Transmigrating Into the Beautiful CEO’s Doomed Substitute - Chapter 115

Qi Zheng’s calm and composed attitude startled Shen Zhibing. On the way here tonight, she had been a bit worried, afraid that Qi Zheng would be upset about this matter. But seeing her so seemingly unbothered, her slightly relaxed heart felt a little sad again.

Calm and composed, perhaps because she didn’t care as much anymore.

Qi Zheng was no longer like three years ago, caring about these details related to her, and could even joke about the matter.

Shen Zhibing looked gloomily at her already empty palm; the solid feeling from the brief contact with Qi Zheng just now gradually diminished.

Seeing her low mood, Qi Zheng was a little confused: “Is this matter very tricky to solve?”

She was also considered a public figure in the financial world, and every move had to be stable and cautious. Although she knew there was no secret in last night’s incident, it still looked uncomfortable to others. Qi Zheng didn’t want to put too much pressure on her, but if this type of problem couldn’t be solved, there would be many more Hua Chi Fengs in the future.

“It is a bit troublesome, but it definitely needs to be resolved.” Shen Zhibing was also unwilling to drag it out, but she needed to find out whose intention it was. “I’ve already asked Yun Fei to investigate who is behind it. Once the person behind the scenes is clear, I will officially clarify this matter.”

As she said this, Shen Zhibing kept looking at Qi Zheng, afraid that she would misunderstand her for finding excuses to procrastinate again.

Qi Zheng nodded thoughtfully, just about to comfort her a few words, when she suddenly noticed the eagerness and hidden worry in her eyes, and for a moment, didn’t know what to say.

Overall, yesterday’s dinner was quite pleasant, except that after the meal, Qi Zheng had to rush back to work, and Shen Zhibing only saw her off outside the residential complex, without receiving an invitation to go upstairs for a visit.

Yu Xinyan looked at the occasionally distracted person and teased: “Don’t be so impatient, this is only one meal, and you’re already anxious to go to her house. If you have a few more meals later, won’t you want to live there?”

Shen Zhibing glanced at her and ignored the comment.

“On the contrary, I think Xiao Qi’s reaction is pretty good, she hasn’t pressured you to do anything immediately, why are you still unhappy about it.”

Shen Zhibing’s mood had remained low since she returned home last night, constantly analyzing Qi Zheng’s attitude tonight, which made her heart flutter. “Even if she doesn’t mention it, I am annoyed by these baseless rumors.”

“I think CEO Hua probably likes it very much.”

Shen Zhibing informed Hua Chi Feng yesterday purely out of courtesy. She would take a series of actions afterward, just giving him a heads-up. As for what Hua Chi Feng thought, she didn’t care.

“Qi Zheng finally came back. I don’t want these messy things to widen the distance between us again.”

Seeing the worry on Shen Zhibing’s brow, Yu Xinyan could only comfort her to believe in herself and in Qi Zheng.

However, that afternoon, Shen Zhibing saw more irritating news on her phone. A reporter interviewed the elders of the Shen family about those photos, and shockingly received a semi-acquiescent response.

Now, even if it wasn’t true, it was quickly becoming true.

Yun Fei looked at the ashen-faced person, waiting for her latest instructions: “CEO Shen, the person behind the scenes hasn’t been found yet. But regarding the latest news, do you want to officially respond first?”

Shen Zhibing thought for a moment, got up, grabbed her coat and bag, ready to leave: “I’m going back to the old mansion. Call me directly if anything comes up.”

She rarely returned in the past year, and even when she did, she wouldn’t stay too long. Firstly, because she was busy with work, and secondly, because the pressure to get married was more evident than in the past.

Seeing those so-called responses today, her heart sank, and she roughly guessed what was going on.

Sure enough, as soon as she entered the house, she saw her Second Uncle. In the past two years, she had gradually laid out her plans from the shadows to become increasingly high-profile, bit by bit draining her Second Uncle’s power, preventing him from forming absolute suppression over her in the board of directors.

The relationship between the two naturally worsened, and they were close to openly tearing each other’s faces off.

“You’re back so early today?” Shen Shijun specifically looked behind her, chuckling, “Didn’t bring CEO Hua back for a meal?”

Shen Zhibing kept a straight face, not wanting to get entangled with him. Although family elders occasionally urged marriage, as long as Grandpa and her parents didn’t directly pressure her, she could completely ignore this kind of thing.

“This is my private matter, no need for Second Uncle to worry. You should concern yourself more with Qi Xing’s marriage instead.”

Shen Shijun’s face stiffened. Shen Qixing hadn’t made things easy for him in the past two years. He still hadn’t shown any outstanding performance at work, but was constantly flirting with female colleagues in his department. Last year, a former subordinate who had already left the company even showed up at his door, claiming to be pregnant and asking him to take responsibility.

Later, a large sum of money was given to resolve the matter, but it indeed became a joke within the family.

“You young people, none of you understand the benefits of a stable life. When you go up to see the old man, he will have the same thoughts as me. Don’t use that tone again, or if you anger him, your sin will be great.”

Looking at the meaningful smile on her Second Uncle’s face before he left, Shen Zhibing finally understood.

Entering Grandpa’s room, the old man was brewing tea. Seeing her return, he was a little surprised, then smiled and beckoned her over.

“It’s rare for you to get off work so early, come and have a cup of tea with Grandpa.”

Shen Zhibing quietly sat down, but after several exchanges, she couldn’t find a chance to bring up the matter.

Grandpa Shen put down the teapot and sighed softly: “What’s wrong with you today, girl? You look preoccupied.”

“Grandpa, I wonder if you’ve seen the news about me and CEO Hua of Dongming these past two days?”

“The housekeeper mentioned it. It’s always a bit undignified for such things to be exposed through sneak photos.”

“This is a misunderstanding.”

Grandpa Shen changed the tea leaves and slowly started to fiddle with them again.

“Misunderstanding?”

Shen Zhibing pondered briefly, then directly stated: “I have no personal feelings for CEO Hua, and my dinner with him was purely for business.”

Unexpectedly, Grandpa Shen smiled and waved his hand: “Young people, you’ll develop feelings if you spend more time together. Besides, you’re not young anymore, you’re over thirty. Are you not planning to consider marriage yet?”

Grandpa had never formally said this before.

Shen Zhibing felt emotional, even the wealthy couldn’t avoid the mundane. Even though she was financially independent and highly capable, she still couldn’t escape the predicament of age anxiety. In secular views, thirty years old is still seen as a watershed for a woman’s marital status; it seems that after thirty, a woman begins to depreciate.

She was relatively lucky. Her appearance and material conditions were good enough that she remained charming after thirty.

But she had indeed begun to hear people express concern and incomprehension about her unmarried status.

“I have my own plans for this. In short, there’s absolutely no possibility between me and CEO Hua.”

Seeing her so completely dismissive, Grandpa Shen was curious: “Do you have someone you’re seeing then?”

Qi Zheng’s face suddenly appeared before her eyes. Her name was on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t say it, couldn’t voice it.

Qi Zheng hadn’t agreed to anything yet; at the moment, it was just her own eagerness.

“Not yet,” Shen Zhibing emphasized again, “But I know what I want and what kind of person I like.”

“Then handle this rumor quietly.”

Shen Zhibing’s clear statement made the old man loosen up a bit, but she unexpectedly was still not satisfied: “Grandpa, I want to formally respond once.”

“How formally?”

Shen Zhibing had been considering this idea since last night, and it wasn’t the first time she’d thought of it: “I want to clearly state my attitude to prevent similar rumors from happening again in the future. If I ignore it every time, it won’t necessarily be good for Shen Corporation over time.”

Grandpa Shen thought for a moment and agreed to her idea: “Be mindful of propriety, don’t offend anyone.”

“I’ve already informed CEO Hua in advance, and he will fully cooperate with me.”

Leaving the old mansion, Shen Zhibing breathed a huge sigh of relief. It seemed the photo incident was not directly ordered by Grandpa, but was certainly related to her Second Uncle. Fortunately, she stood firm, and Grandpa’s word during dinner helped to quell the internal family speculations for now.

As soon as she got into the car, she called Qi Zheng, who answered after a little while.

“Qi Zheng, it’s me.”

“I know.”

“Are you free tonight? I want to see you, I have something I want to tell you.”

Qi Zheng, sounding slightly apologetic, explained: “I’m going to Dongming tomorrow, so tonight might not work.”

Shen Zhibing was just eager to tell her that she hadn’t delayed or wavered this time, wanting her to see her sincerity and attitude right away. Hearing that Qi Zheng was busy with work, she didn’t want to force the interruption.

“Are you planning to seek funding from Dongming?”

“I’ve been talking to quite a few companies recently. Since there’s an opportunity to connect, I want to try them all.”

“Do you need me to put in a good word with CEO Hua?”

Qi Zheng chuckled her thanks, then gently refused: “I can handle it myself. If I really can’t manage, I’ll ask for your help then.”

Shen Zhibing just wanted to help her as much as she could, only realizing after asking that it might upset Qi Zheng. Just as she was getting nervous, she heard a light laugh on the other end of the phone, which made her silently smile too.

“Then I won’t delay your work. I’ll treat you to a meal when you’re done.”

Qi Zheng woke up very early the next day, checked the materials she was taking to Dongming one more time, confirmed everything was complete and correct, and then started eating breakfast at ease.

She opened her iPad to browse the news, and unexpectedly, the most prominent news on the finance section was an official press release issued by Shen Corporation’s public relations department.

She clicked it open and read it carefully. Shen Zhibing directly responded to the dating rumors from the previous two days and the alleged family elders’ acquiescence to her relationship with Hua Chi Feng.

CEO Shen used extremely clear language to directly deny the rumors of dating Hua Chi Feng and explained that the dinner that night was for business negotiations. Other than that, she had no excessive private relationship with CEO Hua.

At the end of the press release, Shen Zhibing unusually put her personal relationship status before the public. She emphasized that she would not consider marriage in the near future and already had someone she liked and wished to date, hoping everyone would grant her respect and freedom.

Looking at the personal signature on the press release, which was exactly the same as her signature on various reports, it gave Qi Zheng a completely different feeling.

She hadn’t expected Shen Zhibing’s action to be so swift this time, and to use such a strong approach to prevent the possibility of other rumors afterward. Qi Zheng knew very well why she did this.

She looked out the window; the sun was shining brightly, and her mood also brightened.

Arriving at Dongming Group, there were already designated personnel waiting for them.

“Miss Qi, Manager Liu is already in the conference room. I’ll take you over.”

Dongming had established a dedicated entrepreneurial support fund, and they received many creative proposals every day. Manager Liu was the person in charge of that department. He was very interested in Qi Zheng’s startup project and was aware of her entrepreneurial experience in the United States, so he specifically arranged for her to come to the company first.

Hua Chi Feng saw Qi Zheng and her entourage outside the conference room and casually asked his secretary: “Who are they?”

“CEO Hua, they are Manager Liu’s guests.”