“To better control Shen Ruxue in the future, to some extent, Xie Qingyi was chosen as Shen Ruxue’s fiancée because she was the easiest to control. It was also to further assert his authority, so these people of the Shen family…”
The air in the study where the old mansion’s private discussions took place was thick with tension.
In the study of the Shen Family Old Mansion, the cold, hard surface of the sandalwood long table reflected the light.
All the elders who currently held the most authority in the Shen family, except those too far away to make it, were seated here, wanting to discuss how to handle Shen Ruxue now.
When it came to Shen Ruxue… this most capable younger generation member of the family, although they had entrusted most of the company’s power to her, they had never truly let go themselves.
They had always monitored everything she did.
They also saw her small, secretive maneuvers, including the fact that she had made no progress at all with her fiancée.
They knew all of it.
But in their eyes, these were minor issues.
As long as Shen Ruxue could still accept their arrangements, everything else was trivial.
But today, Shen Ruxue brought a strange woman into the company, acting very intimately with her.
They didn’t care what she did in private; such things had happened many times before, and they had long since become accustomed to it.
Strictly speaking, bringing someone directly into the company wasn’t a very serious problem either, since it hadn’t caused any adverse effects.
But the most serious part of this matter was that Shen Ruxue was slapping them in the face, making their arrangements look like a joke.
Old Master Shen sat in the main seat, his gaze sweeping over the few people sitting across from him.
“What do you think?” he said in a deep voice. “Come on, speak your minds. What do you all think about Xiaoxue bringing someone into the company?”
The old man sitting on the right, who looked very amiable, spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalance.
“In my opinion, this isn’t a big deal. We’ve all seen how Xiaoxue has been doing in the company these past six months. As long as she focuses on her work and having someone by her side doesn’t affect company matters, we can just turn a blind eye.
“Besides, Xie Qingyi hasn’t developed any real feelings with Xiaoxue anyway. If Xiaoxue really wants to switch partners, as long as she doesn’t cause a major disaster, what’s wrong with that?”
“You’re being too flippant!”
Before he could finish, an old woman interrupted him.
“What do you mean, ‘turn a blind eye’? If we keep retreating step by step, who knows how crazy this little girl will get later on. She’s still too young and doesn’t understand things, so we should teach her a lesson…”
But her talk of “teaching a lesson” at this point was laughable.
If they could truly control Shen Ruxue, they wouldn’t have had to step back in the first place.
“Discipline? How? If we push her too far and she walks out, who in the company can take over her work? You? Me? How many more years can these old bones of ours hold on?”
This statement hit everyone’s sore spot, and the study fell silent instantly.
Shen Ruxue was under twenty, yet she had conquered the toughest projects in the company.
Some of the old shareholders deeply admired her from the bottom of their hearts, because earning their admiration was simple: as long as someone could make them money, it didn’t matter who it was.
Who could replace her?
The answer was no one.
There were some mediocre talents who could barely be used, but compared to Shen Ruxue, they were worlds apart, simply incomparable.
Shen Ruxue was very useful, and her work ability was unmatched so far.
But this usefulness came at a price: Shen Ruxue was becoming increasingly difficult to control.
In truth, everyone expected that one day, once Shen Ruxue had fully taken over the company, the entire Shen family would become her one-man show, and her orders would be absolute.
Although she hadn’t yet achieved exactly what she wanted, to some extent, the entire Shen family was already at a loss as to how to handle her…
Now, no one could stop Shen Ruxue from returning to the place she wanted to be.
Shen Ruxue held Jiang Lai tightly in her arms.
As if sensing the increased strength of her embrace, Jiang Lai rubbed against her ambiguously again.
Her fingertips gently played with the hem of Shen Ruxue’s blouse, her soft voice carrying the residual nasality of just having calmed down.
“I won’t bother you anymore. Go back and process the documents. Don’t let work slip.”
Shen Ruxue looked down at the furry top of the head in her arms, her fingertips gently sliding through Jiang Lai’s hair, her eyes filled with an uncontainable tenderness.
She tightened her arms around Jiang Lai for another two seconds, then slowly released her, her fingertips still lingering reluctantly as they brushed Jiang Lai’s cheek.
“Alright, I’ll be right here. Call me anytime if you need anything.”
Jiang Lai nodded, watching Shen Ruxue turn and walk back behind the desk.
The genuine leather office chair made a slight sound as it was pulled out.
After sitting down, Shen Ruxue didn’t immediately open the documents.
Instead, she first looked up at her.
Seeing her sitting obediently on the sofa, no longer lost in thought, she curved her lips slightly, picked up her pen, and began to work.
Jiang Lai sat on the sofa.
She initially wanted to take out her phone to kill time, but when her gaze landed on Shen Ruxue, she couldn’t help but stare.
Shen Ruxue looked very different when she was working.
She had shed the gentle, soft words she used with her, and her brows now held a composed sharpness.
She looked down, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow under her eyes.
Her fingertips held a fountain pen, and occasionally she would slightly frown, as if pondering a key issue in the document.
Yet even so, that focus didn’t feel distant.
Instead, it radiated a reassuring reliability.
Jiang Lai watched for a while, then suddenly felt the sofa was a bit too far from the desk.
She wanted to get closer, but was afraid of disturbing Shen Ruxue.
Her gaze quietly swept around the room, and she soon noticed a small, light gray cloth chair standing next to the desk.
The seat wasn’t large, and the back was low; it didn’t seem like it was meant for temporary guests.
‘But who cares, as long as it gets me closer to Shen Ruxue than the sofa.’
She was leaving tomorrow.
Right now, Jiang Lai’s only thought was to spend a little more time with Shen Ruxue.
That alone was enough for her, enough so that when she left tomorrow, she wouldn’t have any regrets.
Jiang Lai’s eyes lit up.
She stood up quietly from the sofa, even the sound of her shoes brushing against the carpet was extremely soft.
When she reached the small chair, she deliberately glanced back at Shen Ruxue.
Seeing that she was still looking down at the documents, obviously not noticing her little move, she felt reassured and moved the chair a bit closer to the desk.
The small chair was very light.
Jiang Lai moved it to Shen Ruxue’s side with almost no effort.
She sat down carefully.
The seat fit her just right, and the height was perfect.
Leaning forward slightly, if she gently rested her head on Shen Ruxue’s lap, her cheek could press against the soft fabric of her suit pants.
Jiang Lai hesitated, afraid that this would affect Shen Ruxue’s writing.
So she only lightly rested her arm on Shen Ruxue’s thigh, her cheek pressed against her knee, trying to keep her movements as gentle as possible.
She looked up secretly at Shen Ruxue and found that she had finally stopped writing.
She was looking down at her, a trace of smile in her eyes, but no displeasure at being disturbed.
“Why did you come over?”
Shen Ruxue’s voice was very soft.
Her fingertips lightly landed on Jiang Lai’s head, slowly combing through her hair, her movements gentle, as if soothing a clingy kitten.
Jiang Lai felt a little shy, rubbing against her leg, her voice kept low.
“I wanted to be closer to you. This way… it won’t disturb your work.”
As she spoke, she deliberately shifted a little to the side, making sure she wasn’t blocking Shen Ruxue’s hand as she flipped through documents.
“Go ahead and keep working. I’ll just stay here like this and won’t talk.”
Shen Ruxue looked at her cautious demeanor, and her heart melted.
‘From this angle, Jiang Lai right now is as cute as a little kitten lying on my lap.’
‘Soon… soon…’
‘Nothing will be able to stop her anymore.’