“What? Are you not going to answer me?” Xuan Hui hissed in irritation.
“CEO Xuan, our team did our best to filter all those news but…for some reason, there were a lot of articles that were released together. Hence it took us a longer time to go through all of them. We reported some of them but it also took a while before they were taken down from the internet,” the head of the IT department reasoned.
Xuan Hui gritted his teeth in annoyance. He wanted to vent his frustrations on them but realized that it was pointless to waste any more time with these people in front of him. He still needed to think of a solution for this sticky situation. “Out!” he ordered, sending his employees out of his office. “GET OUT ALL OF YOU!”
Xuan Hui took a deep breath before he closed his eyes and leaned into his chair. All he could think about was how to save Qin Fei from his mother’s wrath. For Xuan Hui, it didn’t matter if Qin Fei’s reputation made it impossible for her to remain in the entertainment industry, because she could just retire from being an actress. Qin Fei could then concentrate on taking care of their son at home or build up her fashion brand. He believed that people would eventually forget this matter and Qin Fei could still shine in the fashion industry.
However, the Yang family was a different matter. Since the Yang family was in the military sector in Mainland China, they valued their reputation above all. How could they accept that they were relatives with a family of criminals in Hong Kong? Xuan Hui was sure that tongues would start wagging and the Yang family wouldn’t just sit back and take this insult. Xuan Hui truly had no idea how to resolve this matter.
Xuan Hui furrowed his brows and massaged his temples. For some reason, he had been feeling irritated a lot lately. Aside from the Tang family’s affair, Qin Fei had also been ranting about how he had not defended her from his own mother enough. In fact, they had another fight about this matter last night.
Though Xuan Hui did not like fighting with his wife, Qin Fei crossed his bottom line when she started cursing his mother. He instinctively raised his voice at Qin Fei which shocked her to tears. Last night was the first time that he had raised his voice at her. Qin Fei cried so much until she had difficulties breathing. In the end, Xuan Hui didn’t have an ounce of sleep as he spent the whole night pacifying his wife.
Xuan Hui had always known that his mother would eventually become an issue between him and Qin Fei. He knew that Qin Fei had been silently enduring all of his mother’s scolding before because she felt that she didn’t have a say in the Xuan family. However, Qin Fei’s view changed when she became pregnant. The fact that she was carrying a Xuan inside her emboldened Qin Fei to show her displeasure. Eventually, Qin Fei even started to question Xuan Hui if he truly loved her. These questions turned into lengthy discussions which eventually led to arguments.
A loud sigh echoed inside his office as he felt his head ache even more.
“CEO Xuan…” The timid voice of his secretary woke him up from his stupor.
“What part of ‘get out’ don’t you understand?” he snapped.
“I…” Tang Biyu was quick to lower her head as tears welled in her eyes. “Madam Yang wanted to talk to you and I…”
“Stupid! Tell Mother that I am in a meeting and that I am not available!” he said in a stern voice before he closed his eyes again. He then remembered what had happened between them at Fashion Week and his face became distorted. Since that night, Tang Biyu became different.
Tang Biyu used to act apathetic in front of Xuan Hui. Even when Tang Biyu flirted with him in the past, she would cleverly hide her intentions behind ‘official business’ and wouldn’t be too obvious with her advances. However, after what happened that night, Tang Biyu started to act as if… as if she mattered to him!
Now, a single yell would make her cry and run away like a schoolgirl which annoyed Xuan Hui. The woman was adding more problems to his already chaotic life.
“But CEO Xuan… Madam Yang…”
“I said to tell her that I am not available!” Xuan Hui yelled, making his secretary tremble. This sight of her irritated Xuan Hui even more.
“Is this how you treat people who work under you?” Xuan Hui immediately jolted up from his seat when he heard his mother’s voice outside of his door. Then a realization hit him. No wonder his dumb secretary acted like a delicate flower just now. She wanted to gain Yang Lina’s sympathy! ‘What a scheming bitch!’ Xuan Hui cursed inwardly as he narrowed his eyes at his secretary. ‘Since this woman wants to play games, he shall give her the game of her life.’
Then Yang Lina entered his office with the same stoic expression that she always had on her face. “Bring me a cup of coffee. No cream, one cube of sugar,” she said before walking towards Xuan Hui. Tang Biyu side-eyed Xuan Hui and gave a slight bow to Yang Lina before making her way out of the office.
“M-Mother…”
“Save it,” she answered, her eyes on the plaques and awards that were displayed behind Xuan Hui. “That is not what I am here for.”
“Hui… I am very disappointed in you right now,” she added as her eyes scanned across the display of awards and plaques behind her son before meeting his eyes. “As someone who works in the entertainment industry, the least you could do is to control the situation.”
“Mother… I tried to… I really did. But for some reason, someone posted it on various sites and…”
“I am not here for your explanation.” Once again Yang Lina interrupted her son. “Your grandfather and uncles were furious when they found out about this. They wanted you to divorce Qin Fei as soon as possible.”
Seeing the look of shock on her son’s face, Yang Lina continued, “Don’t worry… We’ll still take the child once he’s born. We will give Qin Fei money and some properties as compensation.”
“No!” Xuan Hui objected, rising from his seat. “I am not leaving Qin Fei.”
“I am not asking, Xuan Hui,” Yang Lina calmly said. “Having her name in our family tree will sully our family’s reputation and I will not allow that to happen.”
“Hah! So all this time, all you had been thinking about was your family! Family this, Family that! Can’t you think about me and my feelings for once Mother?” Xuan Hui raised his voice, surprising his mother. Yang Lina had always been tough on her son but this was the first time that he had raised his voice at her.
But Xuan Hui’s question made Yang Lina speechless for words. How could her son not see that whatever she had done was all for the interest and welfare of the Xuan and Yang Family?
“I am not divorcing Qin Fei,” Xuan Hui repeated, his voice full of finality. “There is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise.”
Xuan Hui then went back to his chair to sit down and compose himself. Unbeknownst to Yang Lina and Xuan Hui, Tang Biyu had been standing outside and eavesdropping on their conversation. She even recorded their conversation on her phone.
‘If Xuan Hui won’t divorce Qin Fei, how about she let Qin Fei know what happened at the Fashion Week?’ Her lips lifted into a small evil smirk before she sent the recording to someone else. Then she cleared her throat and knocked on the door. After waiting for a while, Tang Biyu entered the office with a gentle smile on her face.
“Here is your coffee, Madam. Is there anything else that I can help you with?” She bowed at Yang Lina as she waited for her further instructions.
…
Editor: Swaning
