After Breaking Up with the Crazy CEO - Chapter 1

President Xing: Is everyone here yet?

In Shanghai’s Zui Sheng Entertainment City, on the sixth floor of the central tower, the largest private room was filled with flickering lights and a dance floor teeming with figures in various poses.

At the head of the table in the center of the room, a woman wearing gold-rimmed glasses threw down her cards. “Eat!”

As the game ended, a chorus of complaints rose from the surrounding women.

Ignoring them, the woman pulled out her phone to reply to a message: She hasn’t arrived yet. I’ll inform President Xing immediately when she does.

After putting down her phone, she adjusted her gold-rimmed glasses and turned to the dejected woman seated to her right. “Second Miss Xiang, when is Eldest Miss Xiang expected?”

Someone immediately chimed in, “Xiang Yan won’t dare disobey you this time, will she?”

Xiang Yangxing, already displeased from losing consecutive rounds of cards, grew even darker at the remark. “Impossible,” she snapped at the speaker.

Just twenty minutes earlier, someone had suggested inviting Xiang Yan to join them. Unable to resist the teasing and wanting to assert her absolute authority within the Xiang Family, Xiang Yangxing had sent Xiang Yan a message, ordering her to arrive within half an hour.

Someone immediately chimed in, “Exactly. Second Miss Xiang is the legitimate daughter of the Xiang Family. Xiang Yan is just an unacknowledged illegitimate child. No matter how she carries herself, she should know who’s the real boss in the Xiang Family.”

“That’s true. She always comes running over like a puppy.”

The moment the words left their lips, the door to the private room burst open. A tall, graceful figure emerged from the back, silhouetted against the light, exuding an effortless charm.

Someone let out a long, loud whistle. “There she is!”

The woman in the gold-rimmed glasses immediately sent a message to her boss.

President Xing: I’ll be there in five minutes.

Ignoring the gazes that fell upon her, Xiang Yan scanned the crowd until she spotted Yang Xing. She walked straight over to her. “Xingxing, let’s go.”

A woman with voluminous waves, a bright red lipstick, and a dazzling, seductive makeup stood up. She circled around to Xiang Yan’s side, draped an arm over her shoulder, and leaned in, her voice dripping with saccharine sweetness. “Eldest Miss Xiang, you just arrived. Why the hurry to leave?”

She lifted Xiang Yan’s chin with a finger. “Xiang… Yanyan, can I call you that? You’re exactly my type, you know? Cold, obedient… Want to play with big sister? I promise to make you… swoon with pleasure. How about it?”

Xiang Yan wore a camel-colored wool coat and a matching scarf that covered most of her face, revealing only her eyes. A tiny mole adorned the outer corner of each eye, and her gaze was cool and distant, her eyelids slightly lowered, her eyes cast downward in an air of submissiveness that made her seem docile and easy to manipulate.

Before Xiang Yan could respond, the woman reached out and tugged at her scarf. “Sister will take good care of you, as long as you…”

Before she could finish, Xiang Yan raised her hand to press against the scarf, took a step back, and bowed slightly. “I’m sorry, I really must be going.”

“Oh my, so there’s a wild streak hidden beneath that prim exterior? I like that even more.”

Ignoring her, Xiang Yan called out to Xiang Yangxing again. The latter grunted in response but didn’t acknowledge her.

Just as Xiang Yan was about to call again, her scarf was suddenly yanked forward, causing her to stumble and nearly fall. She looked up to see the same woman’s beautiful, defiant face, her eyes narrowed with anger.

The woman, still clutching Xiang Yan’s scarf, glared. “Yanyan, I’m doing you a favor by wanting to play with you. Don’t be ungrateful, hmm?”

Someone else chimed in, “Exactly! What right does a bastard born to a mistress have to act so high and mighty?”

The insult spread like a virus, quickly echoing from every mouth.

Xiang Yan frowned slightly. She was often summoned to these gatherings by Xiang Yangxing and was accustomed to the same venomous, cutting remarks. But in the past, it had remained mere words. Today, however…

The woman gently stroked her cheek. “How about it? Will you come with me obediently, or should I have someone drag you out?”

“I’m being unusually patient, Yanyan. Don’t waste my kindness, hmm?”

Xiang Yan forcefully shook off her hand, recoiling to create distance. Glancing at Xiang Yangxing, she said softly, “I’m sorry, I need to go home.”

She knew Xiang Yangxing would never accompany her home. She had always known. Xiang Yangxing simply wanted to seize this opportunity to humiliate her.

She hadn’t taken two steps when two men in black suddenly blocked her path.

In the next instant, they grabbed her shoulders, twisted her body to face the crowd in the private room.

The scarf was pulled taut again, gradually tightening…

Xiang Yan struggled, but the grip only tightened. Just as she was about to speak, she was interrupted.

“Oh dear, am I late for the show?”

The people seated at the center of the room, who had been watching the spectacle with amusement, immediately rose to their feet, their expressions turning serious.

“Let me see who this is. Already drunk and needing a bodyguard to support her?”

The woman’s arrogant expression vanished as she bowed respectfully. “President Xing, what brings you here?”

Xiang Yan’s gaze fell upon the newcomer.

Xing Bingwu, the sole heir to Shanghai’s leading enterprise, the Xing Group, belonged to the same generation as the second-generation heirs present. However, five years prior, at just 22, she had led the Xing Group into the booming biopharmaceutical and integrated circuit industries. Within two years, she had firmly established the group in these sectors, adding two new wings to the vast Xing empire and successfully expanding its territory.

Xing Bingwu was now the undisputed, power-wielding helmswoman of the Xing Group.

In essence, though she moved in the same social circles as these second-generation heirs, she operated on a completely different level. Even the fathers of these heirs would respectfully address her as “President Xing.”

No one in Shanghai’s elite circles was unaware of Xing Bingwu. Xiang Yan, naturally, knew her well—her legendary achievements, her notorious arrogance, and her scandalous affairs.

This was a woman she absolutely did not want to provoke.

With a casual glance, Xiang Yan averted her gaze, yet she could feel Xing Bingwu’s eyes lingering on her.

Xing Bingwu raised an eyebrow, her voice carrying a hint of amusement that made her seem approachable. Turning to the woman who was still clutching Xiang Yan’s scarf, she asked, “Are you trying to win Miss Xiang’s favor today?”

Hearing this, Xiang Yan’s expression remained impassive, but her heart skipped a beat. A question arose: Did Xing Bingwu know her?

Though they moved in the same circles, they belonged to entirely different social strata. In truth, this was their first meeting.

“What should we do?” Xing Bingwu’s gaze drifted leisurely over the woman’s hand. “I’m quite interested in her myself.”

Though phrased as a question, everyone present understood there was no room for negotiation.

The woman, of course, understood this immediately. She released Xiang Yan’s scarf and changed her tone: “President Xing is joking. I have no interest in her at all.”

Xing Bingwu took two steps, moving to Xiang Yan’s side and familiarly draping an arm around her shoulders as she led her toward the exit. “In that case, I’ll be taking her. Enjoy yourselves.”

Xiang Yangxing watched the two women walk away, her fists clenching silently. She knew this event had been orchestrated by Xing Bingwu’s assistant team, and she had gone to great lengths to get in, hoping to speak with Xing Bingwu, even for a single sentence. Yet before she could even fully enter, Xing Bingwu had already left. How could she accept this?

The moment Xing Bingwu’s figure disappeared through the doorway, the previously silent crowd erupted in chatter.

“President Xing always takes home all sorts of beautiful women, but this is the first time she’s ever openly expressed interest in someone, right?”

“Is this Xiang Yan going to become a phoenix soaring to the highest branches?”

“Let’s wait and see. President Xing’s companions never stay for more than a day.”

Turning the corner of the corridor, Xiang Yan ducked to avoid Xing Bingwu’s hand and lowered her head slightly to thank her. “Thank you for helping me out today, President Xing. I’ll be leaving now.”

Xing Bingwu quickly stepped forward to block her path. “Miss Xiang, is this your way of rejecting my feelings?”

Xiang Yan lifted her eyelids to meet Xing Bingwu’s gaze. “I don’t understand what you mean, President Xing.”

“If you’re this cold, I’ll be heartbroken,” Xing Bingwu said, placing a hand over her heart. “I just told everyone here very seriously that I like you, Miss Xiang.”

“I…”

Xing Bingwu took a step closer, answering the question she hadn’t yet voiced. “I’m not joking. Miss Xiang, would you be willing to go out with me?”

Xiang Yan didn’t know what methods Xing Bingwu used to change partners like changing clothes. Of course, the truth was she didn’t need any methods at all—not even a beckoning finger—to have a swarm of men and women throwing themselves at her.

But Xiang Yan was not part of that swarm.

What she longed for was a long-term, stable relationship.

And from what she knew of Xing Bingwu, such a relationship was impossible.

She stepped back, creating distance between them, maintaining a polite but distant demeanor. “I’m very grateful for your kind words, President Xing, but I’m afraid I can’t give you the response you’re hoping for.”

“Thank you again for your time today, President Xing. I’ll be leaving now.”

Xing Bingwu blocked her path again. Despite the rejection, she maintained a hint of a smile, her tone understanding. “I apologize if I was too forward. Today is our first real meeting, Miss Xiang. How about this: give me your contact information first, and we can get to know each other gradually?”

She thrust her phone toward Xiang Yan, leaving no room for refusal.

Xiang Yan didn’t want to decipher the subtext. She just wanted to get away. “I’m truly sorry.”

She lowered her head in a polite bow and left.

Driving along the highway, Xiang Yan rolled down the window slightly. The winter wind, carrying the darkness of the night, rushed in, whipping her bangs around her forehead. It was freezing, but she could clearly feel the air circulating.

At a fork in the road, Xiang Yan turned left.

You have deviated from your route home.

She drove until she reached a flat, open scenic overlook. The car came to a slow stop. Xiang Yan got out and walked to the front, leaning against the hood to sit down.

This was a place she’d stumbled upon once when picking up Xiang Yangxing to bring her home. Its elevated position offered a sweeping view of Shanghai’s nightscape, a sight she deeply loved. Since then, whenever she went to pick up Xiang Yangxing “home,” she’d stop here for a while.

Xiang Yan slowly exhaled, as if only at these moments she was truly allowed to breathe. She pulled her mouth free from the scarf and took a deep, gasping breath.

But before she could fully exhale, a light flashed across the railing in front of her.

She paused briefly, then turned toward her car door, only to feel the headlights of an approaching vehicle blinding her. The car’s wheels came to a stop just inches from her door.

Xiang Yan looked up and saw Xing Bingwu in the driver’s seat, tilting her head slightly toward her.

Support After Breaking Up with the Crazy CEO