Helping My Ex-Wife Find Love Every Day - Chapter 17

The morning meeting was company routine, starting promptly at 9 a.m. every Friday. On this day, employees always arrived early.

What surprised Yao Xiang-yi was that the old man, Yao Xiao-nan, had also shown up today. He was frowning, with his beard bristling, and offered her absolutely no kind words.

Yao Xiao-nan was naturally arrogant and self-important. Yao Xiang-yi had lived under the same roof with him for twenty years and had never managed to truly see eye-to-eye with him. As such, their grandfather-granddaughter relationship was like a lyric in a song—

Pull it taut, and it will tear.

Fortunately, Yao Xiang-yi was not an emotionally immature minor. She maintained appearances well—serving tea, handing water, asking about his well-being—making it seem harmonious and pleasant to outsiders.

When the meeting concluded, Yao Xiao-nan called Yao Xiang-yi into the President’s Office and immediately began to chastise her.

“You weren’t at the company last weekend again?” He sat in the large single sofa, placing both hands on his cane. Perhaps due to his gradual physical decline, the area of his bald spot had expanded by a few inches.

It gleamed brightly under the sunlight.

Yao Xiang-yi stared for a moment, then only replied after a long silence: “Something came up.”

“Something came up that took you to a bar?” Yao Xiao-nan was displeased. He violently slammed his cane down, rebuking: “It’s still the same—nothing is more important than the company.”

Yao Xiang-yi regretted forgetting to screen him from her Moments. She stood tall and straight to the side, giving him a smile that meant “whatever you say goes.”

Her attitude of admitting fault perfectly mirrored the sentiment, “Smiling on the outside, cursing on the inside,” which successfully ignited all the accumulated anger Yao Xiao-nan had been feeling recently. He strained his neck, suppressed two coughs, and burst out yelling: “Your father is a disappointment, and I can’t control him, but I have plenty of ways to handle you! Don’t you dare follow in his footsteps! Do you hear me!”

Yao Xiang-yi’s father was born free-spirited and unrestrained. He was proficient in the four arts—zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting—and his greatest dream was to become a master of traditional Chinese painting. He was currently a professor at the Capital Academy of Fine Arts, lecturing and teaching with students all over the country.

Yet, in the old man’s eyes, he was an idler with no real skill.

Yao Xiang-yi had a pile of work to handle and neither the time nor the inclination to stay with Yao Xiao-nan any longer. Every time they met, they argued and parted unhappily. What was the point?

Yao Xiao-nan, however, was determined to continue the outburst. He sneered: “Your uncles and aunts are all watching you. Let me warn you, if you don’t want this company, tell me now. I have more than one granddaughter, and plenty who want to be the successor!”

Here we go again.

Yao Xiao-nan’s ultimate move—the threat.

Even Yao Xiang-yi’s good temper felt offended: “Indeed, there’s more than one, but every single one of them is an incapable idiot.”

She tried to keep her words calm and measured, but the sarcasm in her tone was evident.

Yao Xiao-nan glared fiercely: “You really think you’re beyond reproach, you—”

Immediately, the door was shoved open with force.

It hit the wall with a loud bang.

The shock made both Yao Xiang-yi and Yao Xiao-nan jump. They turned around to see Qiu Qing-shi, murderous intent radiating from her, holding a rolling pin high.

Both of them: “??????”

Qiu Qing-shi never expected the old man to be there. She froze stiff as if encased in ice…

She was tongue-tied, not daring to move further.

The air solidified.

The scene was extremely awkward.

A crow flew overhead with a caw.

At this moment, Qiu Qing-shi had only one thought: It’s over. The reputation of the Number One Socialite is ruined.

Fortunately, she was a movie queen; there was still room for maneuver.

She slowly lowered the rolling pin, calmly placing it back into her bucket bag. Her movements were gentle and natural, as if she were putting away a silk scarf sprayed with perfume.

Then she angled her body forty-five degrees, displaying the clear, beautiful lines of her profile. Simultaneously, her long lashes fluttered, the corners of her lips curved slightly, and her eyebrows lifted charmingly in coordination.

Her tone carried the unique softness of a Southern girl: “This is… a glow stick my fans gave me.”

Yao Xiao-nan said bluntly: “What kind of glow stick is as thick as a rolling pin?”

Qiu Qing-shi ignored the question, turning around with a smile to Qin Chun, who had followed her: “Seriously, why haven’t you poured Grandpa some tea?”

Yao Xiao-nan replied stiffly: “I have insomnia. I don’t drink tea.”

Ha. Grandpa is as unapproachable as ever.

Qiu Qing-shi still didn’t rise to the bait. She placed her bucket bag in the corner of the sofa and said dutifully: “Then I’ll go make you a cup of fruit juice. Please wait.”

Before Yao Xiao-nan could speak, she fled the office as if escaping.

As one of the viewers of their Moments, Yao Xiao-nan had seen plenty of their lyric-swapping warfare and was certain the couple had fought, the kind of fight that wouldn’t easily be resolved.

And it had escalated to using a rolling pin…

Tsk, tsk, tsk…

He looked at Yao Xiang-yi with a meaningful gaze. His face still sullen, he said something completely out of the blue: “If you can’t beat her, remember to call security.”

Yao Xiang-yi’s eyes held a look of grievance: Which eye of yours saw that I couldn’t beat her?

When Qiu Qing-shi returned, Yao Xiao-nan was gone. Only Yao Xiang-yi remained, sitting behind the office desk, looking at her with a knowing half-smile.

Qiu Qing-shi’s tense shoulders relaxed: “Where’s Grandpa?”

“He left.”

Good. Grandpa being there prevented her from using violence.

Qiu Qing-shi placed the juice on the coffee table. The meek courtesy on her face was instantly replaced by fury.

She rubbed her hands together, ready to pull the rolling pin back out of her bucket bag…

Pull it out…

Pull…

Huh? Where is her rolling pin?

“Are you looking for this?” Yao Xiang-yi held up the object in her hand, tapping it against her palm provocatively.

“Give it back!” Qiu Qing-shi put her hands on her hips, her eyes warning, like a small hedgehog ready to poke someone at any moment.

The corners of Yao Xiang-yi’s mouth curved into a brilliant smile. She leisurely paced a couple of steps, moving behind the executive chair. She propped her elbows on the backrest, her hands dangling lazily, revealing her pale, almost transparent wrist bones.

“Bringing this, what did you intend to do?”

“Beat you, you cheating dog!” Qiu Qing-shi declared self-righteously.

Yao Xiang-yi couldn’t help but laugh. It was the first time she found Qiu Qing-shi to have a sense of humor. She tried to hold it in for a while but failed, bursting into laughter.

Qiu Qing-shi felt humiliated, lamenting that only the shameless are invincible.

“Yao Xiang-yi, I must have been blind when I married you!”

Yao Xiang-yi wouldn’t allow anyone to challenge her CEO authority. She countered: “The feeling is mutual!”

Qiu Qing-shi’s eyes turned red with urgency: “You promised to love me for a lifetime, and what happened? Only four years of marriage, and you have the red flag standing firm at home while the colored flags flutter outside, even bringing inappropriate women into our house!”

Yao Xiang-yi: “You’re making baseless accusations!”

Qiu Qing-shi: “You’re utterly shameless!”

Yao Xiang-yi: “You awful woman, you’re becoming more and more awful!”

Qiu Qing-shi: “You’re the awful one! You’re the cheating dog!”

Yao Xiang-yi reached her limit. She took off her suit jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her white undershirt: “Qiu Qing-shi, I’ve just spoiled you too much these past few years. You clearly don’t know your place anymore.”

Qiu Qing-shi didn’t back down: “Yao Xiang-yi, you must have forgotten the pain after the last beating, haven’t you!”

The enraged Yao Xiang-yi touched her recently unswollen ear.

Her fury instantly flared tenfold.

She was being subjected to domestic violence, yet her abuser was so self-righteous about it.

There are no laws anymore!

She absolutely had to reclaim her CEO dignity today.

Thus, the moment Qin Chun led Bai Meng-zhao into the office, they encountered the sight of a disheveled Yao Xiang-yi aggressively pressing Qiu Qing-shi down onto the office desk.

The office supplies on the desk couldn’t withstand their “fiery passion” and scattered across the floor with a loud clatter.

Qiu Qing-shi’s hair was messy. One hand was gripping the rolling pin, and the other was vigorously tugging at Yao Xiang-yi’s T-shirt collar, exposing her rounded shoulder.

Their breathing was heavy, their chests heaving rapidly, and sweat beaded on their foreheads, sliding down their cheeks.

Qin Chun, the number one fan of the couple: Aaaaaah, I caught the live broadcast! Office play and S&M!!!!!!

This is so freaking sweet!

Bai Meng-zhao, being so young, couldn’t handle this sudden, explosive scene meant only for adults. She quickly covered her eyes and retreated ten steps away.

Her little heart hammered uncontrollably.

She was completely flustered, as if she had accidentally opened the door to a new world.

So… you can play like this, too.

Yao Xiang-yi and Qiu Qing-shi were inseparable in their mutual domestic violence, especially Yao Xiang-yi, who had exerted massive effort to subdue Qiu Qing-shi underneath her. Having transitioned from passive to active, victory was in sight, and she couldn’t allow herself to fail now.

Her eyes, bloodshot with rage, looked as if they could drip blood. The veins in her neck bulged, and she roared: “Get out!”

Qin “Audience” Chun quickly shut the door.

My apologies for interrupting the CEO’s climax.