At this moment, on the top floor of Dingsheng Group, in the CEO's office.
Xie Yuan sat in his wheelchair with the entire financial and trade district of Shanghai City sprawling at his feet.
A white silk shirt hung neatly on him, outlining a perfect broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted figure.
The clean and cold aura he usually carried dissipated now, fully revealing the decisiveness and ruthlessness of someone in high power.
The office door was pushed open, and his assistant Jiangyuan walked in, bowing respectfully.
"Mr. Xie, Lu Yuanqiao has been cleanly dealt with, the Lu Family is willing to give up his shares as an apology,"
"They hope Dingsheng will be lenient."
The Lu Family, groveling at Su Zhen's feet, was nothing in the presence of Dingsheng's immense capital.
Although the other members of the Lu Family did not know how Lu Yuanqiao had offended Mr. Xie of Dingsheng, to save themselves,
they had no choice but to personally hand Lu Yuanqiao over to Xie Yuan as a gesture of sincerity.
They even offered up shares, all in a desperate bid for survival.
Normally, Mr. Xie would never bother with such a small business, but this time for some reason, he was determined to utterly annihilate them.
"They still have two months before the acquisition is completed,"
Jiangyuan understood this to mean they had two months to prepare for looking presentable when they went bankrupt.
Having finished reporting, he then saw Xie Yuan checking his phone, something he rarely did.
There seemed to be some dissatisfaction, as he frowned slightly.
"What do young girls like these days?"
Jiangyuan was startled. His BOSS was asking about young girls?
Good professional conduct and years of cautious following of Xie Yuan allowed him to recover quickly.
"Mr. Xie, may I ask how young the girl is? Is she of age?"
"23."
Xie Yuan pinched the bridge of his nose and put his phone aside.
"Money!"
It slipped out of Jiangyuan's mouth, accompanied by a professionally polite smile.
Aren't all young people these days in love with money? They even worship the God of Wealth above all others.
Xie Yuan paused, then relaxed his brow.
"Yes!"
That was what he had the most of.
"Also, 'knock', what does that mean?"
For a moment, Jiangyuan's perfect professional smile almost crumbled.
"Ah?"
Was it what he thought it meant?
Seeing a hint of genuine puzzlement in his boss's eyes, he steadied himself and racked his brain.
"It might be a kind of plant."
"It could also be a unit of measure, indicating a large amount."
Was it his imagination, or had his boss just chuckled?
————————
After leaving the mall, Su Miaomiao had the butler, Zhong Bo, drive her back to the old house.
The old house, located on the outskirts of Shanghai City, was a three-story villa nestled against the hills and by the water, with a small vegetable garden cultivated by the old master at the back.
Now, with the old master gone, the house felt somewhat less lively.
In the future, she would live with Xie Yuan in the Xie Family Manor, and she wondered if she could ask him for a few days off each month to stay here.
Her room was on the third floor, facing south.
A princess bed, lace curtains, the roses in the vase by the window had withered, and she removed and discarded them.
She took some clothes out of the wardrobe and packed them into her suitcase; it was already dark outside.
She wasn't hungry, nor did she have the desire to cook.
She fiddled with her phone briefly, wondering if she could ask Xie Yuan for an advance on her salary to pay for her grandfather's medical bills.
He had given her his phone number when she was in the car, for convenience of contact.
She tapped on the screen, but felt it would still be better to add each other on WeChat to talk more openly.
After entering the phone number, a pop-up appeared saying that the person was already her WeChat friend?
Could it be that she had been so busy today that she'd forgotten she'd already added Xie Yuan on WeChat?
Xie Yuan's WeChat avatar was a piece of calligraphy he had written himself, "Meow!"
The handwriting was bold, with an oddly cute vibe to it.
Who would have thought that the boss had this kind of style in private?
Just as Su Miaomiao didn't know how to start the conversation, her bank account suddenly received a transfer.
The receipt, 1000000.00.
She sat up sharply and opened WeChat.
[Xie, hubby, did you transfer the money?]
[Yeah, salary, there'll be a bonus at the end of the month, no need to thank me.]
Su Miaomiao came to her senses and realized she had made a typo; she had meant to say Mr. Xie.
What was this "Xie hubby" business?
Then, another message from Xie Yuan came in.
[Knock]
Su Miaomiao gritted her teeth; if it weren't for the fact that he was her sugar daddy.
She would definitely have cursed him out. What did he mean by cursing people at every turn?
Before she could reply to Xie Yuan's message, her phone rang.
It was her best friend, Wan Sui.
She quickly grabbed the phone and answered the call.
"Your Majesty, you finally answered the phone. I thought you'd gone on vacation with some boy toy and disappeared!"
Wan Sui was a fellow patient she had met while undergoing psychological therapy abroad. They were of similar age and both from Shanghai City.
Meeting in a foreign country, it felt like a destined friendship.
After returning home, they'd get together every now and then.
However, Wan Sui had recently gone to Switzerland for a vacation with her boyfriend; otherwise, Su Miaomiao wouldn't have needed to reach out to Xie Yuan because of her grandfather's situation.
Wan Sui seemed to have just woken up, her voice lazily sexy.
"My dear, don't be jealous. You should know that all those around me are just passing by, only you are the one and only."
"When I'm back in the country, I'll bring you a gift. By the way, how have you been recently? Has the Su Family given you any trouble?"
Su Miaomiao held her phone and lay on the bed, swinging her fair legs back and forth.
"No, I can handle it on my own..."
As she was speaking, amorous kissing sounds came from the other end of the phone.
Wan Sui breathed rapidly, chuckling lightly.
"Stop that, it tickles..."
Su Miaomiao's hand, which was twirling her hair, paused, instantly imagining what the two of them were doing.
"Gotta hang up."
Wan Sui pushed the young man away and sat by the window, lighting a cigarette.
"What's the rush? No man's waiting for you. I mean, you're 23 now, aren't you sure you don't want to find a guy and have some fun?"
In the past, Su Miaomiao would have scoffed at her theory, but remembering the pleasure Xie Yuan had brought her, she bit her lip.
"I've tried it, it's not bad!"
"What? Who took advantage of my absence and made off with my fresh and tender little cabbage?"
Wan Sui took a deep drag of her cigarette, exhaling a ring of smoke.
"Come on, spill the details. Was he 188 cm tall, 18 cm, lasting 188 minutes?"
Su Miaomiao blushed at her words, "It hasn't gone that far, but there is someone."
"He comes from a good family, has a lot of money, looks exceptionally good, and most importantly, he respects me enough."
Besides that night when she had taken the initiative, Xie Yuan had not overstepped any boundaries and had embodied restraint to the utmost.
On the other end of the phone, Wan Sui's tone suddenly turned grave.
"Sister, run for it..."