Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
She lowered her head and looked at his face under the dim light. Although she noticed that he had closed his eyes once again, he showed no signs of letting her go. Finally, she stopped struggling and just laid down beside him. She pulled the blanket over herself again and let him sleep in peace.
However, the man's voice reached her ear the moment she closed her eyes. "Answer me." His grip around her waist tightened as well...
She put her hand on his and replied, "Fine, go to sleep now. It's already almost dawn!"
"There's no work tomorrow. It's a weekend."
He was still aware of the date, making her chuckle. In the next moment, he wrapped his arms around her like he was hugging a doll just before he dozed off to sleep peacefully.
Time flew when things got busy.
Three days after the gathering with Mu Yuchen's friends, Qi Lei went to City B. Both Mu Yuchen and Xi Xiaye started getting busy with their work as well while Qi Feng and Gu Lingsha spent their time preparing for their wedding. It had been a long time since the Qi family celebrated something, so Qi Qiming intended to make it a huge event and throw the newlyweds a grand wedding.
With July about to end, the weather was still pretty hot on the streets because the crazy heatwave was hitting the town hard.
Right now, there were thunderstorm clouds hovering over Gu Lingsha's office.
"How could Hua Heng do this!? They promised to give us the building materials, yet they went back on their promise at the last minute. Is this common for Hua Heng?" Gu Lingsha was mad as she swept the documents Secretary Tai handed her onto the floor. Papers flew everywhere, and she was extremely upset.
"What exactly happened? Their manager has already approved of the delivery, so why did they suddenly turn their backs on us?" Gu Lingsha asked Secretary Qin coldly.
"It seems like CEO Hua promised to give it to someone else instead. When I was asked about the delivery progress, I decided to call Hua Heng as they haven't been giving any replies. I only found out about it then, and they didn't give us a solid reason as well. I think it's better to visit them personally!" Secretary Qin suggested.
The promotion work for the development project was going well now, and they had already started working. If things got delayed because of the materials, Qi Kai's reputation would surely suffer since Qi Kai had really given it their all this time.
If this was messed up, they would be...
Gu Lingsha frowned as she was starting to worry. Moments later, she said, "Contact Manager Wang from Hua Heng and tell him that I need to meet him right away!" She bent over and quickly picked up the papers on the ground.
"Yes, Manager Gu, I'll call him now!" Secretary Tai then left the room.
Gu Lingsha paced around her room with uneasiness in her heart. She was busy preparing for her wedding lately and did not expect this to happen all of a sudden. If Secretary Tai had not called, she probably still had no idea about what had happened!
Knock knock!
As Gu Lingsha was getting impatient, Secretary Tai came in before she could reply.
"Manager Gu, Manager Xi from Yueying is here!"
Xi Xinyi? She took a deep breath and sat down in her chair as she suppressed her anxiety for the moment.
"Manager Gu."
Xi Xinyi gave Gu Lingsha a slight bow when she arrived before her. She then handed a document to Gu Lingsha. "This is the proposal for the initial stages of the promotional campaign. I've made amendments according to your comments. Please take a look if there are any more amendments required," Xi Xinyi said humbly.
Gu Lingsha raised her head and looked at Xi Xinyi who was looking at her intently.
Xi Xinyi was Xi Xiaye's sister from a different mother, but they shared a vengeful relationship. After something happened to Xi Xinyi, Han Yifeng took their child and went abroad. Then, Yueying almost went bankrupt too, but Qi Kai's assistance helped her to get back on her feet.
Xi Xiaye was the main cause behind it, so Xi Xinyi must really hate Xi Xiaye. After some observation, Gu Lingsha noticed that Xi Xinyi had been behaving well. Furthermore, she also had Yue Hai and the Yue family supporting her.
Gu Lingsha put on a smile after studying her for a while. She took the document from Xi Xinyi and signed her name on it after glancing through the proposal. Then, she handed it back. "I'm really happy with the way you work, Manager Xi. I'm sure you've been working hard. We're all happy with the progress of the promotional campaign. I hope you can keep this up."
Xi Xinyi took the document back and replied, "Thank you, Manager Gu. I will."
"I heard the two movies you produced did really well in the box office. That's as expected of an expert from the industry." Gu Lingsha glanced at her and smiled.
"It's all thanks to everyone's hard work. The glory isn't mine alone," Xi Xinyi replied with a grin.
"Mmm, I've heard a lot about you, Manager Xi. The fact that you're able to turn Yueying from being in a dire state to its current form impresses me. I believe that you're on par with the higher-ups in the company."
Xi Xinyi did not quite respond to what Gu Lingsha said and just silently met her gaze.
Gu Lingsha then smiled. "As a woman, I do pity you a little. As your superior, I regard you highly. In fact, Miss Xi, you were also once a dazzling star in the entertainment industry. If it weren't for...no matter what, you should be enjoying both fame and fortune, and a blissfully happy family..."
When Xi Xinyi heard these, her fingers that held onto the document suddenly tightened. She looked a little gloomy, yet it was only a split second. Moments after that, she returned to appearing calm.
Gu Lingsha took all of this in, seeming satisfied with Xi Xinyi's reaction, so she smiled and said, "As a woman, I just feel sorry and find it unfair for you, Manager Xi. Your sister, Xi Xiaye, is a very capable character, and also a..."
"I don't want to talk about the past anymore, Manager Gu. If there's nothing else, then I'd like to leave first." Xi Xinyi lowered her gaze and held the document in hand tighter as her tone became a little cold.
Gu Lingsha paused slightly, then nodded and smiled. "I'm sorry, Manager Xi. I didn't mean to bring that up. I was just feeling unfair on your behalf. I've seen all your hard work in recent times. Despite so many blows, you've become the way you are now. I feel like I see parts of me in you. I think I can more or less empathize with your situation."
"I can only blame myself for not being as skilled as others." Xi Xinyi's lips parted slightly and you could hear a hint of cynicism in her voice.
"Manager Xi, you don't have to give up. You're great too. As long as you work hard, you won't fall short of anyone else, including Xi Xiaye." Gu Lingsha pointed out what she meant while Xi Xinyi was stunned to hear that and fell silent for a while. Then, she looked up at Gu Lingsha. "Thank you Manager Gu. I'll do my best."
Gu Lingsha smiled and nodded.
Xi Xinyi did not stay any longer. She turned to leave Gu Lingsha's office after bidding goodbye.
Bam!
When the door closed, Gu Lingsha's eyes that watched Xi Xinyi leave dimmed as she took in a deep breath and slowly leaned back against her chair.
After a while, Secretary Qin walked in once again. "Manager Gu, Manager Wang's assistant said that Manager Wang is busy right now. I've already made an appointment, but we probably need to wait until tomorrow."
When she finished, Gu Lingsha's exquisitely beautiful face turned stormy. She thought about it, then suddenly stood up and took her handbag from the side and walked out at a hurried pace. "Does Hua Heng think that I'm a fool? Let's make a trip to Hua Heng!"
Secretary Qin watched as Gu Lingsha stormed out in an angry fit, and she just quietly followed behind.
An hour later, at the Hua Heng office, Gu Lingsha walked out with a morose expression while Secretary Qin followed behind her quietly, appearing worried.
"Fuhua has a project in City B too? Why do they keep fighting with us for these materials? They knew that we'd finish discussing the price first, yet they dare to be this reckless!" Gu Lingsha fumed.
"Manager Gu, maybe you don't know this, but while Fuhua and Hua Heng may both be in the real estate industry, the old CEO Shen and CEO Hua have always been good friends. Most of Fuhua's materials are supplied by Hua Heng, so it's not odd that Hua Heng would give them the materials first," said Secretary Qin as she rushed after her.
Gu Lingsha ranted, "Hua Heng's clearly messing with us. They should have at least let us know earlier if they had other plans for such a huge matter. Right now, our project's begun work and we will need these materials soon. Where am I supposed to find such a huge amount of materials in such a short time? The supervision of the earlier stages of the government project will be strict. I don't want to cause any reputational damage to the project because of this."
"What should we do now?" Secretary Qin asked worriedly.
Gu Lingsha stopped walking as she thought about it, then frowned deeply. "What else can we do? We'll have to go take a look at Fuhua and tell them to let us have the materials first. Due to this project, there seems to be some bad blood between Qi Kai and Fuhua. Let's use this chance to smooth things out with them."
"Manager Gu, you are so sensible!"
...
Inside the CEO of Fuhua Real Estate's office, Xi Xiaye was discussing the development of the collaboration between the Movie and Television City base and Glory World when an assistant suddenly knocked on the door.
"CEO Xi, Manager Gu from Qi Kai is here. She says she needs to meet you right now."
"Qi Kai? Manager Gu? Which Manager Gu?"
Before Xi Xiaye could answer, Lan Zilang looked up from the blueprint in puzzlement. "Our company doesn't have any business dealings with Qi Kai, do we? Why are their people here? Where are they?"
"Assistant Manager Lan, they're still downstairs. It's Gu Lingsha. The reception called up to ask if you'd like to meet her."
Lan Zilang turned to Xi Xiaye but noticed that her expression was calm while her gaze remained on the blueprint before her. She did not seem to have any intention of responding and just wanted her assistant reject the unwelcome guests. However, at this moment, Xi Xiaye suddenly spoke up, "Let her come up."
"Yes, CEO Xi!" the assistant answered, then retreated.
Lan Zilang gave Xi Xiaye an amused look as he said, "Isn't Gu Lingsha the one who's been appearing a lot in the media recently? Why is she here?"
He obviously knew that Gu Lingsha and Mu Yuchen had some sort of connection. From Xi Xiaye's expression, she clearly looked quite unhappy, so he just laughed knowingly, "Alright, we'll just stop the discussion here then. Tonight, you shall go and deliberate with Chairman Mu, and if all's well, we will send people over from Fuhua. The design of this city isn't all that complex. As long as they can consider it properly, then we can go with the theme. Right now, there are many Movies and Television bases, but they're all just some small-minded ones, so I'm quite looking forward to this one!" Lan Zilang said as he tapped the blueprint in his hand with a smile.
"I think it won't let you down, Uncle Lan." Xi Xiaye smiled happily too as she kept the blueprint. "I'll go over and deliberate it with him tonight. If there's nothing else, both companies can send a representative for a site check. If all goes well, then we'll go with this plan and continue to develop the Movies and Television base."
"Alright, I'll go out first." Lan Zilang retreated good-naturedly.
Xi Xiaye had just rolled up the blueprint and was about to put it on the shelf when the secretary knocked from the outside to signal that she was letting Gu Lingsha in. "CEO Xi, Manager Gu is here!"
When Gu Lingsha walked into the office, she only saw a petite figure with the back facing her while putting a rolled-up blueprint onto the shelf. However, she was confused. Was the CEO of Fuhua not Shen Yue? When did it become a woman?
In fact, this woman's posterior looked a little familiar. Her black hair fell to her waist and her white off-shoulder dress showed off a slender figure. Even just the sight of her back had an indescribable charm to it.
"Alright, go bring us two cups of tea," Xi Xiaye calmly responded, then turned around and looked up indifferently. When their eyes met, Gu Lingsha's eyes instantly flew wide open!
How was it her!?
She was Fuhua's CEO?
Xi Xiaye was Fuhua's CEO?
"How...how is it you?!" Flabbergasted, Gu Lingsha's blue eyes were round and large as her eyes were fixed on Xi Xiaye in disbelief.
Previously, she had heard about Xi Xiaye frequently rubbing shoulders with the people in Fuhua, and with Fuhua's previous collaboration with Glory World to take down the South River Project No. 2, she thought that Xi Xiaye was just a contact person from Glory World. She did not think that...
How did Xi Xiaye take over Shen Yue's position?
Gu Lingsha thought about it for a while, and in her daze, she recalled that Xi Xiaye's mother's surname was Shen too.
Shen Wenna...Shen Yue?
She had never gone that in-depth when investigating Xi Xiaye, so she did not expect her to come from a good background too. It was no wonder that the Mu family and Mu Yuchen would have accepted her so easily.
Gu Lingsha's expression was a little strange at the moment. It was shifting with gloominess and changed quite a bit, yet you could not quite tell how she was feeling. "Why is it you!? You..." she muttered as her beautiful eyes remained fixated on Xi Xiaye's face. The shock in her eyes did not vanish.
"Why wouldn't it be me?" A sneer flashed on Xi Xiaye's lips as she looked calmly at Gu Lingsha.
Gu Lingsha took a deep breath and quickly forced herself to calm down!
If it was Xi Xiaye, then everything made sense. It must have been this witch that caused all the problems! She must have known about her materials, so she intentionally stole them from Hua Heng. It was probably because of that incident with her son and Weiwei at school!
Gu Lingsha was not a fool. Quickly, she analyzed everything. Upon being aware of this, her eyes quickly turned hard.
"It was you! You did it on purpose, didn't you!? Why would Hua Heng suddenly sell those materials to you? You must've known that we need those materials urgently! You did it on purpose, Xi Xiaye. You definitely did it on purpose, didn't you?" Gu Lingsha's stern voice came through. You could hear how stirred up she was from her voice as she pointed an accusing finger at Xi Xiaye.
Xi Xiaye reacted calmly. She walked casually to the desk and then set down her pen as she said in objection, "Miss Gu, you have too much prejudice against me. Fuhua needs those materials urgently too. In fact, you should know that Fuhua and Hua Heng are very good partners. From their end, we are prioritized since we need these materials too. Fuhua offered the same prices as you did, and we could save Hua Heng a huge sum in logistic fees. If you were Hua Heng, how would you have chosen?"
"But it was clearly Qi Kai that settled on the deal first! As long as they release the materials from City B, we can pay the downpayment right away. We'll pay in full when the materials arrive. We've already discussed this! It must you, you vicious woman! You're making a move on us on purpose! You want to take revenge on me!" Gu Lingsha responded angrily.
Upon hearing that, Xi Xiaye suddenly laughed, her tone containing a hint of mockery. "But you didn't pay the downpayment in the end, did you? Who can prove that you discussed it first? I've already told CEO Hua a while ago to leave these materials for me. In fact, Fuhua has already paid for everything, so where's your downpayment? Miss Gu, you're someone who's been in business for quite a while. Businessmen care about win-win situations and sincerity the most. Until now, have you shown Hua Heng any sincerity?"
Gu Lingsha's expression darkened upon hearing that. "Xi Xiaye, you're despicable! You've already done it. Do you have to come up with such a pompous reason? Don't think I don't know that it was you who made Mu Yuchen frame me! I'm telling you, I'm not Xi Xinyi. I won't let you play me for a fool!"
Her expression was bitter as she pointed at Xi Xiaye. She was close to cursing at her. Even the assistant who brought the tea in was shocked by Gu Lingsha's manners. She looked at Xi Xiaye to see if she needed the bodyguard, but Xi Xiaye only shot her a look before she cautiously retreated.
"Xi Xinyi?" Xi Xiaye softly muttered before she sneered. "Turns out you know her too! Well, then let me tell you, if you don't want to become the second Xi Xinyi, you'd better behave yourself! Do you really think I don't know what you did to me before this? Just with Ruan Heng's incident alone, I should have made you pay the price!"
"Huh, right, I almost forgot that Ruan Heng still hasn't regained consciousness until now. Is he still in a coma? You don't have to look at me like that. That incident has nothing to do with me. I was a victim too. It's just that Ruan Heng wasn't as fortunate as me! What? Do you want to threaten me? What other tricks do you and your husband have apart from this!?"
Gu Lingsha recalled that when she first returned, Mu Yuchen had also threatened her like this. If she was not worried about those who would be implicated, she would not have been afraid!
"There's no need for us to use such bright tricks when it comes to people like you. Aren't you an expert in using these methods too? At my wedding with Mu Yuchen, you locked me in the washroom and released a snake. You tried to recklessly smear my relationship with Qi Lei. By the roadside in West Park, you pushed me down and made me go into premature labor, and you even wanted to frame Xi Xinyi. You framed Su Nan and almost made her go to jail. You've done more horrible things than can be counted. Isn't someone like you even more despicable and shameless?" Xi Xiaye sat down leisurely on her chair. Her gaze was indifferent yet sharp.
Stunned, Gu Lingsha quickly lowered her gaze and responded, "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You can refuse to admit to it, but the truth is right there as long as we all know it. If you've come for the materials today, then you can leave now."
Xi Xiaye apathetically asked her to leave.
Inhaling deeply, Gu Lingsha slowly pulled her hand away. As she clenched her fists, she suppressed the anger that surged to her chest.
"What do you want?" The fury in her tone was hard to conceal.
"I should be the one asking you what you want. You came to my turf to unleash your craziness for no reason, Gu Lingsha. Are you sick in the head? You don't have any awareness at all!" Xi Xiaye's sharp voice was not inferior to hers at all.
Gu Lingsha clenched her fists in silence. Only she knew how much effort she needed to hold down her burning rage! "Those materials are very important to Qi Kai. I've already closed the discussion with the people at Hua Heng. Xi Xiaye, can you not be so despicable? You must let me have these materials. I can help you pay the penalty!" she insisted.
"Let you have it? Why should I?" Xi Xiaye looked up coldly at Gu Lingsha.
"Xi Xiaye, don't forget that Qi Lei owns a part of Qi Kai too. You keep saying that Qi Lei's your friend. Is this how you become a friend?" Gu Lingsha was a woman who made full use of everything, so she knew very well how to use her resources and how to provoke someone.
Indeed, when she said that, Xi Xiaye's face immediately sank and her eyes became dull. She stared at Gu Lingsha in a lukewarm manner, and after a long, her fury dissipated. Instead, she smiled and said, "Very good, Gu Lingsha. It turns out that Qi Lei is present here today, so you can go tell him to talk to me. See if he's willing to plead on your behalf. South River Project No. 2 seems to have nothing to do with him. When it comes to taking on responsibility, it might not even get assigned to him."
So, she wanted to talk about a favor? She could do it for Qi Lei, but if it were for Gu Lingsha, then she might not do it!
"You!"
She was unmoved by force or persuasion and was thick-skinned much to Gu Lingsha's extreme annoyance! She never would have thought that Xi Xiaye would suddenly turn out to be Shen Yue's granddaughter and the CEO of Fuhua!
She thought that once Xi Mushan had fallen, the Xi family would be over and Xi Xiaye would have no more support to rely on, so she did not quite care about Xi Xiaye. Instead, she was targetting the old characters like Wang Qin and Zhuang Shurong, but who would have thought that she would turn out to be the CEO?
"Xi Xiaye, don't go too far! You must make me look bad today, huh?"
"If you want to keep thinking that way, then I can't help it either. I'm very busy and I don't have time to attend to you. Xiao Mei!"
Xi Xiaye leaned against her chair calmly, and casually enjoyed Gu Lingsha's sour expression. When she thought about how this woman had almost crushed her hand, she felt very pleased.
The moment Xiao Mei heard her calling for her, she immediately barged in. "Yes, CEO Xi?" Xiao Mei asked respectfully, but when she saw Gu Lingsha, her eyes turned cold. Naturally, she did not forget all the bad blood from before.
"Please help me see Miss Gu out!"
"Got it, CEO Xi!"
"Xi Xiaye, you better not be so delighted. You will regret whatever happened today!" Gu Lingsha said grudgingly through gritted teeth.
"I'll be waiting then, Miss Gu! Oh, right, previously your scandals with Mu Yuchen made me very unhappy. Let me give you some advice. Don't waste your time. When you were still a young virgin girl, he already didn't fancy you, so forget about now! His taste will only be even more refined from here on and won't deteriorate. Gu Lingsha, I think you're a smart person. Don't forget your identity, hmm, Miss Qi!"
When Xi Xiaye said that, Gu Lingsha's expression turned ashen! She hated it the most when someone brought up this embarrassing matter. Just as she wanted to go up to her, Xiao Mei blocked her path.
"Miss Gu, let's go! Otherwise, we'll have to get the bodyguards to send you down, and that won't look good!" Xiao Mei was also sniggering at the dismal Gu Lingsha!
This woman only knew how to bully others. She was always arrogant and never cared about normal staff like her, but she was always defeated by Director Xi!
"Xi Xiaye. I. Will. Remember. Today!" Gu Lingsha declared word for word through gritted teeth as she pointed at Xi Xiaye. You could tell that her anger was on the verge of exploding as she said this fiercely before slamming the door on the way out!
Bam!
The sound of the door slamming shocked Xiao Mei who subconsciously put a hand to her chest. When she saw that the door was tightly closed, she turned back to look at Xi Xiaye in her chair.
However, Xi Xiaye was looking thoughtfully at the closed door with a stony expression.
"CEO Xi, what drugs is Gu Lingsha on? Why did she come all the way here?" Xiao Mei asked, puzzled.
"What else could it be? Of course, it's for the materials from Hua Heng. I can't take her on openly, so this time I'll let her fall on her knees! Go tell the people in the government about Gu Lingsha. Also, ask Uncle Lan to immediately prepare the same amount of materials from our warehouse. I'll be waiting for her to beg me!"
"CEO Xi, are you planning on..."
"These materials are scarce. They are sourced from City C. Recently, the southwestern district has been having storms and floods. If these materials were to be shipped from there again, it would take at least a month or two. By then, South River Project No. 2 will need to have been started on after the groundbreaking ceremony. If it's delayed for a month or two because of the materials, don't you think that the pressure will get to Gu Lingsha? What would the government people think of Qi Kai? Gu Lingsha knew this, and that's why she caught onto Hua Heng. Hua Heng has those materials stored in City B, and coincidentally, the development of the Movies and Television base in City B needs to use them too."
"But, CEO Xi, doesn't this mean that our warehouse has a lot of these materials too? Hua Heng actually offered them to us at quite a high price, thus I think we're suffering some losses," Xiao Mei frowned and said hesitantly.
"Don't worry. The materials in the warehouse will have their uses." Xi Xiaye responded with a mysterious smile, then slowly sat up straight. "Alright, don't worry about these things. I have plans of my own, so just do as I say."
Xiao Mei caught the smile on Xi Xiaye's face and felt at ease, then she nodded. "Alright, I'll go now! Oh right, CEO Xi, Miss Mu Lingshi called for you earlier, but I saw that you and Assistant Lan were in discussion, so I didn't disrupt you!"
Mu Lingshi?
Xi Xiaye frowned as she responded, "Got it."