“Don’t panic and stay here. I’ll look for Qiangwei and update her about this.”
Gao Yun got to her feet and walked out of the office. As Cui Minli was left alone, she kept fidgeting as she was nervous-stricken.
On the other side, when Shen Qi went into Xu Liao’s room, she was greeted by the sight of him sitting at his desk with a smile as he said gently with his eyes fixed on her, “Shen, you’re here.”
Shen Qi put on a frown when she heard him. “Supervisor, how can I help you?”
Xu Liao kept staring at her with gentleness in his eyes. He thought the way he was looking at her was full of affection but in Shen Qi’s view, she felt as though her body was being dismembered in a terrifying way. Under his lewd gaze, a shiver ran down her spine and she could not help but urge, “Supervisor, if you have got no instructions for me, I’ve got to go!”
As soon as she turned around, Xu Liao rose from his seat anxiously. “Hold on. I just wanted to know whether the breakfast I prepared for you is to your liking?”
What the heck…
Shen Qi mulled over it and suddenly an idea hit her. Looking innocent, she countered, “Breakfast? I didn’t see any. Supervisor, if you have no work for me, I do have some work that I have to handle.”
Xu Liao sidestepped his desk, walked over and pressed his hand against the door handle to stop her from going.
The expression on Shen Qi’s face turned icy as she glared at him frigidly.
Just one glance from her was enough to make Xu Liao’s heart burn with desire. Grinning, he stared at her and asked, “Shen, what do you think about the matter that I’ve discussed with you several days ago?”
Shen Qi felt an urge to laugh out loud when she heard what he said.
“Supervisor, I’m pretty sure you already know the answer. Why are you still asking me that?” retorted Shen Qi icily with her lips pursed.
Xu Liao’s face changed slightly when he heard her. “What do you mean? Shen, are you turning me down?”
Shen Qi put on a frown and took several steps back to put some distance between them. “Supervisor, I’ve given you the answer to your question several days ago.”
“Shen, do you have any idea what you are talking about? Haven’t I already analysed the current situation for you? Although you had a fling with the president, he has already dumped you after all. Also, what’s so bad about me? If you stay on in my department in the future, you will be well protected by me by being my lover!”
“I don’t need protection from anyone, thank you.” Shen Qi directly pulled on the door handle as she was ready to leave.
Xu Liao exerted some pressure on the door handle and tried to persuade her again. “Are you not going to think about it further? Are you just going to turn me down so firmly?”
“Supervisor, please move away from the door,” snapped Shen Qi with an unfriendly face.
Having been rejected by Shen Qi for many times without having any respect paid to him, Xu Liao got slightly angry out of embarrassment. He snarled through gritted teeth, “You shouldn’t reject kind gestures from people while you’re offered one!”
Is he angry? Shen Qi lifted her head and glanced at him. “Step aside.”
“Since I am capable of protecting you, I could also make your life so difficult in the department that you will find it hard to stay on.”
“Is that so?” Shen Qi flashed him a subtle grin. “Is it just like what you did to me the first day I was here? You were just playing some petty tricks in the presence of the president. Supervisor, here’s a piece of advice for you—don’t lose the position you’ve fought hard for for years just because of a dispute with me.”
“You!” Her harsh words caught Xu Liao off guard. Just as his face was alternating from looking shocked to being pale, Shen Qi had already pulled the door open and left.
He could not help but curse at her back,“Just drop the act of being a cute little bunny. You’re just a woman who is dumped by a handicapped man. You should be grateful that someone still wants you. How dare you turn me down? Well, since you treated me with no respect, don’t blame me for what I’m going to do to you! Let’s see how you’re going to stay on here, b*tch!”
Shen Qi had no idea that her rejection would make him so angry and embarrassed. Yet, she had already prepared herself to face the consequences of her rejection.
Ever since she was demoted by Ye Moxuan, she had already gotten herself well prepared mentally.
No matter what came in her way, she would deal with them one by one and solve them with a calm mind.
After entering the password of her computer, Shen Qi adjusted her mood and got back to work.
During lunch break, Yan said excitedly, “The anniversary of the founding of our company is just around the corner and there will be a celebration. A grand dinner will be held at the Ye Residence as well.”
Shen Qi was stunned when she heard her. Did she mention a dinner?
“Everyone will be invited. Qi, have you thought of what you’re going to wear?”
“Me?” Shen Qi let out a laugh. “Right now, I’m just an ordinary staff member. Can I still attend the dinner?”
“Of course. It’s the anniversary dinner and everyone from the company is invited. You have no idea how fierce the competition was on the red carpet last year! It’s simply too frightening!”
“Competition on the red carpet?”
Shen Qi was rather surprised by the usage of such a term so she could not help laughing. “Are you sure you have not exaggerated it?”
“Of course not. Although the dinner is held by the Ye family, do you think the guests all come from the Ye family? Many others from the upper social circle will also be invited by the Ye family. If a girl could get one of the guys there as her boyfriend, she would no longer need to worry about her livelihood for the rest of her life, you know?” Yan explained.
Shen Qi was stunned for a brief moment before repeating what Yan had just said. “A girl would no longer need to worry about her livelihood for the rest of her life if she could get one of the guys there as her boyfriend?”
“Of course. If a girl could get any one of those guys there, she would be able to marry into a wealthy and prestigious family. Having married into such a family, what else would she have to worry about? All girls would want to be someone like that.”
“Are you one of them?”
Yan found herself unable to come up with an answer and it was only after being in a daze for a long while that she let out a laugh and condemned Shen Qi, “How could I be one of them? I would never pursue love in that way. I want a relationship where love is mutual. I would never marry a guy just for his money without having any feelings for him.”
Marrying a guy just for his money without having any feelings for him…
Wasn’t that a description of Ye Moxuan and herself?
She had married Ye Moxuan not for his money nor because she had feelings for him.
Nope, she was wrong about the money element. Right now, she was the owner of a mall and she had a lot of money.
At such thought, she pursed her lips but Yan suddenly tugged at her arm. “Should we head to a mall to check out the dresses after work? Let’s go to that one owned by Ye Group!”
Shen Qi’s face changed slightly. “Are you referring to that one?”
“Which other one could it be? Just that one which is super huge at Xuyin Road!”
Shen Qi was speechless.
Wasn’t that the mall Ye Moxuan had given her?
Was it just a coincidence or had Yan discovered something and was actually testing the waters?
“Why do you feel like going there suddenly?”
“Are you an idiot? The mall offers the best and most fashionable items in the entire North City. On top of that, that is the only place where you can get customized dresses and wedding gowns made by foreign designers. Are you always this uninformed?”
Shen Qi answered, “Yes, I don’t know much about it.”
Being the new owner of the mall, she actually knew nothing about it. “How about this? Let’s head over there after work. Can you also tell me everything you know about the mall?”
Yan nodded. “No problem. I’ll look for you after work then.”
Shen Qi returned to her department after they reached a consensus.
After work, she and Yan made their way to the mall at Xuyin Road.
Along the journey, Yan told her a great deal about the mall and some other closely related happenings. Shen Qi jotted down in her notebook occasionally as she listened.
According to Yan, almost all the best things in the entire North City could be found in this mall. Everything was of excellent quality whether it was edibles or inedibles.
It was all because the mall had a surname—Ye.
Numerous factories and designers fought hard in order to sell their products there, but because of the strict quality control in place, anything which did not fulfill the requirements or anyone who tried to bluff their way through would not be given a pass.
