Tan You looked at the names, her gaze lingering on Lu Jie’s for two seconds before she let out a soft chuckle. Composing herself, Tan You asked, "You know what to do, right?"

"Tongtong knows! Tongtong has already altered all the messages they sent out. I guarantee no company secrets will be leaked." Wagging its little tail, the Beauty System said in all seriousness.

Tan You didn’t hold back her praise. "Tongtong, you’ve really been a huge help. Everyone knows the company has an incredible hacker, but no one can find you."

"You’re my ace in the hole."

Showered with Tan You’s compliments, the Beauty System was incredibly smug. ’Hmph, Tongtong is useful too!’

"Tongtong will go keep an eye on them! I definitely won’t let them ruin Host’s plan!" Fired up by Tan You’s praise, the Beauty System was like it was on steroids, vanishing from before Tan You with a WHOOSH.

Tan You shook her head helplessly. ’This little thing is quite easy to please.’

Just then, Sister Li came over, and Tan You handed the list to her. Upon seeing Lu Jie’s name, Sister Li couldn’t help but freeze. "How could it be him?"

Tan You replied, "I was surprised too."

Sister Li said, "I don’t get it. He was here when the studio was first founded; I even hired him myself. I never thought it would come to this. Was the company not good to him?"

"Back when we were struggling to operate, his family needed money for an emergency, and we did everything we could to help him. How could he change so much?"

Tan You said, "People change. If you don’t have too many expectations, you won’t have so many disappointments. Have Lu Jie come to my office. Some things just need to be settled."

Sister Li sat to one side in silence. She really couldn’t wrap her head around it. ’Isn’t the company good to its employees? The salary and bonuses are generous, and Tan You even finds excuses to give the staff extra money from time to time. When it comes to benefits, ours are probably the best in the entertainment industry.’

Lu Jie came up quickly. He had a vague suspicion after getting the call from the secretary’s office. Once he entered the office and saw Sister Li’s grim face, he knew he’d been found out.

He didn’t try to defend himself, merely standing silently in front of the desk. Sister Li had a stomach full of questions to ask, but seeing him like this, she suddenly lost all interest.

Tan You had no curiosity about why Lu Jie did it. "Hand over your work. You can leave the company this afternoon. The company won’t blacklist you in the industry. That is my final act of tolerance."

Lu Jie lowered his head. "Yes. Thank you... Sister Wen."

The fact that he didn’t kick up a fuss made Tan You think a bit more highly of him. After a moment of contemplation, Tan You said, "If you run into any difficulties in the future, you can come to me. We were colleagues, after all. I don’t want to be too ruthless."

The rims of Lu Jie’s eyes turned red. "Thank you... Sister Wen. I’m sorry."

"Now you’re saying sorry! Where were you before?" Sister Li couldn’t hold it in any longer; she was naturally hot-tempered. "If you were in trouble, you should have said so! Would we have ignored you?"

"You were here when the studio was founded. We’ve been colleagues for so long. When has anyone in the company been in trouble and we didn’t take care of them? If you were facing difficulties, would we really not have helped? How did it come to this?"

Lu Jie just kept his head down, not saying a word. Sister Li was panting with anger. Tan You couldn’t watch anymore. "Alright, that’s enough. Let’s just part on good terms."

"Lu Jie, we were all colleagues once. I have nothing else to say, except to wish you a bright future."

Lu Jie’s voice was hoarse. "Thank you, Sister Wen."

Tan You waved her hand, and Lu Jie quickly left the office. Looking at the fuming Sister Li, Tan You said with amusement, "Come on now. Why waste your energy on someone else? It’s not worth getting yourself all worked up."

Sister Li clutched her chest. "I just don’t get it. By the way, what about the others?"

Tan You said, "Let’s keep the others for now. It’s better to have them where we can see them."

Sister Li asked, "Then why did you fire Lu Jie? Aren’t you worried he’ll go around spreading nonsense?"

"He won’t. I didn’t completely burn the bridge. If he’s smart, he’ll cut ties with the other party immediately. After leaving the company, with his resume, he can find a good job anywhere."

Sister Li snorted. "Aren’t you being too soft on him?"

Tan You said, "I wouldn’t call it soft. I just believe in not backing people into a corner. Wiping someone out completely sounds satisfying, sure, but we’re all just ordinary people. There’s no need to push someone to the point of no return."

Sister Li asked, "Aren’t you curious about his reasons for doing it?"

"Curious... a little, maybe. But the result is already right in front of me. Even if he had a mountain of grievances or was forced into it, he could have come to me first."

Tan You shrugged. "Don’t try to understand the person who backstabbed you, because it’s easy to lose your own footing. I only look at the result."

"Perhaps," Sister Li sighed. "I’ll have to find a new person for the finance department. I never would have thought it’d be him."

"Let’s just hire a new finance assistant. Isn’t the deputy director of the finance department doing a great job? Let him take over Lu Jie’s work. As for the rest, let HR handle it as they see fit."

Sister Li said, "I guess that’s all we can do for now. With the company’s internal situation like this, if we really go ahead with filming the movie, do you think all sorts of shady characters will come flocking?"

"It’s inevitable. That’s why we have to be low-key, and then even more low-key."

Tan You frowned. The online front was manageable, with the Beauty System helping her monitor it in real-time. But this mess in the real world was something Tan You had to handle herself.

The outside world was completely unaware of the changes within Tan You’s company. To outsiders, her company was calm and peaceful. The artists were still filming, and the moles were still passing on information on schedule.

It wasn’t until Tan You’s company submitted its work for review that the investors realized she had been quietly planning something big. It was obviously too late for them to try and block her now.

They failed to block Tan You during the review process, so they tried to cause trouble with theater distribution and promotion. But they never expected that Tan You’s company actually had its own theater chain. Although its market share wasn’t as large as some major cinema companies, it still freed her from their constraints to a great extent.

As for public relations and online manipulation, they were even more helpless against Tan You. No matter how many paid commenters they hired or how many press releases they published, the other side always had a way to fight back. Minor cases resulted in account bans and deleted comments. Major cases resulted in...

They didn’t dare to think about it. Recalling the threats they had received from her, the various investors felt a chill run down their spines, terrified of following in the footsteps of Glory Entertainment.

Back when Tan You had just established her studio, Glory Entertainment was shut down. Rumor had it that Tan You was the one who reported Glory Entertainment, but there was never any definitive proof.

But just by looking at the emails and messages Tan You had sent, most of the investors believed the rumor.

They were all entertainment companies that had been developing for years, making waves in the industry. If anyone really dug into their affairs, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the scrutiny. They wanted to get a handle on Tan You, but they were afraid they’d fail and end up ruining themselves in the process.