Chapter 112 The President's Spouse
Ten minutes later, when the door to the top-floor conference room was pushed open, Fu Jingchen was standing next to the head of the long table, his fingertips pointing at the process nodes on the projection screen.
“Anderson’s sudden show of goodwill likely indicates they have a hidden agenda.” The man’s voice was steady as he glanced at the core members present.
"Pay attention to their wording during subsequent negotiations, especially regarding disputes over past projects."
Ruan Yi sat to the man's left and quickly jotted down key points and important information in her notebook.
As the pen tip glided across the paper, she looked up at Fu Jingchen and met his gentle gaze.
The meeting had just ended when footsteps echoed in the corridor. Ruan Yi closed her notebook and stood up.
"I'll go greet them."
Fu Jingchen frowned. "Just send Assistant Li."
"Me too! I'm about to be promoted to special assistant, and soon I'll be an all-rounder!"
The man looked at the girl's slender back, his eyes filled with nothing but desolation.
"It's the assistant again..."
"Is the position of CEO's wife really that unattractive?"
At the end of the corridor, a tall man was standing there.
The striking diamond mask on his face shimmered under the overhead light.
"Mr. Anderson, this way please."
Ruan Yi stepped forward, maintaining a polite smile, pretending that the embarrassing incident of selling her body last time had never happened.
The man's gaze fell on her face, lingered for a moment, and then stiffly moved away.
Ruan Yi began to question the meaning of life again.
Every time this person sees her, he turns into a zombie.
When the conference room door was pushed open, Fu Jingchen was already sitting in the main seat, calmly looking towards the doorway.
Seren entered with two lieutenants.
He walked straight to the seat opposite Fu Jingchen, and when he sat down, his movements were unhurried but carried an invisible hostility.
The atmosphere in the conference room should have become increasingly serious as Anderson's deputy introduced the project.
The man was explaining the details of the cooperation to the projection screen, his words clear and his voice steady, but everyone's eyes kept drifting toward the head of the long table.
Ruan Yi held her pen and lowered her head to take notes, the monotonous narration filling her ears. A stray strand of hair had fallen across her forehead, tickling her cheek as it brushed against her skin.
Just as she was about to raise her hand to push it away, a warm hand reached out first.
Fu Jingchen's gaze was on the document one second, but the next second his fingertips precisely pinched a strand of hair, gently pulled it back, and tucked it behind her ear.
His fingertips brushed against Ruan Yi's earlobe, gently rubbing it with his fingertips, with a unique intimacy and doting affection.
What the heck is going on?!
Is Fu Jingchen trying to tell everyone that her assistant has "found a sugar daddy"?
This subtle interaction could not escape the keen eyes of everyone in the room, and the conference room fell silent for a moment.
Across the long table, Seren sat almost frozen in place, his face obscured by a diamond mask, but his eyes, which had suddenly darkened, remained fixed on him.
His pupils seemed frozen, mixed with an impending burst of ferocity, and his fingers gripping the pen were white from the force.
He stared intently at the hand that Fu Jingchen had withdrawn, the air pressure around him instantly dropping to an eerie low, yet he didn't make a sound, only a suppressed rage.
The deputy coughed dryly and forced himself to continue speaking, but his voice was a fraction softer than before.
Lee Te's assistant nearly dropped his pen. The legal director next to him nudged him with his elbow, and the two exchanged a "Oh my god" look.
President Fu, who is known for his strict separation of public and private life, is openly showing affection for his wife here. What's even more shocking is Seren's reaction on the other side.
"What's going on?"
The head of the technical department secretly lowered his voice and mouthed a question to the person next to him.
"I don't know..."
The marketing manager gave a blank look, his eyes darting between the three of them.
Suddenly, he showed an "I understand" look and winked at his colleagues. Could this be a love triangle scene?
Ruan Yi felt her scalp tingle from the stares of onlookers around her. Just as she was starting to feel uncomfortable, Fu Jingchen broke the silence.
"Mr. Anderson, state your terms."
Seren turned his gaze away. "We can end targeted competition in all areas."
His voice came through the mask, carrying a dull echo.
"This includes withdrawing the lawsuit in Europe and ending the blockade on your company's new energy projects."
Fu Jingchen did not respond.
“But the premise is,” Seren paused, his gaze sweeping over Ruan Yi again, “that we need to cooperate.”
NovaVoy's management team was stunned by these words.
The Andersons and NovaVoy have been at odds for so long, not to mention cooperation, they even try to sabotage each other when they meet at industry summits. Why would they suddenly make such a request?
Seren seemed to have anticipated their reaction and continued.
"You have the extraction technology for the deepwater oil and gas field project in the southern Middle East, and we have the local government resources. If we join forces, we can start drilling within three months, and the profit margin is conservatively estimated to be over 10 billion."
He looked up at Fu Jingchen, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"How about we wipe the slate clean and make a win-win deal?"
After listening to Seren's suggestion, Fu Jingchen remained as calm as ever, his eyes calculating the pros and cons.
The cooperation plan is indeed reasonable, almost a sure thing, and moreover, the truce itself can stop the losses. The previous business war had caused considerable losses for both sides, so it is a good thing to be able to end it gracefully.
But as her gaze swept over him, she happened to catch Seren's eyes glancing at Ruan Yi.
He suddenly changed his mind.
Given Ruan Yi's restless nature, once NovaVoy gets involved with the Anderson family, especially in such a crucial collaboration, she might just run into Seren again.
He could even foresee that even if Ruan Yi was strictly forbidden from interfering in the coordination, she would simply turn around and do what she was supposed to do.
He never had any say in Ruan Yi's affairs.
Having made up his mind, Fu Jingchen nodded slightly, his tone revealing no emotion.
"The cooperation plan is fine, but..."
Before he could finish speaking, his wrist was suddenly twisted hard, with considerable force.
The man paused, then turned his head and bumped into Ruan Yi's wide-open eyes.
The girl didn't say anything, just stared at him intently, her long eyelashes blinking rapidly twice, her eyes clearly cursing him.
He looked at me with a disappointed expression, almost as if he was about to yell, "Are you crazy? You don't want all this money, I want it!"
The man's Adam's apple bobbed.
He knew, of course, that this was a good deal, and anyone with a modicum of sense would not refuse it.
But it's different when it comes to her; NovaVoy hasn't reached the point where a collaboration would cause trouble.
Fu Jingchen tapped his fingertips on the edge of the document, and even a fool could see that his expression clearly indicated he was about to refuse.
Ruan Yi was furious. She slammed her pen down on the notebook and spoke before he could say anything.
“Okay, of course, no problem. Please draft a contract and let our president review it. If there are no problems, we can finalize the cooperation plan.”
The conference room fell silent for a moment, and everyone's eyes were on Ruan Yi, with no one failing to express surprise.
After all, it's unheard of for an assistant to make decisions on behalf of the president.
The man glanced at her, his eyes showing no displeasure at being interrupted, but rather a hint of indulgent compromise.
He knew it; he couldn't stop him... he simply couldn't stop him. Not even ten oxen could pull Ruan Yi away.
Anderson's deputy didn't respond, wearing a polite smile but with a barbed tone.
“This…Ms. Ruan? You must be Mr. Fu’s assistant. Ultimately, such cooperation decisions should be made by Mr. Fu himself.”
Those words sounded polite, but they were actually blatantly sarcastic. How could an assistant be involved in such a high-level decision?
Ruan Yi frowned, her displeasure rising again. Fu Jingchen hadn't refuted her, and given their actions just now, anyone with a bit of sense should understand what was going on.
But this person insisted on pretending to be ignorant even though he knew the truth.
Seeing that she didn't speak, the deputy pressed her further, his tone even more explicit.
"In what capacity are you making this decision on behalf of President Fu? In this situation, Miss Ruan, it's best to just take notes."
Ruan Yi suddenly laughed, her voice becoming much louder.
"Is it not allowed for me to be a current employee of NovaVoy and the spouse of its president?"
Although it's a bit of an exaggeration, it's still a good deal for Fu Jingchen.
Seeing the mocking look on Anderson's deputy's face as he kept emphasizing her identity as "Miss Ruan" instead of calling her Assistant Ruan, she was so angry that she blurted out.
The people in the conference room froze completely, and several couldn't help but gasp, their eyes darting back and forth between Ruan Yi and Fu Jingchen.
It was obvious that everyone assumed the two were already engaged, or even secretly married.
Only Fu Jingchen's eyes instantly lit up with wild joy, as if fireworks were popping and crackling inside.
"She admitted it?"
"She actually said that on her own initiative?"
This is even more exciting than securing ten multi-billion dollar collaborations; the feeling of happiness almost overflows from the man's chest.
The man suppressed the urge to immediately pull the person into his arms, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice carried an barely suppressed laugh.
"Yes, I'll listen to my lover."
The NovaVoy employees couldn't hold back any longer; they were suppressing smirks, their eyes blatantly mocking, "You've misjudged me."
Who doesn't know how important Assistant Ruan is to President Fu?
This person is just asking for trouble.
The deputy's face flushed red and then turned pale, so embarrassed that he didn't know where to put his hands.
He hurriedly looked at Thran, hoping to get some advice from his boss, but Thran's gaze wasn't on him at all.
The man's eyes, peering through the diamond mask, were fixed on Ruan Yi, as if he wanted to burn two holes in her face.
The deputy coughed twice and forced himself to continue.
"Then, we will draft the contract as soon as possible and send it over to Mr. Fu and... Mrs. Fu for review."
Before he could finish speaking, a voice suddenly lashed out, filled with a fierce, teeth-gritting intensity and a near-shattering pain, as if something were gripping his throat tightly.
Every word that came out was filled with suppressed pain: "Spouse? When did that happen?"
Seren's voice had completely changed.
It was no longer the dull sound from behind a mask, nor the strange, deliberately lowered voice; instead, it was surprisingly clear.
It sounded so pleasant it took your breath away, yet in the current context, it carried an indescribable air of hostility.
All eyes in the conference room turned to Seren.
Fu Jingchen's smile vanished instantly, and his brows furrowed sharply.
"That voice... ah."
"It had always been hidden in the open."
Ruan Yi was also startled by the sudden question.
What's going on? Why did this person's voice suddenly change?
She turned to look at Seren, her eyes filled with astonishment.
Seren seemed oblivious to the stares around him, leaning slightly forward, his gaze beneath the mask burning like fire as he stared directly at Ruan Yi.
The man repeated it again, his voice trembling almost uncontrollably, and he called out her full name.
"Ruan Yi, say it!"
"When did you become his spouse?!"
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