Something Beautiful And Wicked

The next day, Shi Yen was at Shi Group, reading over a dozen reports when Fang Qi slipped into her office, shutting the door behind him quickly. He appeared to be panicked, which startled her.

He was breathing hard, trying to regain his breath as if he ran for miles. He pounded on his c.h.e.s.t. "Mr. Yuan Ling is on his way. He knows you are working for Shi Group. It's not too late. I can tell him that you went off-site for work."

Shi Yen sighed and shook her head. "I have to face the Chairman eventually," she said. "I can't avoid him forever."

Fang Qi was sweating. He gnashed his teeth and barked a "shit."

"Why are you so worried?" Shi Yen questioned.

He set his jaw. "Shun is not here. It's no wonder the Chairman wants to see you now." Fang Qi then approached her suddenly, grasping her shoulders. "Listen, Yen. He will do anything to antagonize or scare you away."

"I'm not easily shaken," She replied.

He didn't appear convinced.

"Fang Qi," Shi Yen continued, levelling their gazes. "I will be fine. Trust me."

Fang Qi let go of her, backing away as he nodded his head.

A knock on the door then interrupted them. Shi Yen took a deep breath. She went to answer it herself. It was Mr. Kang. "Miss Shi, Chairman Yuan is waiting for you in Boardroom 1."

Typical. Instead of coming to her, Chairman Yuan was making Shi Yen go to him.

"Thank you," she told Mr. Kang. She then brushed past him, heading towards the boardroom. She felt the thick tension between the short walk towards the Chairman. She composed herself, walking in.

He blew smoke into the air, acting as if he owned the place. The smoke quickly dissipated with the wind coming from a nearby open window. The Chairman gestured to his pack. "Do you smoke cigars, Miss Shi?" he asked.

"Only once before. I smoked it all within a short time, and it made me vomit. I told myself I would stick with the smaller ones," Shi Yen said with a small smile.

Chairman Yuan laughed, a low-guttural laugh deep in his throat. Shi Yen extended her smile. She wanted to charm him, but she wasn't sure if it would work or not.

He maintained his smile, and Shi Yen could tell that he didn't do it often. Despite his age, there were little to no lines on his face, almost as if his muscles stayed still, his entire life.

She could see the slight resemblance between Yuan Shun and his grandfather, and it rattled her.

"Miss Shi," he said, "how did you acquire a position within Shi Group?" He watched her face, studying her, almost as if he was trying to find something. He most likely was searching for how much of Shi Yan was in her, since it was their first meeting and encounter.

"Yuan Shun offered me the position. He believed in my qualifications. I'd be comfortable sharing my portfolio with you."

He grinned. "I wonder if you whored yourself to my grandson in addition to the portfolio, of course."

Shi Yen collided their gazes unwaveringly. "I believe that you should provide your grandson with more credit and no disrespect with his decision making. I'm sure he thinks more with his head than with his c.o.c.k. I can't say the same for you, given your reputation and countless scandals with women in the past."

He smoked again and let out a puff. "My grandson doesn't know what he's thinking, and I am sure that you are influencing his poor choices."

Shi Yen gritted her teeth. "He chose someone who knows Shi Group inside and out to work with him. I think that would be wise of him. Don't you think? Instead of the rivalry, we can work together."

"Work together?" he said, laughing. "Don't you mean, work for him? Do you really believe he would ever think of you as his equal? He looks down on you, Miss Shi."

Shi Yen curled her fingers in her palms beneath the table. "He doesn't. Yuan Shun even said so himself. He said I was his equal."

The Chairman smiled, making fun of her. "Oh, I wasn't aware of how sly my grandson could be. Are you that stupid to be that swayed by pretty words? Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it isn't you that's persuading him to make these choices. Perhaps he's the one fooling you."

Shi Yen furrowed her brows. "Yuan Shun wouldn't do that." She was growing irritated and impatient.

He sighed. "Have you ever thought why he never returned Shi Group to you? Why he gave you an executive position?"

Shi Yen looked at him hard and unforgiving.

"Your position is just a fancy title—an illusion. It puts you in a position below Shun. Miss Shi, you look like a joke in the business world. Everyone is laughing at you because of how far you've fallen. You lost Shi Group and my grandson is making you work for him." He laughed. "How embarrassing is it to work for someone else in a company that should have been yours."

Chairman Yuan let his cigar burn, waiting for her retort.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked.

He watched as she lowered her head. "I don't trust you," he began. "Do you really expect me to believe that you are okay with not running Shi Group? Do you really expect me to believe that you can accept this?"

She gritted her teeth. Chairman Yuan was right. In some ways, Shi Yen wasn't okay with it at all. Shi Yen thought she could accept the fact that she could work a position as long as she was apart of it all. But Yuan Shun still had full power and authority over her. She didn't have the independence that she had longed for.

"As I thought," he taunted. "I can't have you creating plans to take it back secretly. But I don't necessarily want to get rid of you."

Shi Yen furrowed her brows. His words surprised her, but not for a good reason. "Why?"

"Well," he replied. "It would be impossible for you to take back Shi Group, anyway."

Shi Yen didn't answer, waiting for him to elaborate.

He smiled. "Didn't my grandson tell you? Soon Shi Group and Yuan Bank will be merged. Soon it would be one whole conglomerate under Yuan. Shi would be erased from everything." He chucked sinisterly. "It'd then be impossible to re-establish what belonged to you."

Shi Yen pressed her eyes together, trying to calm her breathing. "Yuan Shun wouldn't let that happen," she said.

"Oh, but he will. Do you not realize this was his plan all along? He wanted you to watch as he made it impossible for you to take Shi Group back." He then lifted up a stack of papers. "He signed the contract. The signature is authentic. You can ask him yourself."

Shi Yen stood up. Without saying another word, she stormed out of the boardroom.

Instead of returning to her office, she walked towards the elevator.

Fang Qi noticed her, and he ran after her until she closed the shaft quickly. At the bottom level, she ran towards her car, and she sped off.

Shi Yen then stormed inside her home, wiping the hot tears from her eyes. She packed up some of her things in a bag, and she scooped up Shizi, returning to her car. Yuan Shun called her phone, and Shi Yen turned it off. She then drove off, heading towards the last place he'd find her.

…

Shi Yen knocked on the door of the Yuan Estate. Yuan Xinyi opened the door, offering her a grim smile. "Yen. Is everything all right?" she asked worryingly.

Shi Yen worked up a sharp breath. "Can I stay here? I will explain it to you, but please don't tell your brother I am here."

Yuan Xinyi nodded. "Of course. Come inside."

Shi Yen had picked the Yuan Estate because Yuan Shun would be looking for her everywhere, except his old home. After all, it'd been the last place he'd expect her to be staying. The Shi Estate would be the first.