Chapter 13
Zhuang Yazhi had only eyes for the wine, completely unaware that a sharp, wolf-like gaze was staring at his back, slowly devouring his lonely figure.
Within ten minutes, Zhou Ying had figured out what had happened during the day. Although he didn't know the content of Zhuang Yazhi and John's conversation, he had already guessed it based on his intelligence.
"I never expected Miss Zhuang to like this type."
"Would you mind trying a different style? It seems like the domineering CEO image isn't very popular these days."
According to Zhou Ying, "Women in the 21st century are self-reliant and independent. Compared to those arrogant and domineering CEOs, they are more likely to be happy and receive higher emotional value from a young man calling them 'sister.'"
As she spoke, Zhou Ying looked Shen Yiheng up and down again, shaking her head and sighing. But when she received a cold glance from him, she swallowed the "no" that was about to come out. "Although you have a model face, a nine-headed body, eight-pack abs, seven gorillas, six livestock thriving, five threes, five fours, two people of one mind and one heart, it's not bad, is it?"
To avoid being silenced by her piercing gaze, Zhou Ying decided to slip away first.
More and more glasses piled up on the bar, and the intoxication gradually intensified. The body felt light, but the heavy head, filled with alcohol, swayed back and forth.
A black turtleneck shirt partially concealed her sexy Adam's apple, her lips were stained with red wine, and her bright eyes shone as she pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows.
"Careful," at the critical moment, Shen Yiheng hooked his hand to steady Zhuang Yazhi, who stumbled back two steps as she stood up, and her soft, delicate body was snuggled tightly into his arms.
That unfamiliar yet familiar warmth reignited the loneliness in my heart.
Zhuang Yazhi was drunk; her hazy eyes sparkled like stars, and her long eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings.
That single glance was enough to throw Shen Yiheng into a state of utter confusion, his even breathing gradually becoming rapid.
This scene felt like a return to the night they first met, when she got lost from being drunk and stumbled into his room like a flustered fawn, her face flushed.
The moment I closed the door, I was enveloped in a warm, soft embrace.
Red lips brushed past, greedily melting into the burning chest like a small snake. Though only a faint red mark was left, it left an incurable itch in Shen Yiheng's heart, which was even more unbearable in spring and autumn.
Now, she is committing another crime through his silk shirt. After several frictions, his lust has been aroused. He knows that his patience is limited and he cannot bear to be ruthlessly teased after being coldly abused.
"Go to the car, there are too many people and too many eyes here."
Although Zhuang Yazhi was drunk, she wasn't completely sober. She recognized Shen Yiheng and stared at him arrogantly, saying, "Disgusting. All you ever think about are those kinds of things."
She wanted to leave, but she couldn't. Those strong, muscular arms, as firm as shackles, forcefully pulled her away. His magnetic voice was as melodious as silk and bamboo: "With so many people around, if the paparazzi take some bad news, Miss Zhuang, please don't blame me again."
He harbored resentment, but lacked the courage to vent it.
When the two of them came down together, Zhou Ying was startled; they had come through a secret passage.
Zhuang Yazhi was still drunk, her face flushed with anger; while President Shen, on the other hand, kept her close behind him, not allowing anyone else to covet her, showing his fierce protectiveness.
Zhou Ying subtly winked at Shen Yiheng, then turned and left without looking back, as if she had made up her mind. He understood.
Where are you going?
But before they could take two steps, Shen Yiheng stopped them, asking, "If you leave, who's going to drive?"
Shen Yiheng knew that if Zhou Ying left, Zhuang Yazhi, with her stubborn personality, would definitely not stay any longer. In the current situation, there was no chance for them to be alone together.
Back in the car, the atmosphere was clearly off; it was cold and tense.
Zhou Ying glanced at the rearview mirror, noticing Shen Yiheng's unusually serious demeanor.
"Take Miss Zhuang home," Shen Yiheng instructed.
The car slowly drove out of the underground parking garage. The surroundings were quiet in the dark of night, with only the roar of the engine.
Shen Yiheng sat upright, glancing at Zhuang Yazhi on his left out of the corner of his eye. She remained as proud and aloof as ever, her long hair dancing in the rustling wind by the window, both elegant and beautiful.
He still remembered Zhuang Yazhi's dejected look when she sat at the bar that night, and he could still feel it now; he had noticed it.
Shen Yiheng knew she wouldn't accept help, so he didn't offer it rashly.
In that case, he would have to investigate it himself.
"We're about 300 meters from the Zhuang family villa. Do you want to park in front of the villa or find somewhere closer?"
Zhuang Yazhi glanced at it from afar; the Zhuang family villa was not far away. But she quickly looked away after just one glance; she didn't want to go back.
Her mother hadn't come back yet, and she didn't want to stay under the same roof as Zhuang Haiming.
Let's stop here.
After getting off the car, Zhuang Yazhi did not walk towards the Zhuang family villa, but turned around and walked towards the depths of the park not far away.
In the still of the night, not even a bird could be seen.
Zhuang Yazhi found a spot by the lake to sit down, where she could enjoy the cool breeze and sober up. She lay down on the grass without any restraint, gazing blankly at the stars and the bright moon in the sky.
She was confident that she could take down that group of people, but her sentimentality was bound to make her emotions run wild, stirring up a thousand waves in her heart.
Not far behind, Shen Yiheng hid in the bushes and watched quietly.
He couldn't wait any longer and was eager to find out exactly what had happened during the day.
The next morning, Zhuang Yazhi returned to the company early.
"Li Si, please arrange for Manager Cai to have lunch with me."
It was almost one o'clock when Zeiss finally arrived, yawning constantly and forgetting things along the way, clearly having just woken up and rushed to the company.
"Sorry, I had a lunch appointment with a client, so I was a little late."
Zhuang Yazhi invited Cai Siyue to sit down: "It's alright, I understand."
Cai Siyu glanced up at Zhuang Yazhi with a guilty conscience. His shrewd gaze was extremely sharp, making her feel flustered.
At the table, Zhuang Yazhi was very considerate, constantly putting food on Cai Siyue's plate: "Eat up, look how thin you are."
The sudden concern left Cai Siyue a little bewildered. Was she going to be fired? Her position as public relations manager was in jeopardy.
"Manager Zhuang, please just say what's on your mind." Cai Siyue was so frightened that her voice trembled.
Zhuang Yazhi took in her frightened expression and said with a clear laugh, "Manager Cai, you must take after your mother to be so beautiful."
Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Cai Siyue's smile cooled, and she looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Zhuang Yazhi presented the plan to the company: "To coincide with the company's anniversary, a celebration ceremony will be held on the 22nd floor at the end of the month. All shareholders and their families will be invited to offer their congratulations. The event will be handled by the public relations and administration departments. Is that alright?"
Cai Siyue hesitated, but finally took the proposal. When she opened it, the first page showed the list of invited guests, and the names in bold and large letters were particularly glaring.
"The anniversary celebration is of great importance. A number of media outlets and business and political figures from all walks of life will be attending. Manager Cai will have to put in a lot of effort."
Cai Siyue felt a lump in her throat: "Understood."
After lunch, the shareholders' meeting will begin immediately.
Coincidentally, Zhang Haiming is going on a business trip out of town these two days, so the meeting will be temporarily chaired by Zhuang Yazhi.
"The third quarter is coming to an end, and I've taken a look at the work reports you've submitted. They're not very good."
“Especially the production department,” Zhuang Yazhi pointed the finger at Cai Xincheng: “The problem of low productivity has not been resolved for a long time, and many projects are in a state of emergency because of insufficient production capacity.”
"I would like to hear Chairman Cai's thoughts on this."
Cai Xincheng was not flustered at all. Having been a seasoned veteran in the business world for many years, he had already prepared his explanation before coming.
"Well, every production schedule is executed according to the contract, and production is arranged strictly according to the submitted schedule. As for the capacity issue, the most important thing now is the increase in labor costs and operating costs. Advocating cost reduction and efficiency improvement will more or less affect production."
While speaking, Cai Xincheng subtly observed Zhuang Yazhi's expression, and then changed the subject to exonerate himself: "But General Manager Zhuang, please rest assured, I have already arranged for people to work in three shifts to keep production running 24 hours a day, to ensure that production capacity will be increased in the fourth quarter."
The other shareholders at the meeting all agreed with this, and Zhuang Yazhi did not rush to express his opinion.
There was also a document on her left, which someone had secretly handed to her before the meeting started. The contents of the document were quite fascinating.
"Chairman Cai, please come to my office after the meeting. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."
"Okay!" he greeted with a smile, readily agreeing.
When he arrived, he also kept a very humble attitude, without any airs of seniority or condescension.
Zhuang Yazhi prepared tea early and served the finest Huangshan Maofeng tea to the guests: "The company has many projects, and Chairman Cai has been working hard overseeing production lately."
Cai Xincheng chuckled and said, "I'm a shareholder of the company, so this is what I should do."
He was always considerate in his dealings with people and in his hospitality, handling all superficial relationships very well, so smoothly that no one could find a single flaw in him.
Zhuang Yazhi raised his glass: "This junior would like to offer you another cup of tea to thank Chairman Cai for his tireless and selfless contributions to the company over the years. I have only recently taken over the company, and there may be some oversights. If there is anything I have done in a poor manner, please forgive me, Chairman Cai."
Cai Xincheng was very satisfied with the tea, especially Zhuang Yazhi's humble attitude, which made him feel very comfortable. He became so proud that he started praising each other: "Yazhi did a great job and is a role model for the younger generation. As for me, I am getting old and I am afraid that in a few years I will not be able to help much."
"Chairman Cai, you're too modest. You're the backbone of the company; we can't function without you. I can't bear to see you retire so early; I'm counting on you to help me for a few more years."
"Let's work together and make it bigger and stronger. We'll be rolling in stock options and dividends. Oh my god, just thinking about it makes me happy."
The cake was so hard that Cai Xincheng couldn't swallow it, even while drinking tea. He just grinned and smiled obsequiously.
After leaving the general manager's office, Cai Xincheng felt something was off. "What is that brat up to? Is she trying to bribe me?"
After thinking it over and over, he still couldn't find any suitable excuse.
"They're definitely trying to bribe me!" After being affirmed, Cai Xincheng left with a much more arrogant stride, swaggering around with an air of superiority.
Zhuang Yazhi watched him show off quietly, thinking, "This guy is really something, he's not even bothering to pretend anymore."
She opened the document, which clearly recorded how he withheld workers' benefits, ruthlessly exploited them by changing the system, and caused workers to complain and have nowhere to turn. As a result, more than ten workers left, and naturally, production capacity could not keep up.
Her dignified eyes were like clear water, and her confident demeanor was as radiant as her arched eyebrows.
They say to catch the thief by catching the king first, but this time she's going to take down both the king and the prince and kill them all.
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