Chapter 225 Exploring the Bottom

After the recording ended, Xia Mian asked Zhao Wei to take him to Kepler.

After last night, he didn't really want to talk to Zhou Pingchuan, but after so many misunderstandings and more than two months of separation, Xia Mian's heart was always restless.

I want to see Zhou Pingchuan, to see his eyebrows and his eyes, just to see him, that's enough.

Moreover, he had another purpose.

He wanted to find out what Xia Mingzhao was capable of.

With that thought in mind, Xia Mian put on a mask and stormed into the Kepler gate.

This wasn't the first time the landlady had come; everyone at the front desk recognized her. Seeing his hostile demeanor, the receptionist immediately called Yu Heng: "Assistant Yu, Mr. Xia Mian just went upstairs, and he seems... to be in a bad mood."

Was he here to check up on Zhou Pingchuan? Zhou Pingchuan was in a meeting when Yu Heng sent him a message first, then quickly walked to the chairman's private high-speed elevator.

As soon as Xia Mian got off the elevator, he immediately led her to the chairman's office: "Mr. Xia, it's been a long time. Chairman Zhou has a meeting, I've already told him. Please wait in the office for a while. What would you like to drink, juice, milk tea, or coffee/tea?"

"You're quick to tip off people," Xia Mian said, putting on a show and giving Yu Heng a cold look. "No need to bother, you can all go about your business. I'll just wander around by myself."

Yu Heng maintained his perfect smile: "Then I'll accompany you and also give you an update on the company's recent key projects."

Seeing that she couldn't shake him off, Xia Mian snorted coldly and took the lead.

He first toured the top and second-to-top floors in great detail, stopping for a few minutes at each different department to have Yu Heng explain the department's responsibilities and the personnel.

Xia Mian was already a public figure with an eye-catching appearance, and the commotion he caused was so big that the employees on the upper two floors quickly recognized him, and the company's group chat instantly erupted in excitement:

[Wow, the boss lady, the real boss lady! This is the first time I've seen him in person, he's so handsome!]

He's undeniably handsome; in my opinion, no one in the Chinese entertainment industry can compare. But he's also genuinely aloof, just like the boss. I don't even dare to look at him for long, sob sob.

I often watch the boss's wife's variety shows and live streams; she seems to have a lively and easygoing personality. Maybe she's in a bad mood today; she seems to be holding back some anger.

[Hiss... This servant has a bold guess.]

You're incredibly bold! Actually, I have similar experiences, but I don't dare to say them, so you shouldn't either.

[Covering mouth][Covering mouth][Covering mouth]

Yes, more than one employee noticed that the boss's wife's demeanor wasn't a simple inspection, but more like... catching someone in the act.

To put it more bluntly, he's digging deep inside the company, looking for the boss's mistress.

Strangely, the boss was always aloof and kept people at arm's length, not at all like someone with a mistress.

Moreover, nothing stays secret forever. If the boss really had an affair with any employee, word would spread like wildfire, and the whole company would know by now. How could there be no news at all?

How strange!

WeChat kept popping up new message notifications, and the table vibrated from the phone. Xia Mingzhao, who was checking his subjects, picked up the phone out of curiosity.

Kepler offers high salaries and broad promotion opportunities, but correspondingly, the workload is also extremely high. During working hours, the group is mostly quiet, except for a few particularly active men and women who like to joke and chat after get off work.

What's going on today? Has something big happened?

Xia Mingzhao opened the WeChat group and scanned the chat history from top to bottom. The more he read, the happier he became.

As he expected, Xia Mian took the bait.

—The items Zhou Pingchuan bought back were deliberately kept by him, and the information was also deliberately sent to Xia Mian, just to make Xia Mian overthink and misunderstand his relationship with Zhou Pingchuan.

Actually, he wasn't very confident at first. Compared to when she was first recognized and returned to the Xia family, Xia Mian had changed so much, like a completely different person. He was afraid that Xia Mian wouldn't fall for his tricks.

It seems that no matter how his appearance and temperament change, his stupid and impulsive personality will not change.

So, the plan is now 80% complete, and the remaining 20%... let him give Xia Mian a push.

Xia Mingzhao locked her phone, went to the bathroom first, took out a cushion puff and patted it on her lips a few times, then messed up her hair before carrying a stack of documents and taking the elevator to the second-to-last floor.

Xia Mian had just finished exploring this floor when she turned around and met Xia Mingzhao's gaze.

Upon seeing him, Xia Mingzhao panicked for a moment, then waved and said awkwardly, "Mianmian, you're here. I have a document to deliver urgently, so I can't chat with you any longer."

After speaking, he lowered his head and was about to walk past Xia Mian.

"Assistant Yu, please deliver this to Mingzhao," Xia Mian pulled the stack of documents from Xia Mingzhao's hand and tossed it to Yu Heng, then grabbed Xia Mingzhao's arm, "Come with me, I have something to ask you."

Xia Mingzhao curled her lips into a smile, struggled symbolically for a few moments, and finally followed Xia Mian into the adjacent tea room, half-heartedly resisting. Her body pressed against the wall, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly, her expression uneasy.

Xia Mian locked the door to the tea room, turned around and saw his state, her heart sank.

"You went to Paris with Zhou Pingchuan a month ago?" Xia Mian played along with his act.

“Yes… but it wasn’t my choice to go,” Xia Mingzhao explained softly. “My department manager’s visa had expired, so he asked me to fill in for him.”

"You even went to the auction with him?"

"Well... the meeting ended very late, and there wasn't enough time to take me back to the hotel and then to the auction, so Third Master took me directly to the auction venue."

Xia Mian snorted coldly: "So what good stuff did he film for you?"

"Mianmian, don't misunderstand, I don't want it, I don't want it at all!" Xia Mingzhao immediately became agitated. He bit his lower lip, "Since you're back in the capital, I'll retrieve the safe and return it to you right now, okay? Those were things Third Master insisted on giving me, I... I really didn't have those intentions. I just want to live our quiet life with A-Ting, Mianmian, please, don't misunderstand me..."

As she spoke, Xia Mingzhao's hair was disheveled and her lips were pale, as if she had been troubled for a long time by these auction items—and the emotions they represented, and was tormented by guilt day and night.

"Wow, that's some good acting!" Xia Mian thought to herself, "No wonder he's the main character."

He's more professional than this semi-professional.

At this moment, Xia Mian was certain that Xia Mingzhao was deliberately trying to sow discord between him and Zhou Pingchuan.

Although he didn't say it explicitly, every word he uttered conveyed the central idea that "Third Master likes me, but I don't like him. This has nothing to do with me; I was forced into it."

Xia Mian simply couldn't imagine how upset he would have been if he hadn't talked things out with Zhou Pingchuan yesterday, given Xia Mingzhao's smooth little combo today.

She'll definitely rush to court to file for divorce right away!

Thank goodness.

However... Xia Mian frowned—why would Xia Mingzhao do this?

In the original author's writing, Xia Mingzhao is simple, brave, and kind, like a pure white flower. She would never lie or do anything to destroy other people's families.

The only answer is that his appearance caused the plot to deviate. The protagonist was forced to change his personality and resort to any means necessary to correct the plot back onto the right track.

Xia Mian sighed.

What should he do?