My Roommate Stole My Past-Life Hack—I’ll Just Smile at Her Regret Chapter 13

My Roommate Stole My Past-Life Hack—I’ll Just Smile at Her Regret Chapter 13

On the day Quinn’s paper was published, I held a press conference.

In front of the cameras, I spoke slowly and firmly. “The gender imbalance in my company’s staffing structure was indeed an oversight on my part, and for that, I sincerely apologize.”

“The truth is, in the early days of the company, I invited a great many talented women to join us too. But startups are risky, and men are, comparatively speaking, easier to talk into taking that risk.”

That small joke eased the tension in the room.

At the same time, in the livestream chat, quite a few women who had once received collaboration offers from me spoke up to back up my claim.

There were even more people questioning whether what I had just said implied that women lacked the appetite for risk.

One reporter asked that exact sharp-edged question.

I smiled and pressed the remote in my hand.

On the giant screen behind me appeared Quinn and her latest paper, the one that had been published in a top journal.

That very morning, the breakthrough had already sent shockwaves through the world.

“This is the riskiest investment my company has ever made,” I said. “And in time, it will also become the most successful.”

“The lead researcher and project director behind it is an exceptional woman.”

“She began this line of research while she was still in her PhD program. Five years went by without a single result, and no one believed she could succeed. No one except me.”

I paused, then continued. “Every dollar of profit this company has ever made, aside from what was needed to keep normal operations running, has gone straight into this project. Up to this point, it has produced no return at all. Not long ago, people were still calling my investment strategy ‘excessive optimism, blind aggression, and idiotic waste.'”

Laughter rippled through the room.

“The facts have now proven that I succeeded, and so did she. Together, we’re going to build an even greater company.”

I looked straight into the cameras as the flashbulbs swallowed my entire field of vision.

To be honest, I had to admit that my road to success had not been entirely aboveboard.

At the beginning, I really had relied heavily on men.

To save time and cut down on obstacles, I used my superpower to cheat, leveraging the resources in their hands.

But that was all right.

The resources I leveraged ended up in the hands of women.

“I want to make this promise here and now. Our new company will guarantee absolute equality between men and women and promote people based on ability alone.”

“At the same time, we will provide our female employees with fully paid maternity leave and nursing leave. Our male employees will be required to take the same amount of paid leave to care for their pregnant wives and newborn babies.”

“Someone once told me that I needed to learn how to enjoy life.”

“My company will reject hustle culture. I want every employee to be able to balance work and life and find value in their own existence.”

A female reporter shot her hand high into the air.

She read out the question everyone in the livestream chat most wanted answered. “Can a company like that really stay afloat?”

As the room burst into laughter, I gave a helpless shrug. “I’ll do my best not to let it go under.”