The sound of a man's sobbing voice continued to echo inside An Qing's CEO office disappears over time as silence replaces it.
Yue Ling sat on the couch as Tong Biao remained seated on the opposite couch. She stares at the man, who had stopped crying and couldn't help but feel guilt for his pain.
If she had speed up her plans, would she have stopped the suffering of her employees?
Would she have been able to prevent those snakes from causing any more harm than they already have?
"CEO Han…"
Amid her thoughts, Tong Biao's shaking voice surfaces. She looks at him and is met with a pair of eyes swollen from crying.
She smiles a small sigh at how exhausted Tong Biao looked.
"Mr. Tong, you don't have to be formal with me. Miss Han is fine."
Tong Biao smiles in return, but one can see the pain in his eyes. He looks behind Yue Ling to the empty desk.
"Mr. Chen was a good CEO. He always treated his employees with respect, despite the difference in their position."
He inhales a shaky breath but maintains his smile.
"Even when all the employees leave home, he would stay behind and help me clean."
A faint chuckle escapes his lips as he recalls the past.
"He was a good man."
"He often spoke about you. I thought it was out of admiration because you are a well-known figure and the face of An Qing and De L'amour."
His head nods a few times like he finally realized something.
"But now I understand. You are the real CEO of this company."
Yue Ling didn't say a word but listens as Tong Biao tells her about the past. Despite when he was no longer in the room, her eyes remained on the opposite couch.
* knock knock
"Boss, it's me."
Her silent daze was disturbed by a knock and Liu Shan's voice. She finally looks away from the opposite couch and stares at the door.
Liu Shan doesn't wait for a response and enters the room. He didn't forget to take a glance around before settling his eyes on his boss.
"Everything here has been dealt with, and I sent Secretary Jiang back to De L' amour. I also asked Mr. Tong to turn on the heaters for the lower floor levels."
"I don't know why you are letting them off easily, but I've got eyes on them to make sure they don't take your generosity for granted."
He heaves a long sigh and tilts his head back to rest against the couch. He stares up at the ceiling with millions of things on his mind.
"Now that we are done here, should we head back to De L'amour too?"
Yue Ling stares at Liu Shan without answering right away. In her eyes, he is the perfect assistant without any flaws in whatever he does. However, if one were to see his posture, they would most likely consider him a delinquent.
"Let's go. There's still matters to take care of."
Her words fell as she stood up from her seat. She may have disposed of the snakes within An Qing, but that didn't mean her day is over.
"Boss."
Just as she stood up, a voice calls out to her. It wasn't Liu Shan but Qi Li.
Yue Ling looks up at the door while Liu Shan sits up and turns his head to look at the owner of the voice.
"What is it?"
Qi Li stood in front of the door upon entering the room. His expression was as cold as any winter day without faltering. When he heard his boss's question, he doesn't hesitate to answer.
"The board members wish to meet you."
Yue Ling nods her head in approval and looks at her assistant.
"Inform Lin Hui. Have him meet us in thirty minutes."
She looks back at Qi Li and gives him another nod.
Upon seeing her gesture, Qi Li doesn't stay any longer and walks out of the room. Liu Shan stares at his departing figure with blinking eyes.
He then gets up from the couch and grins at his boss.
"I'll get the car ready."
Yue Ling watched as Liu Shan walks away, but deep inside, she couldn't help but scoff at her assistant.
He ponders for a split second before smiling with his teeth.
"Mr. Liu, it's been a while."
He greets the elderly man with the same surname as him and then smiles at the group standing behind the man. They were the remaining board members who were still a part of An Qing.
Liu Yilong, the elderly man, stares at Liu Shan with a face void of emotions. Even the people standing behind him had unfriendly expressions no different from him.
Although he and Liu Shan share the same surname, neither were relative in any way.
He calmly raises one hand and fixes his round glasses in place.
"Mm. It's been a while."
He doesn't say more and walks over to Yue Ling. Behind him, the other board members did the same. Of course, each person didn't forget to greet Liu Shan.
His steps came to a stop when he stood three feet away from Yue Ling.
"It's good to see you, CEO Han."
Yue Ling stares at the elderly man in front of her. After a long second, she averts her gaze to the other board members from right to left.
Each person her eyes met with showed her the same gesture as Liu Yi long. She looks back at the elderly man, and the corners of her mouth slowly raise into a small smile.
"It's good to see all of you."
Liu Yilong's stern expression was like he was not inferior to the young woman. If one were to see him and the board members, one would undoubtedly think the situation just turned tenser.
However, to one's surprise, Liu Yi long's lower lip begins to tremble. His eyes became moist as he chokes a sob.
"Boss!"
He runs up to Yue Ling and hugs her like a child finally reunited with his mother.
"Wuu! What took you so long?!"
Yue Ling doesn't push the elderly man away but raises her arms and hugs him. Her expression softens, and she pats his back with one hand.
"I'm sorry it took so long. Everyone must have had a hard time here."
Her tone of voice held a warmth that touched each person's heart. Their cries did not lower down but seemed to increase louder.
Liu Yilong shakes his head and loosens his grip. He takes a step back as if to get a better look at Yue Ling.
He inhales a deep sniffle but couldn't stop his tears from falling.
"The only hard time we had here was holding back from destroying those despicable snakes."
"Mr. Liu is right about that."
A man in his late thirties intervenes from behind Liu Yilong. He walks up to stand next to the old man.
He wipes away the tears in his eyes as anger rises inside him.
"Those disgusting people went too far. When I learned that Wang Zhan was the perpetrator for the suffering the employees on the lower level went through, I wanted to rip him to pieces."
His fingers curl into tight fists, and the burning rage in him could be seen in his eyes.
"If it weren't for our promise to you, I would have put a bullet in his head."
Liu Shan didn't leave the room but stood by the door. He stares in bewilderment at the group of board members then at his boss.
He thought to himself for a quick second before turning away. He didn't need to be in the room and disappears out the door.
Yue Ling stares at the man in his late thirties. Like the reaction she showed Liu Yilong, she gave him a small smile. Not just to him, but everyone else as well.
"You've all held up well. I'm grateful to you all."
Each person standing in this very room looked like a professional board member of a company. However, what others do not know is that they are members of Fate.
Like the people at De L'amour, this group did not leave Fate. They are her people and the few who volunteered to be her eyes and ears within An Qing.
The only difference was that their communication with her was limited as they cannot give away their identity.
