Earlier that morning…
Assistant Qiao went back to Boss Yi’s office, contemplating if he should inform him what he’d seen outside. There was no mistaking that the young man he’d seen accompanying Second Master was their Young Madam herself.
For months of being married to their Boss Yi, Lu Xinyi had never dared to step inside the Shen Group. No one knew of the marriage’s existence aside from the Shens, their closest friends, and him… the demon’s assistant, Qiao He.
He’d been beside the demon king since their high school years that even after graduating with a bachelor’s degree and master’s, he stuck with Shen Yi, not bothering to find and take another path.
The first five years after joining the Shen Group were critical to Shen Yi, and it was Qiao He who helped him greatly to save the failing business of the Shen family.
They treated each other like real brothers although Shen Yi’s attitude would say otherwise. It was only Shen Yi who would take extreme measures to make sure Qiao He wouldn’t fall behind. Coming from a commoner’s family, the Qiao family had long served the Shens until Qiao He was old enough to serve the Young Master.
Qiao He could still remember clearly how he first met the young Shen Yi. Shen Yi was buttoning up his dress shirt when Qiao He introduced himself as his new assistant.
—Flashback—
“I don’t need an assistant. I’m capable of doing all by myself.”
“I beg to disagree, Young Master.”
Shen Yi stopped what he was doing and glared at Qiao He’s reflection in the mirror.
“Don’t call me that. There’s only one Young Master here, and that’s my Uncle Jincheng.”
Qiao He tried his best to calm down. Young Master Jincheng had already died years ago, and Shen Yi was still couldn’t get over this fact.
“Then may I call you, Boss Yi instead?”
Shen Yi didn’t respond for a moment but continue fixing his clothes.
“Do as you wish. As long as you wouldn’t be a burden to me, I expect you to organize my things and appointments. If you can’t handle all the things I ask you, you may take your leave and never show yourself to me again.”
—End of Flashback—
Shen Yi had treated him with respect, never pushing him to his limits and providing everything he needed. In return, Qiao He made sure that all of Shen Yi’s schedule and needs were organized in a timely matter, never conflicting with one another.
Because of this, Shen Yi only needed to focus on his work. He had Qiao He to update him with the outside world news and issues.
“Boss Yi, here are the records you needed,” Qiao He said. A hint of nervousness hinted on his voice. Boss Yi had an appointment with some clients from overseas that morning.
Shen Yi lifted up his gaze in an instant. His assistant gulped, hoping his Boss Yi wouldn’t notice; but his hope came crashing down with Shen Yi’s question.
“What’s happening? Someone arrived?”
How come he was able to hit the target?! Qiao He thought but scolded himself for underestimating Shen Yi. He smiled and pretended nothing was wrong outside.
“Qiao He…”
“Yes, Boss Yi?”
“Have you seen a smiling dog before?”
Qiao He was confused with Boss Yi’s question.
“I’ve seen one before…”
“Then, you must know what you look like at this moment.” Shen Yi resumed his work. “That’s the kind of face you show whenever you did something wrong or when you are hiding something from me.”
Qiao He wasn’t expecting that. It felt like his Boss Yi just delivered a fatal blow right through his chest. Was he really that obvious?
“Boss Yi…” ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Are going to tell me what’s happening, or do I need to hire someone to do your job properly?” Shen Yi replied without looking at his assistant.
“You can’t do that to me, Boss Yi!” The man’s eyes enlarged, and the hairs on the nape of his neck bristled. “Alright, alright. I guess I really have no choice but to tell you. I just didn’t think you will like it nor you find it important.”
“Are you going to tell me or not?” Shen Yi snapped at him.
His assistant choked and then softly mumbled, “Young Madam is here.”
Assistant He hadn’t thought that he would be able to say those in one breath.
“Xinxin is here?”
In an instant, Shen Yi stood from his seat, turned to his desk, and was about to storm outside to see if his assistant was telling the truth. Thoughts of why his Xinxin would choose to visit Shen Group came to mind, hoping that she was here to see him personally. They hadn’t seen each other for a week, and he was starting to regret accepting a ton of workloads these days.
Before he could open the door of his office, Shen Yi felt his assistant’s hand on his arm.
“What?”
Why was his assistant trying to stop him?
“Unhand me at once. I need to see my wife.”
“Indeed, she’s here, but Young Madam isn’t here to see you.”
Those words were enough to make Shen Yi stop and confront Qiao He.
“And why would she be here if it isn’t for me?” Shen Yi gave his assistant a pointed glare.
“It is just that… well…” Qiao He couldn’t find the words to explain the situation. Even he wasn’t able to find a good answer for that question. Lu Xinyi walked in with Shen Xue as a man and had taken the attention of Wang Zhuyi. Moreover, Lu Xinyi was acting quite intimately towards the young miss. What would his Boss Yi’s reaction be if he sees his wife flirting… flirting with another woman?
“See for yourself then, Boss Yi, and tell me how we should deal with it.” Qiao He opened the door and let Shen Yi go outside, making sure to follow him.
“Where is she?”
“She’s in a meeting with Second Master.” Qiao He then followed his boss at the corridor, but they didn’t have to wait to see Lu Xinyi when the conference room’s door opened with Wang Zhuyi and a slim handsome man stepped outside.
The young man grinned to the woman and offered an arm which the latter accepted with a blush. The two then walked towards the elevator and waited for the lift to arrive.
When Shen Yi saw the young man, he recognized his wife at once. His eyes were narrowed—rigid, cold, hard. He had been careful all these time and didn’t dare to meet any woman for her sake, and yet… here she was, picking up a woman in his own workplace like it was natural for her to do so.
Never did the thought crossed his mind that his little devil would be able to shut down a love rival by seducing the woman herself.
As he was forced to watch his wife flirt with Wang Zhuyi, the level of his anger slowly increased with every smile and laugh that Lu Xinyi gave to the other woman. Such an evil woman, stealing another woman’s affections just to eliminate her love rivals. Where did she even learn to flirt like she was natural? It couldn’t be something her friends taught her long ago, right?
Shen Yi looked gloomy and defeated at the same time. He wanted to run towards his wife and snatch him from her date, but he didn’t dare to do so. Trying to hold back his simmering anger, he watched as his wife left with Wang Zhuyi.
Once the women were out of sight, Shen Yi turned to leave and went back to his office.
“Qiao He, prepare a private car and cancel all my appointments for today.”
“As you wish, Boss Yi!”
He moved at once, not to delay his Boss’ orders. Lu Xinyi and Wang Zhuyi would leave the Shen Group’s premises, and they needed to follow them closely.
At that moment, Qiao He knew that a storm was brewing. He had seen Shen Yi look that way before; his eyes had deadness, stillness. The man who laughed in the face of challenges, the one who everyone thought the personification of the demon himself, had developed a hardness that could not be broken.
It was as if Qiao He could read everything his Boss Yi blamed in for in one extended glare, and forgiveness wasn’t an option for those who offend him. Perhaps if he hadn’t told her about Young Madam’s sudden visit, today would have been different between them.
This time would be difficult though. How would the demon king defend his wife from a love rival that was a woman? If Wang Zhuyi were a man, Shen Yi would only need to snap his fingers; and he would go down without a chance of getting back.
