The Qin Corporation Headquarters towered over the Central Business District like a steel monolith. It was a kingdom where thousands of employees fought for scraps, and at the very top sat the king: Julian Qin.
In her past life—or rather, her life up until yesterday—Aria had only ever visited the lobby. She would come to bring Mark his lunch, usually cooked by her own hands, only to be stopped by the receptionist and told to leave it at the desk because "Mr. Qin is in a meeting."
Later, she would find the lunch box in the trash.
Today, however, she didn't stop at the reception desk.
The automatic glass doors slid open. Julian walked in first, his stride long and purposeful. He wore a charcoal grey three-piece suit that cost more than most people's cars. A step behind him, matching his pace, was Aria.
She wore a sharp, white blazer dress with gold buttons, her hair tied back in a high, severe ponytail. She looked professional, cold, and utterly untouchable.
"Good morning, CEO Qin!"
"Good morning, sir!"
The employees in the lobby bowed in unison, their eyes widening as they saw the woman beside him.
"Who is that?" someone whispered as they passed. "Is that the new secretary?" "No, idiot. Look at her bag. That's a limited edition Hermes. That's... the Lady Boss?"
Julian ignored them all. He led Aria directly to the private elevator—the one that required a fingerprint scan and went straight to the top floor.
Inside the elevator, the silence was comfortable.
"Nervous?" Julian asked, watching the numbers climb.
"A little," Aria admitted, smoothing her skirt. "Mark isn't smart, but he is good at bullying people. The Board of Directors might not take me seriously."
Julian turned to her, his expression deadpan. "You are holding my arm. You are wearing my ring. If the Board of Directors doesn't take you seriously, I will fire the Board of Directors."
The elevator dinged on the 88th floor.
"Let's go," Julian said. "Time to check the homework."
[Conference Room 1]
The atmosphere inside the conference room was tense. The quarterly sales review was always a bloodbath.
Mark sat near the head of the table, feeling confident. He had spent the last week partying, sure, but he had thrown together a PowerPoint presentation last night. The numbers looked decent. Sales were up 2% in the Eastern District.
He adjusted his tie, glancing at the other executives. Just watch, he thought. Once Uncle sees these numbers, he'll give me that bonus.
The heavy oak doors swung open.
The room instantly scrambled to stand up. Chairs scraped against the floor.
"CEO Qin!"
Julian walked in, his face devoid of emotion. But instead of taking his usual seat and starting immediately, he stopped and pulled out the chair to his right—the seat usually reserved for the Vice President.
"Sit," he said to the woman beside him.
Mark's jaw dropped.
Aria sat down gracefully, placing her tablet on the table. She looked up and locked eyes with Mark. She didn't smile. She just stared at him with a terrifying calmness.
"A-Aria?" Mark blurted out. "What the hell are you doing here? This is a confidential meeting! Security!"
The room went deadly silent. The executives looked from Mark to Julian, terrified.
Julian slowly sat down in the head chair. He tapped his finger on the mahogany table. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"General Manager Mark," Julian said, his voice low. "Did you hit your head this morning? Or are you blind?"
"Uncle, she—"
"This is my wife," Julian announced to the room. "She owns 50% of my assets. That includes this building, this table, and your employment contract. Do you have a problem with her presence?"
Mark turned pale. "No... no, Uncle. I just... didn't expect..."
"Good," Julian cut him off. "Start your presentation. Don't waste my time."
Mark swallowed hard. His hands were shaking as he fumbled with the remote. He projected his slides onto the screen.
"As... as you can see," Mark stammered, his confidence evaporated. "The Sales Department has had a robust quarter. We achieved a 2% growth in the Eastern District, primarily driven by the new luxury condos in the Riverside Project."
He flipped through the slides quickly, trying to hide the details.
"Overall, the team is performing well. We expect a 10% increase next quarter. That concludes my report."
Mark let out a breath. He survived. It was short, vague, and safe.
"Excellent," one of Mark's cronies said. "Good job, Mark."
"Is that so?"
The voice was soft, melodic, and cut through the room like a knife.
Aria leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. She looked at the screen.
"2% growth," Aria mused. "Mark, does that figure include the returned units from the Riverside Project? Or did you conveniently leave out the fact that 15 buyers canceled their contracts last week because of the plumbing issues?"
Mark froze. "How... how did you know that?"
Aria ignored him. She tapped her tablet, casting her own screen onto the main projector, overriding Mark's slides.
A spreadsheet appeared. It was detailed, color-coded, and brutal.
"I took the liberty of looking at the raw data this morning," Aria said coolly. "You claim a 2% growth. But if you subtract the cancellations and the refund penalties, the Eastern District is actually at a -4% loss."
The Board members gasped. They started whispering furiously.
"Furthermore," Aria continued, standing up and walking to the screen. She pointed at a graph. "You projected a 10% increase next quarter based on the 'Golden Bay' deal. But I happen to know that the client for Golden Bay, Mr. Lee, is currently being investigated for tax evasion. That deal is dead. So your projection is a fantasy."
Mark was sweating profusely now. "You... you're lying! You're just a housewife! What do you know about business?"
"I know," Aria said, turning to face him, "because for the last three years, I was the one who proofread your contracts while you were out drinking. I was the one who fixed your spreadsheets so you wouldn't get fired. Did you think I was just sitting at home watching soap operas?"
She slammed her hand down on the table.
"Your report is garbage, Mark. It's lazy, inaccurate, and fraudulent. If any other manager presented this to CEO Qin, they would be fired on the spot."
Aria turned to Julian, her eyes flashing.
"CEO Qin," she said formally. "As a major shareholder, I propose we audit the Sales Department. Immediately."
Julian looked at his wife. He looked at the fire in her eyes, the intelligence, the ruthlessness.
He had never been more attracted to her than in this moment.
He leaned back and smiled—a rare, genuine smile that terrified everyone in the room.
"Approved," Julian said. "General Manager Mark, you are suspended pending an investigation. Get out."
Mark looked around the room. No one would meet his eyes. He was completely isolated.
"You... you can't do this! Grandfather will hear about this!" Mark screamed, grabbing his laptop.
"Tell him," Julian said casually. "Tell him his grandson lost the company four million dollars in a single quarter. See if he saves you."
Mark fled the room, the sound of the door slamming echoing like a gunshot.
Aria sat back down, smoothing her blazer. She took a sip of water.
"Next item on the agenda?" she asked calmly.
The rest of the executives sat up straighter than they ever had in their lives. They realized one thing very quickly:
The Demon King was scary. But the Queen? She was lethal.