Fengxing Entertainment, Director's Office.
Liang Xiaoyuan sat in his chair, his thick eyebrows furrowed and a serious expression on his face. On his desk was a stack of newspapers, all featuring photos. In the photos, Liang Xiaoyuan was wearing a trench coat, tightly shielding a girl's head within.
"Director," his secretary stood in front of him, speaking cautiously.
Liang Xiaoyuan finally looked up, "How's the investigation going?"
"Chen Xiaoyong didn't come to the company today since she has no scheduled activities. Miss Shen is in the assistant's office. She was just called to the general manager's office by Manager Xia, but she should be back by now," the secretary replied honestly.
Liang Xiaoyuan was taken aback, "Did you say Xia Zixuan?"
"Yes, that's correct, General Manager Xia," the secretary confirmed.
"And what about the other matter? Did you find anything?" Liang Xiaoyuan had felt something was amiss after receiving the news in the morning, so he had immediately sent his secretary to investigate.
"Apologies, we haven't found any information yet," the secretary said.
"You can go now," Liang Xiaoyuan said, unable to hold back any longer. He put on his suit jacket and left the office. His assistant stared at his back in amazement, as it was the first time she had seen the director so visibly anxious.
"Good day, Director Liang," the general manager's secretary greeted Liang Xiaoyuan first.
"Is General Manager Xia in?" Liang Xiaoyuan asked directly.
"The general manager is in his office. You can go right in," the secretary said.
Liang Xiaoyuan hurried to Xia Zixuan's office, but unfortunately, Shen Tong had already left.
"Director Liang, do you need something from my office?" Xia Zixuan looked at Liang Xiaoyuan expressionlessly, then continued reading the documents in his hands, seemingly indifferent to Liang Xiaoyuan's presence.
"Manager Xia, I think it's necessary for us to talk about Shen Tong," Liang Xiaoyuan said, ignoring Xia Zixuan's attitude and speaking directly.
Hearing Shen Tong's name, Xia Zixuan finally looked up, his tone still nonchalant, "Go on."
"Xia Zixuan! Let me warn you, you'd better not mess with Shen Tong!" Liang Xiaoyuan was infuriated by Xia Zixuan's indifferent attitude, even calling him by name. "Don't think I don't know it was you who brought those reporters!"
"Liang Xiaoyuan, even if it was me, so what?" Xia Zixuan finally put down his documents, his gaze sharp and mocking. "Why? Do you think you can tell me what to do just because you're my 'brother'?"
Surprisingly, Xia Zixuan admitted it outright. Liang Xiaoyuan had only been guessing, but to hear Xia Zixuan actually confirm it left him stunned.
"You can target me, but leave Shen Tong out of it!" Liang Xiaoyuan's eyes reddened at Xia Zixuan's mocking words. "Shen Tong has done nothing to you, you have no reason to take it out on her! And I never considered us to have any relationship!"
"If we have no relationship, then why are you at Fengxing Entertainment? I don't care if you want to promote Xie Sangyan, but what does Shen Tong have to do with you? What right do you have to challenge me?" Xia Zixuan's anger was even greater than Liang Xiaoyuan's. The relationship between the two was far more complicated than it appeared.
Looking at Xia Zixuan, Liang Xiaoyuan felt like he was seeing someone else entirely. "It seems I misunderstood. You're not targeting me; you're targeting Shen Tong! Do you like her?"
"Why, do you think I'm not qualified?" Xia Zixuan's tone was cold and indifferent. Lately, he had been paying more and more attention to the girl with X-shaped legs. He even went out of his way to create opportunities to see her. These irrational actions were something the old Xia Zixuan would have scoffed at, but now, he was doing all of them.
"But you shouldn't hurt her!" Liang Xiaoyuan felt even worse after Xia Zixuan's veiled confession. Knowing Xia Zixuan wasn't trying to harm Shen Tong didn't make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel even more agitated.
"Why don't you just stay away from her!" Xia Zixuan's expression remained calm, as if he were discussing the weather. But if one looked closely, they could see his hand gripping his pen so tightly that his knuckles were white.
Liang Xiaoyuan laughed bitterly instead of getting angry, "It's impossible for me to stay away from her. Even if you begged me, I wouldn't!"
"Do you believe…"
"I don't believe!" Before Xia Zixuan could finish, Liang Xiaoyuan interrupted him. "I don't believe Madam Xia would approve of you being with Shen Tong. Moreover, Shen Tong might not even like you!"
"You make a good point. But if I can't have her, you can't either!" Xia Zixuan's eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous glint.
Liang Xiaoyuan didn't expect Xia Zixuan to be so unreasonable! His eyes filled with pain as he said, "If you harm her again, I'll tell Madam Xia, even if it means being called despicable!"
"Don't think that I will buy into your tricks just because my mother buys into them. Tell her if you want, it doesn't matter to me!" Xia Zixuan's eyes turned icy cold, "Is this the best you can do?"
"Xia Zixuan, why are you so smug? You were born into privilege, with a superior background, so of course you don't care about others. But Shen Tong is different. She's just an ordinary girl. She's had a tough upbringing and suffered a lot; leave her alone!" Liang Xiaoyuan's tone softened as he thought of Shen Tong.
Xia Zixuan's eyes flashed with surprise, "It seems you care about her more than I thought."
"You don't deserve someone as wonderful as her. I came here to tell you this. Goodbye, no need to see me out!" With those words, Liang Xiaoyuan left without looking back.
After Liang Xiaoyuan left, it took a long time for Xia Zixuan to recover. With a loud bang, he swept off all the documents on his desk. Even the teacups on his desk weren't spared, their crisp shattering sounds echoing his barely contained rage.
The secretary next door was startled by the noise and rushed over, only to see Xia Zixuan in a very unusual state.
"Manager Xia, are you…" the secretary whispered.
"Get out, all of you, get out!" For the first time, Xia Zixuan lost his temper in front of his employees. He was usually cold, but he had never been this angry. This time, his bottom line had been crossed.
"Yes, sir!" The well-trained secretary left the office promptly, carefully closing the door behind her.
Xia Zixuan calmed down again and fell into deep thought. He started picking up the documents he had thrown on the floor and, staring at them, whispered, "Shen Tong, you shouldn't have entered my world…"
But many unexpected things had already happened. Time continued to move forward, and fate would not grant second chances.