For the next few days, Fu Chengyan fetched Shi Nuan to work. Every day, not only would she get off his car at the company’s main entrance, but Fu Chengyan would also wait for her in his car at the same spot after work. It was not possible for anyone in Shengyuan Group to not know their relationship. It was as if Fu Chengyan’s name was engraved on Shi Nuan’s body. Everyone knew Shi Nuan was his.
The employees did notice the sudden addition of Shen Qianan into their company too. But no matter how similar to Shi Nuan she looked, it was apparent to the entire company which of the two women had captured Fu Chengyan’s heart.
Everyone also betted on which of them would be the more spectacular one in the company. Most of the people were on Shi Nuan’s side. In the meantime, Shi Nuan was elbows deep in her mountain of work. She had no energy left to care about the rumors going on in the company.
Shengyuan was already more or less primed to engage in the joint project they had with Prosperous Group. For the past few days, Shi Nuan had visited Prosperous Group with Lin Yu to hammer out the final details. Nevertheless, even though the two companies were in agreement on the terms they had for each other, there were still internal affairs Shi Nuan needed to settle.
Upon returning from the Prosperous Group, Shi Nuan and Lin Yu heard the news that the old chairman was paying the company a visit. Yuan Jian rushed to Shi Nuan once she saw the latter. “Shi Nuan, just spill the beans! Everyone is talking about you and Mr. Fu. Aren’t you married? What is your relationship to Mr. Fu?”
Although Yuan Jia was well-versed in the art of gossiping, she still didn’t know what was going on between Shi Nuan and Fu Chengyan. All she knew was that Shi Nuan was a married woman.
Shi Nuan pursed her lips and pried Yuan Jia’s fingers off her body. She then sat down at her desk. “What kind of relationship do you think I have with Mr. Fu?”
Yuan Jia stuck out her tongue. “Aren’t you just going to tell me right away? I’m your best friend in the company!” Yuan Jia paused to think for a while before replying. “Everyone said you are Mr. Fu’s latest woman, but they didn’t know you are already married. I told them you are a married woman, so how could you-”
Yuan Jia came to an abrupt stop. Out of the blue, she held Shi Nuan’s hand in hers. All of her attention was on the plain ring on Shi Nuan’s ring finger. “Don’t tell me Mr. Fu is the guy you are married to!”
“Mmhmm!” Shi Nuan retracted her hand from Yuan Jia. “Hahaha! I can’t believe you only found out about it now!”
“What do you mean? It’s not like you told me before!” Yuan Jia acted as if she just saw a ghost. She swallowed and continued, “Is Mr. Fu actually your husband? Don’t lie to me! But your ring looks so…” Indeed, Shi Nuan’s ring was nothing out of the ordinary.
Shi Nuan had her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Okay, you know everything now. Let’s get back to our work, okay?”
“Uhm…” Yuan Jia had more questions, but Shi Nuan didn’t seem to be in the mood to entertain questions about her personal life. After Yuan Jia walked away, Shi Nuan rubbed the ring on her finger and sighed.
She was not excited to have Fu Zhengyun at the office. If anything, it bugged her that the man was now in the same building as her.
“Shi Nuan, come in for a second.”
Shi Nuan was daydreaming when Lin Yu summoned her. She put on a straight face and walked into Lin Yu’s office. “Mr. Lin, are you looking for me?”
“Please take this document to the twenty-seventh floor.”
“Okay.” Shi Nuan accepted the document from Lin Yu. Her eyes scanned the cover and she said, “Are these the documents for the project in Bay City?”
“Yep!” Lin Yu smiled. “Once we are done with the project in the North District, we will have to start on the project in Bay City.”
“Oh.” Shi Nuan nodded. “Then, I’ll bring this to Mr. Fu now.”
Shi Nuan reached the twenty-seventh floor just in time to bump into Zhou Zheng. “Mrs. Fu!”
Ever since Shi Nuan decided to go to work with Fu Chengyan, Zhou Zheng started to address Shi Nuan as the wife of his master. However, Shi Nuan was a tad bit startled. “I think it’s better if you call me by my name, Zhou Zheng. Is Mr. Fu here?”
“Yes, but…” Zhou Zheng seemed to have a lump of stone in his throat. “The chairman is also here too.”
Shi Nuan raised her brows. “Alright, thank you for telling me. Then, please help me pass this document to Mr. Fu.”
“Ms. Shi!” Zhou Zheng stopped Shi Nuan as she turned around to leave. “Other than the chairman…”
“Shen Qianan is also inside?” Shi Nuan wriggled her lips. Zhou Zheng was flummoxed. “How did you know?”
“I can tell from your expression.” Shi Nuan was not stupid. Fu Zhengyun rarely came to the company unless it was for crucial matters. Usually, he would show up at the office only when the board of directors was not willing to listen to Fu Chengyan’s ideas. Otherwise, there was nothing he needed to take care of at Shengyuan.
Nevertheless, Fu Zhengyun was visiting quite frequently as of late. It wasn’t because of work. Rather, he came here for Shen Qianan.
Shi Nuan knew what Fu Zhengyun was up to. He was trying to get rid of Shi Nuan by having Shen Qianan around. In fact, he probably thought Shen Qianan could replace Shi Nuan, since the former looked exactly the same as the latter. If Shi Nuan’s mind was any more fragile, she might be asking Fu Chengyan for a divorce now.
But Shi Nuan only scoffed. She was not someone who could easily be daunted.
All the years she spent at Shi family had built an impenetrable fortress of iron around her heart. Only the people she cared about could hurt her. The rest could not even touch her.
Zhou Zheng was puzzled at Shi Nuan’s nonchalance. “Are you not upset about it?”
“Of course I am upset!” But how will being upset help me in any way? ”Someone is eyeing my darling. How can I not be upset?”
Zhou Zheng still couldn’t quite understand Shi Nuan. While he was still in a daze, Shi Nuan whisked the document in Zhou Zheng’s hands away from him. “Bah! I’ll take the document to Mr. Fu myself. Mr. Lin said it’s very important.”
Zhou Zheng twitched his mouth. He was even more confused now. Still, he gave Shi Nuan a word of advice. “I think the chairman’s birthday is in two days’ time.”
Shi Nuan arched one brow. “Oh, really?”
“Yes. Every year, the Fu family will have a big celebration for the chairman’s birthday. It’s not like they are trying to show off their wealth, though. Old Master Fu just loves having lively occasions.”
Shi Nuan sniggered. “Yeah, he sure likes lively arguments too. Alright, Mr. Zhou. I should not bother you anymore.”
Shi Nuan headed in the direction of Fu Chengyan’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Fu Chengyan’s voice was deep and sturdy. Shi Nuan could not sense the atmosphere of the room from his tone. She pushed the door open and saw Fu Chengyan engrossed in work at his desk. Fu Zhengyun and Shen Qianan were sitting to one side. At the moment, Shen Qianan was making tea for Fu Zhengyun. It seemed harmonious in the room.
However, Shi Nuan’s knock had interrupted the three of them.
Fu Chengyan lifted his head. When he saw Shi Nuan, the light in his eyes wavered slightly. “You have something for me?”
Shi Nuan strode into the room. Her eyes were fixated on Fu Chengyan the whole time. “Mr. Lin asked me to pass you this.”
Fu Chengyan browsed through the pages of the document. “Lin Yu seems to be doing better in his job. I just asked him for this two days ago, and he’s already done with it.” Fu Chengyan closed the folder. “How’s the discussion going on over at Prosperous Group?”
“Everything is already finalized. Once we receive the first batch of funding, the work will commence. Since Li Heng is not here, Liang Lin is helping Li Xufan to manage the Prosperous Group. He seems to be doing well.”
“Alright!” Fu Chengyan nodded before taking out another set of documents from his drawer. “Please pass this to Lin Yu. Inform him to get started on this project as soon as possible. It has already been delayed for quite a long time.”
Shi Nuan nodded. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave now, Mr. Fu.”
Up till the instant Shi Nuan was leaving, she didn’t turn to face Fu Zhengyun and Shen Qianan at all. But Fu Zhengyun couldn’t hold it in himself anymore. “Wait!”
Shi Nuan’s hand slipped from the door handle. She turned her head to look at him. “Chairman, you’re asking for me?”
“Yeah. There are only a few of us in this room. Who else am I calling?”
Shi Nuan smiled politely. She closed the door properly before approaching Fu Zhengyun. “Chairman, is there anything I can help you with?”
“Can’t I just have you come over for nothing?” Shi Nuan was a thorn in Fu Zhengyun’s side. “Who taught you your manners? Why didn’t you greet me earlier?”
Shi Nuan’s smiling eyes stared into that of Fu Zhengyun’s. “Nice to meet you, Chairman!’
“You! Are you not clear of Shengyuan’s rules? No one can come up to the twenty-seventh floor out of their own accord.” It was obvious that Fu Zhengyun was just trying to make Shi Nuan’s life difficult.
Yet, Shi Nuan kept a cool head. She glanced at Fu Chengyan and noticed that he was buried in work. She then turned back around to face Fu Zhengyun with a broad smile. “Of course I know about the rules. I abide by the rules of our company all the time. Please allow me to explain myself. I was summoned here by Mr. Fu himself. If he doesn’t wish to see me, I will leave right away. Anyway, even though I have only joined Shengyuan for a short time, I still know the rules well. Other than the board of directors and Mr. Fu himself, the only other people who can enter this room are the head secretary and Mr. Fu’s personal assistant. After all, there are so many confidential documents stored here. You know what I am talking about right, Ms. Shen?”
Shen Qianan’s face stiffened. “Yes, of course!”
Shi Nuan grinned. “Good to know that! How smart you are to be familiar with the rules despite joining us just not long ago! Then allow me to give you a pop quiz! Ms. Shen, do you know what’s the punishment for breaching the rules?”
“That’s enough!” Fu Zhengyun was aware of what Shi Nuan was trying to imply.
Fu Zhengyun came to the company to see how Shen Qianan was doing. To his disappointment, even though he had placed Shen Qianan on the twenty-seventh floor, Fu Chengyan only assigned her the lowly job of a junior secretary as the man knew what the sly old fox had in mind.
Recently, Fu Chengyan even took things up to the next level with Shi Nuan. They were literally together the moment they stepped out of the company and were basically trying to show the world that they were together.
Fu Zhengyun was not going to let Shi Nuan have her way. The purpose of his trip today to the office was to set things up for Shen Qianan. He wanted to appoint Shen Qianan the role of Fu Chengyan’s personal secretary, who would be in charge of his life on a daily basis.
Nevertheless, Fu Chengyan didn’t pay heed to anything Fu Zhengyun said.
He just sat there at his desk, working hard and completely ignoring Shen Qianan’s and Fu Zhengyun’s presence in his office. Once Shi Nuan turned up, his expression had softened at once. Fu Zhengyun knew it was Fu Chengyan’s way of protesting against his wishes.
“Oh my, I hope I didn’t cross any line! I am sorry if I did! Anyway, it’s still office hours. It’s best if I return to my work. Chairman, please allow me to take my leave if there’s nothing else. I need to keep up with my work. After all, I am working to feed my man and my family. Perhaps it’s a concept many will not understand,” said Shi Nuan.
