Chapter Seventeen: The Money Tree Was Pulled Up
Su Xiao didn't stop walking.
"Xia Zhi, you will never be as good as me in this lifetime."
If you always rely on underhanded tactics, you'll eventually end up shooting yourself in the foot.
She ignored her and left the villa on her own.
As the car drove out of the yard, Su Xiao took one last look at the small art studio on the second floor, then stepped on the gas, without a trace of lingering affection.
As soon as Su Xiaorun arrived at the studio, she finished refining her writing when her phone vibrated in her bag. It was a message from Xu Bozhou's assistant, the content of which was concise and to the point:
Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, in the conference room on the second floor of the Xu Group building.
Su Xiao replied: Received.
He then turned off his phone and put it aside.
She ground the ink again and tried her brush on the Xuan paper next to her.
The brushstrokes were very fine, barely achieving the effect she wanted.
She carefully continued to add strokes to the flower and bird painting.
This painting took another two hours, until after 3 a.m. before I finally finished.
The bird's eyes are lively and expressive, and the flowers are about to bloom. Compared with the original painting, there is no trace of post-production editing.
Su Xiao sent Qin Yu a message, asking him to find a framing artist to re-frame it the next day, then packed her things and returned to Xu An's house.
Su Xiao went back and took a shower. She sat on the bed in the guest room and stared blankly out the window.
She had to find a way to shut the Su family up.
If this drags on, she'll be driven crazy by Yan Mingshen and Xia Zhi sooner or later...
Su Xiao went to bed after 4 a.m., and had to get up again at 7:30 a.m. to wash up.
I only slept for three hours in total.
She made herself a cup of coffee as soon as she got up.
Xu An's refrigerator contained nothing but face masks and skincare products.
Su Xiao sighed helplessly.
Xu An is usually busy with work and rarely gets to stay at home throughout the year.
After washing up, Su Xiao casually applied light makeup, poured coffee into an iced glass, and went out.
I arrived at the Xu Group building right on time at 8:50.
The receptionist had already received the message. After a quick check of the information, she took Su Xiao to the conference room on the second floor without much delay.
Xu Bozhou's assistant, Meng Jin, was already waiting there.
He had fair skin, was refined and cultured, wore frameless glasses, and had a smile that was just the right amount of gentle aloofness.
"Miss Su, please have a seat."
"Thanks."
Su Xiao nodded in acknowledgment and sat down in the chair next to him.
His gaze swept over the other person's neatly dressed gray suit, and he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
It's the hottest time of year in Beijing right now, and Xu Bozhou is a laid-back person who doesn't force his employees to wear formal attire.
Unexpectedly, his assistant had a completely different style from him.
He looks gentle and old-fashioned.
"I heard from Mr. Xu that you planned that very popular cultural exhibition three years ago."
"Um."
Su Xiao nodded.
That was the last exhibition she did with the Su family's team before she got married.
Her proposal received high praise internationally and even won an award.
“I went to see it, and it really has some great ideas.”
Meng Jin politely handed the employee handbook and work badge to Su Xiao, his voice filled with appreciation.
"You will be joining a new department that we set up specifically for the West Coast project. There are not many people, so the related departments of publicity, design and planning will all be located in the same area."
He speaks very gently, slowly and deliberately.
“I can show you around first. If it’s inconvenient for you to work, I can help you find a private studio.”
Meng Jin got up and led Su Xiao outside; he had his own reasons for doing so.
After all, the entire department is currently operating around the West Coast project. If there is no contact or communication in the early stages, it will be difficult to cooperate well later.
"I don't mind. It would be more convenient to communicate if we worked together."
Su Xiao followed him to the elevator lobby to wait for the elevator.
The numbers on the elevator were ticking as it went up, and Su Xiao stood beside Meng Jin.
The elevator mirror in the Xu family's apartment was polished to a shine, reflecting the faint dark circles under her eyes.
With a "ding," the elevator doors slid open to both sides.
Xu Bozhou stood inside, and when he heard the sound, he slowly looked up and his eyes met Su Xiao's.
He wore a satin shirt today, with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing a section of his fair and strong wrist.
He doesn't look like a CEO; he looks more like a celebrity walking the red carpet.
His face was dark and gloomy, his fox-like eyes were half-closed, and there was no warmth in them.
Who has upset him again...?
Su Xiao paused, unable to suppress her inner grumbling.
The air pressure is so low, it feels like the weather is about to turn cold and the king will fall at any moment.
Meng Jin clearly sensed his boss's displeasure, his smile froze slightly, and he quickly lowered his head and entered the elevator: "President Xu."
"Um."
Xu Bozhou responded in an unfriendly tone. He glanced at Su Xiao, stepped aside, and his face darkened further.
The only sound in the cramped space was the faint hum of the elevator.
Su Xiao stood in the corner, trying to minimize her presence.
"We've arrived at the fourth floor."
Meng Jin reminded him softly.
Su Xiao felt as if she had been granted a pardon and immediately followed Meng Jin out of the elevator as if she were fleeing.
She glanced back before the elevator doors closed, as if possessed, and saw that Xu Bozhou wasn't looking down.
His brows were deeply furrowed, and he exuded a strong sense of oppression.
The elevator doors slowly closed.
Meng Jin, who was standing next to him, also breathed a sigh of relief and explained in a low voice:
"Miss Su, please don't mind, Mr. Xu isn't in a good mood today."
"Why?"
Su Xiao wasn't curious at first, but since the other party brought it up, she didn't want Meng Jin's words to fall flat.
"When Mr. Xu went to work this morning, he found that the money tree downstairs had been pulled up."
Meng Jin pushed up his glasses, his tone tinged with helplessness:
"I just checked the surveillance footage; it was done by people from the Yan family."
Su Xiao suddenly realized.
She didn't ask any more questions and followed Meng Jin toward the department.
She didn't see it; it was inside the elevator at that moment.
Xu Bozhou was looking down at the message Chen Huai had sent him on his phone:
Sir, I found out. Miss Su did return to the villa last night, but left after only half an hour. It seems she went to pick up her art supplies.
Xu Bozhou stared at the line of words, his knuckles turning white from gripping them so tightly.
Half an hour? It takes half an hour to get the art supplies?
God knows what they did in those half hour.
He thought of Su Xiao's dark circles under her eyes, and his heart felt heavy.
Could it be that she saw Yan Mingshen and is having trouble sleeping...?
Xu Bozhou rubbed his temples, and the surrounding air pressure seemed to drop even lower.
*
Achoo!
Su Xiao, who was walking down the street, suddenly sneezed for no apparent reason.
She rubbed her nose, not taking it seriously.
The office area on the fourth floor is open-plan and has excellent natural light.
As soon as Su Xiao entered the room, she felt a series of scrutinizing gazes falling on her.
The office is mostly staffed by men, many of whom were transferred from the design and operations departments.
His face showed a hint of disdain.
“These are my colleagues from the project team,” Meng Jin introduced. “This is Su Xiao, who was hired from outside the company and is the new leader of the planning team.”
No one answered.
The men exchanged glances, their eyes filled with scrutiny and disapproval.
It wasn't that they were ostracizing Su Xiao; it's just that the company had gradually sent three or four people to take over the planning department.
None of them could survive seven days here.
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