Chapter 23

They finally settled on three rising tech companies. Shen Siyan said the culprit was definitely among them, and there was no need to rush, so Wei Xiaolu booked an early high-speed rail ticket to that city for the next morning.

So that night, they still went back to the apartment to rest.

But there was a difference. With her authority temporarily out of reach, Shen Siyan rarely had such a long stretch of time to operate on her own; Wei Xiaolu felt as if even the rhythm of the apartment had somehow slowed.

They bought some vegetables at the grocery store downstairs, then came back and set about making dinner for two.

In the evening kitchen, warm light spilled over the white steam rising from the pot.

Shen Siyan had changed into loungewear, the apron ties casually knotted behind her waist. Wei Xiaolu had wanted to help, but Shen Siyan pinned her in place with a single, “I’m cooking today,” sat her by the counter, and assigned her the tasks of “behave and wait to eat” and “keep me company and talk for a bit.”

When the dishes were finally on the table, it was just three dishes and one soup, but everything looked, smelled, and tasted excellent—far beyond cafeteria standards.

Shen Siyan even brought her a cup of yogurt.

She was mooching food and drink again.

Wei Xiaolu had nothing to repay her with, so she could only show her gratitude for the leader’s feeding kindness through exaggerated eating performances and nonstop rainbow praise.

Of course, talk was one thing, but she still had a bit of action in her—after the meal, Wei Xiaolu rushed to wash the dishes.

Shen Siyan didn’t go straight back to her room. She came over and leaned against the kitchen doorway, a glass of warm water in hand. Turning it in her fingers, she said leisurely, “Not bad today. You spotted the delivery slip and zeroed in on the park. Your reaction speed was really good.”

“Of course,” Wei Xiaolu said, straightening a little proudly. “Being with you today made my brain work so much faster.”

“Oh?” Shen Siyan laughed. “I have that effect?”

“I’m serious,” Wei Xiaolu said as she shook the washed bowl dry, the words slipping out before she could stop them. “You should keep me in your pocket and take me with you every day, or my IQ’s going to go offline.”

The cozy atmosphere seemed to freeze for a moment after that sentence, falling into a silence so still it was almost startling.

Oh no.

Wei Xiaolu’s face burned as the realization hit. How did she end up saying something like that to her boss? Put another way, wasn’t that basically: Boss, wherever you go, don’t forget to bring your capable little helper along.

Shen Siyan was probably startled too. It took a while before she let out a soft laugh.

“In my pocket, huh...” Shen Siyan touched the pocket on her loungewear. “Then I’ll have to see which pocket is big enough to fit such a smart little deer.”

Wei Xiaolu immediately smiled awkwardly and softened her tone. “It doesn’t need much space. As long as I can stay by your side, I’ll be very satisfied.”

Shen Siyan’s hand paused on the water glass, then she lifted it and took a sip.

“Little sister,” she drawled, “your mouth is really sweet today.”

Wei Xiaolu copied her tone. “It’s automatic when I’m by your side.”

“Tsk.” Shen Siyan clicked her tongue, then laughed.

Though it wasn’t easy to tell exactly what Shen Siyan was thinking, Wei Xiaolu could still tell from her expression that she was very pleased with that exchange.

That made a tiny slyness rise in Wei Xiaolu’s chest.

It was as if she’d discovered a crooked little trick for maintaining a good relationship with her boss.

The next day, the two of them took the high-speed rail. Wei Xiaolu wanted to take advantage of sitting close to Shen Siyan and say a few more nice things, but Shen Siyan picked up from what had happened the day before and gave her a whole-trip, low-voiced crash course on commercial dispute cases. By the latter half, Wei Xiaolu was already fighting to keep from dozing off, and thankfully a call from Tang Xiaofen saved her.

Wei Xiaolu tended to get carried away whenever she talked to her mother, but since they were on the high-speed rail, she still kept herself fairly restrained. Even so, it seemed she was still a little too wordy and too scattered, because Shen Siyan quietly looked down on her for it. By the time Wei Xiaolu was enthusiastically in the middle of a story, she glanced over and realized that CEO Shen had put on earbuds and was silently looking out the window.

“Mom, I’m almost at the station. I’ll talk to you later,” Wei Xiaolu said, ending the call at the right moment.

Shen Siyan also took off her earbuds and picked up her bag, ready to get off the train.

In the end, only three companies had been narrowed down. If they went one by one and things went smoothly, they could return that same day.

But Shen Siyan still took Wei Xiaolu to the hotel first to drop off their luggage before starting the “search operation.”

Wei Xiaolu was willing to call it “thunderbolt debt collection.”

Whenever Shen Siyan arrived at a company, she never lingered at the door; she just ignored any attempt to stop her and strode straight in with full force.

The first place was a small company that did web interfaces. After realizing they’d gone to the wrong place, Shen Siyan didn’t waste a second. She tossed out a quick “Sorry,” turned, and left.

They took a taxi to the second company. Wei Xiaolu borrowed Shen Siyan’s style and followed her in with her chin up and chest out, only to run into the real Luo Defa.

Wei Xiaolu instantly deflated.

She quietly glanced at Shen Siyan. Shen Siyan shot her a firm look, then held out her hand.

Wei Xiaolu passed over the contract and other documents.

Taking the evidence, Shen Siyan didn’t give Luo Defa any chance to wriggle out of it. She let out a cold laugh and said, “President Luo, we chose your company based on trust, but your company swapped in a substitute for the original arrangement, which caused us major losses. According to the breach-of-contract clause, you need to refund everything in full and pay liquidated damages.”

At first Luo Defa still looked fierce, clearly trying to worm his way out of it, but one glance at the contract and he immediately softened. “CEO Shen, your project really was somewhat difficult to implement...”

Shen Siyan wasn’t about to indulge his evasions. She chose the most economical way of speaking: cutting straight to the point. “I’ve already confirmed that the companies you had others register in your place all have low registered capital, and they’ve all seen frequent capital outflows recently.”

She produced another set of documents and slapped them onto Luo Defa’s desk.

“Whether you want to ruin yourselves over this mere 180,000, or choose to settle this peacefully, return the money, and end the partnership here, I think you’re a smart man.” She tapped the desk. “What do you think?”

Under that full set of threats, Luo Defa knew what mattered and what didn’t. He had someone bring tea, then began discussing the refund with Shen Siyan.

To keep the thief from slipping away again, Shen Siyan suggested using a third-party supervision account. Luo Defa had no objection. Once he notified finance to transfer the money, they could count it as a victorious first battle.

But Shen Siyan didn’t stop there. She also got from Luo Defa all the communication records he had previously exchanged with Zeng Cui, including everything about Zeng Cui instructing them to falsify qualifications and promising to split the proceeds afterward.

Everything had gone far too smoothly. Just after they came out of the company, Wei Xiaolu couldn’t stop herself from exclaiming, “CEO Shen, you were way too cool just now.”

Shen Siyan had already gone back to her usual easy warmth. She glanced at Wei Xiaolu and said, “We worked well together.”

“You only needed a few words to make President Luo fold,” Wei Xiaolu kept shamelessly flattering her. “I was standing next to you and felt relieved just watching!”

Shen Siyan smiled and waved a hand. “I expected the risk to be small. If there had really been much risk, I wouldn’t have had Ai Jin sign the expedited contract with them.”

Wei Xiaolu made a thoughtful oh-ing sound.

Looking at it that way, was the reason Shen Siyan had knowingly walked into the trap simply to earn that 20 percent breach fee?

She mulled it over all the way back to the hotel. She had thought the next step would be going to the bank to handle the co-managed account transfer, but unexpectedly, once they got into the room, Shen Siyan changed out of her elite business attire, turned back with a smiling face, and asked whether they wanted to go out and play or rest at the hotel.

Huh? Wasn’t she going to do the real work?

Wei Xiaolu blinked. “Is the money just going to stay in the third-party account? We don’t need to go get it?”

“Just leave it there,” Shen Siyan said lazily, leaning back in the chair and tapping at her tablet. She didn’t look like she was working; it looked more like entertainment. Then she said offhandedly, “We finally got out here. Let’s play for two days and handle it after we get back.”

“What?” Wei Xiaolu’s eyes went wide. “We’re staying here for two more days?”

Shen Siyan lifted her gaze. A smile spread at the corners of her mouth. Resting her chin on one hand, she said slowly, “What, are you only realizing now that I lured you out?”

Wei Xiaolu’s eyes lit up, and she put on a sweet smile.

“If it’s being lured out by CEO Shen, I’m happy before I can even be happy enough.”

Shen Siyan chuckled, perhaps deliberately teasing her. “Oh? So easy to lure?”

“It’s not that I’m easy to lure,” Wei Xiaolu said, blinking, her tone full of obvious logic. “It’s that when CEO Shen makes a move, there’s never anyone you can’t take down.”

Shen Siyan laughed out loud at that completely matter-of-fact praise.

She put down the tablet, walked up to Wei Xiaolu, and lightly tapped her forehead with a fingertip. “Is that taking you down?”

The instant her forehead was touched, Wei Xiaolu suddenly had a sense of inevitability. She thought that feeling came from having clearly figured out Shen Siyan’s bottom line for teasing and flattery, but when she slightly lifted her head and met Shen Siyan’s eyes, she realized this inevitability wasn’t hers at all. It was the kind of unchangeable fate that bound a planet to orbit a star.

She would be taken in by Shen Siyan not because she had chosen some particular path, but because from the moment she stepped into the Product Interaction Department, she had already fallen into the gravitational field of Shen Siyan’s star.

So after she half-jokingly said, “Yeah, I’ve been taken in by you,” Shen Siyan didn’t think there was anything special about the admiration. She only laughed and said a couple of words before turning back to her tablet.

That left Wei Xiaolu standing there by herself, rubbing her face.

In the end, they agreed to go out and have fun tomorrow; today they would just stay at the hotel and rest.

Shen Siyan sat in the chair reading on her tablet, while Wei Xiaolu lay on the bed by the window and idled away the afternoon playing games.

...She also wanted to find a novel to read, but she just couldn’t focus. Her mind kept wandering.

It was already a mess, and then Wang Chen came along to make trouble, popping up every few minutes to ask why she hadn’t come to work today. It annoyed her so much she almost wanted to delete him.

After she explained that she was out with CEO Shen chasing down a debt, the man finally quieted down a little and sent her a simple “Okay,” remaining unusually silent for a while.

However, half an hour later:

[Wang Chen: I miss you while I’m at my desk]

Wei Xiaolu: “......”

No matter how dumb, obtuse, or emotionally clueless a person was, they could smell Wang Chen’s interest by now. That was effectively forcing her to give some kind of response to it.

But Wei Xiaolu still felt that her cold, distant attitude toward him all along had been the best response.

It was his own fault for not understanding the subtext.

She might as well say it directly.

After much consideration, Wei Xiaolu sent Wang Chen a serious message: [Engineer Wang, there’s something pretty important I want to tell you]

[Wang Chen: Hold on, I’m playing basketball. I’ll call after I’m done]

A call? Oh, how capable of you.

Wei Xiaolu rolled her eyes at the screen.

“Little sister,” Shen Siyan suddenly turned her head, “should we order takeout for dinner or go out to eat?”

Wei Xiaolu quickly turned her face away so Shen Siyan wouldn’t accidentally catch her eye roll. “I’m fine with either.”

“Then let’s order takeout,” Shen Siyan said, picking up her phone. “I’ll order yours too.”

“Thank you, gorgeous lady.” Wei Xiaolu said gratefully.

She climbed down from the bed and went over to Shen Siyan to choose their food. After she finished, before she could even turn back to the bed, the call from the contact labeled Wang Chen came in.

Wei Xiaolu felt that Shen Siyan probably saw it. A little embarrassed, she scratched her head. “CEO Shen, I’m going out to answer a call.”

“Go ahead, little sister.” Shen Siyan waved her off.

After leaving the room, Wei Xiaolu kept walking until she reached the end of the hallway before answering.

She had wanted to imitate Shen Siyan’s directness today, but Wang Chen was too clingy. The moment the call connected, he launched into a full report about his basketball game that day.

Wei Xiaolu listened with sleepy resignation. Seeing that it still wasn’t a good moment to refuse him, she chatted about nothing for a few more minutes before finally, with some effort, dragging the topic back to the point.

“Engineer Wang,” she said as gently as she could, “right now all my thoughts are on work. I really haven’t thought about anything else.”

“Then you can start thinking about it now,” Wang Chen said with a laugh. “This kind of thing goes really fast after work.”

There was no reasoning with him. Wei Xiaolu stamped her foot in frustration.

After listening to him go on for a little longer, she paced back and forth a few times before deciding she had to be even clearer.

“Engineer Wang,” Wei Xiaolu said, no longer bothering much with wording, and simply splashing the plain truth across the line. “Let me put it this way: you’re not my type.”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds.

“That’s fine,” the man said shamelessly, even sounding amused. “I’m adaptable. Any type works for me.”

“I really don’t like someone like you,” Wei Xiaolu said.

“Then what kind do you like?” Wang Chen asked.

Wei Xiaolu blurted out, “I like someone like CEO Shen.”

Right after saying it, she didn’t realize there was a problem.

But in the long, cold silence that followed, panic suddenly hit her.

Bad. That example was wrong.

She shouldn’t have used someone around her as an example, and she shouldn’t have mentioned Shen Siyan. Anyone even slightly sensitive could probably guess her orientation from that.

Fortunately, the other person was thick-skinned. After a long silence, he seemed to decide she was just someone who worshipped power and money. He sighed in disappointment and wished her well in finding the kind of person she liked.

At last, the call ended.

Wei Xiaolu let out a long breath. It was really hard to maintain a relationship with hidden intentions; so much effort.

She lowered her phone and turned to go back to the room.

But just as she was about to lift a foot, she saw Shen Siyan standing at the corner by the elevator, holding two portions of takeout and looking at her with a smile.

Shen Siyan tilted her head slightly, and her long hair swayed with the motion.

“Good taste,” she said to Wei Xiaolu with a smile, then crooked a finger. “Come back and eat once you’re done with your call.”