Before she could finish her words, the office door was flung open.
Su Yao and Fu Chen walked in side by side, followed by her assistant.
"Mrs. Fu?" Su Yao spoke with a bit of a delicate tone, "Fu Chen and I came here to talk about something, I didn't expect you to be here too."
Fu Chen's eyebrows moved slightly as he was pulled by her, but he did not pull his hand back.
The directors put down their teacups slowly and calmly.
Xu Zhiru stood up, with that standard, unmistakable fake smile on her face: "Ms. Su, Mr. Fu. It's quite a coincidence. I made an appointment with Nanxue for tea and a casual chat."
"Just chatting?" Su Yao repeated this. "I thought Miss Xu was busy discussing with Miss Ning how to manage Ning's business recently."
She paused, then turned to Fu Chen and said, "Ah Chen, I heard someone saw Miss Xu going to the Ning Group every few days. I was wondering, when did Mrs. Fu become so concerned about Ning's business?"
There was a sting in these words, stabbing at me neither lightly nor heavily.
Fu Chen looked at Xu Zhiru without saying anything, but the way he looked at her made people feel pressured.
Xu Zhiru took a step forward and stood next to Fu Chen naturally. She reached out and carefully helped him adjust his shirt cuffs. The action looked intimate and skillful.
The jade bracelet on her wrist glowed warmly under the light as she moved.
"Miss Su really loves to joke." Xu Zhiru fixed Fu Chen's sleeves, then raised her head and looked at Su Yao, "As Mrs. Fu, of course I have to think about the Fu family and share some of Ah Chen's worries. Ning's is also a partner of the Fu family now, so it's always good for me to know more about the situation."
Her tone was gentle, but every word was clear: "Unlike some people who claim to be injecting capital into the Fu Group, I think their hearts are not in the Fu Group at all, right?"
The smile on Su Yao's face subsided a bit: "Miss Xu, what does this mean? My Su family has put out real money to support the Fu family. Is it wrong?"
"Don't misunderstand, Miss Su." Xu Zhiru chuckled. "I just feel that Miss Su's concern for the Fu Group is sometimes... a little too much, and doesn't seem like a purely business partnership. Especially when it comes to Mr. Jiang Tingchen's affairs, Miss Su seems to be particularly concerned."
"Jiang Tingchen?" Su Yao snorted. "He's close to Miss Ning, so isn't it normal for me to ask a few more questions? On the contrary, Miss Xu is so protective of Miss Ning. Could it be that you two are really planning to do something together as the rumors say?"
The air suddenly became tense.
Ning Nanxue sat steadily, as if what was happening in front of her had nothing to do with her, and she just listened quietly.
Fu Chen finally spoke, his voice a little low: "Zhi Ru, Miss Su is Fu's strategic advisor and an important partner."
What this means is that she should be fine with it.
Xu Zhiru seemed not to hear, and instead leaned closer to Fu Chen: "Ah Chen, of course I know that Miss Su is very important to the Fu family. But some things must be laid out on the table and made clear. The Su family's money will be used with peace of mind by the Fu family, and Miss Su will feel comfortable with it. This is what we call long-term."
She turned to look at Su Yao: "Miss Su, do you think this is true? What if one day, something happens to Mr. Jiang Tingchen, which affects Miss Su's mood, and then the Fu family's funds become unstable, then the directors of our Fu family will probably have other ideas."
As soon as these words came out, Su Yao's face changed.
Fu Chen also felt the sharpness in Xu Zhiru's words, as well as the naked possessiveness.
"Xu Zhiru, what did you say?" Su Yao asked her, "Are you trying to scare me?"
"Miss Su, you're too kind." Xu Zhiru maintained her gentle demeanor. "I'm just being honest. The Fu family has finally managed to stabilize itself, but it can't withstand further turmoil. I don't think any of the Fu family's directors would want to see the lifeblood of the Fu family in the hands of an investor whose interests lie elsewhere, do they?"
Ning Nanxue then slowly spoke, "What Mrs. Fu said does make sense. In business, the most worrying thing is unstable people's hearts. Miss Su's family is wealthy, and the Fu family's investment may be a drop in the bucket for the Su family. But for the Fu family, and for the Fu family's shareholders, whether every penny can be kept stable is a matter of concern."
Fu Chen felt annoyed as he listened to the two of them talking back and forth.
He didn't like the feeling of being led by the nose by women, and he didn't like them using the stability of the Fu family as a bargaining chip.
Fu Chen's hand rested on Xu Zhiru's waist.
The warmth of his palm came through the thin fabric.
"Zhiru, Miss Su is a guest." His voice was not loud, but it carried weight.
Su Yao looked at Fu Chen's hand, and her fingertips curled up almost imperceptibly.
"Guest?" she repeated, dragging out the last syllable. "Mr. Fu, my Su family is giving real money to the Fu family to help them survive. This amount of money cannot be easily dismissed with just a 'guest'."
She took a small step forward and faced Xu Zhiru.
"Ms. Xu, what you just said was that my concern for the Fu family was 'over the top' and it didn't seem like a purely business cooperation. From what I heard, it sounded like you were accusing me, Su Yao, of having some inappropriate thoughts about you, Mr. Fu, or the Fu family?"
Su Yao's tone was no longer the deliberately softened one from before, and every word was clear.
"Why, in Madam Fu's opinion, anyone who wants to help the Fu family must first pass your review and prove that they have no desire for Mr. Fu before they are qualified to discuss cooperation?"
She swept her eyes over the people present and finally landed on Xu Zhiru.
"Or is it that Mrs. Fu's vision is limited to the small space next to her pillow? Do you think that anyone who approaches Mr. Fu is trying to compete with you for something?"
Xu Zhiru's hand rested on Fu Chen's arm, her knuckles tense and white, her nails almost digging into the material of Fu Chen's suit.
She didn't say anything immediately, just stood there, her body a little stiff.
Fu Chen could feel her tenseness. He didn't remove his hand immediately, but unconsciously rubbed her waist with his thumb twice, as if to comfort her, or perhaps it was just a habitual little gesture.
Su Yao saw all this, and the corners of her lips raised, but there was no warmth in that arc.
"It seems that Madam Fu has acquiesced? This kind of generosity from the dignified Fu family... Tsk, it's really eye-opening."
She shook her head slightly, as if she was regretting something.
"I thought Madam Fu could come up with something real. At the very least, you should let everyone see how you secured the position of the Fu family's mistress and what you relied on."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
