The Down and Out CEO’s Pursuit of Her Wife [GL] - Chapter 19

Mu Shan sat at her desk, her eyes lowered as she glanced at the document a subordinate had just placed before her. After skimming only the first two paragraphs, she let out a scoff. She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, and barked coldly, “What is this?!”

The girl across from her, wearing pink eyeshadow and a tight leather skirt, hadn’t spared Mu Shan a second of her attention. She spent her time tugging at her hemline or fanning out her fingers to admire the crystal manicure she’d gotten the day before. Hearing Mu Shan’s question, she simply toyed with a rhinestone on her nail and swayed her body, answering nonchalantly, “Isn’t it just that thing you asked me to write yesterday… the… what was it called again?”

Mu Shan grabbed the file and threw it at the girl. Startled, the girl let out a shriek and looked at Mu Shan in disbelief.

“It’s full of typos, the layout is a mess, and it doesn’t even address the topic. How do you have the nerve to show me something of this quality?!” Mu Shan roared, her eyes wide with anger.

The girl pouted and stomped her right foot. Despite being cinched tightly by the leather skirt, the skin on her midriff jiggled with the movement. “You only told me to write it yesterday, and you want it today. I’ve never written one before, and I didn’t know what you wanted it to look like…”

“You couldn’t finish it in over ten hours?!” Mu Shan let out a cold snort. “Everything except the first paragraph is copy-pasted, isn’t it? You didn’t even bother to match the font colors. Do you think you’re fooling a school teacher?!”

The girl looked down at her fingers, fidgeting and bouncing her leg as she muttered a weak defense, “It’s just some formatting issues, I can just fix it…”

“Take it back and rewrite it. You aren’t leaving until it’s done,” Mu Shan said, turning away, unable to stomach the woman’s affectations any longer.

“What???” The girl hadn’t expected such severe consequences. Her entire body tensed up as she craned her neck to plead, “President Mu, I have things to do at home, I have to go back. Besides, our company doesn’t pay overtime… nobody stays late here…”

Mu Shan shifted her gaze to her computer screen and said indifferently, “Go to HR and settle your final wages.”

“What??? President Mu, are you firing me? I’ve been doing just fine, you… you… you…” The girl was so panicked she could barely speak, and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

Mu Shan said nothing, focusing intently on typing. The only sound left in the room was the rhythmic clicking of the keyboard.

The girl stomped her foot again and grumbled resentfully, “Fine, I’ll write it.” With that, she huffed out of the office and slammed the door behind her.

A look of pure disgust crossed Mu Shan’s face. She allowed herself a few seconds of silence, unable to stop herself from swearing internally, something she rarely did.

Once the moment passed, she had to refocus on her screen. She knew perfectly well that even if she gave that “diva” subordinate a lifetime, the girl would never produce a professional document. People like that simply weren’t capable of real work. Therefore, she had no choice but to finish the document herself.

Since returning to Baguo Entertainment, Mu Shan had to handle everything personally, from major decisions to the smallest details. The people President Wei had hired were the definition of “three-nothings”: no education, no ability, and no experience. Even the simplest tasks came back riddled with errors. After several bouts of fury, Mu Shan had given up on them. Doing it herself was faster and less exhausting than trying to manage them.

Taking on the workload of an entire department, or even half the company, was a thankless job that no rational person would accept. However, it was an opportunity to stay close to Jian Qing, and Mu Shan wasn’t ready to let that go yet.

A sudden vibration from her phone interrupted her. Mu Shan put on her headset, pressed answer, and kept working.

“Miss Mu, this is Kelley from Rohm Wealth Management. Is now a good time to talk?”

“Go ahead,” Mu Shan replied.

Kelley gave a forced, slightly embarrassed laugh. “Miss Mu, the current economic climate isn’t great. Stocks and funds are dropping significantly, and the ones I’ve managed for you aren’t looking very optimistic. The company instructed us to explain the situation to our clients, and I’d like to apologize on behalf of the firm. However, we are working with experts on a recovery strategy to minimize losses.”

Mu Shan didn’t need Kelley to tell her this, she was well aware of the market. Besides, a wealth management firm couldn’t control the economy, so there was no point in being harsh. “I understand. No need to apologize.”

“Thank you for being so understanding. I’m actually calling because there’s a decision I need you to make. We’ve received reports that property values might drop sharply next year. I was wondering if you’d be interested in listing your house on the Peak? If you sell now, the loss might be relatively smaller.”

Mu Shan tapped her index finger lightly between her eyebrows. That house was a place she had fantasized about countless times, imagining a day where she and An Ruoning could live there together, peacefully spending the rest of their decades away from the world. “That one isn’t for sale. Let the value drop. However, go ahead and sell all of my stocks.”

Kelley’s voice rose in shock. “What? Miss Mu, please think this through. You’ll lose a lot if you sell now. If you aren’t in urgent need of cash, it’s better to hold on…”

“Sell them now,” Mu Shan said firmly.

Kelley hung up, full of confusion. Mu Shan was about to take off her headset but hesitated. She pressed it back to her ear and called An Ruoning.

The call didn’t go through. A rapid busy signal droned incessantly in her ear. Mu Shan ripped off the headset and threw it on the desk, her fists clenched so tight that the muscles near her jaw trembled.

She had an instinct that the person occupying Ruoning’s line was Jian Qing. That woman really had to go.

The phone buzzed again. The corners of Mu Shan’s mouth twitched as if wanting to rise, but after seeing the caller ID, they remained flat. She leaned back in her chair. “Hello?”

“Sister Mu Shan!” Duo Yi chirped in a high-pitched, cutesy voice.

Mu Shan rested her head against the back of the chair. Her mood, which had been terrible all day, finally lifted slightly. To be honest, talking to Duo Yi was refreshing, at least it was stress-free. “Do you need something, Duo Yi?”

“Just a little something! I know I shouldn’t bother you…”

“Just say it.”

“It’s really small, actually. I’ve been wanting to move into the city lately, and I was wondering if you had any good apartment recommendations?”

“Sure, I can have a friend look into it. Where exactly do you want to live?”

“Most of my work lately is in the North side. I was thinking… wait, where do you live, Sister? If I could live near you, that would be amazing…”

“Lanya…”

“Lanya Gardens?” Duo Yi asked excitedly.

“Yes.”

“Wow! That complex is so close to the office, and it’s super convenient for several filming locations. Um… do you have any spare rooms? Could I rent from you?”

Mu Shan thought of An Ruoning, and a smile finally spread across her face. “Sure, you’re welcome to. Is An Ruoning… living alone now?”

Duo Yi let out a knowing “Oh!” and said meaningfully, “I get it, I get it! Hehe, don’t you worry, Sister. I will do whatever it takes to get An Ruoning to move in there too. I swear, I’ll definitely repay this favor!”

After taking care of Ye Xiang and heading home, An Ruoning walked toward her front door with heavy eyelids. After several days of exhaustion, her body was at its limit.

She opened the door and blinked. Her pupils dilated instantly. What… what is happening? Aside from the items belonging to the landlord, the living room was completely empty. Everything else had vanished.

Seeing the spotless floor and coffee table, she figured it wasn’t a burglary. This had to be Duo Yi’s doing. Ruoning gathered her energy to check the other rooms, but they were all empty.

Fuming, she called Duo Yi. As soon as the call connected, Ruoning’s frustration erupted. “Duo Yi! Where is my stuff?!”

“Ouch… keep it down, keep it down, Sister! You’re going to make me deaf!”

Ruoning paced around the empty rooms, her volume not dropping an inch. “This was you, wasn’t it?”

“My, my, my… my ears hurt! Can’t you say something nice? What do you mean ‘doing’? You should be thanking me right now! I had to pack my stuff and yours all by myself, find a moving company, find an apartment… I worked so hard I’m probably going to grow a new wrinkle from the stress!”

Duo Yi was being her usual shameless self, leaving Ruoning speechless. “I never said I wanted to move…”

“Heh, wait for you to make a decision? If I waited for you, my life would be over! The landlord is coming to collect the place tomorrow. Just leave the keys on the shoe cabinet by the door, I’ve already settled everything with them.”

Ruoning looked at the keys in her hand. No matter how much she felt like breaking down, she had to follow Duo Yi’s lead. “Even if you think I’m slow, you should have told me in advance! Where… where am I supposed to sleep tonight?!”

“Well, I’ll be a good person and see this through. I’ll be there in five minutes. Go downstairs and wait by the curb. Once I pick you up, we’re going to our new home to start our new life!”

“This…”

Duo Yi hung up. Ruoning stared at her phone, caught between laughter and tears. She took one last look around the empty apartment, glanced at the keys on the cabinet, bit her lip, and walked out the door.

Duo Yi picked her up shortly after. Once Ruoning was in the car, she kept looking back at the building as it grew smaller in the distance.

Duo Yi poked her. “Hey, it’s just a move. Why the dramatic goodbye?”

Ruoning sighed, still staring out the window. It wasn’t just a move. Was she really about to be pushed into the next stage of her life like this? Was she leaving the shelter? Should she open her own pet shop?

Seeing that Ruoning still wasn’t talking, Duo Yi rolled her eyes and muttered, “I try to be kind and get treated like this. Hmph!”

After more than two hours of driving, Duo Yi was fast asleep against the window. Ruoning noticed the roads becoming more and more familiar, and the furrow in her brow deepened. At a red light, Ruoning asked, “Sir, are we going to Lanya Gardens?”

The driver nodded and kept driving. Ruoning angrily shook Duo Yi awake. “Duo Yi! You! You aren’t planning to stay at Mu Shan’s place, are you?!”

“So what if I am? What’s the big deal?! You nearly scared me to death waking me up like that!” Duo Yi said, sliding back against the door as her eyes began to close again.

“This joke has gone too far!!!” Ruoning looked out the window frantically, searching for a place where the driver could pull over. “You can live wherever you want, but I am absolutely not staying there.”

Duo Yi struggled to sit up, her eyes bleary from sleep. “Oh, Sister, why are you so stubborn? A place to stay is a place to stay, is it going to kill you or something?!”

Ruoning grabbed the back of the passenger seat and said urgently to the driver, “Sir, pull over ahead, I want to get out.”

“Don’t you dare stop! Sir, don’t listen to her,” Duo Yi countered. “Ignore whatever she says and just drive to the destination!”

The driver sounded impatient. “Am I stopping or not?”

“No stopping!” Duo Yi yelled.

“Duo Yi! No matter what, I am not living at her house!”

Duo Yi rolled her eyes even harder, words firing out like a machine gun. “I worked myself to death, moving house, playing nice with Sister Mu Shan, and trying to coax you. You haven’t said a single thank you, and now you’re throwing a princess tantrum about the apartment? Have you considered me at all?”

Duo Yi crossed her arms and legs, looking at Ruoning with a side-eye. “Can you ‘pure-hearted little princesses’ stop playing out these ‘Dominant CEO loves me but I insist on being independent’ dramas every single day? Leave some room for us normal girls to breathe, okay? If I found someone like Sister Mu Shan, I wouldn’t be stubborn about this or that. I’d be a happy socialite. Sigh, fate is so unfair!”

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