"Lu Qianzhou, I'm talking to you!" The person beside him rapped on the table in annoyance.
Lu Qianzhou sent a message with a smile, then put his phone away. The smile faded from his face in an instant.
At the Yaxing Club, the private room was filled with the allure of wine and women, a symphony of debauchery. Two young and beautiful girls sat beside Lu Qianzhou, one pure and reserved, the other bold and revealing. But ever since Lu Qianzhou arrived, he had kept a cold face and strictly forbidden them to come closer than thirty centimeters.
In contrast, Lu Jingsi on the opposite side was much more unrestrained, with a young beauty in each arm. Lu Jingsi was the eldest son of the second wife of the old Master Lu, and it was only recently that he had managed to strike up a conversation with Lu Qianzhou.
After all, Lu Qianzhou was a maverick who always made his own decisions and never submitted to control.
Rumors spread that the old Master Lu was on his last legs, and his children from different wives were openly and secretly vying for the family fortune. But only those involved knew the real situation.
Since the old Master Lu had a serious illness last year, his health had indeed declined, but he was far from dying.
The family members all believed that Lu Qianzhou would be the strongest contender, as he had won the old master's favor in the past two years. So the other two wives suddenly joined forces.
The second wife had one son and two daughters. To gain the old master's favor and get a bigger share of the fortune, it all depended on her son.
Getting in touch with Lu Qianzhou was his quickest and most effective choice. However, Lu Qianzhou seemed uninterested in the fight for the family fortune. No matter how enthusiastic Lu Jingsi was, he couldn't melt the ice that was Lu Qianzhou.
To form a solid alliance with him, one either had to get hold of his secrets or please him.
But judging from the situation today, Lu Qianzhou didn't even spare a glance at the girls he had arranged, showing no respect at all. Fortunately, the informants he had secretly placed reported that Lu Qianzhou had been looking for a girl named Cheng Yanxia for the past two years. Now that she had returned, judging from his lovesick look, it seemed he still had feelings for her.
"Don't be in such a hurry. The old master is still in good health. Do you think he can't see your under - the - table schemes? In fact, he knows everything. You're fighting like crazy while he's still alive. Isn't that like cursing him to death?" Lu Qianzhou replied indifferently.
Lu Jingsi shook his head and clicked his tongue. "That's true, but the old master dotes on the youngest daughter of the fourth wife the most. These days, that little girl has been spending almost all her free time with the old master. She says it's out of filial piety, but who knows what kind of sweet talk she's whispering in his ear for the fourth wife."
He was afraid that if the old master was temporarily pleased, he, who was already out of favor, would lose even more influence.
Lu Qianzhou only said, "Time will tell."
Anyone could pretend to be filial for a while, but only those who could keep it up for a long time would succeed.
The youngest daughter of the fourth wife was indeed excellent, but she was impatient. It would be hard for her to keep up the act of flattering an old man for a long time.
Lu Jingsi had his own agenda. He rolled his eyes, and with a look, the girl beside Lu Qianzhou dutifully reached for Lu Qianzhou's glass to pour him wine.
"With your cooperation, I feel much more at ease. The old master has valued you the most in the past two years. With your own company, Changling, and the support of the third uncle, well, brother, I'll be counting on you in the future. If you need any help from me, just say the word."
However, before the bottle could reach the glass, Lu Qianzhou picked up the glass with one hand. The girl gave an embarrassed smile and then got up to pour wine for Lu Jingsi.
Lu Qianzhou had sent a message to his assistant, asking him to buy a bouquet of flowers and some gifts for Yanxia and send them to Shengshi to congratulate her on becoming the vice - president of the company. He always had good sources of information, and sending a gift was no trouble.
Lu Qianzhou said, "There's something I need you to do now."
Lu Jingsi tilted his head back and took a sip of wine. One of his hands kept wandering on the hand of the girl in his arms. If it weren't for Lu Qianzhou being there, he would have probably stripped off his pants and had sex on the spot. Hearing this, he stopped his actions.
"What is it?"
"Fang Jiangyi." Lu Qianzhou uttered these three words.
...
It was expected that she would start work so soon. In fact, it was quite awkward for Yanxia to join Shengshi with her current identity. After all, she was the daughter of Cheng Hua, and everyone in her family except her was dead. She had hidden for almost a year before reappearing. Just as she showed up twice, her sister and father died. Then she disappeared again for three years.
Now, suddenly joining the company as the vice - president on Fang Jiangyi's special order, people in the company couldn't help but gossip.
The first thing Yanxia did when she entered the company was to go through all the major project materials from the past year. To get a good understanding of the current situation of Shengshi, she had to thoroughly grasp the progress of each project.
In the morning, besides Fang Jiangyi, many curious employees peeked outside the office to catch a glimpse of the specially - appointed vice - president, and many management staff came to greet her and try to get on her good side.
Because of Fang Jiangyi's special treatment of Yanxia, there were many rumors about his romantic entanglements with the two Cheng sisters.
Some said that Fang Jiangyi had been indecisive between the two sisters back then, and maybe he had been keeping Yanxia in a golden house for the past few years. Now that three years had passed and people had almost forgotten about the past, as soon as the storm had passed, they were showing their love in public.
Firstly, after such a long time, people were more accepting.
Secondly, it was said that men and women made a good working team, and if they had lived together for three years, it must be true love.
When she received the gifts and a small but fragrant bouquet of gardenias sent by Lu Qianzhou, Yanxia didn't even take a look and directly ordered,
"Throw all these things out."
"Ah?" Her new assistant, a young girl, didn't know about their past conflicts, so she repeated, "Ms. Cheng, these were sent by Lu Qianzhou, the president of Changling. He said it was to congratulate you on joining Shengshi."
"I said throw them out," Yanxia repeated patiently. "If you don't want to throw them away, you can keep them, but don't let me see these things again. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
The assistant quickly left the office after answering.
The fragrance of gardenias still lingered in the office. The smell seemed to touch a sensitive nerve in Yanxia, and she couldn't help but curse under her breath.
"Who's made Ms. Cheng so unhappy?" A familiar voice came from outside the office, followed by a knock on the door.
Yanxia squinted her eyes and looked up. She was stunned for a moment.
It was Peng Zixu. Before she left, she had heard that the Peng family had offended Lu Qianzhou and their company was on the verge of collapse. She hadn't inquired about the Peng family's situation since then, and never expected to meet Peng Zixu here.
"Mr. Peng, what can I do for you?"
"Shiyi was right. You're really her," he said. That's why she could call him by his name.