Sweet Chief Secretary

"If you"re not leaving, I"m leaving!" Xia Yu had to compromise as she wasn"t sure what he was going to do.

Shen Yan pa.s.sed a contemptuous look to Xia Yu, "It"s not like we never slept together before! You hypocrite!"

I was hypocritical? Xia Yu pointed at herself.

"If you are not hypocritical, what are you? So, in your eyes, I, Shen Yan, am a b.a.s.t.a.r.d who force myself on women?" Shen Yan was a proud man and wouldn"t force himself on Xia Yu before she agreed.

Xia Yu felt bad upon hearing Shen Yan"s statement. Of course, she would feel bad as he was saying that she overthought.

"I don"t have time to argue with you. Sleep!" Xia Yu closed her eyes as she was very tired. Shen Yan could stay if he wanted to.

With a slight chuckle, Shen Yan reached out and turned off the light.

In the morning, a glaring beam of sunlight flew into the bedroom. Xia Yu squinted and saw Shen Yan was opening the curtains.

"What are you doing? It"s too bright!" Xia Yu took the phone and looked at the time. It was almost 8 o"clock. She didn"t want to get up now as she fell asleep around the small hours this morning.

"The sun is already high up, and you still don"t want to get up? By the way, your sister is back!" Shen Yan came over to the bed and told her.

"What!" Xia Yu jumped off the bed! Oh no! It"d be too awkward if they knew Shen Yan was sleeping in her bedroom!

Xia Yu put on some clothes in a panic and realized that the door was open. Shen Yan was sitting on a chair next to the bed while smiling at her calmly.

No way! There should be sounds if they were back.

Did he fool me again? Xia Yu asked in confusion, "My sister is not back yet, right?"

Seeing that Xia Yu was acting like a thief, he laughed, "If I don"t tell you your sister is back, would you ever get out of the bed?"

Xia Yu was furious and wanted to kick him. After being in a trance for a little while, she climbed back to her warm quilt, “I want to sleep for a bit longer.”

Shen Yan came over and sat down on the bed while pulling the quilt away and cuddling Xia Yu with a soft voice, "Get up to eat breakfast, or it will be cold soon."

Xia Yu waved her hand and said, "I gave it up."

He pulled the quilt aside and said nicely, "Come! You have to eat breakfast, or your stomach could be upset."

Xia Yu then had breakfast, traditional fritters with porridge, with him. She could tell the porridge, which was served by the four-star hotel across the street, was of great quality. She knew many people lined up for the hotel"s breakfast every day and wondered what time Shen Yan got up this morning to buy it.

Being greatly moved, Xia Yu ate breakfast in great joy. To her, happiness was as simple as a bowl of pure porridge.

Xia Yu looked up and saw Shen Yan was looking at her. Shen Yan asked, "Is it delicious?"

She nodded with some efforts, "It"s delicious!" After thinking for a while, she asked, "What time did you get up?"

He smiled and said, "6 o"clock."

“Fang Feifei said that several directors had handed over their resignation letters.” Xia Yu didn"t want to spill out these words immediately, but she had to because these letters were already on Shen Yan"s desk and business hours were going to start soon.

She felt sorry for him. Obviously, these people were instructed by Shen Mo. Although Shen Yan and Shen Mo were brothers, only Shen Yan knew true friends were few in this complicated world.

Xia Yu remembered that when she first arrived at Tengfei, Shen Yan told her that although he knew she was the sister of his older brother"s girlfriend, he believed in her. There was no apparent reason, he just did.

During the past few months, they had hard times and quarrels. However, he never hesitated to believe in Xia Yu at crucial times, just as what he told her before.

Social interaction was a profound study, especially in the business world. It was not like what the book said, "As long as you were simple, the world would be simple to you". The business world was a battlefield, and events like "I devote my heart to you, but you choose to throw my heart into a ditch" happened all the time.

In this world, he could be doomed forever because of a small error, but Shen Yan was willing to bet the rest of his life on Xia Yu. Xia Yu was greatly moved by his determination, and it was a major reason why she chose to stay.

"You can"t make those who are determined to leave stay." Shen Yan said that with an understatement tone as if he had been describing the weather today.

But these people were the pillars of the company, and their departure would cast devastation on the company. Shen Yan"s mood at this time must not be as easy as what appeared on the surface.

"Let me try to persuade them?" Although Xia Yu knew they were trying to blackmail Shen Yan, no one, including Shen Yan, could bear the consequences if they succeeded in leaving altogether.

"OK, you can talk to them. They have been working at Tengfei for so many years and have achieved great accomplishments. Although they decide to resign, we still want to express our grat.i.tude on behalf of the company." Shen Yan agreed with Xia Yu, but he was a proud person after all.

At this time, Xia Yu didn"t want to argue with him. She walked straight into the bathroom to put on a quick makeup before changing her shoes at the door. She told Shen Yan, "Liu Sijie"s car is still here. I will drive his car."

"Drive safely!" Shen Yan stood up and walked her out. He also had to go back to the company to deal with some business.

"OK!" Xia Yu and Shen Yan parted at the entrance of the community. It was rush hour, and the road was full of traffic as usual. Xia Yu held the steering wheel and looked straight ahead.

Xia Yu first went to Director Qin in the planning department. She was watering the flowers and was not surprised by Xia Yu"s presence at all, "The arrival of Secretary Xia is gracing my humble home."

If a villa over 200 square meters with an independent courtyard could be called a "humble home", Xia Yu did not know what "humble" meant anymore. It seemed that Tengfei was offering a great package to Director Qin. Although she had the management experience and would be able to find another job if she left Tengfei now, it was not certain that her new employer could offer the same package.

"Director Qin is too kind. The flowers are blooming. It seems that you spend a lot of efforts on your flowers." Xia Yu smiled and walked in while looking at a plant that Director Qin was nurturing.

Director Qin glanced at the flowers in her hand with a smile and said, "I did spend a lot of efforts on these flowers. If you take care of your plants, you will get corresponding results without any prejudice."

There was something in between her lines! The rumor went that Director Qin spent a long time in the company. She started her career at a low position, and now she was a director. She must have spent a lot of effort in her career.

She was a veteran level figure and brought her niece into the company without asking for any special treatment. She just wanted a job for her niece. However, to Shen Qiang, it was an act of nepotism.

She believed she had made great contributions to both the company and the Shen Family. However, she was deeply hurt by the two young masters.

Xia Yu smiled slightly and nodded in agreement, "Director Qin was right. But plants are different from animals. Some animals know who their masters are. They regard the first persons they see as their masters and follow them everywhere. They do what the masters tell them to do ‒ this is called loyalty."

Shen Qiang did not let the niece of Director Qin stay. As for the reason, both Director Qin and Xia Yu understood. Since Shen Yan could challenge Shen Mo, he could not let the force of someone else grow in his company.

Even though Director Qin chose to follow Shen Mo, Shen Yan still wanted her because she was quite talented. It would be great to test if Director Qin could work for Shen Yan before they could reach an agreement.

Director Qin heard Xia Yu"s words and was slightly shocked. She said with a smile, “Secretary Xia, I have already handed over my resignation letter and don"t deserve the t.i.tle "Director Qin" anymore. Please call me Ms. Qin or Old Qin.”

Her words were tactful yet clear. She was no longer with Tengfei and did not intend to go back.

With that being said, it was hard for Xia Yu to persuade again, "Well, Ms. Qin, you have been working at Tengfei for many years, so you must have some positive emotions about it. Let me know if there"s anything we can offer you to make you stay."

Director Qin smiled and said with a sigh of relief, "I do have positive emotions as I"ve been working at Tengfei for over 10 years. Don"t laugh at me, but I hope that Tengfei could thrive. I hope that one day when I pa.s.s by Tengfei"s gate, I can proudly say "I used to work here"."

"Yes, you will definitely see that day. That"s it. I don"t want to interrupt you anymore. Goodbye." Xia Yu nodded to Director Qin and left the Qin residence.

When Xia Yu left the Qin residence, Xia Yu exhaled a deep breath. This one was not going back. She then proceeded to the next one. She still held a glim of hope though the outcome would be the same.

Zhang Yuan opened the door and stood there for a while. Obviously, he was considering whether to let her in. What he said later confirmed Xia Yu"s speculation, "Secretary Xia, I wouldn"t let anyone else other than you in."

So he was showing Xia Yu some respects? Xia Yu said with a forced smile in her heart, "Thank you, President Zhang."

"Secretary Xia, no, let me call you Xia Yu. Xia Yu, I really admire you. When you started to work at the company, everyone said that you were nothing more than a pretty face. However, I really admire what you did later." Zhang Yuan asked Xia Yu to sit down while handing a drink to her, "You were faithful and loyal, but how did Second Madame and Shen Yan treat you?"

Having said that, Zhang Yuan waved his hands and said, "I"ll stop talking. Otherwise, I"d be suspected to abet you in quitting your job."

"President Zhang must be joking. How can it be?" Xia Yu did not expect to hear all of Zhang Yuan"s complaints upon her entrance.

This person was indeed a ladies" man, but he was well connected in the company and had great performances. Even Fang Feifei felt sorry for his departure. Otherwise, she would not have sent a message to Xia Yu last night and asked her to talk to Shen Yan and make Zhang Yuan stay.

However, things were not easy. There was no such thing as Zhang Yuan"s obedient return upon Shen Yan"s request.

"Xia Yu, I"m very straightforward, for which I have offended many people I know. But I am not afraid. I am telling the truth, and they can say whatever they want." Zhang Yuan smoked a cigarette, "You made a huge contribution when getting that development zone contract, but Shen Yan just forced you out right after securing his new position. Later, he forced you back because of Yang Ke"er. It"s not just me. Many people in the company didn"t feel comfortable with his actions. I feel pity for you. I"ve seen it through already. I"d better leave now, or I"d be kicked out one day."

"President Zhang, there were some misunderstandings about the reasons why I left Tengfei a few days ago. Misunderstandings inevitably occur at work. We are still colleagues, right?" It was hard for Xia Yu to respond to Zhang Yuan"s earlier statement.

On one hand, it involved the internal struggle of Shen Family. On the other hand, Xia Yu was the person who was involved. What could she possibly say about it?

If Xia Yu"s departure was the company"s arrangement, why did she return then? It would be even worse to say that Yang Ke"er wanted Xia Yu"s job. That would basically mean the relatives of company owners were bullying Xia Yu.

"I also want others to treat me as a colleague, but it depends on others" will. Xia Yu, please don"t blame me for being straightforward, but you are walking my path. I see it through already and don"t have any hope left." Zhang Yuan kept waving.