"Mr. Jordan," Cecelia Archer waved the bottled water in her hand at him, greeting him first.

"Hello, do you remember me? I’m a salesperson from Triton Electrics. You personally signed a contract with me a while back."

’Triton Electrics?’

Mr. Jordan looked down at the beautiful young woman and quickly remembered her.

If it weren’t for President Vaughn, he probably would have never spoken to a mere salesperson in his entire life.

"What are you doing here? Is this your company’s project? Why are you building a warehouse instead of working in sales?"

Cecelia Archer didn’t know how to answer him, so she just smiled.

"Just a happy coincidence. It’s so hot, I see you’re sweating. Are you thirsty? I happen to have an extra bottle of water."

It really was hot, and between that and his frustrations, his clothes were sticking to his body.

Mr. Jordan glanced at her. Though her face was flushed from the scorching sun, she looked completely at ease. He sighed and plopped down beside her.

"It must be nice to be young. You kids are so carefree, no matter the situation."

Cecelia Archer twisted the cap off the water bottle and handed it to him.

"Is that so? My dream is to one day become someone like you. But do people like you have worries too?"

Her words made Mr. Jordan laugh.

"Of course, little lady. As long as you’re alive, you’ll have countless worries every day. The higher your status and power, the more worries you have."

Cecelia Archer couldn’t imagine it. "Well, can you tell me what you’re worried about right now?"

Cecelia Archer wasn’t usually a chatterbox, but Mr. Jordan had no airs about him and was very easy to get along with, which inexplicably made her want to talk to him.

Not many subordinates were like her—instead of avoiding a superior, she’d eagerly strike up a conversation, completely unreserved.

Seeing her clear eyes and sincere expression, Mr. Jordan also felt an inexplicable urge to talk with her.

"If I tell you, are you going to give me some advice?"

"You never know." Cecelia Archer winked playfully. "Besides, you don’t have a better solution right now, so there’s no harm in telling me."

So Mr. Jordan actually told her.

His company had been losing money year after year due to poor management, so he had taken the initiative to sell his shares to the Vaughn Group. Now, he was just an employee of the Vaughn Group.

The president of the Vaughn Group was young but highly ambitious. He wanted to turn the company into a top-tier enterprise and had issued many corrective measures.

Overhauling the warehousing and logistics was one, and revitalizing the technology department was another.

To revitalize the technology department, they needed a veteran tech expert to lead the team. There was a well-known senior engineer in the industry who was two years away from retirement. His current company was performing very poorly, and President Vaughn didn’t want to wait two years, ordering him to poach the man as soon as possible. But the old engineer was stubborn, vowing to live or die with his company, and wouldn’t even give Mr. Jordan a chance to meet and catch up.

’So that’s what this is about.’ Cecelia Archer had already overheard most of it on the phone earlier. She thought for a moment.

"If he won’t give you an opportunity, then you just have to create one. No other company has managed to recruit him yet, right? Don’t be so anxious."

"How can I not be anxious?" Mr. Jordan was pessimistic. "President Vaughn only gave me two days. I don’t even know where the man is right now. It’s a lost cause!"

’Not necessarily.’

Cecelia Archer was suddenly reminded of a few famous plots from *Story of Battles*.

"Mr. Jordan, have you ever read *Story of Battles*?"

"*Story of Battles*? What does that have to do with this?"

"It does. From what you’ve told me, I think it has a lot to do with it. Do you remember how Little John and Friar Tuck were won over by Robin Hood in *Story of Battles*?"

"A stratagem of sowing distrust?"

"Exactly. Little John and Friar Tuck are today’s Mr. Lee, and you are Robin Hood. If you want him to leave his current master, you must first destroy the relationship between them. Once he has no one to fall back on, you can extend an olive branch. Won’t that create an opportunity?"

Mr. Jordan was silent for two seconds, then slapped his forehead in a moment of realization.

"Kid, I’ve got to hand it to you, that’s a great idea! But how do we execute this stratagem?"

Cecelia Archer said, "It’s very simple. We live in the internet age; you don’t even need to meet. Just post the news that you and Mr. Lee are discussing a partnership online. When his boss sees it, won’t their trust be destroyed?"

"Heh, you little rascal, you make it sound so convincing. But I’m not online much. How do I post something on the internet?"

Cecelia Archer’s interest was piqued. She asked Mr. Jordan, "Do you have his boss on WeChat?"

"I do. We’ve worked together before."

"Then it’s even simpler. Just make a post on your Moments and he’ll see it. Do you have a picture of Mr. Lee?"

"No. But there’s one on his company’s official website."

As he spoke, he pulled up the official website to show Cecelia Archer.

Cecelia Archer downloaded Mr. Lee’s photo, found one of Mr. Jordan, and Photoshopped them together.

"And there you have it, a photo of you two together."

She took Mr. Jordan’s phone and posted on his Moments for him.

"Long time no see, Lee. It was a pleasure chatting with you. Looking forward to a smooth partnership ahead." She followed it with a few "Go for it!" emojis.

"Now we wait. If his boss truly values him, he’ll be in touch with you soon."

Mr. Jordan was skeptical. What could a single photo possibly prove?

He chatted idly with Cecelia Archer for a few more moments before getting back to work.

But just over an hour later, he came rushing back to Cecelia Archer, phone in hand.

"Kid, you were right! His boss just called me! He asked when we talked and called me despicable for trying to poach his guy behind his back. He was absolutely furious, HAHAHAHA!"

"So what did you say to him?"

Mr. Jordan was overjoyed. "What did I say? Whatever would piss him off the most, of course. But what if this just makes him guard Mr. Lee more closely? Could this backfire?"

Cecelia Archer was just about to say that it was a possibility and that they’d need to apply more pressure, but before she could speak, Mr. Jordan’s phone rang. It was Mr. Lee.

Seeing Mr. Lee’s number flashing on the screen, Mr. Jordan smiled so wide his eyes practically disappeared.

"Looks like Lee knows about it now. He’s panicking and calling me, HAHAHAHA. Hang on, let me take this."

Just as expected, once the call connected, Mr. Lee was furious. He chewed Mr. Jordan out, calling him shameless for driving a wedge between him and his superior and for ruining his reputation.

Mr. Jordan seized the opportunity to make his pitch.

"You’ve been in tech your whole life. You have all this skill, but what’s the point of sticking with a dead-end company that has no ambition, with no place to use it? It’s a complete waste of time."

"My company is now part of the Vaughn Group. If you come over, not only will we make you chief engineer, but we’ll also set up a dedicated R&D department for you. You’ll be the boss. You’ll have the final say, and I’ll never interfere. You can run things however you want. Wouldn’t that be much better than where you are now?"

"With your abilities, you could definitely make one last brilliant contribution before you retire. Retiring in glory versus fading out in obscurity—which one is more worthy of your lifetime of dedication to technology? Think about it."

"They say a wise bird chooses the right tree to nest in, and a man seeks to better himself. This idea of yours, sticking with a stagnant pool for your whole life, is outdated, Lee."

Mr. Lee listened to his long speech and seemed a little tempted. But after a few seconds of silence, he still wouldn’t budge.