"Hey, Xu Xiuhe, I want to ask you something," Fang Yue said.
"Mom, you can ask me anything," Xu Xiuhe turned on the hands-free mode.
"Did you and Shen Yin have a fight? I saw her bring some clothes over, including Xiao's and hers, to the small house on this side. When I asked her why she brought so much, she said she was busy with work and didn't want to waste time going back and forth, so she'd stay here for a few days."
Xu Xiuhe was furious on his end. So this was what she had planned yesterday, and today she's packing up and leaving?
"We didn't have a fight," Xu Xiuhe answered truthfully. Indeed, they hadn't fought; she just wanted a divorce.
"Oh, that's good, that's good. But you two can't go on like this, you know. With a helpless mother and child staying in that small house, it's not safe," Fang Yue said worriedly.
Xu Xiuhe thought to himself, 'Shen Yin may be small, but she's far from helpless. She could probably take down five men single-handedly. So Fang Yue doesn't know her daughter's martial arts skills?'
Xiao Li'er, standing nearby, was almost dying upon hearing this. The CEO is getting a golden opportunity from his mother-in-law, and he's not cherishing it.
Xu Xiuhe noticed the resentful look on Xiao Li'er's face and said, "Mom, I know what to do next."
"Good, good, good. I'll hang up then," Fang Yue said "good" three times before ending the call.
Xu Xiuhe stood up and took two steps. "What did that 'wishing for iron but getting steel' look on your face mean earlier? And why are you so persistent?"
Xiao Li'er lowered her head and muttered softly, "Didn't you say on the phone that you knew what to do?"
"What did you say? Speak louder," Xu Xiuhe couldn't hear her.
"I said, didn't you tell your mom on the phone that you knew what to do?" Xiao Li'er repeated the sentence a little louder, but still without much confidence.
Xu Xiuhe was rendered speechless. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. He knew he should go find Shen Yin next, but what if she turned him away?
"What if she kicks me out when I go find her?" Xu Xiuhe asked.
"Then you just be shameless and refuse to leave. Say you're concerned about their safety," Xiao Li'er suggested. Then, reconsidering the wife's combat skills, she added, "No, nevermind. Just say you miss your son. But don't you dare threaten the wife with custody rights. Women hate it when men threaten them the most. If you do that, she'll only resent you more. Don't blame me if that happens; I really don't want to quit my job."
Xu Xiuhe nodded understandingly. "What if she doesn't let me see my son?"
"Then play the pitiful act. Women may appear tough on the surface, with impressive fighting skills. But when Mrs. Xu first came, I felt she had mellowed, gentle and kind."
"Wooing a girlfriend requires effort and attention to details. Wooing a wife requires even more effort," Xiao Li'er continued advising.
Xu Xiuhe listened intently, almost ready to take notes.
"Did you learn all this from watching TV and reading novels?" Xu Xiuhe asked skeptically.
Xiao Li'er suddenly felt the CEO was a bit naive but didn't dare say it. "Some things are just common sense if you think about it." She lowered her head after speaking.
"Alright, you can leave now. If a third person finds out what happened here, you're fired immediately. Also, call Liu Bo in."
Xiao Li'er turned and left, feeling frustrated. He had just said not to threaten women, yet he threatened to fire her right after. She must have been cursed in her previous eight lives to be dancing on the edge of being fired every day. So what if he's the CEO? He still has to woo his wife back.
At the door, Xiao Li'er said in a harsh tone, "Liu Bo, the CEO is calling for you." She'd remember this. Everything happening now was because of Liu Bo. If she got fired, she wouldn't let him off easy either.
"Did the CEO say anything to you? How did the plan go?" Liu Bo asked.
"Just go in. The CEO's in a bad mood. And you'd better not quit again, or I might just have to marry you," Xiao Li'er said without turning back as she walked to her office area.
Her words made Liu Bo break out in a cold sweat. He hadn't done anything wrong, so why was the CEO calling for him?
Liu Bo entered quietly, trying not to provoke Xu Xiuhe in any way. "CEO, you called for me?"
"Yeah, about the task of keeping tabs on Gu Mengmeng I gave you last time, any updates?"
Liu Bo exhaled in relief; it was about this matter. "There's nothing new with Gu Mengmeng. No new shows, only a new endorsement deal yesterday for a clothing studio called Qiyan Fashion Studio."
Xu Xiuhe paused his pen and looked up. "Qiyan Fashion Studio?"
"Yes, CEO. You know it?"
Xu Xiuhe sighed, realizing who it was. "Any updates on the studio's progress?"
"Seems like they're planning to buy some hot search rankings."
Xu Xiuhe felt annoyed just hearing the studio's name. He had only wanted to check on Gu Mengmeng's activities to have an excuse to find Shen Yin, but now it had unexpectedly dragged Qi Yan into the picture.
"Do everything you can to suppress those hot search rankings. Don't give this studio any chance to take off," he ordered.
"Understood. Can I leave now, CEO?" Liu Bo wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
"No, sit at that desk and process the remaining documents. You'll also chair the executive meeting this afternoon."
"But that's..." Liu Bo had chaired many meetings as a proxy, but never the executive meetings.
"What's the problem? I have something to take care of." Xu Xiuhe grabbed his car keys and left the office.
The assistants in the office area were surprised to see the CEO leaving at this hour, knowing there was an important afternoon meeting.
"Why did the CEO leave so early?" They whispered among themselves. Only Xiao Li'er sat dejectedly, wishing she could share this huge gossip. Some news is only fun when shared; keeping it to herself was torture.
"Hey Li'er, the CEO called you in to discuss a plan earlier, right?" Yang Mo asked.
Xiao Li'er could only nod.
In the group chat for executives of Conquest Group and Far Group, others noticed the CEO's early departure and asked, [Why did the CEO leave so early? It's only 2:30 PM.]
One of the younger assistants, forgetting the CEO and Liu Bo were also in the group, shared the latest gossip: [The CEO went to be romantic.]
Xiao Li'er saw the message and panicked. "Wan Jia, retract that! The CEO is in the group!"
Wan Jia realized her mistake and quickly retracted the message, but many had already seen it, replying with questions like [Why retract it?] and [Wow, 'be romantic' is such an elegant phrase. What does it mean?]
