“L-Linhan…” Shen Qi backed away in astonishment, preventing Ye Linhan’s hands from touching her. “What are you talking about?”
Ye Linhan did not avert his gaze; instead, he stared right into her eyes and let out a bitter laugh. “You’re so clever, so I’m sure you know what I meant?”
Shen Qi’s face went pale. Is he attempting to destroy what his own brother has built? Panicking, she stepped back while shaking her head, yet Ye Linhan held on to her shoulders forcefully. “You saw what happened last night. He never cared about your wellbeing. My heart aches for you, and I have no intention of letting you go through that again.”
“Let me go!” Shen Qi’s lips quivered as she struggled. “Even if Ye Moxuan does not care about me, it has never been your place to do so either. You are his brother for God’s sake!”
“I’ve held back for such a long time precisely because I am his brother!” Ye Linhan’s tone became harsher. He squinted his eyes, and the aura he emanated turned freezingly cold. “Based on what he has done to you, I would’ve stepped in way sooner if it wasn’t for the fact that he was family.”
Shen Qi’s lips froze, and her gaze was full of disbelief. How could this be? Does Ye Linhan fancy me? Perhaps he just pities me, seeing how I am living such a miserable life.
“I don’t want to see you hurt anymore, do you understand?”
“No!” Shen Qi seemed to have recalled something important, which led her to give Ye Linhan a hard shove. “We can’t do this. You are Ye Moxuan’s brother as well as my brother-in-law, so nothing will happen between us. I’ve come here today to inform you that I am doing great at my department and will not accept a transfer!”
With that, Shen Qi turned to dash out of the office. Ye Zi had been waiting outside the office, and Shen Qi nearly bumped into her while rushing out. She fled the scene after mumbling an apology to Ye Zi, thereafter the latter gave Ye Linhan who was still inside the office a perplexed look. “Vice President Ye, what happened to her?”
Ye Linhan stared at Shen Qi’s retreating figure and lowered her gaze with a bitter smile on his face. “I might have frightened her.”
“Vice President Ye, did you—”
“You should work on your tasks now. If she does not report in later, you will bring her over from her department.”
Ye Zi remained silent. F*ck! Did he just ask me to bring that girl over personally? Perhaps Vice President Ye does hold the girl in a different regard! She was finally getting the picture.
Shen Qi’s colleagues were rather surprised to see her return after her recent departure.
“Hey, why are you back? Shouldn’t you be working as the secretary now?”
“Yeah, why did you return?”
Shen Qi was not familiar with them, and she didn’t plan on befriending them as they were the very same people who saw her as the laughing stock when Gao Yun and Cui Minli bullied her. So, she merely shook her head and sat down without a word.
“Sigh. I heard that, other than the supervisor, Gao Yun and Cui Minli were also fired. What’s happening here? Shen, they usually bullied you and now, they are fired. Meanwhile, you’re being transferred to another department. Is everything related to you?”
“That’s right, Shen. Tell us anything you know. We’re pretty curious about it.”
“Come on, tell us.”
Everybody was throwing questions at Shen Qi. She was already feeling vexed, and all their questioning had further agitated her. It prompted her to stand up from her seat and give a snarky reply. “I am neither the one behind their discharge, nor am I the one who transferred myself. How am I supposed to know what this is all about? I only got to know of my transfer from you all! If you want to know so badly, why don’t you go ask the higher-ups?”
Her outburst surprised everyone, as they had no idea as to why she had lost her temper. As such, one of them harrumphed in disdain. “What the hell? Why are you lashing out on us? We were only asking you a question. You don’t need to put on that attitude even if you don’t want to answer it.”
“Pftt, who does she think she is to start blowing up at others as soon as she receives a promotion? With that arrogance of hers, it’s no wonder she was demoted, and she might as well end up being fired in the future!”
“That’s right. She used to be Young Master Ye’s assistant. Even though she is a full-timer by now, she is still at most Vice President Ye’s secretary. Who does she think she is?”
Shen Qi sneered upon hearing their quibbles and proceeded to sit down to work. Gao Yun, Cui Minli, Xu Liao are fired. This could be the handiwork of either Ye Linhan or Ye Moxuan.
It gave her a headache whenever she thought of them. She never would’ve thought that Ye Linhan would say that to her. Her relationship with Ye Linhan had been inextricable at best, and it was already complicated enough to sort out. However, he had just made things worse.
Shen Qi spent the following hours in a state of confusion with her mind all muddled up. While leaving the department at noon, Shen Qi spotted Yan, who ran over and latched on to her arm.
“Hey, I thought you wouldn’t be coming to work today.” Yan inspected Shen Qi from head to toe after that statement. “You can stand?”
“Why can’t I?” Shen Qi asked.
“Shouldn’t last night be intense for you and Young Master Ye?”
“What kind of delusions are you having?” Shen Qi found herself rather speechless.
“I’m not delusional. You were drugged last night! Facing a woman like you, how could… Is he…” She trailed off, but her eyes suddenly widened as she let out a cry, which attracted some attention. “Is Young Master Ye impotent?”
Shen Qi’s complexion changed, and her hand shot out to cover Yan’s mouth. “Don’t speak nonsense!”
Shen Qi only pulled back her hand when Yan blinked hard and shook her head. “You shouldn’t be asking about this, and it doesn’t concern Ye Moxuan. Let’s go get something to eat.” With that, she strode ahead with Yan trotting behind her.
“I don’t care. I have to ask you, and you will provide honest answers. Why are you Young Master Ye’s wife? Why do I have no knowledge of this?” It took Yan an entire night to swallow this piece of information.
Shen Qi’s head hurt at the mention of it as Yan had the uncanny ability to force answers out of her. As such, she helplessly said, “I’m also at a loss myself. It’s a long story, I—”
“Then, cut it short!“ Yan slammed on the table. “Organize your thoughts while you wait here. I’m going to get your meal, and you have to tell me when I get back.”
Yan ran off before Shen Qi had the chance to turn her down. Shen Qi could only stare at her scuttling figure with a sense of defeat. This girl is truly a whirlwind. However, she did owe Yan her gratitude. Yan had led Ye Moxuan to her; perhaps she was the one who found out about her disappearance and went to Ye Moxuan for help. If Ye Moxuan hadn’t shown up in time, she would be rescued by Ye Linhan, and if it did come to that, things would get really complicated.
