Two weeks later.

After the disclosure of the confidential plans had been dealt with, everything returned to normal back at Cheng An Group.

Chen An Group’s higher-ups had not released any official statements regarding the matter; however, the unofficial rumor was that it was Luo Xiaoxi who had leaked the plans. Plus, considering that Luo Xiaoxi’s absence from the company recently, the unofficial rumor soon became the infallible truth.

Pretty much n.o.body knew about the secret investigation that Xiao Chen had been conducting behind the scene. As it turned out, the result of his investigation was something that Su Yicheng would both like and hate to see.

To Xiao Chen, such a result was anything but desirable, which was also why he did not report to Su Yicheng right away.

Somehow, Zhang Mei had caught wind of the investigation that Xiao Chen had been conducting. That afternoon, she came to the office to look for Xiao Chen.

Once, they had both been staff of the President’s office. One of them was the President’s Chief Secretary while the other was the President’s Special a.s.sistant. They were the people who best knew Su Yicheng and who interacted with him the most. Xiao Chen and Zhang Mei had long since formed a bond that was closer than that between two normal friends. Nevertheless, Xiao Chen’s eyes was filled with unfamiliarity as he looked at Zhang Mei now.

It was as if this was the first time he saw her.

Zhang Mei was already starting to have a bad feeling about this, “Xiao Chen, how’s the investigation going? What have you found out?”

“You were the one who leaked the plans,” Xiao Chen said without preamble. There was a conflicted look on his face. “Zhang Mei, I can’t believe it was you. Come to think of it, you were also the one who had started the rumor about Ms. Luo being the leaker, weren’t you?”

“How dare you accuse me of leaking the plans? Do you even have solid evidence to back it up?” Zhang Mei said calmly.

“Is this not enough?!” Xiao Chen tossed a heap of photos together with a bunch of printouts from log files onto the desk. “You met with Qin Wei the day after Ms. Luo’s party. This secret meeting of yours took place at a clubhouse in the suburbs. I’ve got to hand it to you, Zhang Mei. You covered your tracks quite well.”

This time around, Zhang Mei knew that the evidence was stacked against her. She took a deep breath, “You’re this mad at me, and that’s because you’re in love with me, right?”

That simple statement had thrown Xiao Chen completely off guard. Another wave of doubt clouded over his already conflicted eyes.

“Xiao Chen, when it comes to matters of the heart, you men always think that you’re able to hide things well.” Zhang Mei chuckled. “But the truth is that women nowadays are sharp. Do you really think you can hide your true feelings from us? I already know a long time ago that you’re in love with me.”

“Then why have you waited until now to reveal that knowledge?” Xiao Chen questioned.

“Because right now I need your help.” Zhang Mi began unb.u.t.toning her blouse as she stepped closer to Xiao Chen, “As long as you help keep my involvement in this a secret and destroy all the evidence you have against me, you can do whatever you want with me.”

Xiao Chen averted his gaze, “I can’t do that.”

“I’ll tell you the truth, then. Qin Wei and I had come up with this scheme together. The goal was to stop Luo Xiaoxi and Yicheng from being together. If it goes well, Qin Wei and I can each be with the people we want to be with.” Zhang Mei gave Xiao Chen’s hand a tug. “Aren’t you in love with me? You can have me too if you help me.”

“So what you’re saying is that you and Qin Wei had orchestrated all this? Qin Wei will get Ms. Luo drunk so that there’s no way for her to know that she never revealed the plans to Qin Wei while you revealed the whole plan to Qin Wei. After that, you frame Ms. Luo for it.”

“At first, the plan was for Qin Wei to get it out of Luo Xiaoxi,” Zhang Mei said with a mocking laugh. “But she refused to tell. How funny. She was so drunk and yet she refused to say a word. In the end, I had to do it. Xiao Chen, help me this time, and I’ll be all yours for three months? Okay?”

Xiao Chen closed his eyes.

It was not the case at all that he was not tempted; he did have feelings for Zhang Mei. However, the Zhang Mei that he liked had died the moment he uncovered the truth during his investigation. Also, with the way she had revealed her evil schemes just now, Xiao Chen realized that he had never truly known the real Zhang Mei at all.

Shaking off her hand, Xiao Chen took decisive strides into Su Yicheng’s office.

In a split second, Zhang Mei’s affected elegance and composure crumbled. Panicking, she quickly dialed her father’s number.

Three days later, Zhang Mei submitted her resignation. Her sudden resignation had caused quite a commotion within Cheng An Group.

People in the company used to claim that Zhang Mei would never resign even if everyone else in the company had resigned. They figured that if she could endure the humiliation of being transferred from the President’s office to the Marketing Department, then she would most likely stay with the company for the rest of her life. They thought she would keep pestering Su Yicheng.

Now that she had suddenly resigned, a controversy emerged among the employees.

Some claimed that Zhang Mei had left because she could no longer endure Su Yicheng’s indifference to her as well as the unfounded rumors that were circulating in the company.

These were sensitive times, plus the fact that Zhang Mei had been neck-deep in the plan’s execution, there were also some who suspected her as the one who leaked the plans. Then again, that notion was rejected by most people.

First, everybody knew that Zhang Mei had feelings for Su Yicheng; hence, it was unlikely for her to betray Su Yicheng. Second, if she was truly the one who leaked the plans, would Su Yicheng let her off the hook that easily? She would at least have to face a series of court cases.

Still, the company’s higher-ups did not make any official statements, which was why this incident had become a major talking point during the employees’ downtime. Among the things said was this, “If Zhang Mei turned out to be the one who leaked the information, then how unfair it must have been for Luo Xiaoxi; I wonder how she’s been these days.”

Actually, Luo Xiaoxi had long since pulled herself together.

The incident had affected her quite significantly, and yet a few days later, her smile had already found its way back to her face. There was an obvious change in her, though: she was now far more sensible and calm in the way she handled things. Although she would still brazenly crack joke with others, it was obvious that she was showing more restraint in her demeanor.

She still enjoyed dressing up and her fas.h.i.+on sense was the same as before. But she had become much more modest in terms of her conduct: men no longer found it easy to approach her with flirtatious intent when they saw her, and she had now developed a habit of observing from the sidelines instead of jumping straight into things.

She had spent half a month to readjust her daily schedule; she was now in the habit of waking up and going to bed early. During the weekends, she would occasionally ask Su Jianan out, and then they would spend the entire afternoon just hanging out with each other. She was still eye-catchingly beautiful, of course. But her outgoing and larger than life nature was now imbued with reticence and reservation.

Before, Su Jianan thought that something had changed within Luo Xiaoxi. But she was unable to identify what that change was. But now, Su Jianan understood— Luo Xiaoxi was still the same Luo Xiaoxi, and the only difference was that she had grown up after experiencing some things. She had matured.

When Su Jianan told Luo Xiaoxi about Zhang Mei’s resignation, Luo Xiaoxi did not show much of a reaction.

To her, Zhang Mei’s resignation did not matter at all. Ever since Luo Xiaoxi had received that phone call from Su Yicheng in which Su Yicheng told her to take care of herself and not to do anything stupid, Su Yicheng never got in touch with Luo Xiaoxi again. She, too, had lost the courage to pester him again.

Su Yicheng had finally gotten rid of her.

Although the uproar caused by the leak was limited mainly to the internal of Cheng An Group, rumors of it still circulated in the business world; Father Luo had caught wind of the news too. In fact, he even knew that Luo Xiaoxi was involved in the fiasco.

That night, Father Luo called Luo Xiaoxi and ordered her to come home.

It had been half a month since Luo Xiaoxi last came home. Having received such a desperate phone call from her father to summon her back home, she could pretty much guess what it was that her father wished to see her about. She drove home straight from the company. Surprisingly, the arranged marriage between Qin Wei and herself was the first thing her father wished to talk about.

“Dad, it’s impossible!” She glared at her father with eyes that held firm and steely resolve. “You might as well kill me if you force me into a marriage with Qin Wei!”

Father Luo had watched his daughter grow up. Having been spoiled rotten by him ever since a young age, his little girl was always smiling as if she was incapable of any guile. He had never seen this kind of look on his daughter’s face before until now.

“Xiaoxi, it is now completely impossible between you and Su Yicheng!” Father Luo said, wis.h.i.+ng that his daughter would up her game and live up to his expectations for once. “Qin Wei is your best option right now!”

“You’re the only one who thinks that he’s my best option!” Luo Xiaoxi yelled. “I don’t like Qin Wei! h.e.l.l, knowing the guy is the thing I regret the most in all the 20 plus years I’ve lived! If you’re asking me to marry him for the sake of the company, then you’re forcing me into a dead corner. Dad, I beg you, please don’t force me.”

“Can you really blame Qin Wei for the fact that you leaked the plans?” Father Luo questioned, “You’re the one who told him everything after you got drunk!”

“Qin Wei could’ve pretended that he didn’t hear me. He could’ve chosen not to steal Su Yicheng’s plans!” Luo Xiaoxi covered her face. “Dad, do you have any idea how much I regretted it, and how close I was to killing Qin Wei after it happened? Do you know why I’ve been refraining myself from coming for the past half a month? It’s because I don’t want you and mom to see me in my pathetic state!”

“What will you have me do if you aren’t willing to take over the company?” Father Luo sat down with a crestfallen look on his face. “Xiaoxi, you want the best financial status there is, and yet you want a life of complete freedom. I can’t give you both at the same time.”

Luo Xiaoxi understood where her father was coming from. She sat down on the couch and wrapped her arms around her aged father. “Father, don’t worry about my future, okay? Look, I have a job now. I’ll be able to make a living for myself soon. If you’ve decided to retire in the future, I might change my mind and inherit the company. But don’t you think it’s also possible that I might find you a capable son-in-law to run the company for you? Worse comes to worst, we could just sell the company. Dad, I promise you that I won’t be living any worse in the future than I’m living now. Please don’t worry about me, okay? I’ve learnt how to tell the difference between good and evil as well as right and wrong. I can take care of myself now.”

Tears stung Father Luo’s eyes. Luo Xiaoxi would never say something like this in the past; she would only stubbornly refuse him and then follow up her refusal with threats of never returning home again if he kept forcing her.

“Xiaoxi, I still hope you can marry Qin Wei. He likes you very much. At least he’ll love you more than Su Yicheng does.” All Father Luo wanted was for someone else who would pamper her daughter the way he did, especially after his pa.s.sed on. “But I won’t force you for now. If you change your mind one day, tell me, okay?”

Luo Xiaoxi did not manage to suppress her tears after all. Now in tears, she nodded and tightened her arms around her father, “Dad, I’ll behave myself from now on. I’ll work hard, and I’ll never bring shame to our family name again.”

“Oh, dear,” Father Luo said, wiping away his daughter’s tears. “Look at my precious little girl acting all grown up. Well, then I guess I shouldn’t hide that thing from you anymore.”

Like her father, Luo Xiaoxi suddenly turned serious. “Dad, what have you been hiding from me all these years? Could it be that I’m not your biological daughter after all?”

“What nonsense are you on about?!” Father Luo took a sip of tea. “Actually, that night, Su Yicheng came to me.”

Father Luo told Luo Xiaoxi everything about his meeting with Su Yicheng.

When she heard everything, Luo Xiaoxi’s heart felt so heavy that she could barely breathe.

Su Yicheng had been serious about her. That night, when he told her that he wanted to try having a relations.h.i.+p with her, he had been completely serious. She doubted him before, but now she believed him.

Then again, what was the use in that? It was already too late.

“Lao Luo,” Luo Xiaoxi said, drying her tears and staring at her father. “Seems like Su Yicheng and I aren’t meant to be. It took everything for him to finally be willing to accept me, but in the end I was the one who screwed everything up by causing him so much trouble. It’s impossible between us now. Aren’t you pleased that things turned out this way?”

Lao Luo stared at his daughter’s gaunt cheeks, “How can I be happy if you aren’t? Even if you’re still planning to become a model, you need to stop losing weight. Keep that up and you’ll force your old man to lose weight too.”

“Ugh, people from your generation will never understand it.” Luo Xiaoxi let out two hums. “We’re no longer after the bony look these days. Today, it’s all about muscle tone and ab definition! Look at me, this is what I call muscle tone!”

Father Luo chuckled in jest, “You go get your muscle tone or whatever. Just don’t give your mom and I a scare when you come home.”

“Seriously? Just like that? That’s all you’re asking from me?” Luo Xiaoxi smiled. “Then I’ll give you both the fright of your lives next time I come home!”

“Hey, hey. I’m still your father. You think you can intimidate me? Come home tomorrow, then!”

“I’m not scared of you!” Luo Xiaoxi happily jumped into her father’s scheme to get her to come home. “Fine. I’ll come home tomorrow. In fact, I’ll come home everyday from now on!”