CHAPTER 24

Assistant Gao stared at the descending numbers in the elevator, her eyes unblinking, while the elevator attendant beside her dared not make a sound.

Assistant Gao had already devised several plans in her mind, waiting for Wei Zhuang to appear to gauge her reaction and respond accordingly.

Wei Zhuang has always attached great importance to personal space and dislikes anything unexpected.

This girl had recklessly intruded into her territory, and the ones who would suffer were her subordinates.

When the red number finally reached 1, her brow twitched—here she comes.

As the doors opened, a graceful and bright girl rushed out, and at their first glance, she suddenly paused. Assistant Gao found it very strange the way she looked at her – a bit of surprise, caution, wariness in her eyes.

'Why is that?'

In the next second, the girl swiftly brushed past her, and another familiar figure stepped out of the elevator.

Assistant Gao's brows twitched again, and the elevator attendant beside her was already trembling, "President, President Wei..."

Assistant Gao didn't rush to speak, she noticed that Wei Zhuang's gaze was following the girl who had just passed, and she looked over as well.

"Brother~"

A tall and slender man in a suit, with clear and bright features, walked towards her. As she approached, he helped her put on her suit jacket and smiled.

The lobby was brightly lit, and this sibling pair was in their prime, their appearances strikingly exceptional.

"Running around everywhere," Xiang Zhishi teased her, "I thought you got lost."

"That's not it, I just..." Xiaoyuan glanced nervously toward Assistant Gao. That "Wei Zhuang," and that woman.

Xiang Zhishi also glanced in that direction, and when he saw clearly, his pupils slightly constricted.

"Brother, I saw Wei Zhuang with her lover," Xiaoyuan tugged at his sleeve, whispering, "...and I was spotted. Do you think there will be a problem?"

Xiang Zhishi looked at her in confusion, then at that direction, took her hand, and walked forward.

'Huh?' Xiaoyuan found herself following him, completely out of the loop.

Were they going over to apologize? Or what?

She looked up at her brother, then at the woman in black. The woman gazed lightly at them, her deep eyes revealing no emotion, seemingly looking at her brother and herself. The black suit shimmered in the light, like black satin, covering her cold, jade-like skin.

Xiaoyuan shivered inexplicably, feeling cold.

At that moment, she heard her brother speak, "President Wei."

She was stunned.

It seemed like her brother was greeting the woman in the black suit, not the one next to her...

So she had mistaken the person from the very beginning?

Xiaoyuan felt like her scalp was about to explode.

Wei Zhuang calmly and coolly glanced at Xiang Zhishi, who smiled, "This is my sister, Xiang Xiaoyuan."

Xiaoyuan had never been so flustered before, she instinctively tugged at her brother's sleeve, and Xiang Zhishi pressed down her hand and took out a business card.

Oh no, she had already offended Wei Jiabao before, and now she offended Wei Zhuang, and face-to-face this time. 'Brother, we should leave quickly, why are we going forward for introductions?'

She could only grit her teeth, lower her head, and timidly say, "President Wei."

Her brother still didn't know that she had offended Wei Zhuang. He might still want to go and plead or something, she had already imagined Xiang Zhishi bowing and scraping, feeling anxious and sweating at the tip of her nose.

Assistant Gao's eyes flickered, and her mental database immediately retrieved a lot of information. She glanced at her boss out of the corner of her eye, made a judgment, and then walked out, putting on a professional smile and taking the business card handed to her by Xiang Zhishi.

The smile on Xiang Zhishi's face was also just right, not fawning, not nervous, very natural. "Then we won't disturb President Wei any longer."

He took Xiaoyuan's hand and turned towards the hotel entrance.

Xiaoyuan's tense shoulders relaxed in an instant as she walked beside Xiang Zhishi, her heart still pounding.

Suddenly, she remembered something. "Brother, how do you know Wei Zhuang?"

Xiang Zhishi looked at the entrance and paused. "I've seen her a couple of times before."

"Oh," Xiaoyuan didn't ask further. Her heartbeat hadn't stabilized yet.

"You just said you saw President Wei and her lover?" Xiang Zhishi then asked her softly, "What exactly happened?"

"Um, I..." Xiaoyuan faltered. The person she saw wasn't Wei Zhuang, so the information she received earlier that "Wang Ji is Wei Zhuang's lover" might not be accurate. She couldn't sort it out for the moment, so she just said, "I must have seen the wrong person."

Xiang Zhishi patted her hand. "Mm, just remember not to speak carelessly in public next time. Let's go home."

"Mm, got it." She replied obediently, though her mind was elsewhere.

So she was Wei Zhuang, and they had met twice...

Now she had offended even her.

Oh no, what should she do?

Offending Wei Jiabao was already serious enough. What would happen if she offended this woman?

Xiaoyuan nervously glanced back.

The woman was still standing there, really tall, all in black, like still night, with only a glint of emerald green jade at her ear.

Her eyes were very dark, very deep, as if they could absorb all light.

Xiaoyuan felt a chill down her spine, her hair about to stand on end.

Oh no. She quickly turned her head, clutching her brother's arm tightly.

'Walk faster, walk faster, walk faster...'

Assistant Gao pressed her lips together, forcefully suppressing her smile.

Where did this girl come from? She was too amusing! She looked at others first by their eyes, those bright, clear eyes were clearly clever and sharp, yet her actions were so reckless and childish.

Just as she was about to open the barrage in her heart, Wei Zhuang had already turned and left, so she followed.

They exited through another door and got into a black Rolls-Royce Phantom.

"Business card." Wei Zhuang said.

Assistant Gao handed over Xiang Zhishi's business card.

Wei Zhuang's slender, pale fingers pinched the card, her gaze lowered, seemingly lost in thought.

The business card was very simple—white, with a basic print featuring Xiang Zhishi's name and a contact number.

Assistant Gao remained silent, her mind racing. She saw a flash of light in Wei Zhuang's eyes and nodded slightly, not knowing what it meant.

'Could it be?'

Having been by Wei Zhuang's side for seven years, Assistant Gao felt that this boss was just a workaholic, handling myriad tasks daily.

Under the Tonghua Group, there were four major business groups, each with its own CEO, but Wei Zhuang held the most shares and needed to be informed about everything.

She was a workaholic. Aside from work and socializing, it seemed there was no other agenda in her life.

Except for the occasional "entertainment."

For so many years, all of the boss's "entertainment" had been arranged by Assistant Gao.

Unfortunately, the boss's thoughts were unpredictable and the outcomes were equally hard to foresee.

Each time lasted only a few minutes. Assistant Gao estimated that before even getting undressed, the boss lost interest, and all she needed to prepare were "confidential agreements" one after another, as he disliked rumors. The conditions promised in the contracts were tailored to the individuals, very generous.

'Ah, the boss was practically doing charity work.'

Assistant Gao, a single woman with looks and wealth, wouldn't compromise herself. As long as her companion was to her taste, whether for a year or just a few months, she didn't lead a lonely life.

Compared to herself, the boss was living a carefree life. She speculated that the boss was likely cold-hearted.

Rarely did Wei Zhuang look at someone's business card. Assistant Gao's mind was filled with speculations:

'Do they know each other?'

'Could she be interested in Xiang Zhishi?'

'Hmm, Xiang Zhishi really is quite handsome, exuding a gentlemanly charm, with a warm, jade-like aura. His name is interesting too, it seems to imply that one can learn from others to improve oneself.'

She waited for further instructions from Wei Zhuang. However, Wei Zhuang just glanced at the business card and handed it over to her, as if the earlier "hmm" was Assistant Gao's misconception.

Assistant Gao felt momentarily at a loss.

'It seems she's not interested in Xiang Zhishi?'

'Then who was she looking at in the hotel just now?'

A sudden realization struck Assistant Gao.

It was that girl.

She had entered Wei Zhuang's exclusive elevator and had come down together with her. Wei Zhuang had shown no signs of displeasure or scolded either herself or the elevator attendant.

Normally, no one could intrude on her personal space without permission—not even Wei Jiabao. In fact, Assistant Gao had already braced herself for a potential pay cut for several months.

Her mind began to rewind like a video, replaying previous "entertainments" to see if there had been any girls involved.

There seemed to have been a girl or two on occasion.

However, those encounters also lasted only a few minutes, with no exceptions.

This girl looked somewhat familiar. Assistant Gao finally recalled that she had played the sister in "Choice," the one who was liked by but rejected Wei Jiabao. Her name was Xiang Xiaoyuan.

Assistant Gao swallowed nervously. Could it be that her thoughts were as she expected?

She maintained her composure, determined to further probe her boss's thoughts. "President Wei Zhuang, I didn't expect that Miss Xiang Xiaoyuan and this Mr. Xiang are siblings."

With just that sentence, she fell silent, waiting for the boss's response.

After a minute or two, she heard Wei Zhuang say, "Xiang Xiaoyuan."

Assistant Gao recalled last year when she mentioned on a flight that Wei Jiabao had cut off all resources for Miss Xiang, Wei Zhuang had also casually pronounced her name in that same detached manner.

This time, after Wei Zhuang finished speaking, she tapped her knee with her fingers.

Once, twice, thrice, four times...

A total of four taps.

Assistant Gao's eyebrows twitched, not understanding the meaning.

After a moment, she tentatively asked, "President Wei?"

Outside the window, the streets were lit up, the night was deep, but the city was still bustling. The brightly lit exterior walls of the towering buildings, the streetlights on either side of the road, the dense stream of taillights, all converged into a vibrant night scene.

Some of this warm light seeped in, but on Wei Zhuang's black attire, this warmth seemed to lose its authenticity.

Wei Zhuang leaned towards the window and said, "Just wait a little bit."

'Wait a little bit? Wait for what?'

'Wait for this girl to throw herself at her? No way, that doesn't seem like the boss's style, she wouldn't have that kind of patience!'

'So does she actually have some interest in this girl?'

Wei Jiabao had previously shown interest in Xiang Xiaoyuan, and now Wei Zhuang too...

The preferences of this mother and son pair are quite similar...

Assistant Gao struggled to mask her expression, while internally she was in a state of upheaval.

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