Chapter 14: It Seems Mr. Gu Is Not at the Company

Upon hearing this, Chen Antai could only offer a bitter smile and shake his head, keeping his silence. Ever since she resigned, Gu Xia Group had been under the sole control of Gu Pingsheng; transferring a few people elsewhere was as easy as uttering a single word—what need was there for any explanation?

It seemed as if Wen Zhixia realized something, but she did not wish to acknowledge it.

Li Yueting, seeing Wen Zhixia, showed a trace of surprise in her eyes. She approached, setting down the coffee, and quietly greeted, "President Wen."

Looking at the woman before her, Wen Zhixia felt a faint sense of familiarity, though she could not place it. "...Have we met before?"

Li Yueting hesitated for a moment. "Yes, President Wen, you once... helped me."

She had risen from poverty in the countryside, unfamiliar with fashion or grooming. After earning a coveted internship at Gu Xia Group, she was relegated to errand girl—ordered about without end. Once, when she forgot her work badge, the security guards blocked her at the entrance. The colleagues who sent her on errands watched her flustered explanations with indifference, refusing to vouch for her identity and even mocking her attempts to steady the coffee in her trembling hands.

Scalding coffee spilled onto Li Yueting, drawing a crowd of onlookers eager for a spectacle.

At that moment, Wen Zhixia was escorting an executive downstairs. She saw Li Yueting, sweating and ignored, and came over to inquire. After learning the situation, she helped her out of her predicament, even sending for her own spare set of clothes so Li Yueting could change in the restroom.

That was the first kindness Li Yueting ever received at the company. Back then, she looked up to Wen Zhixia—poised in a crisp suit, her makeup flawless, her step confident. Wen Zhixia was only two years her senior, yet she possessed everything Li Yueting could only dream of: beauty, intelligence, composure, self-assurance, and an equally remarkable boyfriend. At that time, everyone at Gu Xia Group knew that if Wen Zhixia approved something, Gu Pingsheng would never object.

So much good fortune and happiness were concentrated in Wen Zhixia alone—how enviable, and how inevitably... jealousy would follow.

Wen Zhixia, however, had little impression of Li Yueting. Helping her that day was, in Wen Zhixia’s view, a trivial matter unworthy of mention. The only reason she now took notice of Li Yueting was because of... the scent of her perfume.

A faint, elusive fragrance—Wen Zhixia felt she had smelled it somewhere before. "...What perfume are you wearing? It smells lovely."

Li Yueting replied, "A friend gave it to me—it's a niche foreign brand. If you like it, President Wen, I can find out the name for you later."

"There's no need. I don’t wear perfume. How much longer will Pingsheng be in his meeting?" Wen Zhixia asked.

Li Yueting paused, for she knew that Gu Pingsheng was not in the office—he had left with that woman, Zhao Fuhe.

That woman, who once worked at Junyue as a hostess, was not someone she could deal with for now. But Wen Zhixia had never been one to tolerate the slightest offense—whenever her boundaries were crossed, her gentle demeanor gave way to formidable resolve.

Just as she had done years before, when an employee who had leaked company secrets knelt at her feet, tearfully begging for mercy. Everyone assumed that, given her usual kindness to subordinates, Wen Zhixia would relent.

But in reality?

Not only did Wen Zhixia end his career in the industry, she also hired top lawyers at great expense to ensure he compensated the company for its losses. That time, Gu Xia Group, just then finding its footing, lost a hard-won contract of six months. The traitorous employee was sent to prison.

With Wen Zhixia’s temperament, if she learned of Zhao Fuhe’s existence, what good could possibly await that woman?

Forming an idea, Li Yueting lifted her head. "It seems President Gu is not in the office."

Upon hearing this, Chen Antai frowned at Li Yueting, then glanced at Wen Zhixia.

Wen Zhixia’s expression did not change much. Her slender fingers gently stirred her coffee. "Is that so? Then where has he gone?"