My Perfect Female CEO

Ye Fan tightly integrated the institute with the operations team, so a whole series of security measures could slot in seamlessly.

Doing this had both pros and cons. The upside was that the enemy wanting to act recklessly like before had become almost impossible; they could only sneak around in the dark, pulling small moves. The downside was that cutting off the enemy’s activities meant the usual result of "scaring the snake": the enemy would be alerted and stop making big, bold moves.

Ye Fan felt it was necessary to have Li Dingguo’s side leave the enemy some chances to infiltrate and get close.

That way, they could lure the enemy out.

Otherwise, with Li Dingguo’s temperament and willpower, he would definitely never give the enemy any opening.

Ye Fan’s goal was to sit down with Li Dingguo and discuss whether they could get the enemy to bite.

So far, the enemy was still in a dormant state.

With this "key" as bait, the enemy definitely wouldn’t be able to endure the boredom for long.

At the institute, in Li Dingguo’s private office, Ye Fan came to visit.

"If you’re here, it’s definitely not for anything good, and you don’t have any good ideas in that head of yours either." Li Dingguo put down his work, gave Ye Fan a serious look, then said solemnly, "Go on then, what bad water have you been brewing this time?"

"My job is to make sure your hard work doesn’t go down the drain. From a certain point of view, you should be thanking me instead of having opinions or complaints about me." Ye Fan said casually.

"I’m at ease with how you do things, and I trust you." Li Dingguo said gravely, "Off-topic for a second: you’ve been leading people and making sweeping changes in the institute, which has stirred up quite a bit of noise. Even on my end I’ve heard a lot of grumbling and dissatisfaction. Luckily Old Sun and Zhao Gongming have some sense of proportion and managed to suppress that wave of discontent; otherwise you’d be getting cursed to death behind your back."

"Their mouths are on their own faces; I’ve got no right to control what they say. As long as I don’t hear it, it’s fine." Ye Fan answered carelessly.

Li Dingguo gave Ye Fan a meaningful sidelong glance and didn’t say anything extra. He took the initiative to ask, "If you spell out your purpose for coming, I won’t pour you water. I’ve still got piles of work here. I’ll clear out a bit of time for you to talk business, but I don’t have the leisure to play host."

This attitude suited Ye Fan’s taste, so he said, "Here’s the situation: the enemy is watching us like a tiger from the shadows. I think it’s necessary to draw the snake out of its hole, and the best way is to start with you. Everyone knows the enemy is determined to get the third key. As long as you slightly relax your guard, I believe the enemy will come to you on their own."

"You mean I’m supposed to sit here waiting for the enemy to come find me, and then let them copy the key?" Li Dingguo’s expression stayed calm, but the subtle movements of his body already showed he didn’t agree with this arrangement at all.

The key was of enormous importance; it represented nearly twenty years of the institute’s research results. How could he possibly allow any slip-up?

On this issue he held stubbornly firm, not allowing anyone to mess around.

"Of course not the real key. All we need is one that’s convincing enough to pass for the real thing." Ye Fan explained.

"That’s more like it. At least you can tell what’s important." After hearing Ye Fan’s explanation, Li Dingguo’s expression improved quite a bit.

He said readily, "No problem. Some things have to be faced. The tumors that need cutting out must be removed before the body can be healthy."

Li Dingguo had a very clear understanding of the institute’s situation. No matter who betrayed the organization, they would have to pay the price in the end.

Whether it was people close to him or old acquaintances, they should bear the consequences for their own actions.

"My guess is that within the next few days, the enemy will make another move. I want to take advantage of this opportunity to drag out as many of the hidden masterminds as possible." Ye Fan said mildly, "To pull that off, I’ll need your full cooperation."

"Just tell me what needs to be done, anytime. I know how to cooperate, and I’ll make sure not to cause you trouble." Li Dingguo said seriously, "I want to see for myself who the mole inside the institute actually is."

If it turned out to be someone he knew extremely well, then of course he’d feel sorrow and regret. But that was something that couldn’t be avoided.

Li Dingguo was already mentally prepared; whatever the result, he could take it.

Ye Fan and Li Dingguo reached a consensus, and the plan could be considered set.

After hashing out some details, the scheme of using a fake key to lure the enemy onto the hook was officially implemented.

For confidential matters like this, Ye Fan had done a very thorough job on security, worried the enemy might sniff out something from the inside story. In total, only four people knew about it: Ye Fan, Li Dingguo, Li Tong, and Zhang Lu.

...

That day at noon, Ye Fan, Zhang Lu, and Li Tong were planning to say goodbye to Uncle Sun and go get lunch.

Behind Ye Fan, a beautiful slim figure was slowly approaching.

Zhang Lu happened to be facing the direction that figure was coming from. She jerked her chin toward Ye Fan’s back and said with a grin, "Ye Fan, look behind you. Your girl’s here for you."

"Who?" Li Tong followed Zhang Lu’s line of sight and saw the "girl of Ye Fan’s" she was talking about.

The newcomer was no one else but Mengyao.

This was the first time Li Tong had seen Mengyao, so she naturally didn’t recognize her and showed a puzzled look.

"What are you doing here?" Ye Fan snapped out of his thoughts, watched Mengyao walk up step by step, and broke into a knowing smile.

"He smiled? He can smile?" From the side, Li Tong caught that smile spreading across Ye Fan’s face, and she was instantly stunned. In her impression, Ye Fan had always been stiff-faced and had never smiled so warmly. Seeing this scene all of a sudden, the shock she felt inside went without saying.

"What, I can’t come?" Mengyao shot back carelessly.

"That’s not what I meant. It would’ve been much easier if you’d just called me, so you wouldn’t be waiting outside for me. You’ve been here a while, haven’t you?" Ye Fan said gently.

"I only just got here, not that long." Mengyao nodded happily. "I know once you get busy you forget lunch hour, so I came specifically to drag you out for a good meal, give you a bit of a boost, and let you relax."

"He’s built like a bull already; he still needs a boost?" Zhang Lu teased maliciously, her eyes moving back and forth between Ye Fan and Mengyao.

"I’ll give you a boost too while I’m at it." Mengyao glanced at Zhang Lu and fired back lightly.

The subtext was that she was comparing Zhang Lu to a cow as well.

"Oh, this must be Old Chu’s eldest granddaughter, right?" Just then, Uncle Sun’s firm voice rang out.

Uncle Sun’s words sounded like a question, but his tone was certain, without a trace of doubt.

Clearly, his sharp old eyes had recognized Mengyao and hadn’t mixed her up with Biyao.