"Is this how you do your work?! If you think the company needs a worker like you, you must be dreaming. What are you all doing? Redo everything!! I'll give you a week's time to sort this out. You better not disappoint me, or else— meeting adjourned!"
Without blinking an eye, Feng Jiu left the conference room and returned to her office.
Witch, Demoness, Asura— Feng Jiu was aware of all those name-calls behind her back, but she did not care about it. All that she had to do was to make sure that her grandfather's company would not go bankrupt and would continue to prosper.
"Madam, here are the recent reports about the stock market." Ming Yue placed the papers on the table.
Feng Jiu grabbed the folder and silently read the context. Few seconds later, her brows wrinkled in a tight knot. She could not help but slap the table angrily.
*slam*
"What is the meaning of this? Is Lu Corporation trying to monopolize everything?!"
Ming Yue and the two assistants flinched. Ming Yue saw her two assistants looked at her pitifully and could not help but sigh internally. 'Madam, you can't force them to stop if they don't want to.'
"The Lu Corporation is starting to get cocky. Do they think that they can crush my Feng International and replace us? Who's behind this? Is this the work of old man Lu?"
Feng Jiu organized herself and tried to suppress her anger. Lu Corporation and Feng International were not enemies in the business world because both companies had different line of work.
"No, Madam. Rumors that the eldest grandson of Chairman Lu will take over the company soon. After the change of management, they will undergo expansion and will enter our market this year."
Hearing Ming Yue's words, Feng Jiu inwardly cursed. 'Damn it!!'
Feng Jiu clenched her fists. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "How much time do we have before the Lu Corporation enters our market?"
Ming Yue fell silent. She was afraid to tell Feng Jiu the truth.
"Speak. How long?" There was no trace of emotion on Feng Jiu's face, but her words were full of coldness.
"Answering Madam, we only have a month's time left. Two months at most." Ming Yue gulped. She was afraid that anytime soon, all of them that were inside the office would die without a burial.
Feng Jiu did not speak but Ming Yue felt the chilling air effortlessly penetrated in every bone of her body. 'Urgh.. So cold… I want to go home.' Ming Yue wanted to cry but lacked tears to shed.
Suddenly, a laugher echoed inside the office. That laugher was full of malice which made Ming Yue and her two assistants involuntary cower together. The two assistants were trying their best not to fall from standing. Their legs were shaking badly. 'Uh..urgh.. Madam is so scary.'
"Hao! If they want to swallow everything, I, Feng Jiu, am not going to surrender without a fight. Since they wanted to trample my Feng International, they better prepare for the worst. This Lady is not easy to bully!"
Suddenly, Feng Jiu's phone rang. Looking at the screen, Feng Jiu saw her grandfather's name appeared on the screen.
"Yue, contact all the stockholders. Make an appointment for our emergency meeting three days later."
After giving some instructions to Ming Yue, Feng Jiu answered the call.
"Yeye[1]? What's wrong? Why did you call?"
"You, stupid child! Will Yeye only call because Yeye needs something?"
"….." Feng Jiu rolled her eyes internally. She did not respond to Feng Xuan Tian's question, making the old man cough a couple of times in order to hide his embarrassment.
'Having a strict granddaughter is really difficult, ah.' Feng Xuan Tian cried inside his heart.
"Ahem.. W-Well, Yeye has been thinking.. Ah Jiu ahh, when will you give me great grandchildren, eh? Can't you just stop working for the meantime and focus on finding a husband? If you don't mind, Yeye will help you!"
Feng Xuan Tian sounded so excited on the phone. All the grievance he felt suddenly vanished when he remembered the talk he had with his dear friend.
"Don't worry! If you are very busy, just leave everything to Yeye!! Yeye will select a fine young specimen for you! Yeye already has someone–"
Hearing her grandfather's words, Feng Jiu sighed and immediately stopped him from finishing his sentence.
"Yeye. Can you please stop it? I don't have any time right now. I'm busy with our business and–" she tried to explain but was cut off immediately.
"Feng Jiu!! I did not give the company to you so you could enslave yourself from working nonstop!! You are the only relative I have, and the only treasure Feng Mo left. I'd rather lose the company than let you become an old spinster!!" A series of light coughs could be heard on the other side of the call.
"Yeye! Are you okay??" Feng Jiu started to panic. Her parents died when she was young. She only had her Yeye as her family and if something happened to him, she could no longer continue living.
"Feng Jiu. *cough* My decision is final. Whether you like it or not, you will marry this year! Or else.. *cough* *cough* just forget that you still have a grandfather."
The phone call ended. All she could hear was the disconnection tone. She sat on the sofa and did not know what to do.
Feng Jiu silently looked at the window for a while. There, she saw a reflection. A woman that was full of indifference. Unlike any other women who were wearing beautiful dresses and exquisite makeup, the woman in the reflection dressed conservatively without any touch of loveliness a woman must have. One look and people could tell that this woman must be as boring as hell and not worthy of affection at all.
Feng Jiu sighed. She wanted to be normal. Who on earth would not want to dress up and be pretty? Especially for girls, being pretty gave you confidence.
Feng Jiu did not know when she started behaving differently. Being an orphan since young, she forced herself to mature early. Since she gave off a young and immature vibe, she decided to dress up like this to hide her child-like appearance. Who would have thought that it had been years since then?
She became indifferent and emotionless not only towards those people with malicious intentions but also those that surrounded her. It would be shocking if she suddenly 'freed' herself from the shackles.
Feng Jiu stood up. She walked towards the window. There, she saw that woman on the reflection once again. She reached her bun and loosened it up. Thick black hair suddenly fell behind her back. She reached her eyeglasses and placed it on the table. There, the woman she saw in the reflection a while ago transformed into a different woman in front of her.
Having a face that could evoke every man's desire and a pair of eyes that could speak a thousand words, the woman was very beautiful.
Indeed, a beautiful woman that was full of vitality and youth.
But who cares if she was beautiful?
Nobody knew that deep inside this outer shell of hers hid a girl who only wanted to be pampered and loved. A normal girl who cried while watching romance on Netflix, loved pink the most, drooled over handsome guys and hated cockroach to death.
Nobody.
Nobody could tell that the Demoness from hell, the Witch of their company was merely a camouflage to hide everything from those so-called relatives of hers. She already decided that she did not need anything. As long as she could protect her grandfather and his precious company.
Feng Jiu contemplated before calling her grandfather. It took five rings before it was connected to the other side.
"Yeye… I–… I will listen to you. I will marry the person you have chosen." She did not give him time to answer and immediately ended the call.
'Was my decision correct? Well, it doesn't really matter. But for once, before I marry someone I do not love, I want to experience being a normal lady with a normal life.'
Thus, finally, after who knows how many years, Feng Jiu decided to 'free' her true self and experience the glory of life.
———
[1]. Grandfather
———
Author's Side Note:
Thank you for reading The Witch CEO! This is a fast paced romance novel.
