Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The scandal did not die down. Instead, it was gaining more and more traction.
The media started reporting it.
Due to City Z paying attention to the development of healthy children lately, words like "orphanage" had become seemingly sensitive. Needless to say, the whole matter turned into a pretty big deal.
Huge crowds of reporters flooded the entrance of Yueying Culture Media Company. Everyone wanted an explanation from Xi Xinyi, including the Han Corporation as well.
Deng Wenwen succumbed under the pressure and held a press conference to give an explanation regarding this matter. It was the stakeholders' meeting tomorrow, after all, and she needed to be cautious.
Yueying's current situation was like a ship sailing in a storm. One more large wave and it would sink, and since Yueying was Deng Wenwen's heart and soul, she could not just let it go down.
Naturally, Xi Xinyi attended the press conference, and as Xi Xiaye predicted before, she gave up on the ownership of the land.
At this moment, Xi Xiaye was standing on the edge of the New Era Plaza. She raised her head and looked at the enormous television screen on the wall, which was live-streaming Xi Xinyi's press conference.
Under the pressure of countless flashlights, Xi Xinyi was still able to remain composed as she gave her explanation to the crowd. Of course, she was just following a perfectly edited speech.
"I genuinely apologize for causing many doubts and misunderstanding. I've been keeping an eye on the orphanage for a long time and have mentioned it to CEO Han several times. He was concerned as well. Recently, the government has been very active in charity work for children with a purpose to encourage everyone to pay attention to the children in our city and be concerned about their development. I think that I should do my part as well, and the decision to buy the orphanage land was made after a long discussion with CEO Han. It was to help them protect their home..."
In the end, Xi Xinyi was forced to donate the land to the orphanage as well as $3 million as renovation fees.
Xi Xiaye herself was shocked by how valuable that piece of land was. Xi Xinyi did not have a choice now but to let go of this extremely valuable land.
Impressed by Xi Xinyi's decisiveness, Xi Xiaye had a sarcastic grin on her face as her eyes were filled with interest.
Xi Xinyi, how did it feel like to suffer a double loss after trying to trick me?
Naturally, it was a rare occurrence for such a large donation in City Z. Even with a top star like Xi Xinyi, it was unnatural for her to just give it away, especially when Yueying Culture Media Company was infamous for being stingy in the industry.
Doubts started coming from the reporters.
"Ms. Xi, Ning An Orphanage mentioned there was neither any discussion about the purchase of the orphanage nor any donations at all, yet you told us about this today. Are you just doing it out of guilt?"
"Ms. Xi, please explain!"
The reporters were asking tough questions. Xi Xinyi's reasoning did not seem convincing enough. Of course, she dared not mention Xi Xiaye's name in public because not only would this make things difficult with Xi Mushan, but it would also become a much worse mess than this.
Xi Xinyi just wanted this matter to end as soon as possible.
Xi Xiaye stopped watching. She turned around and walked through the crowd focused on the enormous screen, arriving beside her car after a while.
The moment she reached the car, Mu Yuchen opened the door for her from the inside.
"What took you so long?" He asked quietly as she got into the car.
She buckled her seatbelt and started the car as she replied, "I took a look at Xi Xinyi's press conference. As I imagined, she gave up on the orphanage. I'm really impressed though. She's really generous."
"You made her do that, didn't you?"
He laughed as he grabbed a document and put it inside her briefcase. "Vice President Liu will be waiting for you at the office tomorrow. Get these documents to him."
"Mmm, by the way, Su Nan and Ruan Heng's wedding is the day after tomorrow. I picked a set of jewelry out for them and I gave it to them under our name in case I'm alone that day... Are you really going to play golf with Grandpa that day?"
He nodded. "I have something to talk to him about. Attend the wedding with Mother."
"What is it about?" She frowned in doubt as she could tell that something was up.
"You probably guessed it. It's related to the South River project." He placed the briefcase back.
"So, it really is about the South River project... I remember that Qikai and the Han Corporation are interested in this as well. Grandpa mentioned it before, remember? Qikai is pretty capable. Didn't I give you some information on Qikai before? Qikai's Master, Qi Lei, had just taken on the role of the Vice CEO, and he seemed very confident about this project. Did you check them out?"
He was startled for a moment. An obscure light appeared under his eyes and he did not reply as he was in deep thoughts.
"I'm talking to you. Hello?" Xi Xiaye glanced at him and saw the coldness in his quiet eyes unlike the silence from before, which was why she asked.
Mu Yuchen snapped out of his thoughts quickly and placed a finger on his forehead. "I'm fine. I know our chances of winning are surely much higher with Fuhua backing us up. Don't worry. I've got this."
"I'll check Qikai out in these few days. They seem to be working with a foreign company. Our city has been encouraging forging bonds with external forces. Qikai's power is nearly the same as us Glory World, so we have to be careful about them doing something behind our back. They are known for pulling tricks." Mu Yuchen suddenly remembered that Mu Tangchuan had reminded him about this before as well.
"Mmm, I've asked Vice President Zhang to take note. Don't worry."
She was doubtful as she could feel that he was not really paying attention. While she tilted her head over and was about to ask something, he looked outside with a lonely expression.
After some hesitation, she averted her gaze away and did not say anything. She focused forward and sped the car up.
After returning to Maple Residence, he went upstairs after dinner as usual. Xi Xiaye only went up after she was done with the dishes.
It was pretty late at night when she came out of the bathroom with her half-dried hair. She noticed that the bedroom and the living room were dark. She could see the faint light from the study room. After giving it some thought, she grabbed a glass of water and walked towards the study room.
As she arrived at the door of the study room, she looked inside and he was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, she could smell the scent of a cigarette in the wind as question marks filled her head.
She looked over at the windows and saw the man smoking right beside the tall bookshelf.
"Don't always smoke. It's bad for your health." She went over and grabbed his half-burnt cigarette before handing him the glass of water.
Mu Yuchen looked at the frowning little woman before him. He smiled when she took his cigarette away. "I'm just a little bored... Pack up your things for tomorrow and go to bed soon."
"Is something troubling you?" She could not help but ask as she extinguished the cigarette in her hand.
"What can trouble me?" He took a sip from the glass of water. "Don't overthink. I'm just a little tired."
"The year has just started and you're already tired. There's still a long way to go." Xi Xiaye laughed, sweeping the cigarette ash on his collar off. "I used to think that people at the top only know how to order their subordinates around and ignore everyone's feelings, but now that I'm at a higher position, I realize that the higher-ups sometimes might have much more pressure like when I just entered the company..."
"So, people like me are like the devil in your eyes?" He grinned and gave her an odd smile.
Xi Xiaye shrugged. "I was in the Sales Department when I just entered the company. My manager was a very old-fashioned person. She was strict towards all her subordinates and wanted us to be independent. Every time something happened, she would ask us to solve it ourselves while she just watched. All of us were very unhappy with her. We secretly gave her a nickname, 'The Stern Lady'.
"Afterward, we got used to it. I was transferred to become under Vice President Liu as my performance was pretty good. I faced more and more challenges but overcame each and every one of them, so I'm actually pretty grateful to her. She was my first supervisor since I started working and she had a great influence over me... She's actually very nice..."
She suddenly took a pause and looked up at him with her pair of serious eyes. "You too, be yourself and you'll be able to influence us, your subordinates, no matter work or life."
"Are you lecturing me, Director Xi?" His eyes were getting cheeky as he patted her head with his large hands again as if he were comforting a little child. Xi Xiaye sulkily pushed his hand away.
"I'm being serious right now!"
"I'm taking you seriously right now too!"
"Don't ever pat my head again!"
"I'm just measuring the EQ in your brain... Mmm!"
"Mu Yuchen! Stay there! You watch out! Damn it!"
Two little shadows chased each other late at night as peals of laughter burst out from time to time and vanished along with the wind.
After a while, Xi Xiaye was out of breath and she lay down on the bed. The man put on a big smile. "I'm not my usual self today. I haven't been training lately. I used to actually be pretty good at running and represented our school... I'm serious! Don't look at me like that! I'll prove it to you one day!"
Mu Yuchen laughed and handed a towel to her. "That's enough. Wipe your sweat and take a shower."
Xi Xiaye grabbed the towel and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She then handed the towel back to him. "I'm not going to shower. I just took one. I'll go to sleep."
"Go and shower. Don't be lazy..."
Before he could finish, Xi Xiaye already hid beneath the blanket. He put a finger onto his temple and just let her be. Soon, he started picking up the bolster and towel from the floor.
After he was done, she was already fast asleep. She just lay down quietly and he could hear the faint sound of her breathing. He pulled her into his arms to escape from the loneliness.
Suddenly, hugging her felt real and solid to him, unlike the vagueness he felt before...
The next day, when she arrived at Vice President Liu's office, Liu Lingyu and his secretary were already waiting for her.
"Vice President Liu!"
Xi Xiaye bowed down apologetically and smiled. "Have you waited for long?"
Liu Lingyu took a glance at his watch on the wrist and smiled. "It's alright. The time is right. The stakeholders' meeting is at 9.30, so there's another hour to go. We can go over now."
He then stood up. "Let's go!"
Xi Xiaye nodded and handed her document to Xiao Mei behind her before catching up with Liu Lingyu.
"I might need you to help out on this for a while. Chairman Mu told me about you. I never expected you have such relationships with Yueying, and you've already married to..."
Liu Lingyu suddenly turned his head back and looked at Xi Xiaye.
Startled, Xi Xiaye closed her eyes and said, "Mmm, thank you for your concern, Vice President Liu. I'm just the owner of the shares. Most of the operational matter still rely on you. I'm not really sure how things work here. Don't mind me. Just do whatever you need to do and prioritize the company's benefits."
"Mmm, it must be tough for you, Director Xi. You might need to take care of both sides. I hope the South River project is going well. Please take care of yourself." Liu Lingyu was evidently concerned.
"Thank you, it's fine. Don't worry, Vice President Liu, Chairman Mu has arranged several capable assistants for me. I'm just analyzing the data, so there isn't much pressure. I'll be in your care on matters regarding Yueying. I'm afraid I won't be able to do much in the future," Xi Xiaye replied genuinely. She had always been respectful and grateful towards a mentor such as Liu Lingyu.
Yueying Culture Media Company fell into an anxious state.
After the press conference yesterday, the crowd of annoying reporters vanished, but because of the stakeholders' meeting that very day, there was no time to rest at all.
At the moment, inside the CEO office of Yueying.
Deng Wenwen was sifting through the documents for the meeting prepared by her secretary while Yue Lingsi and Xi Xinyi were sitting on the sofa, drinking coffee.
Yue Lingsi looked at the tablet in her hand. There were still all sorts of comments on Weibo, so she reminded Xi Xinyi worriedly, "Xinyi, lay low for a while. Try not to garner too much attention to yourself. We're not totally safe from the news yet. Be careful. Xiaye really got us this time."
Xi Xinyi stopped her movements to turn over to Yue Lingsi and nod. "I got it. I'll be careful."
"Don't worry. We've taken on several big projects this year, in which Qikai and the Han Corporation invested, and a large portion at that. Your popularity will surely shoot up, and you've never let us down before, have you?"
Yue Lingsi comforted Xi Xinyi when she saw the sadness in her eyes.
That land was Han Yifeng's engagement gift to Xi Xinyi. Besides being highly valuable, it meant a lot to her as well. She wanted to make a trade with Xi Xiaye, but in the end, the latter made her hand it out without getting anything in return. Furthermore, she even had to spend another few million on it.
She really suffered a huge loss this time while Xi Xiaye remained triumphant!
"Mmm, I know. I won't let everyone down. It'll be fine, Mother!"
Xi Xiaye smiled as she turned toward Deng Wenwen. "Grandmother, haven't you found out who's been stocking up our shares in secret yet?"
"Hmph, those cunning old foxes! I only know someone bought if off from them, but I still haven't found out who the person is. Nevertheless, we'll know very soon!"
Deng Wenwen's expression darkened when this matter was mentioned.
"Well... Then, if the person really has Sister's documents, what should we do?" Xi Xinyi looked at Deng Wenwen worriedly.
Deng Wenwen paled. The recent bout of incidents had been nothing short of chaos. She never expected Xi Xiaye would become like this. In the past, she would just accept whatever was thrown at her, but her temperament got sharper after working for several years.
"I'll just have to figure it out." Deng Wenwen took a deep breath, her eyes seemed sharp as ever. "I cannot let her threaten Yueying with that document."
"Actually, Grandmother can try to convince Grandfather to talk to Sister. She has always listened to Grandfather. Besides, she can have a nice, long talk with Grandfather. Wouldn't that make things easier? I believe Grandfather won't let Sister sell it to just anyone, so, Grandmother, we..." Xi Xinyi said cautiously.
Deng Wenwen's expression froze before she sighed, "Your grandfather's still blaming me for that matter. How can I convince him? Plus, the document last time... Xinyi, don't bother your Grandfather on this. We had an agreement before."
"But..." Xi Xinyi still wanted to say something, but Yue Lingsi stopped her. It was obvious that the elder did not seem pleased.
"It's almost time. Most of the stakeholders should be present already. Let's go."
Deng Wenwen closed the document in her hand and then walked out while Yue Lingsi and Xi Xinyi followed her.
Inside the huge meeting room, most of the seats were occupied except for several seats in front.
Deng Wenwen went up to the CEO's seat and sat down as Yue Lingsi and Xi Xinyi sat beside her.
The higher-ups who were whispering with the other stakeholders stopped talking as soon as they saw Deng Wenwen. Everyone focused on her.
Deng Wenwen opened the document in her hands and glanced around with her sharp eyes. She then focused on the vacant seats on the left and right, especially the empty seat on the right. She frowned when she looked at them.
"CEO Deng, that's the seat for Qikai's Master. I spoke to their secretary earlier and Master Qi is on his way. Here's CEO Wang's seat. He didn't pick up the call..." The secretary quickly explained the situation to her.
There was the sound of footsteps after the secretary made her report. The crowd looked toward the entrance just as Qi Lei's handsome face came into view...
"Master Qi!"
The crowd was shocked. They were all familiar with Qi Lei, especially when Yueying had been facing so much trouble lately. They still managed to have several projects with Qikai, and today Qi Lei was actually attending the stakeholders meeting?
"Master Qi!" Deng Wenwen's expression softened when she saw Qi Lei. Xi Xinyi and Yue Lingsi traded glances with each other before putting on warm smiles.
"It seems that I'm not the last one to arrive!" Qi Lei grinned as he glanced at the empty seat nearby.
"Master Qi, you've arrived right on time. We were just about to start. Please have a seat!" Deng Wenwen pointed at the seat on her left as she smiled.
Qi Lei nodded and then glanced at his secretary. He then went toward the seat Deng Wenwen pointed at and sat down. Glancing at the still empty seat as he raised his eyebrows in surprise, he remarked, "Is someone not here yet? Is that someone even more important than me?"
"It's CEO Wang. He's been really cocky lately. He told me that he got his hands on some fortune, but he didn't reveal what it was. I heard that he's going to work on his own business."
"I heard about that too. No wonder he had such an arrogant vibe around him! How dare he be late for the stakeholders meeting!?"
People started whispering and discussing as Deng Wenwen's face darkened again. She gave a signal to Yue Lingsi, who quickly grabbed her phone and gave CEO Wang a call.
After a while, Yue Lingsi's expression looked terrible because no one was picking up the call, and the discussions were getting louder by the second...
"What's wrong, Mother?" Xi Xinyi asked quietly while the crowd was starting to make a fuss.
The moment that she asked this and before Yue Lingsi could reply, the door to the meeting room opened.
Suddenly, everyone turned to the entrance. The door was now opened and a slender figure appeared before their eyes.
In her usual smart, black, professional outfit with her long, black hair as well as the stern face, who else could it be aside from Xi Xiaye?
The person beside her was the Vice President of Glory World, Liu Lingyu. People knew him well. There were also two assistants behind them, each of them carrying a thick and heavy briefcase.
Xi Xinyi was shocked when Xi Xiaye appeared. Instantly, she turned pale.
Deng Wenwen and Yue Lingsi widened their eyes and could not react at all. They just looked on as Xi Xiaye and Liu Lingyu strolled in silently.
Xi Xiaye scanned around and then traded glances with Liu Lingyu. The two of them sat down in the empty seats after Liu Lingyu nodded.
Everyone was shocked. Most of them had heard about someone secretly buying Yueying's shares, so was it Glory World's doing all along?
"How could it be them? That man looks like Vice President Liu Lingyu from Glory World. Who's that lady?"
"Why are they sitting in CEO Wang's seat? Could CEO Wang have sold his shares to Glory World?"
"I see... It's Vice President Liu and Director Xi. Long time no see! I wonder if you still remember me, Director Xi?" A wicked humor-filled voice rang out. Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the source of that voice.
Xi Xiaye casually sat in a vacant seat. That sudden voice made her lift her head and she saw Qi Lei's wicked expression. Almost immediately, her eyes turned cold!
She had never forgotten how Deng Wenwen had nearly sent her to him back then!
Xi Xiaye took a glance at Liu Lingyu, who replied with a smile, "Long time no see, Vice President Qi."
"What are you doing here?" Yue Lingsi demanded with a grim expression.
Deng Wenwen and Xi Xinyi came back to their senses, observing the calm Xi Xiaye. Deng Wenwen could guess what had happened as she stared at Xi Xiaye with her sharp eyes.
Xi Xiaye glared back at Deng Wenwen with a tint of sadness in her eyes. In the end, her eyes fell onto Yue Lingyu, her voice calm. "Vice President Yue's question sounded odd. Please be mindful of your tone."
"This is not somewhere you can mess with. It's Yueying's stakeholders' meeting! What are you guys thinking?" Deng Wenwen stared at Xi Xiaye coldly, her tone sounding harsh.
"I'm surprised by President Deng's attitude. Since this is Yueying's stakeholders' meeting, as a shareholder, shouldn't I be attending?"
Xi Xiaye gave Deng Wenwen a wry smile as if she did not see the anger on her face. She looked over to Xi Xinyi. "Well, Ms. Xi Xinyi is here. This is the stakeholders' meeting. Your scandal is still well-discussed outside, so why are you here instead of hiding elsewhere? Don't you think the company has had enough trouble? I even heard that President Deng was feeling unwell because of you. Shouldn't you explain yourself to everyone here?"
Xi Xinyi's face turned paler as Xi Xiaye finished her sentence. She looked at Deng Wenwen helplessly with a pained expression, not knowing what to say.
"What do you mean by that? Since when did you become a shareholder of Yueying?"
Deng Wenwen caught the keywords in Xi Xiaye's sentence, and her whole body tensed up as she threw knife-sharp glances at her.
"Glory World purchased Yueying's shares from CEO Wang and several other people. We Glory World are now interested in the showbiz industry. Director Xi is attending this meeting on behalf of Glory World as the Operating Vice President of Yueying. I hope we can collaborate well in the future!" Liu Lingyu's timely reply erased everyone's doubts.
What!?
Operating Vice President?
The secret buyer was actually Glory World?
Deng Wenwen's eyes flew open as her whole body trembled while she suddenly thought of something!
So, did Xi Xiaye sell the 20% shares Shen Wenna held to Glory World?
Deng Wenwen stared at Xi Xiaye in disbelief. "You... Did you... That document... You... You gave it to Glory World..."
Yue Lingsi was shocked as well. She glanced at Deng Wenwen beside her with unease.
Xi Xiaye seemed pleased to see them freaked out. She felt much better as they looked more anxious and afraid. She remembered how Shen Wenna had left and was forced to sign the document. She even had to stab herself on the shoulder. Upon recalling all this, coldness gathered in her eyes.
As they were still in disbelief, she extended her arm to her assistant, Xiao Mei, behind her. Xiao Mei quickly handed a document to her.
She grabbed it and flipped through it, then tossed it onto the table and pointed at the top of the document. "Do you mean this document?"
"I know you've been putting in a lot of effort for this document lately, I'll let you take a look today."
Xi Xiaye left them with a casual remark as Xiao Mei sent the document to Deng Wenwen. "We also have a share transfer contract here. Please take a look, everyone. We Glory World now have 37% of shares. That means we're eligible to participate in Yueying's decision as the second largest stakeholder."
Liu Lingyu also signaled his assistant to distribute the documents to everyone.
Deng Wenwen's body shuddered as she looked at the document Xiao Mei handed over. Flipping it open, she could not believe what she saw. She glared at Xi Xiaye with bulging eyes.
"You... You..."
Suddenly, she blacked out, and her hands let go of the document and it fell onto the floor.
"Mother!"
"Grandmother!"
"Grandmother, are you alright?"
Xi Xinyi grabbed Deng Wenwen who almost fell off the chair while Yue Lingsi quickly took out the bottle of medicine from Deng Wenwen's pocket. She grabbed several tablets and popped them into her mouth.
This scene shocked most of the people in the meeting room. Many of them stood up and looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.