My Perfect Female CEO

Shang Xiaoran felt a little less suffocated. If the husband who’d shared her bed for so many years had gone into the marriage with plotting and deceit from the very beginning, that kind of person would be truly terrifying.

The one thing she could be glad about was that her husband had gone astray in the middle, and defected later.

That was why there were words like "you were so muddle‑headed" spoken from the bottom of the heart. Beyond that, she didn’t even know how to accuse her husband anymore; her feelings were a jumble of bittersweet flavors.

In that instant, Shang Xiaoran broke down in tears, sobbing in grief.

If Han Zizhen had deceived her before they got married, then even if she cried in some place where no one could see, she would never lose control like this and cry in front of others now.

Han Zizhen’s heart was shattered. If everything could start over, he would never repeat the same mistakes. But there’s no medicine for regret in this world.

He wanted to say a few words to comfort his wife, but when the words reached his lips he swallowed them back down.

At this point, saying anything would be useless. The great mistake was already made.

Muddle‑headed?

He wasn’t just muddle‑headed—he was downright stupid.

So stupid it was beyond measure, dumb as a pig.

Ye Fan felt deep sympathy for Shang Xiaoran’s ordeal. Anyone who went through such a reversal would be hit hard.

"How serious is the mistake he made? Can he keep his life?" Shang Xiaoran looked at Ye Fan and asked with desperate hope.

"Whether he lives or dies is not for me to decide. You know the discipline of the organization. It all depends on how serious the mistakes Han Zizhen himself committed are." Ye Fan said.

"There’s still a chance, right?" Shang Xiaoran blurted out, "As long as he doesn’t have any blood on his hands, there’s still hope, isn’t there?"

It wasn’t that she didn’t know the organization’s discipline; she just wanted to hear from Ye Fan exactly what kind of mistakes her husband had made, so she could judge for herself.

"Wait for the result. Let’s hope he can escape this life‑and‑death calamity." Ye Fan replied, uncertain.

"The poisoning attempt counts as attempted murder. Luckily, that terrifying thing didn’t actually happen." Shang Xiaoran’s tears were full of gratitude. "You were right. I should thank you."

Ye Fan had indirectly stopped Han Zizhen from committing further evil. This was something done out of necessity, not to help Han Zizhen, but to cut down a potential enemy.

"Hand over the poison, all right?" Ye Fan looked at Han Zizhen, then fixed his gaze on Han Zizhen’s only accessory—the watch on his wrist.

Han Zizhen’s body trembled. He took off the watch.

The poison was indeed inside the watch. Ye Fan’s judgment and suspicions sent a chill through him.

"You deal with the poison yourself. I’ll pretend I never saw it. In my report I’ll write that Han Zizhen turned back from the wrong path, woke up halfway and destroyed the poison." Ye Fan said casually.

This was a tremendous favor—testing the limits of the rules to lessen Han Zizhen’s culpability.

Then again, given Ye Fan’s status and position, even if the organization found out, they’d pretend they hadn’t, because he had absolute authority.

Besides, apart from heaven and earth, only the three people involved knew about this.

"Thank you." Shang Xiaoran thanked him through tears.

"Thank you!" Han Zizhen said, his feelings in turmoil.

"I don’t want to see a tragedy like this either. In the institute you two were basically the model couple. When Han Zizhen first became a suspect, a lot of people felt it was a pity. Isn’t there that saying about mercy beyond the law? I’ve helped where I can, but if you make mistakes you have to accept punishment—that can’t be avoided." Ye Fan said.

The couple understood this truth, especially Han Zizhen. Apart from gratitude, he had not a shred of resentment toward Ye Fan.

Ye Fan had already gone as far as one could go. Shang Xiaoran understood the stakes.

"It might be unnecessary, but I still have to ask: Are there any other moles inside the institute?" Ye Fan looked at Han Zizhen and asked.

Shang Xiaoran looked at her husband full of encouragement. Here was his chance to earn merit—if he provided valuable intelligence, benefits would naturally follow.

"I really want to give you useful information, but I honestly don’t know anything." Han Zizhen answered in frustration.

Ye Fan had anticipated this result and wasn’t disappointed.

"I’ll have you two follow my people and hide for now. Afterwards, you can regain your freedom." Ye Fan shifted his gaze from Shang Xiaoran back to Han Zizhen and said, "As for you, you’ll have to be kept under guard for the time being."

Shang Xiaoran and Han Zizhen both readily agreed, completely on board with Ye Fan’s arrangements.

The car accident incident was handled briefly, then spread online.

Whether in the choice of shots or in the processing of the photos, the crash was deliberately exaggerated a bit.

There were still more than three hours left until the banquet.

Li Dingguo learned about the situation from Li Tong.

"Ah." He let out a sigh and showed no particular reaction.

He naturally understood the whole cause and effect behind the situation.

Li Dingguo focused his energy on preparations for the birthday banquet and didn’t dwell on it.

This banquet would inevitably have two fewer names on the guest list.

For the institute, it meant the loss of one elite.

All of this was within Li Dingguo’s expectations; nothing about it surprised him.

What was meant to happen would happen. No one could escape.

Han Zizhen had to pay for his mistakes. That was only right.

Hunter Cat and Transforming Mouse also learned the news online.

"Bamboo Rat got into a car accident on the way to the banquet. He and his wife were taken to the hospital." Hunter Cat murmured in a low voice, his tone betraying no clear emotion.

"We’re very passive. Extremely passive." Transforming Mouse said weakly.

"Tell me about it." Hunter Cat sighed. "Without Bamboo Rat, with only Hamster, the odds of success drop a lot."

"I suspect there’s something fishy about Han Zizhen’s crash, maybe some ulterior motive. How could it be such a coincidence—a car accident right at this crucial moment?" Transforming Mouse was full of suspicion. "We should find out which hospital Han Zizhen and his wife were sent to. Then we can get the details."

"There’s no time. We don’t have any time left." Hunter Cat showed a feral grin. "The arrow is already nocked and has been loosed; there’s simply no time to pull it back."

Transforming Mouse, angry as he was, accepted this reality. He said bitterly, "So we’re just going to watch Hamster act alone, cling to a sliver of hope, and hope Hamster doesn’t let us down?"

"What else can we do?" Hunter Cat said, feeling utterly powerless. "This risky operation was meant as a self‑rescue measure. If we can’t save ourselves, our disaster will descend. Even if we told Hamster to abort now, it wouldn’t change the larger picture. Since that’s the case, why not let Hamster take the risk?"

He paused, then said in a strange tone, "What if... it works?"

Transforming Mouse understood that Hunter Cat had run out of moves. Relying on this tiny, fragile hope meant they hadn’t yet reached absolute despair.