My CEO Harem Cultivation System

He found his visit to be a meaningless endeavor.

The man knew the location and arrived from memory alone. Despite the lack of any transportation vehicle, he ended up at Ying Yue He's apartment on foot. He could have gone anywhere else, but he went here.

Li Yang realized that he didn't have any actual idea where Ying Yue He stayed exactly in the apartment… he wasn't sure if she actually stayed there until today. 

He failed to ask his older brother about the whereabouts of his secretary.

It was a disappointing realization—he may have gotten caught up in other events that took his attention, but she should have been one of the first that he tried to connect with.

What were their years of working together if she didn't come to his mind at all?

The ex-CEO stood awkwardly at the rather old beat up apartment and soon wondered why exactly his secretary lived in this kind of place. He made sure that the salary of people in his company was competitive—Ying Yue He could have gotten a better place.

He soon realized what may have been the reason when a cat prowled out of the door. It leapt out agilely and had a distinctively sense of freedom apparent in its eyes and whiskers. Despite being in mid-air and headed right at him, the cat somehow dodged it and let out a cry.

"Meow!"

Right before Li Yang could get out of the way, a middle-aged woman came bounding right after the cat and also came stumbling out of the porch. "Whiskers!" She cried out, before suddenly pausing at the sight of him.

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She even avoided falling flat on the ground.

He thought he was going to catch her, but she stopped to look at him. Li Yang was already used to the incident of numerous women from various ages looking at him, but the older woman completely forgot about the cat and stared at him for a good second.

"You're too handsome to be in a place like this—you're not looking to rent at Madam Dongxia's apartment, are you?" The woman clapped her hands together and gave him a bright smile. "Because if you are, I'm the person that you're looking for—handsome young man." 

The next thing that Li Yang knew was that he was ushered back into the apartment despite being completely rejecting the woman's advances. This Madam Dongxia was the testament of a woman that couldn't accept a no at all.

"Please sit down and make yourself comfortable, would you like some tea—I have tea." The older woman laughed and entered her kitchen.

The reason why Li Yang even bothered to stay here was because she happened to be the landlady of Ying Yue He and she was bound to know where Ying Yue He was.

Madam Dongxia exited her kitchen and came back with both refreshments and light snacks. This was the kind of person that told you to stay at her place for fifteen minutes and then you'd realize that you've been stuck with her for an hour.

Ying Yue He wasn't the type who'd said no, so if the landlady was this pushy then there was no doubt a reason why she stayed here in the first place.

"I actually happen to have a single room that's unoccupied—the tenant left a couple months ago to do something. Soul-searching, I think." Madam Dongxia immediately began to tell the story without any prompts.

Li Yang couldn't even properly sip his tea right now.

Maybe it was too coincidental to be true? He cleared his throat. "This tenant of yours… they don't happen to be a person named Ying Yue He, Madam Dongxia?" 

"Oh, you know, Yue He?" Madam Dongxia placed a hand on her face in surprise. "No—it wasn't her who left her place. Incidentally, it was Chan Lee who did it—but I don't think you know her. Now Yue He? She did leave as well, but she's still paying for her apartment room. I think Yue He went on a business trip, so I guess she could still afford to pay the rent."

Business trip?

Did his brother organize that? It was unlikely because the man certainly needed all the help he could get for work. So it was another company? Li Yang didn't know. "Do you have any idea where exactly this business trip happened? A couple months seems too long, even for a seminar." 

Madam Dongxia seemed to notice the deep-set frown on his face and quickly put things together. Or rather, this older woman suddenly connected things and gasped. "Are you her boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Li Yang blinked at the statement, but still shook his head. "No, not exactly—but I've worked with Ying Yue He and wasn't aware of this sudden change in her schedule. I came here in hopes of looking for her—"

"Hah, young men and women these days don't really use labels, huh?"

Madam Dongxia clearly formed her own conclusion and was happy to gab. Li Yang clearly found himself out-energized by this much older woman who seemed to be in her early fifties. He didn't bother correcting her this time and simply allowed her to talk.

"Hmm, as far as I'm aware—it's supposed to be some kind institutional retreat center. Somewhere up in the mountains, beautiful hot springs and rivers for a business trip—it had something to do with the Liu Group if I recall properly. Sponsored by them."

"Liu Group?" Li Yang frowned. 

It sounded awfully familiar to him and it didn't take too long for him to realize that it was one of the most successful family businesses in the entire country. The Li Family from where he came from managed to elevate through their current level through sheer hard work and grit.

He was aware and had met one of the heirs of Shen Group that coincidentally was the one who managed the Shen Society, and he had also met the couple that was in control of the Song Conglomerates.

His target right now was the Song Heiress—but now the Liu Family came up.

"Surely they wouldn't steal my secretary away just because I was gone, could they?" Li Yang muttered underneath his breath.

Madam Dongxia's eyes widened. "Secretary?" 

Somehow, Li Yang was reminded of Bao by this woman's presence and he couldn't exactly shake it off. He gave her a small smile and nodded. "Ying Yue He is my secretary, I've come here before to drop her off and I've also met another one of your residents here."

"I was not aware that I was in the presence of a CEO!" Madam Dongxia laughed. "Where are my manners? I'm so proud of Ying Yue He for working at the Olympian Corp and now even her boss is looking for her. I'm definitely living vicariously through my tenants."

"I see… Thank you for the information. I'll try to contact Ying Yue He via her contact number, unless you happen to know the exact address?"

"Heavens no—she never tells me anything. She didn't even tell me that she's had such an outstanding and virile boss."

Li Yang was glad that he did not drink the tea. Even though it was bad manners, he set the cup down and inclined his head. "Pardon me for my words, but I think I have another source from whom I can find her. It's vital I contact her immediately so I have to go now."

"Why not visit her apartment room? I have the keys. Perhaps she'd appreciate you dropping by if you brought something that she might have left there." 

"...No, it's fine," Li Yang said. "Thank you so much for the time and welcome, Madam Dongxia. It's pleasant to have met the landlady who's in charge of where Miss He stays."

The man pulled himself up to his feet and no longer wondered why the cat 'Whiskers' was already trying to run away earlier, but still he smiled and went out of the apartment with his sanity completely intact.

Once he finally left  the apartment and he was sure that Madam Dongxia returned back to her place—Li Yang sighed in relief and immediately took out his card from Shen Society. He could head there and ask about this Liu Group's private mountain and hot spring area or he could drop by at Mou Gu's place.

If the restaurant happened to be open at this time—which he hoped was the case.

Ying Yue He was a regular at Mou Gu's restaurant according to her when they first ate there, so the pink-haired chef was bound to pay more attention or have a clue where she was. He hoped that was the case.

Beyond their interactions within the office and what Ying Yue He let him know about her—there wasn't much he could say that he knew about her. What kind of life did she lead before coming to Shanghai and working at his company?

She was renting an apartment and didn't seem to have any immediate relatives here. How did she not know about her bloodline? Maybe it was just due to her being missing that Li Yang finally paid more attention to her.

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It shouldn't have to be this way.

However, Li Yang and Ying Yue He spent the last few years in a strictly professional relationship and that meant he never bothered before. That was one of his few glaring mistakes. 

He sighed and once again felt the familiar flow of qi around his surroundings. He looked up at the restaurant's door and found it open—he quickly rushed inside to find the chef. And while he found people eating there, it also happened to be where he met her again.

Bo Lifen raised a brow at him, holding chopsticks filled with rice and her own mouth puffed up a little like a chipmunk. "Mwwhhi Yang?"

The two of them didn't expect to see each other again so soon.