Fell Deeply In Love With My Ex-Husband's Fiancé - Chapter 53

Chapter 53: My Wife – The Inside of the Lid Holds a Few Short Words—Dedicated…

After the meeting began, Lu Feiran learned that Zhai Qiance had been taken in for investigation.

The company couldn’t possibly allow a confirmed economic criminal to continue as Chairman, so before the final outcome was announced to the public, an interim shareholders’ meeting was called to dismiss the Chairman.

Lu Feiran’s brow furrowed. He felt for his phone in his pocket but restrained the urge to contact Zhai Mingchen.

He had entrusted this matter to Zhai Mingchen, but Zhai Mingchen hadn’t informed him of the progress.

Therefore, the person who sent Zhai Qiance to prison wasn’t Zhai Mingchen. In that case… his eyes slightly lifted, and a distinctly jointed left hand appeared in his line of sight, a brand-new ring on the ring finger reflecting a cold light under the illumination.

Lu Feiran looked away. A few of the attending shareholders were people Lu Feiran had met before. That person, who had an unusual relationship with Zhai Qiance, was passionately defending Zhai Qiance: “This is just an investigation! I believe everyone understands what an investigation means—it means no conclusion! Our Topway has been targeted lately. They say we caused worker deaths, they say we manipulated the market—it’s all false!”

One person spoke, and his cronies followed one after another. Their central message was that they disagreed with replacing the Chairman at such a critical time.

Lu Feiran mentally calculated their shareholding proportions. A year ago, the combined shares of these few people already exceeded his. Could they sway the meeting’s result without Zhai Qiance present?

He lightly tapped the table. The arguing individuals quieted down, apparently not having expected the usually silent Lu Feiran, who never attended any meetings, to speak up at this moment.

“I would like to ask, what considerations are you based on when saying these things?” Lu Feiran’s cool voice rang out in the quiet conference room. “The company is entangled in negative public opinion, and after all this time, not only has the problem not been solved, but the Chairman is also in trouble himself. I ask you, are your statements based on the interests of the shareholders or the personal interests of Zhai Qiance?”

The words were very direct, practically calling them Zhai Qiance’s faction openly.

People seasoned in the business world were accustomed to talking in circles, using high-minded values and flattering language in public, and relying on personal relationships in private. They believed Lu Feiran only held shares but never participated in management and fundamentally didn’t understand the stakes.

“You just need to tell me your reasons for supporting Zhai Qiance to continue as Chairman.” Having been dismissed lightly, Lu Feiran showed no sign of nervousness or retreat. Instead, after they finished, he asked the same question again, pressing the core issue, “After all, my vote holds significant weight. Consider this your pitch to me, okay?”

He acted as if he were truly ignorant, seeking their instruction.

“Alright,” Lance interrupted the deadlock. He smiled slightly, and with a lift of his hand, the monitoring lawyer walked to his side. “Let’s proceed directly to the vote. Everyone is busy, let’s not waste valuable time.”

Lu Feiran had been somewhat agitated during the confrontation with Zhai Qiance’s allies. He was confident he could gain the upper hand and pull those who might still be secretly wavering into his camp. But Lance seemed unwilling for him to continue. What role was Lance playing?

Lu Feiran realized that during his month of injury, his contact with the outside world had been too minimal, and many things might have undergone drastic changes.

This made him very uncomfortable; he disliked feeling excluded.

Taking advantage of the interval while the results were being tallied, Lu Feiran messaged Zhai Mingchen but received no reply. He began to feel anxious, his eyebrows unconsciously knitted together. He covertly looked towards Lance several times before quickly looking away.

He wanted to ask, but didn’t know how.

Right now, he should be more focused on the voting results. Although he knew Lance disliked Zhai Qiance, that was based on the premise of their being in love. What reason did Lance have to dislike Zhai Qiance after they broke up? Disliking him should be the expected thing, right?

Lu Feiran didn’t know if he would face retaliation. His heart was heavy with uncertainty. He dared not assume the worst, nor could he rely on luck.

If he had known about the shareholders’ meeting, perhaps he shouldn’t have been so ruthless and should have waited until he got everything he wanted before leaving?

His heart pounded erratically. He was more nervous than ever, even though he would know the vote ratio and the final result in just a moment.

“According to the tally, the vote on the ‘Proposal to Dismiss Zhai Qiance from the Position of Chairman’ is as follows: Votes in favor account for 71% of the voting rights held by the shareholders present at this meeting, and votes against account for 19%…” (1)

71%… How could it be so high? Even with Zhai Qiance absent, it was impossible for him to completely lose control of the situation. A hundred-legged worm dies but never stiffens. With his numerous allies, how could they achieve their goal so easily?

The voting result was made public, and with no one questioning the outcome, the meeting quickly concluded. Following this, everyone signed to confirm.

The freshly printed A4 paper was warm, pulling Lu Feiran back to focus. The first line of the list of “Votes in Favor” was prominently—Apollo Capital, 36% in favor.

The black signing pen left his name in the bottom right corner. When Lu Feiran looked up again, Lance’s shadow was nowhere to be seen.

Forget it. If he’s gone, he’s gone. I can figure it out slowly.

…

After the meeting, Lu Feiran asked Jin Zhan if he was home and if anyone had contacted him. Jin Zhan said no. He temporarily felt relieved and went to find Xing Chufei, lightly tapping the edge of the cabinet next to her twice, smiling gently: “Are you free? Would you honor me by letting me treat you to lunch? As thanks.”

“Yes, I am! I haven’t ordered takeout yet. Let’s go.” Xing Chufei locked her computer screen. Then, she suddenly remembered something. “By the way, I’ve kept the thing you left with me safe. Do you want to take it home?”

“No need,” he changed his mind quickly, “Will keeping it here take up space? I’ll take it back then.”

“No, it won’t! No one sits at those tables behind me, so it’s fine.” Xing Chufei blinked, looked around to ensure no one was eavesdropping, and whispered, “Brother Lu, I saw you go into that meeting just now. Wasn’t that… the shareholder meeting?”

Lu Feiran had no intention of hiding it and said frankly, “I am a shareholder.”

“Huh?” Xing Chufei, only six months into her career, momentarily failed to understand why a shareholder would work as a small assistant in their department. After a brief pause, she found a logical explanation herself.

Lu Feiran must have been inspecting the work!

“To be invited to lunch by a major shareholder, I am deeply honored! I’m so sorry!” Xing Chufei joked dramatically. “I hope the inspection over this period has been satisfactory to you?”

…

It was lunchtime, and the elevator was taking too long. Lu Feiran took Xing Chufei to the private elevator, using the card Wen Hui had given him that morning.

The elevator arrived quickly, but Lu Feiran’s feet seemed rooted to the ground, unable to step out.

Inside the elevator, Lance stood with three senior executives. They were chatting leisurely but stopped abruptly when they saw Lu Feiran, turning to look. Lu Feiran and Xing Chufei’s laughter also ceased instantly.

An awkward silence spread. More than ten seconds later, the elevator doors slowly closed. Lu Feiran sighed in relief, but then heard Xing Chufei say, “Aren’t we going up?”

Someone inside the elevator pressed the door-open button. Lance looked over with a slight smile: “Mr. Lu, aren’t you coming up?”

His smile was flawless, affable, and considerate—polite but distant. It was perfectly timed to meet Lu Feiran’s cold face.

Lu Feiran stepped in, turning to face the doors near the edge of the elevator.

The elevator was bright and spacious. Due to the addition of outsiders, the few people standing at the back greeted him and then stopped talking. Lu Feiran stood very close to the door, staring at his blurry reflection on the smooth metal surface. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xing Chufei glancing at Lance, then at him.

Lu Feiran pretended not to notice. He pulled up the zipper of his down jacket and wrapped the scarf he was holding around his neck, covering most of his face, hiding his awkwardness and discomfort behind the scarf.

It’s going to be cold when we go outside.

Seeing Lu Feiran remain silent, Xing Chufei took out her phone to search for nearby restaurants and asked, “Brother Lu, what kind of cuisine do you like? You’re not going to treat me to anything too expensive, are you? Please don’t overspend.”

Lu Feiran’s thoughts were quickly pulled to lunch. He had woken up early, eaten breakfast early, and rushed between several places. He was starving.

“Let’s have hot pot,” Lu Feiran suggested softly.

Xing Chufei nodded: “Is Chongqing hot pot okay?”

Lu Feiran hesitated. He couldn’t eat anything too spicy.

“Miss Xing, I recommend this restaurant. Their seafood congee base hot pot is excellent,” Lance’s voice came from behind. Lu Feiran flinched and instinctively frowned, staring at his toes, his head bowed, not wanting anyone to see his reaction.

What does it have to do with him?

Xing Chufei paused, looked at the phone screen Lance held out, and dutifully nodded: “Okay, okay.”

The ground floor arrived. Lu Feiran strode forward, pulling Xing Chufei along as if speed-walking, quickly leaving the Topway building.

Xing Chufei: “Did you two have a fight? Weren’t you good friends before?”

Is this the keen sixth sense? Lu Feiran mentally tallied his encounters with Lance in front of Xing Chufei. At most, it was only twice. How did Xing Chufei know their relationship was very close?

He asked out loud, and Xing Chufei replied, “This morning, when I was tying your tie, he kept staring at you.”

Lu Feiran: …

Fortunately, the conversation about Lance finally ended during lunch. Lu Feiran briefly explained to Xing Chufei why he had returned to work in the administrative department, though it was entirely fabricated on the spot, borrowing Xing Chufei’s joke, saying he was there to inspect the work.

The hot pot was served, and the aroma immediately whetted Lu Feiran’s appetite. He lowered his head, wanting to taste a bit first, but his slightly long hair kept falling down stubbornly.

Xing Chufei handed Lu Feiran her spare hair tie: “Long hair really suits you. Brother Lu, has anyone ever told you that you’re especially handsome? Beauty knows no gender.”

Being complimented so directly by a girl made Lu Feiran a little embarrassed. He tied up his hair, touched the ends, and planned in his mind to go get a haircut and restore his refreshing short hair. He really wasn’t good at styling hair; it was too much trouble.

The seafood congee hot pot was fresh and fragrant. The flavor was light and very warming, perfectly suiting Lu Feiran’s taste.

…

After lunch, Lu Feiran dropped Xing Chufei back at the company and went home.

A courier happened to arrive. He confirmed Lu Feiran’s name and said, “I came by this morning, but you weren’t home. This is a valuable item, and it must be signed for in person. The sender specifically instructed that the housekeeper cannot sign for it. Please inspect it on the spot and sign here.”

Lu Feiran signed the receipt in front of the courier and then opened the package.

Inside was a very exquisite black box with no logo. Lu Feiran’s eyelid twitched. For some reason, he felt a chill down his spine. He took a breath, opened the box, and a silver ring came into view.

The inside of the lid held a few short words—My Wife’s Ring.

Snap! Lu Feiran slammed the lid shut and hastily told the courier, “I want to return this.”

The courier was astonished: “I can’t do that, you’ve already signed for it!”

Lu Feiran: “…”

He didn’t trouble the courier. The small box was like a piece of fiercely burning charcoal, scalding his palm until it felt raw, making it impossible to hold. He went straight to his room and threw it into the trash can.

What was he pretending to be at the company!