The Wife From the Contract Marriage Does Not Want to Get Divorced - Chapter 17

“Your father has brought Xie Zhiyao to the lobby of the group headquarters. If you don’t want to see them, I will handle it.”

Lu Yanqing tapped lightly on the door of the CEO’s office. After waiting a moment and hearing no response from within, she pushed the door open and entered.

Walking toward the desk, she placed a freshly brewed cup of jasmine tea to Xie Siyu’s right. Worried that Siyu might knock over the glass while flipping through documents, she thought for a moment and moved the cup slightly further away.

“What are you looking at?”

Seeing that Xie Siyu still hadn’t reacted, Lu Yanqing had no choice but to walk around the desk to her side, glancing at the contents on the computer screen.

Last night at the banquet, Yang Shan had indicated she would come to the group headquarters this afternoon to sign a contract.

A faint scent of camellia enveloped her, causing Xie Siyu to snap back to her senses. She looked up and collided with Lu Yanqing’s gentle gaze. Perhaps out of guilt, her hand gripped the mouse too tightly, accidentally highlighting a large block of text.

“Sorry, what… did you just say?”

Lu Yanqing already knew Xie Siyu had been daydreaming. Seeing this “panicked” look on her face, she couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle not out of mockery, of course, but out of a sense of novelty.

It turned out that the usually gentle, reserved, and composed woman also had a cute side.

On a sudden impulse to see Xie Siyu blush in embarrassment, Lu Yanqing rested one hand on the back of the chair and propped the other on the desk, slowly leaning down and closing in.

The distance between them narrowed inch by inch.

“Wh—what is it?”

With Lu Yanqing’s sudden approach, Xie Siyu instinctively tried to retreat, but sitting in an office chair, she had nowhere to go.

Between their breaths, the camellia fragrance grew intense, and her heart began to thud wildly. Even as she held her breath, she feared Lu Yanqing would hear her erratic heartbeat.

Lu Yanqing’s eyes remained fixed on Xie Siyu. Before she could see the other woman flush with shyness, she herself began to feel uneasy.

Mainly, it was because Xie Siyu was too beautiful.

Her wavy, date-chestnut hair draped over her shoulders; her skin was like fine jade, and her features were vivid and exquisite, as if carved by the most skilled craftsman. Her eyes, in particular, were like clear autumn waters bright and gentle.

Her lips were a pale cherry pink, though it was hard to tell if it was the color of lip glaze.

“The color of your lip glaze is very nice.”

Lu Yanqing straightened her body, grasping at a random excuse.

The atmosphere remained somewhat awkward. Remembering the business at hand, she added, “Chairman Xie and his daughter should have reached the 32nd floor by now.”

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the office door.

Resting her palm lightly on Xie Siyu’s shoulder, Lu Yanqing turned her gaze toward the closed door and repeated what she had said before: “If you don’t want to see them, leave it to me.”

It just so happened that the Second Uncle and Director Liu were present today.

Xie Siyu understood Lu Yanqing’s intention and curved her brows at her: “We have to meet eventually.”

Moreover, she didn’t want the members of the Xie family to come and disgust Lu Yanqing.

President Lu, Director Liu and Director Lu have also arrived.

Lu Yanqing glanced at the notification on her lock screen, a hint of mockery appearing in her eyes. “Do you want to watch a dog-eat-dog fight?”

Xie Siyu didn’t know that Lu Yanqing had other arrangements. Without asking for details, she closed the contract files on her computer and followed her out of the office.

Ten minutes later, in the 31st-floor conference room.

Xie Mingyuan and Xie Zhiyao sat opposite Lu Hongyi and Director Liu. At the head of the oval conference table was Lu Yanqing, with Xie Siyu sitting to her right.

“It just so happens that today, Second Uncle and Director Liu came to see me regarding whether to close the Elis stores. Since the Chairman and the young lady of Elis are both here, we can take our time to chat.”

Lu Yanqing leaned back into her leather chair, nonchalantly clicking the top of her sign pen as she spoke.

Director Liu hadn’t forgotten his purpose for coming today. Without waiting for Lu Hongyi to speak, he stood up first and slammed the operating data of the Xie family’s clothing brand, Elis, from the past three years onto the table.

He spoke with the cold tone of someone strictly following business: “Shuangqi Yunjing has 27 shopping malls nationwide. Among them, Elis has stores in 15 malls. Last year, the customer complaint rate was as high as 20%. Most importantly, one-third of the Elis stores failed to meet the revenue requirements stated in the contract.”

“For over a month, Chairman Xie has been stalling the resolution. Have you truly handled this impartially?”

Director Liu couldn’t stand Xie Siyu’s vigorous and resolute methods she always spoke with the gentlest words while performing the harshest deeds. Two years ago, if Lu Hongyi hadn’t protected him, his position as a director might have been stripped by Xie Siyu.

“Director Liu, you had better think carefully before you speak.”

Xie Mingyuan didn’t even need to look at the data to know Elis’s current situation. He had come early today hoping for a private resolution, but seeing Lu Yanqing’s attitude, it was clear she intended to blow the matter up.

And his daughter, Xie Siyu, had kept her head lowered since entering the room, avoiding all eye contact with him.

His hand under the conference table clenched into a fist.

This girl’s wings have truly grown strong. Whether she wants to break away from the Xie family and get rid of him, or if she’s just hesitant to intervene because Lu Yanqing has returned…

He hoped it was the latter. Otherwise…

“Oh? What does Chairman Xie mean by that? Are you implying we faked this data?”

Lu Hongyi picked up a ceramic cup, took a sip of Tieguanyin tea, and looked at Xie Mingyuan with a sharp, cold gaze.

Xie Mingyuan opened his mouth, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.

This was the first time Xie Zhiyao had been in such a high-pressure, intense situation. Her legs under her skirt wouldn’t stop trembling. Forget her usual arrogant face; she was doing well just to keep herself from crying in fear.

If one-third of the stores closed, Elis’s situation would only worsen.

Xie Mingyuan took a deep breath to force himself to calm down, beginning to play the emotional card: “President Lu, when you and Siyu got married, our two families agreed on a long-term partnership.”

The pen barrel tapped a rhythmic sound against Lu Yanqing’s wedding ring on her ring finger. Her deep eyes held no emotional fluctuation as she spoke in a cool voice: “Indeed, the Lu and Xie families signed a letter of intent for long-term cooperation. However, Chairman Xie, when Elis entered Shuangqi Yunjing, the rent was lower, and the stores were located on the first floor with high foot traffic.”

“Yet your revenue can’t even match other tenants. I heard from Siyu that Chairman Xie also owes half a year’s rent?”

Lu Yanqing was concise and hit the vital point. Fine beads of sweat broke out on Xie Mingyuan’s forehead because everything they said was the truth, which was why he was panicking.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but place his hope on Xie Siyu: “Siyu, surely you can’t bear to…”

“Chairman Xie, have you forgotten who the true person in charge of the Lu Group is?”

Lu Hongyi sternly interrupted Xie Mingyuan. The matter of Elis closing its stores could not be delayed any longer. He looked at the smiling Lu Yanqing. “Niece, you are the rightful person in power at Lu Group!”

Lu Yanqing’s gaze fell on Xie Siyu. She seemed to be in a difficult position, feigning helplessness: “I’m sorry, Siyu, I have to consider the interests of the group.”

The conference room fell into a dead silence.

Xie Siyu’s pearl earrings swayed slightly. When she raised her head, the corners of her eyes were rimmed with red, and her voice was slightly hoarse: “I am the one who should apologize.”

Even knowing that Xie Siyu was acting, Lu Yanqing’s breath hitched for a moment when she saw the mist gathering in her eyes. She felt a genuine pang of heartache.

It was a long while before she issued the order.

Originally, she had planned to only close two Elis stores. However, with the push from Second Uncle and Director Liu, all stores that failed to meet standards were ultimately shut down.

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