However, the room was empty, and there was no sight of Ye Moxuan.
Shen Qi refused to give up so she ran to the study to find him.
To her disappointment, Ye Moxuan was not in the study either. Shen Qi had no clue of his whereabouts. Perhaps she was guilty of what she said last night, she somehow felt that Ye Moxuan was vanishing from her world.
Or perhaps she had never been able to enter his world.
At last, Shen Qi freshened herself up and headed to the office after changing her clothes.
When she went downstairs, she bumped into Old Master Ye who was about to leave as well.
It had been a while since she met him, and it seemed like he was rather busy lately.
When he noticed Shen Qi, he thought of something and asked straightforwardly, “Shen Yue, how is the progress of the favor I asked you previously?”
Shen Qi was discomposed. In the beginning, she didn’t know which matter he was referring to. It was only after a moment of pondering that she figured out Old Master Ye was enquiring about Ye Linhan and Han Xueyou.
With that thought, Shen Qi quickly explained, “Old Master Ye, I mentioned it to Xueyou but it seems like she already has a boyfriend, so…”
Upon hearing that, Old Master Ye squinted. It looked like he was analyzing if she was telling the truth. Under his stern gaze, Shen Qi felt goosebumps prickling on her skin and she couldn’t help but bow her head and bite her lower lip.
“Grandpa.”
A gentle voice came from behind, and it was Ye Linhan.
“Don’t you have an appointment with Mr. Zhong for Taichi? If you don’t get going now, Mr. Zhong will mock you for being late again.”
Old Master Ye glanced at Ye Linhan with complicated emotions in his eyes. At last, he averted his gaze. “Alright. Shen Yue, I’ll see you another day.”
“Take care, Old Master Ye.”
After Old Master Ye left, Shen Qi realized that her back was covered with a thin layer of cold sweat due to his stern gaze.
That couldn’t be helped because his gaze was too sharp and fierce. Besides, Shen Qi was afraid that he would discover her identity whenever she faced him.
Ye Linhan approached her. “Are you alright?”
Ye Linhan…
Shen Qi wasn’t mentally prepared to face him. Therefore, she avoided his gaze when she heard his voice and stared at her own feet while turning away to leave.
“Shen Qi!” Ye Linhan called her anxiously when he saw her turn away and leave without even greeting him.
Shen Qi paused.
Ye Linhan’s voice sounded helpless. “Are you hiding from me?”
Shen Qi was rendered speechless.
She just wasn’t sure how to face him because this matter was beyond complicated.
She felt that she was schemed by Heaven. Perhaps she was destined to be sacrificed as a pawn on the chessboard of fate.
Thinking of that, Shen Qi closed her eyes and replied softly to him with a ‘no’ before resuming walking.
Unexpectedly, Ye Linhan stepped forward and blocked her way.
“If you’re not hiding from me, why don’t you have the courage to even look at me?”
Shen Qi exclaimed inwardly, Can you please leave now? I really didn’t know what to feel when I’m facing you!
At this moment, Ye Linhan, who was usually gentle, just wouldn’t let her off. “Did I do something wrong that annoyed you? Or—”
“No!” Shen Qi suddenly raised her head and cut him off. “Linhan, stop overthinking. It’s my problem! I need to rush to the office, so please excuse me.”
After that, Shen Qi strode past him.
Ye Linhan looked to the side and watched as that petite figure marched away rapidly.
It seemed like she indeed regarded him as a great scourge.
After her figure vanished from his sight, Ye Linhan suddenly came back to his senses and realized that he seemed to have been paying a lot of attention to her lately…
However, why was she hiding from him? And what did she mean by it was her problem?
When Shen Qi arrived at the company, she was already late. However, she didn’t have the time to fuss about that and went directly to the office to find Ye Moxuan.
Yet, she was blocked by Xiao Su right before she entered.
“Assistant Shen, you can’t go in.”
Shen Qi’s face became ashen. “I need to speak to Ye Moxuan.”
Xiao Su replied, “Young Master Ye instructed that you are no longer allowed to enter his office freely. Please don’t make it hard for me.”
Shen Qi was speechless.
She didn’t know that her unintentional words would spark such a great rage in him.
“And you’re no longer Young Master Ye’s assistant from today onward.”
“What?” Shen Qi widened her eyes in disbelief. “What do you mean?”
Although it was cruel, Xiao Su had to tell her the truth. “You were demoted by Young Master Ye.”
S-She was demoted….
Shen Qi couldn’t help but gulp. After moving her pink lips, she asked helplessly, “Then what is my role in the future?”
“C-Cleaner.”
A cleaner? Shen Qi’s face turned pallid instantly.
How was that a demotion? It was equivalent to chasing her out of the Ye Group! What would others think of her if she was demoted to a cleaner from an assistant?
“Or you may choose to work as a common staff at the lowest rank, but you will hear a lot of comments there.”
In other words, being a cleaner would be extremely laborious, but there wouldn’t be many people.
On the contrary, the role of a common staff would be easier but there would be many ears and eyes. Besides, she was demoted to that role, so she would certainly be bullied.
Looking down, Shen Qi laughed at herself. “Why didn’t he fire me directly?”
Xiao Su replied with a serious face, “Young Master Ye wanted to dismiss you directly as well. But Miss Shen, don’t forget that you still owe your salary to the company, so you must stay here and work until the agreed date.”
Shen Qi said, “He’s indeed careful and meticulous. Alright, I got it.”
He probably wouldn’t listen to a single word even if she explained herself now.
Only then did Shen Qi realize that Ye Moxuan was truly mad at her this time because in the past, he had never gone to this extent regardless of anything. Now, he had actually demoted her.
Obviously, he was announcing to the whole company that even if there were rumors about him and Shen Qi’s relationship previously, it was not valid now.
No one was protecting Shen Qi and anyone could bully her.
“M-Miss Shen.” Looking at her desolate figure while she turned away, Xiao Su couldn’t help but call out to her. “You hurt him deeply this time. Young Master Ye hates those remarks the most.”
“I know.” Shen Qi nodded. “I acted out of anxiety at that moment and he refused to listen to my explanation. But it seems like it doesn’t matter anymore. I’ll go to work, but let me pack my things first.”
After that, Shen Qi returned to her desk to pack her things.
Looking at her from the side, Xiao Su couldn’t help but sigh. They were husband and wife, so why had things ended up this way? The relationship between a man and woman was indeed strange…
Even Xiao Su couldn’t understand that.
When Shen Qi told Yan about her demotion during lunch in the afternoon, Yan almost exploded.
“How is that possible? Doesn’t Young Master Ye care for you the most? Why are you suddenly demoted? I don’t believe it. You must be joking with me!”
Shen Qi smiled bitterly while jabbing the rice in her bowl with her chopsticks, having no appetite at all. “Do I look like I’m joking?”
