Transmigrating Into the Beautiful CEO’s Doomed Substitute - Chapter 37

Lin Muyun hung up the phone feeling disgruntled. She wanted to talk to Qi Zheng a little longer, but the person on the other end didn’t give her a chance. Almost every sentence was met with a retort, giving Lin Muyun the illusion that Qi Zheng had been swapped out.

Already weighed down by the pressure of a family-arranged marriage, and now even the docile, obedient little lamb who used to be by her side had run off. Lin Muyun suddenly realized that this trip abroad had cost her the happiness she once had.

Lian Ao said Qi Zheng had a good business acumen; Father Qi said Qi Zheng’s wings had hardened since graduation, and she wanted to shed her family’s burdens. Lin Muyun had been skeptical of all this. But now, after repeatedly hitting a wall, she had no choice but to start accepting even the most incredible changes.

She called Jian Anni: “Anni, do you know when Qi Zheng started associating with Shen Zhibing?”

Jian Anni had just finished a face mask and was about to go to sleep for her beauty rest. She had heard the news of Lin Muyun’s return and confirmed the engagement through her family. Wu Qin had already called her with an hour’s worth of complaints and rants, saying Lian Ao was truly unlucky to be forced to marry such a restless woman.

“I’m not exactly sure about the time, probably since she started working at Shen Group.”

“Are you sure she started working at Shen Group first and then met Shen Zhibing, instead of getting in through the back door?” Lin Muyun understood Qi Zheng. She was somewhat clever, but not so much that she could catch Shen Zhibing’s attention in such a short time.

“I really don’t know that. I don’t have a deep impression of Qi Zheng, it was only when you were with her…” Jian Anni stopped mid-sentence. Now that Lin Muyun’s marriage to Lian Ao was practically set, she couldn’t say anything inappropriate.

The world of prominent families was like this: they were competitors, yet they could also be allies, always revolving around interests. The Jian family, which ran a media business, naturally didn’t want to offend anyone.

Lin Muyun felt even more frustrated. Her relationship with Qi Zheng had never been officially public. Now, if she were to explain it, she wouldn’t know where to start.

“I’ll look into this myself, but I need a favor from you.”

Lin Muyun’s sudden politeness made Jian Anni take her seriously, although she didn’t really want to help.

“Could you help me look into who Shen Zhibing has been in contact with recently?”

“What do you mean?”

“Anni, Shen Zhibing is twenty-eight and has never had any news of dating or relationships. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

Jian Anni did find it a bit strange, but Shen Zhibing was the heir of the Shen Group; it wasn’t impossible for him to be too busy with work to date.

“In a family like ours, who can truly escape the shackles of marriage?”

Jian Anni agreed with Lin Muyun. The closer one was to the family assets, the greater the likelihood of being bound and manipulated.

“I don’t believe Shen Zhibing is a person without desires and emotions.”

Lin Muyun had a faint hunch, but she didn’t dare confirm it because she felt it was only a one percent possibility. However, Qi Zheng’s drastic change after going to Shen Group forced her to seriously consider every possibility.

Lin Muyun didn’t passively wait for Jian Anni’s findings. She felt she should create more opportunities to meet Qi Zheng. They had an emotional foundation; being cold on the phone didn’t mean she would be cold in person. Qi Zheng must be upset that she disappeared so long without a word.

The project team leader had accompanied Shen Zhibing to Yongfeng for the contract signing, leaving everyone else in the conference room feeling relaxed.

“Xiao Qi, which department are you planning to go to after the project team is disbanded?” Finally, someone brought the topic up to Qi Zheng. In truth, everyone was paying attention to this.

“That depends on the leader’s arrangement.”

“You’re too modest. With your performance, if you spoke up, what department would refuse you?”

After saying this, the person deliberately winked at Dong Xiao, teasing, “How about taking your mentor with you? Old Dong is relying on you to make a comeback.”

Dong Xiao didn’t laugh, and Qi Zheng’s expression was also not very pleasant. She had figured out by now that Dong Xiao was somewhat ostracized by this group of people.

“It’s all just work, it’s pretty much the same everywhere,” Qi Zheng didn’t want to prematurely leak the news that she would be going to President Shen’s secretarial office, especially not to these people who were subtly keeping an eye on her.

“Youth is capital, and you have a bright future. I remember when I first graduated, I was also full of ambition, thinking I could grow strong with the real estate company. Turns out the company grew, but I just got old.”

Qi Zheng listened to them continue to chat, rarely interrupting, as long as the topic didn’t fall on her.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the conference room door: “The Vice President wants all of you to come out; someone from Lin Group is here.”

The people who had been laughing moments ago reluctantly stood up: “Lin Group isn’t who we’re responsible for dealing with. Why do we all have to go out? Old Dong, isn’t this your department’s business?”

Lin Group and the real estate company had business dealings, mainly supplying the sand and gravel needed for construction. They were a major supplier that had cooperated for quite a while. The person in charge of this business at Lin Group had recently changed, and it was a different face every now and then. Today, they didn’t know who had come.

“The Vice President gave the order. If you don’t want to go, you can explain it yourself.” Dong Xiao left two steps ahead of them. The liaison with Lin Group was indeed part of his job.

Lin Muyun was sitting in the real estate company’s Vice President’s office. After changing into a professional suit and dyeing her hair back to black, she indeed regained the aura of a professional female executive.

“I didn’t expect Ms. Lin to come personally today.” Lin Muyun had been at Lin Group before she went abroad, but she rarely came over.

“There have been a lot of personnel changes recently, and I don’t want the core business to be affected. It’s more stable if I handle it.”

The Vice President received a call from his secretary, stood up, and invited Lin Muyun to follow him: “Employees from the relevant departments are already in place, Ms. Lin, please come with me.”

Lin Muyun arrived at Dong Xiao’s business department and, as expected, saw Qi Zheng. The project team hadn’t officially disbanded yet, but they had entered the formal contract signing stage over the past two days, with only administrative matters remaining. Qi Zheng had nowhere else to go and could only follow Dong Xiao back to his department.

“Xiao Dong, come here.” The Vice President motioned to Dong Xiao, who was more familiar with Lin Group’s previous business.

“Ms. Lin, this is Dong Xiao. He was primarily in charge of Lin Group and other major supplier liaisons before.”

Lin Muyun graciously extended her hand and said warmly, “We’ve met before, we just didn’t have many chances to interact.”

Dong Xiao hadn’t expected Lin Muyun to come personally today. Surprised, he was also shocked by Ms. Lin’s friendly demeanor, and he excitedly shook her hand back: “Ms. Lin, you are too kind.”

Lin Muyun and Dong Xiao exchanged a few more polite words about business. Her gaze kept drifting, consciously or unconsciously, toward Qi Zheng.

“Your company will have to work hard on Lin Group’s business in the future. I hope you won’t forget an old partner like Lin Group just because you have a new favorite like Yongfeng.”

It was no longer a secret in the industry that the real estate company had secured the Yongfeng project. In two days, when the signing process was complete, the company would officially send out a press release. Lin Muyun’s reminder was, in fact, directed at the Vice President.

Qi Zheng had been sitting in the corner, not paying attention to what kind of important figure had come from Lin Group. Lin Muyun’s figure was completely visible in the transparent conference room, and Qi Zheng felt a little agitated.

It was normal for someone from Lin Group to come, but it was highly irregular for it to be Lin Muyun. Qi Zheng remembered the original host complaining to her that Ms. Lin most disliked dealing with people from real estate companies, who were always urging people to drink during entertainment and fiercely suppressing prices on business deals, all while demanding capital advances.

So, Lin Muyun always used to let her subordinates handle it and rarely got involved herself. Her appearance here today could not be said to have nothing to do with Qi Zheng.

A colleague slid their chair over to Qi Zheng: “Xiao Qi, why are you spacing out? Why don’t you take this chance to go find Dong Xiao and have him introduce you to Ms. Lin?”

Qi Zheng looked blank, and said in a low voice, “Why do I need to meet her?”

The person was a seasoned office veteran, and seeing Qi Zheng’s clueless look, they were both amused and a little relieved, explaining, “Lin Muyun has a lot of influence at Lin Group. She doesn’t come often, so it’s a rare chance; just getting your face known is good.”

Qi Zheng remained indifferent: “I’m not responsible for this business, so I don’t think I have that need.”

“You’re not responsible now, but who knows about the future? For employees like us, what we should do and what we will do is just a word from the boss. Look at Dong Xiao, he was dealing with suppliers before, and when the project team needed people, wasn’t he immediately transferred?”

Qi Zheng was reluctantly forced to join her colleague in “paying attention” to the situation in the conference room. Lin Muyun was gracefully and elegantly conversing with them. If one didn’t know her other side, perhaps they would also be fooled.

“Forget it, you young people are just too shy. Later, you’ll know how much you regretted missing such an opportunity.” Until Lin Muyun came out of the conference room, Qi Zheng remained steadily seated in her chair. The colleague sat back with a look of disappointment.

Lin Muyun proactively suggested that she wanted to meet the other colleagues in the department and thank them for their efforts in the Lin Group business in the past. The Vice President naturally handed this task to Dong Xiao. Everyone was met, and finally, the loop came back to Qi Zheng.

She was sitting right next to Dong Xiao’s workstation. Lin Muyun stopped and waited for Dong Xiao to introduce Qi Zheng.

“This is our intern, Qi Zheng. She graduated from Haida’s School of Finance, very capable.”

“Qi Zheng, this is Ms. Lin from Lin Group.”

Qi Zheng had no choice but to walk over. The moment her hand touched Lin Muyun’s, it was squeezed tight. Others couldn’t see clearly, but Qi Zheng felt disgusted because when they separated, Lin Muyun actually took the opportunity to scratch her palm.

Does she really think a few casual flirtations will make her heart flutter? Qi Zheng rolled her eyes at Lin Muyun internally, but her expression remained calm as usual.

Dong Xiao admired Qi Zheng’s composure. Whether she was facing President Shen or Ms. Lin, she always seemed tranquil, neither servile nor overbearing, with no special reaction. It was understandable with President Shen, as she was a connected person and perhaps had a private relationship. But to be this way with Ms. Lin, too, meant she truly had a stable mindset.

Youth is truly great. No mortgage, no car loan, no children to raise, you can hold your head higher. Dong Xiao had a moment of realization, but it was fleeting. Reality didn’t allow him to reminisce about the past; he could only grit his teeth and carry his heavy burden forward.

“To be able to enter a core department so young is indeed impressive. It makes sense why Shen Group is developing so well; they recruit talent without sticking to conventions and don’t make age or experience rigid thresholds. This is something worth learning from by our peers.”

Lin Muyun was usually quite arrogant, so even if she was speaking politely, to say this much was already enough of an exception. Dong Xiao was a little more composed than before, after all, Qi Zheng had also been praised by President Shen, but he still felt a complex mix of emotions.

The Vice President returned, having gone out and come back. Everyone thought he had gone to lunch with Ms. Lin, but he said that President Shen had just finished at Yongfeng and happened to be coming over.

Qi Zheng’s brow twitched. She didn’t think Shen Zhibing meeting Lin Muyun would be a pleasant sight.

However, the Vice President didn’t give her time to speculate, adding: “I just got a call. President Shen will be here in fifteen minutes.”