A Broken Mirror Never Mends - Chapter 30

Up until the moment they hit the shore, Shi Tian couldn’t figure out how the man named Zhou managed to perfectly layer two completely opposite facial expressions while maintaining his grace as usual.

During the second half of the return trip, Zhou Sifu would sometimes stare blankly at the front of the fishing boat with a slight frown, looking as if he wanted to speak but was hesitating. At other times, he kept his lips pressed thin, his eyes sweeping across the surroundings with a disdainful gaze while intentionally avoiding eye contact with Shi Tian. He looked like someone who had been teased and bullied.

Even though the man was nearly thirty, for a split second, Shi Tian felt as if Zhou Sifu had torn off the mask and shell he wore on his face, revealing a bit of the arrogance from his youth.

Shi Tian glanced at him sideways. “What are you doing?”

Zhou Sifu opened his mouth, but not a single word came out for a long time. Finally, he spoke slowly in his usual annoying tone, “President Shi, I’m saying—”

“It’s always ‘President Shi’ this and ‘President Shi’ that,” Shi Tian coldly interrupted the beginning of his sentence. “Can you not say my name, or what?”

“…”

Hearing their conversation, the two informants disguised as fishermen at the front of the boat exchanged a silent glance, their faces full of surprise.

In their memory, Mr. Zhou was always the one who pushed others to the point of being speechless; they had never seen anyone shut Mr. Zhou up so completely that he couldn’t say a single word.

After a thirty-minute voyage, the fishing boat carrying the two arrived safely at the port. Seeing Assistant Chen waiting at the entrance of Pier 2 with the car lights on, Shi Tian waved to Zhou Sifu. “I’m off.”

Zhou Sifu’s work was busy, and Shi Tian was also busy dealing with a lawsuit while organizing the follow-up matters of the company’s restructuring. This time, the two had met by chance because of the lawsuit, and he didn’t know when the next meeting would be.

He and Zhou Sifu hadn’t been in contact for so many years; they weren’t even considered friends. Opportunities to meet in the future likely wouldn’t be frequent.

Thinking this, Shi Tian didn’t feel a sense of relief; instead, a strange, vague annoyance arose in him.

The past should stay in the past. After all, Zhou Sifu had helped him a lot this time; there was truly no need for him and the man named Zhou to keep their relationship so tense.

After hesitating for a moment, he turned around and added to the man standing by the door of the Raffaelina: “I owe you a favor for this. Like we said during the day, I’ll treat you to dinner when there’s a chance.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Zhou Sifu let out a deep laugh in the night.

“Sure, I’m free next week.” Zhou Sifu took the car keys from his pocket and tossed them to Old Zhao behind him. “What does President Shi want to eat? Should I have someone book a table first?”

Shi Tian: “…”

…That was a politeness! Do you not understand polite small talk!

He got into the passenger seat of the Audi. Just as he locked the door, his phone vibrated.

He tapped the screen and found the sender was a phone number without a contact name. With just one glance at the message, he recognized who it was.

[Your three million is still with me. Don’t forget, President Shi.]

“…”

Seeing the text, he remembered. The reserve funds he had intended to leave for his parents were currently still in Zhou Sifu’s bank account.

Although he had Assistant Chen call Zhou Sifu using this new phone before, he had never saved the man’s number.

Staring at the short line of text on the screen for a long time, Shi Tian pursed his lips slightly, clicked the “Add New Contact” button, and gave the person a nickname in the contact field.

Just a few measly bucks: [Your three million is still with me. Don’t forget, President Shi.]

Shi Tian: [Understood. Thanks for the reminder, President Zhou.]

Just a few measly bucks: [You’re welcome.]

Glancing out the passenger window, Assistant Chen for a moment thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

If he wasn’t mistaken, just now, the corner of President Shi’s mouth curved down slightly… as if he were amused?

Although they said they could meet for dinner next week, Danofi was in its first mid-term performance release period after going public, and Shi Tian was busy organizing materials for his countersuit. He didn’t reach out first, and since the other party’s schedule was also full, the two actually never contacted each other again.

About two weeks later, Shi Tian received a notice from the court that his countersuit had been accepted. In a flash, he successfully turned from the defendant into the plaintiff.

A few days later, the asset and debt restructuring process for Fengyu Enterprises officially began. Since both big bosses were involved in different lawsuits, there were large-scale changes in the company’s internal management. During the restructuring, the Board of Directors was managed by the Vice Chairman and another senior Executive Director. The original Sales Director temporarily served as the group’s Acting CEO—the position Shi Tian originally held.

According to the terms in Fengyu’s corporate bylaws, if a corporate representative needs to withdraw from company operations, they must transfer the company’s responsibilities and rights within one month and arrange all matters before leaving. However, because he had been dealing with the lawsuit recently, as the defendant, Shi Tian could not enter the company without court permission. Therefore, he had not returned to the Fengyu office building or his own office.

With the notice of the countersuit being accepted, the legal restraining orders against him were lifted. He could finally enter and leave the company freely.

On the last Friday of August, Shi Tian took Assistant Chen and his two lawyers to Fengyu Group for the final handover before the transfer of duties.

Sitting in the passenger seat and watching the parking gate at the group’s entrance slowly open, Shi Tian realized he hadn’t been back to the company for over a month. Even the security guards at the entrance were new faces.

As the car drove toward the parking lot, several employees who had just stepped out for lunch turned their heads in surprise, whispering about him inside the car, their faces full of gossip.

He recognized most of these young people; they were all fresh university graduates who had joined the company earlier this year. Their young, vibrant, and positive attitudes were written clearly on their faces. Just like when he had first graduated, they felt the future was bright and full of promise.

Who could have guessed that in just eight years, before he had even officially crossed the threshold of thirty, he would already taste the bitterness of how things change and people move on. And the culprit behind all this was the man who had been by his side for a full eight years—his new husband.

Now, that person was also being sued by him in court.

Being too emotional would affect a person’s objective judgment, so he consciously chose not to think about it. The past was thrown behind him; even his memories became light and airy.

Outside the window, the cicadas chirped as the summer heat lingered. This summer seemed exceptionally long.

The Audi came to a steady stop in a parking spot. The lawyer sitting in the back greeted Shi Tian, opened the door, and went out to take a call.

A few minutes later, the lawyer returned to the car and said to Shi Tian, “Mr. Shi, your guarantor called. They asked if you are returning to the company for the handover today, and if it would be convenient for them to come by as well to do a secondary debt assessment inside Fengyu.”

Facing the guarantor, as the Group CEO, he indeed had a responsibility to disclose some of the company’s internal information to them. However, because he couldn’t enter the company before, this matter had been delayed until now.

After thinking it over, Shi Tian nodded slightly to the lawyer. “No problem. Tell them now is fine. I’ll wait for them in the company lobby.”

Pausing for a moment, he asked, “Who is the assessment representative they sent this time?”

The lawyer replied, “Same as last time. It’s Dexter, the assistant secretary of the Qi Family Trust.”

Shi Tian’s brow jumped. “…Him again?”

His impression of this person could be described as very deep.

After drinking tea in the Fengyu lobby for twenty minutes and calmly accepting the gazes of many company employees, Shi Tian finally saw the three representatives from the Qi Trust arrive.

The Rolex on Dexter’s wrist that he had bargained for on Pinduoduo was gone, replaced by a red and yellow Mickey Mouse Chinese New Year series Swatch. It looked very festive.

Besides Dexter himself, there were two tall men in suits. The two followed silently behind him, maintaining a distance the whole time.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Dexter, Shi Tian looked at the two silent men. “And these two are…”

“Oh, these are two security guards from our company.”

Dexter turned around and patted the sturdy elbow of one of them. That man kept his hands clasped behind his back, standing straight and expressionless, letting Dexter touch him as he pleased.

Seeing a trace of suspicion on Shi Tian’s face, Dexter quickly cleared his throat and explained, “Mr. Shi, you know, for those of us doing guarantees, there are more or less risks when we’re out and about. We might get hacked by a debtor’s enemy some time. Our boss was worried about my safety, so he sent them along to protect me.”

Shi Tian narrowed his eyes slightly, seemingly not accepting this reason.

But he didn’t intend to ask more. He simply turned around and led everyone, including the lawyers, onto the elevator. “Since everyone is here, I’ll introduce the current basic situation of the company to you—”

He took the group up to the fifth floor, where the sales department was located. Just as the elevator doors opened, a girl’s head popped in from outside.

Seeing the group in the elevator led by Shi Tian, the girl looked stunned for a moment, and then a very joyful expression appeared on her face.

Taking a step back, she turned her head and shouted to her colleagues in the office area: “It really is President Shi! President Shi is back!”

As soon as her voice fell, the sound of chairs moving suddenly erupted in the large office area. Employees stood up one after another from their seats, looking toward the elevator doors.

Making a path for the people in the elevator, the girl smiled and said to Shi Tian, “President Shi, we just heard the news of your return to the company. We didn’t expect it to be true!”

Before Shi Tian could speak, she quickly waved, signaling two male colleagues to push over an office chair.

Pointing at a DIY snack basket placed on the chair, she blinked somewhat shyly. “We heard you might really be leaving the company. This is a small token of our appreciation; you must accept it.”

Shi Tian looked down and found that the snack basket not only contained chocolates, cookies, and many candies but also hand-written cards from every employee. The employees of the entire sales department had signed their names all over a professional photo of him. On the back of the photo was a line of blessings—wishing him a “bright financial future and that everything goes smoothly.”

He had Assistant Chen take the snack basket and took a commemorative photo with the sales department employees before leading the group further up.

He didn’t expect that at every floor he visited, the employees of those departments had more or less prepared different gifts and cards, swarming over wanting him to accept them.

Except for the Production and R&D Department, which was mainly managed by Ji Yuanlin. He tried his key card and found he couldn’t swipe it open.

In the end, Assistant Chen had to take a small trolley downstairs first to put the full load of gifts back into the car’s trunk.

The elevator slowly stopped at the top floor. Shi Tian heard Dexter, who had been standing behind him, speak up unhurriedly: “President Shi’s personal charm is quite great. It seems you have everyone’s hearts.”

Shi Tian rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger, his tone sounding a bit unnatural: “We’re all around the same age; we just get along well.”

Dexter smiled and nodded in understanding. “That’s good. Unlike our boss—his mood is unpredictable every day. Everyone in the company from top to bottom treats him like a jinx.”

Hearing the second master describe President Zhou this way, the two bodyguards following behind: “…”

Stepping out of the elevator, Shi Tian pointed to a middle-aged man waiting at the elevator entrance and introduced him to the group: “This is our company’s current Acting CEO, the former Sales Director, Mr. Zhai.”

Once everyone had finished shaking hands with Director Zhai, Shi Tian said he had arranged refreshments and told everyone to rest a bit in the president’s office. He would first go to the conference room next door with Director Zhai to perform the transfer of duties.

At that moment, Dexter suddenly stood up from the sofa. “I have some questions regarding the debt assessment. I need to ask your company’s Acting CEO and the two lawyers separately. Are you all free now?”

Exchanging a look with Shi Tian and getting his permission, Director Zhai also immediately stood up and walked to the office door. “Yes, this way please.”

Dexter took the lawyers and the Acting CEO into the conference room, leaving Shi Tian alone in the entire president’s office.

Across the hallway, the conference room door was shut tight from the outside. Led by Dexter, the sound of lively conversation and laughter soon drifted from the room.

Not long after, the two tall men who had been guarding the door walked into the office one after the other. In front of Shi Tian, they closed the office door.

Seeing their actions, Shi Tian slowly raised his head from the coffee table and asked the two in front of him with some confusion: “What are you two—”

Using his tall frame to block the office door, one of them spoke in a formal manner: “Mr. Shi, the people have been led away. Now is the best time.”

Shi Tian’s hand holding the teacup paused slightly. “…What do you mean?”

“Mr. Ji’s people are currently downstairs.”

Casting a gaze toward the desk in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, the other man standing at the office door said calmly, “The boss asked us to assist you. Before they come up, you should hurry and take the company’s official seal.”

Shi Tian: “???”

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