Transmigrating Into the Beautiful CEO’s Doomed Substitute - Chapter 150

Dong Xiao led his subordinates out of the meeting room, his expression finally relaxing. The commercial real estate transformation report had finally been approved by CEO Shen after several revisions. What made him even happier was that he had gone to Qi Zheng’s company last week to discuss cooperation, and unexpectedly, his former “short-term apprentice” was so agreeable.

When Qi Zheng, then just an intern, joined the real estate project team, Dong Xiao knew she was capable and would have great prospects sooner or later. But he didn’t expect that in just a few years, Qi Zheng would transform into an outstanding young entrepreneur.

The leap was almost impossible for ordinary people to achieve in a lifetime. He felt a little absent-minded and somewhat wistful, remembering that his guidance and care for Qi Zheng during that time were only superficial. While he had to mentor her, he couldn’t completely drop his guard against her.

He was nervous when he went to Qi Zheng to discuss the partnership. Unexpectedly, Qi Zheng’s attitude was surprisingly good, only mentioning the positive aspects of their past association, and Dong Xiao gradually relaxed. After listening to his proposal, Qi Zheng readily agreed to rent several core commercial locations for experience centers. She didn’t propose overly harsh conditions.

“CEO Qi is truly a person who achieves great things. I learned another lesson today.” Dong Xiao was finally sincerely impressed. He stood up and extended his hand, expressing his most genuine respect to Qi Zheng.

“Vice President Dong, you’re too kind. The terms you offered were so generous, there’s no reason for me not to agree. Besides, we do need to expand our offline presence lately.”

This was something they had discussed with Shen Zhibing back in Hong Kong. After the trip, both resumed their busy work schedules. But this was clearly a win-win partnership, and neither forgot about it.

Dong Xiao had highlighted the successful signing with Qi Zheng’s company as a typical successful outcome of the transformation in his report today, and it was indeed affirmed by CEO Shen. Halfway down the hall, he saw someone approaching from the other end of the corridor.

“CEO Qi?”

Qi Zheng smiled and nodded, “I came to talk to CEO Shen about something. I just heard your meeting ended, so I came up to see.”

“CEO Shen should still be in the conference room. I won’t hold you up then.”

Dong Xiao and his subordinates entered the elevator. Once the doors closed, the young people gathered around him, “President Dong, are you very familiar with CEO Qi?”

“I had the privilege of working with her briefly.”

Qi Zheng’s entrepreneurial journey and rapid success made her an idol for many aspiring entrepreneurs, though many also sighed that they lacked her good fortune.

“I heard that when CEO Qi first joined Shen’s, she followed you.”

Dong Xiao earnestly corrected, “I just provided her with some workplace support as an experienced senior; there was no ‘following.’ It was my honor to work with her.”

He wasn’t merely flattering her but genuinely impressed by Qi Zheng’s talent and ability. He had seen many brilliant young people at Shen’s, but few were as down-to-earth and hardworking as Qi Zheng.

Her success was by no means accidental, nor was it due to mere luck.

Qi Zheng walked to the conference room. The door was ajar, and she could hear Shen Zhibing’s voice. Qi Zheng quietly waited outside, wanting to enter after Shen Zhibing finished her work arrangements.

Unexpectedly, the voices inside gradually grew louder, occasionally interspersed with her name.

Qi Zheng listened closely for a while. It turned out to be Shen Qixing speaking.

“CEO Shen, it’s correct that commercial real estate needs transformation, but it’s inappropriate for you to use company assets to subsidize Qi Zheng, isn’t it?”

Shen Zhibing remained calm in the face of such questioning.

“What reason do you have to think that?”

“You refuse to lay off the real estate team, and you’re having HR arrange for them to be transferred and redeployed. Now, this so-called core team you’ve kept is actually going to cooperate with Qi Zheng’s company. Renting out so many prime locations at an 80% discount—don’t you know how big of a loss that is?”

“It’s true that rents were high and profits were generous during the industry’s peak. But now there are mass lease terminations everywhere, and there are countless projects offering much bigger discounts than Shen’s. Compared to long-term vacancy, I don’t believe a 20% rent concession will cause the company any real loss.”

Shen Qixing snorted. Probably relying on the fact that there was no one else in the conference room except Yun Fei, he finally found a chance to vent some things he had held in for too long.

“You’re just feeling bad because Grandpa forced Qi Zheng to sign that agreement, and now you’re trying to find ways to compensate her.”

Before he could finish, Shen Zhibing’s voice came, cold as an ice-cutting knife across the face, “Shen Qixing, if you forget your position in the company and continue to talk nonsense, I don’t mind asking the HR department to replace the Vice President. Given your current understanding of new businesses, I don’t believe you can continue to be competent in reassuring related teams and ensuring their smooth transition to new roles.”

Shen Qixing’s face turned ashen. He wanted to speak but felt he had nothing to say. But Shen Zhibing didn’t stop there. She said to Yun Fei next to her, “Write down what I just said. Go find CEO Ke in HR tomorrow and tell him it’s my decision.”

Hearing that she was going to involve CEO Ke, Shen Qixing knew she was serious.

He snapped, “You dare touch me?”

Shen Zhibing didn’t care, “Do you want to go find Grandpa again? You might be able to get away with a few things regarding family matters, but I call the shots at Shen’s now. If you feel that working here doesn’t suit you, then get out early and honestly wait for your year-end dividend.”

Shen Qixing slammed the door and stormed out, only to be surprised to see Qi Zheng outside the door. He felt a surge of anger but didn’t know what to say, so he just glared at her fiercely.

“What a coincidence.”

Qi Zheng also looked nonchalant, but the faint smile at the corner of her mouth showed that she had heard the entire conversation inside the conference room.

He knew clearly that Shen Zhibing was biased towards Qi Zheng, yet he was helpless. He finally got a chance to find fault today, but instead, he almost got fired on the spot.

“Coincidence, my foot!” Shen Qixing tossed that remark aside and left without looking back.

Shen Zhibing and Yun Fei came out of the conference room and saw Qi Zheng first thing.

“I have five minutes until I get off work, wait for me.”

Qi Zheng smiled and followed her back to the office. When she closed the door behind her, Shen Zhibing’s heart skipped a beat. Qi Zheng occasionally came to pick her up from work, but she couldn’t help but remember that one time.

“The meeting was supposed to end quite early today, but Shen Qixing’s antics almost made me late again.” Shen Zhibing quickly packed up her belongings, picked up her bag, and walked over to Qi Zheng.

“Seeing his crestfallen face, a few minutes of delay was quite worth it.”

Shen Zhibing playfully pinched her nose, “You’ve become quite mischievous now.”

Qi Zheng was there to take Shen Zhibing for a follow-up appointment. Her condition was stable, and the frequency of follow-ups had decreased compared to the past. But Qi Zheng would try her best to accompany her, saying she wanted to make up for the regret of not being with her through it all in the past.

The psychologist was very pleased with Shen Zhibing’s recovery. She had worked with many patients, and those as severe as Shen Zhibing usually only lessened to a mild state.

To be like CEO Shen, almost indistinguishable from a normal person, besides having a strong mentality and great perseverance, it was also inseparable from the attentiveness of the people around her.

Qi Zheng had carried out almost every suggestion given for helping Shen Zhibing stabilize her condition. Whether it was spending as much time as possible with her, traveling, maintaining deep communication, or preventing Shen Zhibing from overthinking, Qi Zheng had done an excellent job.

“The condition in this phase is very stable. You no longer need any medication assistance. Congratulations, CEO Shen, you have completely broken free from the past and no longer have to worry about being troubled by negative emotions.”

After hearing the psychologist’s words, Shen Zhibing merely smiled faintly, while Qi Zheng breathed a sigh of relief.

“That sets my mind at ease.”

Shen Zhibing had no secrets from Qi Zheng now. She hadn’t deliberately concealed her past treatments. Only, she didn’t expect that somehow, the conversation would turn to the past when she first developed unique feelings for Qi Zheng and struggled to suppress them.

Qi Zheng was a bit surprised but didn’t show anything in front of the psychologist. Only at the end did the psychologist give a warm suggestion, “In fact, intimate relationships are also very helpful for emotional recovery. If you want to maintain a sense of novelty, you could try interactions like role-playing.”

The psychologist said this very professionally, but the words translated into different scenes in the minds of the two women.

When they left the psychology clinic, it was lightly raining outside. The air became fresh, and the raindrops on their faces added a touch of romance. Seeing that Shen Zhibing wanted to walk a bit more, Qi Zheng took the umbrella from the driver and put her arm around Shen Zhibing, sheltering her.

Holding the umbrella and embracing Shen Zhibing, she slowly walked with her on the street, “If the rain gets heavier, you’ll have to get in the car obediently.”

Although she said that, when the rain became more frequent, Qi Zheng couldn’t bear to interrupt the joy on Shen Zhibing’s face and continued to walk with her.

When they returned to Yunlu Flower Garden, neither of them mentioned the follow-up appointment today. It wasn’t until they were preparing to shower at night that Shen Zhibing followed Qi Zheng, looking hesitant.

“What is it?”

Shen Zhibing briefly struggled with herself, then took the pajamas from Qi Zheng’s hand, “Let me bathe you tonight.”

Qi Zheng looked at her hand, now empty, and raised an eyebrow, “The reason?”

“To admit my fault to you.”

Qi Zheng couldn’t help but chuckle, finding Shen Zhibing’s earnest yet shy look even more endearing, “What did you do wrong?”

Shen Zhibing bit her lip, a little annoyed that Qi Zheng was pretending not to know. But she didn’t want to conceal it; they had agreed not to keep secrets.

“It was wrong of me to have such thoughts about you back then.”

Although time had passed, looking back, her covetousness and desire for Qi Zheng back then were truly shameful.

Seeing her sincerity, Qi Zheng naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for her. She led her into the bathroom and started filling the tub.

The massage bathtub had many features. Qi Zheng originally wanted a comfortable soak, but it seemed that wouldn’t happen tonight.

She stepped into the tub and looked back at Shen Zhibing, who was still standing outside, reaching out to her with a smile, “Come here.”

She took a long stride into the tub. The two embraced in the bathtub, and then, as usual, Shen Zhibing was held in Qi Zheng’s arms.

The hot water rose over their shoulders, elevating their body temperature, and their hearts began to beat faster.

Qi Zheng gently nibbled on her earlobe, occasionally sighing, “You should have let me know earlier.”

Shen Zhibing was held tightly, unable to move.

“If you had known earlier, you probably would have been scared off.”

“No.”

She spoke with great certainty, and Shen Zhibing felt a hot current pass through.

“Why not?”

Qi Zheng’s lips moved from her ear, along her cheek, and finally stopped on her lips.

“Because I had also been interested in you for a long time.”

Shen Zhibing had always thought her initiative sparked Qi Zheng’s feelings, but it seemed the truth was not quite so.

She turned her face and kissed Qi Zheng passionately, “Although it started a little late, the rest of my life is yours.”

That night, Shen Zhibing expressed her apology with actions. The water from the massage bathtub spilled onto the floor, but it didn’t hinder their interaction in the slightest. The temperature in the bathroom was very high, making breathing gradually difficult. Shen Zhibing felt like she was suffocating again and could only rely on the slight coolness of the wall to maintain her last bit of consciousness.

But Qi Zheng wouldn’t let her go, hitting the mark accurately every time, leaving her with nowhere to escape.