Chapter 45: I Never Loved Him Anyway

Xu Suian pressed the intercom and instructed the front desk to escort the visitors up to the secretariat's meeting room.

He led Qiao Xu to a small reception room belonging to the secretariat.

"Wait here. I've ordered milk tea and cake for you two, and the front desk will bring it up shortly."

Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin bowed to Xu Suian: "Thank you, President Xu."

The corners of his lips curved upward: "Thank you, Assistant Qiao."

The two executive secretaries understood instantly, turning to bow to Qiao Xu: "Thank you, Mrs. Xu."

Qiao Xu looked bewildered in the most adorable way possible.

Xu Suian could hardly suppress his amusement. After letting out two light chuckles, he announced, "Half a month's bonus for both of you."

"Thank you, President Xu. Thank you, Mrs. Xu."

Just as he reached the doorway of the reception room, Xu Suian turned back and added, "Make that another half month."

Qiao Xu was simply...

numb.

"Stop talking nonsense."

Ye Yurou nudged her with an elbow: "What's wrong with calling you that? A whole month's bonus! Xin and I will treat you to Starbucks for a month."

Qiao Xu glared at them: "I really must thank you both for selling me out to bribe yourselves."

The receptionist brought the visitors from the Shen Group up to the secretariat, carrying a takeout bag in her hand.

"Sisters, President Xu's delivery is here."

Qiao Xu reached out to take it: "Give it to me. Thank you."

After the receptionist escorted the visitors into the meeting room, Qiao Xu beckoned her over: "Come here."

"Sister Qiao Xu."

"This is for you." Qiao Xu picked up a small cake and handed it to her.

The receptionist hurriedly waved her hands: "No, no, I can't. I don't want it."

*Goodness gracious, this is President Xu's delivery!*

"It's fine, take it and eat."

Ye Yurou had already punctured the seal of a milk tea cup: "Babe, take it. President Xu is nothing more than a harmless little bunny in front of your Sister Qiao Xu."

The receptionist gave Qiao Xu a thumbs-up and scurried away.

Ye Yurou gossiped eagerly: "Xuxu, you've conquered President Xu. Do you feel a sense of pride?"

"Not at all."

Fang Kexin glanced at the silk scarf around Qiao Xu's neck: "Xuxu, that scarf is gorgeous. Where did you buy it? Send me the link."

Qiao Xu replied with an "oh": "This? Let me ask for you."

Ye Yurou bit down on her straw: "Did President Xu buy it for you?"

"Oh, never mind then, Xin. We probably couldn't afford it. That easily costs tens of thousands."

Wherever there are women, there is gossip.

"Xuxu, when are you and President Xu planning to get married? Can the two of us be your bridesmaids?"

Qiao Xu sized up Ye Yurou: "When are you going to confess to my cousin?"

"I already did."

***

Qiao Xu: "???"

She confessed?

"No wait, what on earth have you two been doing behind my back?"

Ye Yurou spread her hands: "We haven't been doing anything."

"My car just happened to break down, so I happened to go to Brother Zhe's garage for repairs. When I went to pick up the car, I just happened to run into him, and we just happened to grab a meal."

The corners of Qiao Xu's mouth were twitching with amusement: "My, aren't you just full of coincidences?"

"All the coincidences in Lucheng seem to have fallen into your lap."

"Miss Coincidence."

The elevator doors opened, and Song Jia stepped out holding a stack of contracts.

"Special Assistant Song, would you like some cake?"

Song Jia shook his head: "You ladies enjoy it."

Before long, the visitors from the meeting room were escorted into the elevator by Song Jia.

When Xu Suian walked out of the reception room, Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin instantly became as docile as lambs.

Such is the intimidating aura of an executive.

"President Xu."

Qiao Xu gestured toward her scarf: "President Xu, where was this bought?"

Since their relationship had already reached a point where everyone knew anyway, whether it was real or fake no longer mattered.

Her concealment was completely meaningless.

"Come to my office, and I'll tell you in meticulous detail."

Qiao Xu was utterly defeated.

"Go to hell."

The spectators widened their eyes in shock.

Xu Suian picked up her milk tea and took a sip: "Song Jia, show them the styles. One for each of them—a perk from the president's office."

He didn't forget to leave Xiao Song with a parting remark: "If you have a girlfriend, you can buy her one too. Charge it to my personal account."

Ye Yurou and Fang Kexin nearly dropped to their knees: "Thank you, President Xu. Thank you—"

Under Qiao Xu's warning glare, the words "Mrs. Xu" morphed midway into: "Thank you, Assistant Qiao."

***

Meanwhile, in Shen Zhao's apartment, Shen Zhiwei lay nestled in his arms.

"What is the meaning of this, hmm?"

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by Xu Shiran?"

Shen Zhiwei's nude-pink nails traced lightly over his chest: "Afraid of what? Doesn't he already know about us?"

"Didn't you say before that you wanted me to carry your child?"

Shen Zhao caught her hand: "Shen Zhiwei, do you remember that you are a married woman?"

Shen Zhiwei replied with casual indifference: "I know, so what?"

"Right now, only by having a child can I secure my position within the Xu family."

Shen Zhao's gaze darkened: "If you want to have a child, you can find Xu Shiran."

"If he ever finds out about us, Weiwei, you should know what the consequences will be."

***

Shen Zhiwei's expression caused a renewed wave of desire to flicker in the dark eyes of the man: "You know very well that I never loved him in the first place."

Shen Zhao pinched her chin with a sneer: "So, are you trying to say that the one you love is me?"

Instagram-worthy post-romance haze hung in the air as the two of them remained completely oblivious to the drone lingering outside the window for quite some time.

Inside a commercial vehicle parked not far from the villa complex, two men were watching a live feed on their laptops.

"Haven't you finished recording yet? Let's get out of here, my drone is getting dirty."

He wore an expression of utter disgust; being a paparazzi journalist these days required dealing with this kind of nonsense.

"What's the rush? President Xu said he'd buy you a new one."

"Get this straight, our boss is President He."

"What's the difference? President Xu and President He are both our bosses."

The two men continued stakeout photography until they captured Shen Zhiwei emerging from Shen Zhao's small villa, snapping the photos before finally driving away.

As soon as Shen Zhiwei returned home, she soaked in a bath.

With both the Shen and Xu corporations in utter turmoil, Xu Shiran invariably returned home late at night.

The moment she lay down in bed, she received a set of photos: herself and Shen Zhao entering and leaving a hospital one after the other, followed by images of them entering Shen Zhao's home.

There was also a chronological comparison alongside photos of her leaving Shen Zhao's residence two hours earlier.

[Miss Shen, does President Xu Shiran have any idea that his head is covered in a lush green meadow?]

Too anxious to sleep, Shen Zhiwei hurriedly forwarded the photos to Shen Zhao.

Her phone rang within minutes.

"Weiwei, who sent you those photos?"

"I don't know."

"Could it be someone hostile to the Shen family, or... could it be Xu Suian?"

Shen Zhao instructed her to forward the text messages to him.

Meanwhile, the two paparazzi operatives standing inside贺言勋 (He Yanxun)'s office were trembling with anxiety.

"President He, should we answer this call? He's calling again."

He Yanxun slumped across his desk: "Answer it, and turn on the voice changer."

"Hello."

Shen Zhao's voice was frigid: "What do you want?"

He Yanxun rubbed his lower back and winced in mock pain: "Doctor Shen is certainly full of ambition, not even sparing his own stepsister."

"This is my personal business, you needn't trouble yourself. State your terms."

The sensation of having his lifeline gripped by someone else filled Shen Zhao with suppressed rage.

He Yanxun answered with an attitude of total resignation: "I'd like to sell these photos to President Xu of the Xu Corporation. I'm sure he'd find them quite interesting."

Shen Zhao activated the recording function: "Name your price."