After Trying To Pursue The Cold, Elegant Beauty. I Ended Up Being Flirted With Instead - Chapter 38

I really can’t live like this anymore.

The next morning, in the Uni President’s office.

Pei Xiubai stood in front of the massive floor to ceiling window, looking down at the bustling city of Tongcheng below her feet.

In the past two days, she and Yan Tingyu had completely fallen out. The business world was a battlefield, and she ruthlessly began snatching several projects Yan Tingyu had set her sights on in Tongcheng.

She thought this kind of quick, decisive victory would suppress the persistent vexation in her heart.

But as soon as she was alone, Wen Zhu’s cold, icy gaze toward her would pop up uncontrollably.

She vaguely sensed it: Wen Zhu’s heart seemed to be slowly drifting away from her.

Yet, she always subconsciously avoided this thought.

As long as she didn’t think about it, Wen Zhu was still the Wen Zhu who only looked at her.

She couldn’t bear to blame her Little Qing, so she could only attribute all her dissatisfaction and annoyance to Yan Tingyu.

The internal phone suddenly rang, interrupting her thoughts. “President Pei, Miss Jiang is here.”

Hearing that Jiang Xinxin had arrived, Pei Xiubai’s first reaction was annoyance.

Didn’t she know she was very busy lately?

Why was she here?

But she was her new favorite after all. Pei Xiubai massaged her temple. “Let her in.”

The office door was pushed open.

Jiang Xinxin walked in, her eyes red, as if she had just been crying.

Pei Xiubai thought she was coming over to complain about something.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Xinxin just silently held up a thermos container and said softly, “President Pei, I brought you a meal. Secretary Sun said you haven’t been eating properly lately, so… I made you some soup.”

Since Wen Zhu left, the new Secretary Sun, who replaced her, couldn’t figure out Pei Xiubai’s taste at all, and Pei Xiubai barely touched the meals she brought.

After a few attempts, Pei Xiubai simply stopped letting Secretary Sun prepare meals.

She hadn’t expected Jiang Xinxin to be so considerate.

Watching her silently place a bowl of steaming hot soup and a few exquisite side dishes on the coffee table without complaining, Pei Xiubai’s expression softened considerably.

Then she recalled that night at the cocktail party when she had abandoned her and left alone.

A belated sense of guilt finally surfaced.

She walked over, wrapped her arms around Jiang Xinxin from behind, letting her lean against her on the sofa, her chin resting on the top of her hair. Her voice also softened: “Thank you for your effort. Next time, just let the assistant do this. You don’t need to come personally.”

Hearing the words “assistant,” Jiang Xinxin’s body trembled violently, and her eyes got even redder.

She still said nothing, but picked up the spoon, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and brought it to Pei Xiubai’s mouth, saying gently, “President Pei, try it.”

It was spare rib soup, cooked perfectly and incredibly savory.

Pei Xiubai took a sip and, looking at Jiang Xinxin’s gentle, loving eyes, her heart completely melted.

She put down the soup bowl and reached out to lift Jiang Xinxin’s chin. “What’s wrong? Your eyes are so red. Are you still angry that I left you last time?”

“No,” Jiang Xinxin quickly pressed the corner of her eyes and shook her head desperately. “How could I be angry with President Pei? I just… just wanted to come and keep you company.”

“Still being stubborn.” Pei Xiubai pinched her waist. “You can’t hide it from me. Tell me what’s wrong. I will definitely help you if I can.”

This sentence acted like a switch.

Jiang Xinxin’s tears instantly burst forth. She grabbed Pei Xiubai’s hand, her voice pleading and helpless: “President Pei, can you please help Ju Zi? She… she’s been arrested!”

She incoherently recounted what had happened.

“Last night, she was confused for a moment and found a few thugs to try and teach Sister Wen Zhu a lesson… But she didn’t expect Sister Wen Zhu to be so good at fighting. She beat all those people down and even called the police!”

“The police took Ju Zi away too. Sister Wen Zhu slapped Ju Zi hard in front of everyone and said… said she would make her feel a punishment several times more painful than being beaten!”

She buried her face in Pei Xiubai’s palm, sobbing uncontrollably: “Today, someone posted a lot of things online. Now everyone online is saying that I instructed my assistant to hurt Sister Wen Zhu, calling me a wicked woman…”

“President Pei, I really can’t live like this anymore.”

When Pei Xiubai heard that Ju Zi actually dared to find people to block Wen Zhu, the flames of anger in her chest almost scorched the ceiling!

But the person in her arms was crying her heart out.

When she heard Jiang Xinxin say she couldn’t live anymore, that towering rage was gradually extinguished by the surging tears, transforming into pity for the person in her arms.

Little Xinxin… has always been very innocent. Everyone around her protected her, and she had never suffered such hardship.

Being cursed like this must be making her terribly sad.

Pei Xiubai’s heart completely softened. While gently patting Jiang Xinxin’s back to comfort her, she picked up her phone.

#JiangXinxinVicious

#JiangXinxinInstigatedAssistantToHireThugsToHarmSomeone

#JiangXinxinGetOutOfTheEntertainmentIndustry

Out of ten trending searches, eight carried Jiang Xinxin’s name, dark purple with negativity.

The comment section was even more unbearable, cursing her to die, saying they would splash red paint on her doorstep. Some even dug up her parents’ address.

Seeing this, the temperature in Pei Xiubai’s eyes suddenly dropped to freezing point.

How dare these people?!

Her Little Xinxin was so frail; if those madmen really scared her, who knew what would happen!

As she thought about it, a surge of unwarranted resentment unexpectedly welled up toward Wen Zhu.

Hadn’t she already slapped her back?

Ju Zi had done wrong, and the law would naturally punish her. Why did she have to drag Little Xinxin into this too, pushing her to this point?

Pei Xiubai held the person in her arms tightly and pressed the internal phone button.

“Secretary Sun, come in.”

Secretary Sun pushed the door and entered.

“Handle all those online comments about Xinxin,” Pei Xiubai’s voice was frigid. “By this afternoon at the latest, I don’t want to see a single bad word about Xinxin anywhere!”

“Also, tell Wen Zhu to come up and see me!”

Secretary Sun glanced at Jiang Xinxin, who was crying huddled in President Pei’s arms, lowered her eyes, and answered professionally: “President Pei, Secretary Wen took the day off today.”

Pei Xiubai’s face darkened further, and her pitch suddenly rose: “Taking time off again? What is wrong with her lately? Four days out of seven, she’s taking time off!”

“Secretary Wen was frightened last night and is not feeling well,” Secretary Sun explained on behalf of Wen Zhu.

“Frightened?” Pei Xiubai looked as if she had heard a joke. “Didn’t she hit back? How could she be frightened? Tell her she must come see me this afternoon! Otherwise, she’ll face the consequences!”

Secretary Sun sighed inwardly, but her expression remained impassive. She nodded and backed out.

The office door closed again.

Jiang Xinxin lifted her head from Pei Xiubai’s embrace. Her eyes, red and swollen from crying, held a distinct look of awe mixed with fear.

She carefully tugged at Pei Xiubai’s sleeve, her voice still thick with a nasal tone, sounding conflicted yet sensible.

“President Pei, please… don’t be harsh on Sister Wen Zhu later, okay? This is my assistant’s fault. I just want her to be released quickly, and I don’t want you two to argue because of me…”

Looking at this thoughtful face, the last bit of annoyance in Pei Xiubai’s heart dissipated.

She lowered her head and placed a gentle kiss on Jiang Xinxin’s smooth forehead.

“Don’t worry. As long as she talks nicely, I won’t be angry.”

“I will definitely make her agree to release your assistant.”

On the other side, Wen Zhu took the day off and stayed in bed at the guesthouse all day long.

She slept until noon. Sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, warm and cozy.

She felt like she hadn’t been this comfortable in a long time.

Since last night’s incident involved Jiang Xinxin, she knew Pei Xiubai would definitely look for her today.

So, she had muted all work notifications early in the morning.

Wen Zhu opened her delivery app and ordered a spicy hot pot, then found a recently popular show to watch on her tablet while eating.

She curled up on the sofa alone, ate heartily, and happily lounged all afternoon.

In the early evening, her phone screen lit up.

It was a message from Li Zhiyun.

[Jiaojiao wants to play chess. Are you free?]

Wen Zhu quite liked the clever and lively little girl, and she replied almost without hesitation.

[I’m free.]

She climbed off the sofa, took a quick shower, and changed into clean, comfortable clothes, ready to go out.

As soon as she reached the ground floor, the loud voice of the guesthouse landlady called out from the mahjong table.

“Oh, you’re finally down!”

The landlady slapped down a tile, gesturing towards the door without turning her head.

“Look, those two people over there have been waiting for you!”

Sensing a familiar gaze, Wen Zhu didn’t even need to turn her head to know who it was.

She turned to look.

It was indeed Pei Xiubai and Jiang Xinxin.

The two were sitting in the same spot where she and Li Zhiyun had played chess last time.

Jiang Xinxin seemed to have scalded her hand with tea and was frowning. Pei Xiubai held her hand, gently blowing on it, an unmistakable display of intimacy and concern.

Wen Zhu wasn’t surprised that the two had found her here.

She just took out her phone and sent a message to Li Zhiyun.

[Wen Zhu: I might be a little late. Something came up here.]

After sending the message, she put away her phone and walked over to the two people.

“President Pei is looking for me for something?” Wen Zhu stopped by the table, her face devoid of emotion.

Hearing her cold, distant “President Pei,” Pei Xiubai’s brows instantly furrowed into a frown. Just as she was about to speak, Jiang Xinxin gently tugged at her arm.

“President Pei, did you forget what you promised me before you came?” Jiang Xinxin’s voice was soft and gentle. “You said you’d be nice to Sister Wen Zhu.”

Pei Xiubai took a deep breath, seemingly suppressing her anger, and patted Jiang Xinxin’s hand to soothe her.

When she looked up at Wen Zhu again, her voice was low: “You should know what I’m here for.”

Wen Zhu looked at the pair’s openly affectionate interaction, her gaze completely undisturbed. “I know, for Ju Zi.”

“Since you know, go to the police station immediately, forgive Ju Zi, and have them release her,” Pei Xiubai’s tone was undeniable.

Wen Zhu suddenly found it somewhat amusing. “May I ask in what capacity President Pei is giving me an order? As the leader of Yu pei? I don’t recall any clause in the company’s employee handbook that states a leader has the right to instruct an employee to forgive someone who tried to harm them.”

“Wen Zhu, do you have to be so deliberately obtuse with me?” Pei Xiubai’s patience ran out. “When will you ever learn to be more magnanimous? I know the whole story. Even if Ju Zi made the first move, didn’t you hit back?”

“Besides, isn’t it enough that you’ve pushed Xinxin to this extent? Now, come with me to the police station immediately!”

As her words fell, Pei Xiubai stood up and reached out to grab Wen Zhu’s wrist.

Wen Zhu took a step back, avoiding her touch with a look of distaste.

“For me to forgive Ju Zi, it’s possible.” Her gaze met Pei Xiubai’s directly. “I only have one condition.”

Jiang Xinxin immediately asked, “What condition?”

Wen Zhu ignored her, her eyes fixed only on Pei Xiubai, speaking clearly, word by word.

“Right now, immediately, accept my resignation.”

“Impossible!” Pei Xiubai blurted out with virtually no hesitation.

The words Jiang Xinxin was about to say instantly stuck in her throat.

Pei Xiubai straightened up, looking down at Wen Zhu, her expression cold and hard. “You won’t be able to go anywhere if you leave Yu pei. Choose a different condition!”

“This is my only condition.” Wen Zhu met her gaze without any yielding. “I am the victim. If President Pei does not agree, then I will have no choice but to sue Ju Zi.”

“The victim?”

Pei Xiubai thought of Jiang Xinxin, who had been sobbing uncontrollably this morning, and laughed out of extreme anger. “What kind of victim are you? You spread rumors online, pushed Xinxin to this point, and you still have the nerve to call yourself the victim!”

Wen Zhu was stunned.

She turned her head to look at Pei Xiubai and the face behind her, which was filled with grievance.

“What rumors?”