"Hello, Mr. Cheng. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Shi Bianji."

Also surnamed Shi?

Mu Yiran smiled faintly and said, "Hello, Professor Shi." She took the man's hand, and as they touched, she smelled a faint, cool fragrance.

Mu Yiran hadn't done any diplomacy since arriving at the Cheng family. These personnel interactions were usually handled by Li Buhuo. So, as soon as she sat down, her professional habit kicked in, and she secretly sized him up by looking at his clothes and accessories.

Shi Bian was nearly 40, but he maintained his figure and appearance very well. He wore a gray patterned suit, a classic Le Creuset leather watch, and matching deep red jewelry cufflinks. Most notably, it was rare to see a man wearing a ring on his right middle finger, and his tie was securely fastened at the collar with a lapel pin. He would adjust the position of his ring and watch face every now and then.

He is a typical perfectionist and a man with a strong desire for control.

Mu Yiran recalled what Shi Yan had said.

But Shi Yan is more casual than Shi Bian Ji, and not so... proper?

For some reason, during her casual conversation with Shi Bianji, every move he made, even the way he swallowed his coffee, gave Mu Yiran the impression that it was all meticulously planned.

It's as if this is to achieve some kind of purpose.

After exchanging a few polite business pleasantries, Shi Bianji put down his coffee cup, twirled his silver ring, and said, "Young Master Cheng has become much more composed since returning to China. Your father must be very pleased to see you like this."

"Professor Shi is joking. Now that I'm home, I naturally have to work hard and live a healthy life. It's my responsibility to myself and my family."

Damn it.

Mu Yiran's lips twitched; she dreaded these kinds of reminiscing openings. Unsurprisingly, Shi Bianji was about to recount what had happened during their last meeting.

Sure enough, Shi Bianji smiled slightly when he heard her words, "Young President Cheng has grown up so fast that I'm not quite used to him anymore. I was thinking of having Young President Cheng show me around the capital after the recording, but now I'm a little hesitant to say it."

What to look at?

Should we climb a mountain and carve "I was here" on it?

“Last year on Huajie Street, I saw that Mr. Cheng was having so much fun, and I thought we were kindred spirits. At that time, Mr. Cheng said he would come to the capital to visit you.”

Shi Bianqi placed her hands on her knees, "You're not joking, are you? Oh, I actually took it seriously."

What could a 40-year-old man and a girl in her early twenties possibly have in common?

They have different sexual orientations.

Was this person genuinely asking her a question, or was he testing her?

Mu Yiran was suspicious, but picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. "I have too many friends in Libya, and I can't remember many things, but since Professor Shi is interested, I am naturally happy to be the tour guide."

"After this recording is over, Professor Shi will probably stay in China for a while. I will make sure to arrange everything so that you have a great time."

"Mr. Cheng, the morning meeting is about to start." Chen Yiting poked her head out to remind her, which was a huge relief for Mu Yiran. She immediately gave Shi Bianji an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Professor Shi, I have another meeting. How about we call it a day and reschedule after your recording is finished?"

Shi Bianji smiled, pressed the coffee cup against the shallow indentation on the table, stood up and straightened his suit jacket. "No need to apologize, being busy is a good thing."

"But I think it shouldn't take that long."

What?

Mu Yiran stopped, but the man said nothing more, nodded in acknowledgment, and left.

"Yi Ting, please see Professor Shi out."

"Huh?" Chen Yiting scratched the fluffy tail on her name tag and nodded slowly. "Okay." She chased after him, but at the elevator door she saw Cheng Li come out of the elevator and greet Shi Bianji. The two of them entered the elevator.

"Mr. Shi, we owe you a lot this time. Otherwise, the Shi Clan would have come knocking on our door long ago."

Cheng Li offered Shi Bianji a cigarette, which she took but did not light. "We're partners, helping you is the least I can do."

Cheng Li smiled slightly, then winked at Li Ziqi, who pressed the intercom button and said, "Let him in."

"Professor Shi, we owe you a lot this time. Your subordinates were too sloppy. They couldn't even catch a single person. We've cleaned things up and found some more efficient people. Don't worry, it won't happen again."

There was a knock on the office door. Li Ziqi let him in. It was a delicate-looking boy with a straight posture, handsome features, and wearing a simple shirt and trousers.

“Professor Shi, this is my company’s new trainee. He’s from the capital. You can ask him to do anything you need. Xiao Zhi, this is Mr. Shi.” Li Ziqi patted the boy’s shoulder. The boy curled his fingers and slowly walked towards Shi Bianji.

Shi Bianji lifted his eyelids, watching the boy pour wine and approach. He smiled, "Where's that person from before?"

"It's all taken care of, Mr. Shi, please rest assured." Seeing that Shi Bianji had accepted this "favor," Li Ziqi eagerly asked, "Then when shall we meet again..."

"What's the rush? The Shi Clan is keeping such a close eye on Cheng Ran right now. Making any moves now would only be suicide." Shi Bianji grasped the boy's hand holding the wine glass, took a candy from his pocket, and placed it in his palm. "How old are you?"

Xiao Zhi's thick eyelashes fluttered. He thought Mr. Shi seemed like a very gentle person. "14."

"It's so big already..."

Li Ziqi was anxious and exchanged a glance with Cheng Li. Shi Bianji looked at the boy for a long time before standing up. "Let's wait for their contact. Oh, has Mr. Cheng and Madam made up their minds, as I mentioned before?"

Cheng Li opened his mouth, "You mean...."

"Ha, Mr. Cheng, if you want to become the leader of the Cheng Group, you can't be so indecisive."

“No, we’ve already decided. My husband will definitely be the chairman of the board,” Li Ziqi glanced at Cheng Li, who nodded with a pale face.

Shi Bianji chuckled, rubbing the boy's nape as he helped him to his feet. "I don't really know the way..."

"Xiao Zhi will help you call a taxi to take you back to your hotel!"

Only after the silver-haired man's figure had completely disappeared did Cheng Li slump heavily onto the sofa. "Does my brother know about this?"

"With your older brother's character, would he still let you do something like this if he knew? This is murdering his own sister. He'll definitely say some nonsense about how terrible it is. Just ignore it. Mom will take care of him and make sure he's appeased."

Cheng Li closed his eyes and finally stopped speaking.

...

By the time Mu Yiran had some free time, it was already afternoon. She didn't even start eating lunch until Ai Ni brought the chopsticks to her mouth.

Although she was very busy, Mu Yiran didn't know what she was busy with. She was just constantly in meetings. Fortunately, Li Buhuo was there to handle all the documents.

What time is it?

Ai Ni stopped playing with the box-pushing game, glanced at the time, and said, "It's four o'clock."

"Why didn't anyone come to call me to school?" Mu Yiran muttered as she got up to pack her bag. Ai Ni helped her put on her coat. "Is Madam going to school? Young Master has called several times."

"Huh?" Mu Yiran glanced at her phone. "No."

"He called me, asking when you're going. The young master said he's been thinking about you so much that he can't concentrate on his classes."

"That kid's blaming me! He doesn't pay attention in class and keeps making excuses. Let's go settle the score with him now!"

"Remind me on the way to buy him some food, and also some for the staff..."

Ai Ni looked at the smile in her eyes, puzzled. "Madam says she's going to settle accounts with the young master, but you're not really angry at all, are you?"

Mu Yiran smiled at her, "Of course I'm not angry. What's there to be angry about?"

Ai Ni realized, "Madam, you are so good to the young master."

The two left the office and headed towards the publicity department's photography studio. "Am I not good to you?"

“Very good, Madam even lets me play games at work.”

"......"

Mu Yiran looked at her with a bit of pity, "Learning to slack off is an essential skill for entering society. You still have a lot to learn. Also, next time play some more advanced games. If people know you're hanging out with me and you only play Sokoban, I'll be very embarrassed, okay?"

For example, high-end games like Jump Jump.

Ai Ni thought the most fun game in the world was pushing boxes. She watched Mu Yiran go to the storage room where the publicity department stored clothes and hats and take out a suit.

The size and preppy style make it obvious who it's meant for.

She suddenly wondered, "Is it that you won't get angry no matter what the young master does?" No, that didn't mean either. Yesterday, the madam had been very serious when she was disciplining the young master. So she put it another way, "Even if you get angry, you won't really blame the young master."

Ai Ni knew that Cheng Ran was a fake wife. Although she had only been with Cheng Ran for a few days, Cheng Ran's feelings for the young master were nothing like those of a fake wife...

Why is the lady so good to the young master? He's not even her biological son.

Mu Yiran carefully examined the embroidery on the suit. She had designed it while working at Cheng's during her spare time. All the jewelry and clothes she designed in her spare time were modeled after Shi Youxi, and they were all gifts for him.

Mu Yiran put the clothes into the bag and answered Ai Ni's question without hesitation: "Well, who told your young master to be so handsome? I'd be crazy to get angry at someone with a face like that."

Ai Ni: "......."

After all that self-pity, it turns out it was just because his wife is obsessed with looks?!

"Hey, Yiting!" Mu Yiran called out to Chen Yiting, who was standing in the middle, when she saw the staff at the elevator entrance. "Are you going to Jingyi for filming? Why didn't you call me?"

Chen Yiting rubbed her hands together. "Is Mr. Cheng going too? It's not important, you don't need to come..."

"Let's go together. I'll go; it'll be easier that way. Otherwise, he'll cause trouble."

"....good."

Chen Yiting smiled. Standing behind Mu Yiran, she looked at Ai Ni, who was so close to her, and let out a deep breath. The fluffy rabbit was squeezed out of shape by her.