time last year, Liu Hui was driven out of Bashan and sent to Hong Kong, feeling utterly desolate. Yet, in just one short year on this remarkable land, he had forged a new miracle. Through his efforts, Starry Sky Group grew from nothing to strength, from obscurity to the world's second-largest enterprise.

These colossal achievements were things Liu Hui wouldn't have dared to dream of before. Only after acquiring the miraculous Planar Trading Device did he possess the immense power that made these feats seem attainable with casual effort. Throughout this year, Starry Sky Group faced countless difficulties and dangers, yet under Liu Hui's determined leadership, the company endured.

Now, Starry Sky Group was larger and stronger than ever, soaring to unimagined heights, its presence undeniable.