Chapter 141: Regarding Divorce

She never expected that Liu Lei would appear here. "Little President Wen..."

Wen Zhixia was slightly surprised. "How did you get here?"

Liu Lei smiled and said, "I asked Li Yueting where you are currently working, and came over without giving any notice. If you are busy, I can come back another time."

Wen Zhixia shook her head. "Come to my office."

Liu Lei nodded and followed behind her, strictly maintaining the demeanor of a subordinate. Even though Wen Zhixia had told him not to worry about their past relationship and that she no longer had anything to do with the Guxia Group, he still maintained proper boundaries despite his smiles.

Seeing this, Wen Zhixia said nothing more.

Inside the office, the assistant served tea.

Wen Zhixia took off her overcoat and laid it aside. The two sat facing each other, and Liu Lei glanced around her office. "Why did Little President Wen decide to open an advertising agency?"

From his perspective, although the scale of the company was not entirely insignificant, it was completely incomparable to the Guxia Group.

Seeming to read his thoughts, Wen Zhixia took a sip of tea and said, "To find something to do. I couldn't just stay idle forever."

Liu Lei paused, picked up his teacup, and gently brushed the floating tea leaves aside with the lid. "I came today... because when we met last time, you left in such a hurry that I didn't find a chance to speak. Coincidentally, I was visiting an old friend nearby today, so I dropped by."

Wen Zhixia lifted her eyelids. "What is it?"

"Back then..." Liu Lei paused before continuing, "Shortly after you decided to return to your family and resigned from the group, Zhang Yuan and I were successively transferred to remote, smaller subsidiaries, leaving only Chen Antai behind. I only learned recently when I met up with Chen Antai that he had mentioned this to you."

This matter had always weighed on Wen Zhixia's conscience to some extent, because she had always believed they were marginalized from the core of the group because of her.

"When I left, I thought I had made all the arrangements and that you were all capable of standing on your own. But in the end... you were still implicated because of me," Wen Zhixia said softly, setting her teacup down slowly.

Two years after her resignation, when she re-entered the Guxia Group out of suspicion that her husband had found another woman elsewhere, what she discovered was that her former colleagues had long since been banished to remote branches. One could only imagine how she felt at the time.

She had thought that by resigning from the Guxia Group to become a full-time housewife, completely divorcing herself from internal corporate affairs and handing all power over to Gu Pingsheng, everything would run as usual. Yet the people closest to her in her work had been systematically excluded from the core circle one by one.

How could she not feel guilty?

"Implicated?" Liu Lei smiled faintly. "We thought so at first too. With every new emperor comes a new court. Although you and President Gu were husband and wife at the time and had built the business together from scratch, everyone knew that ultimate decision-making power could only rest in the hands of one person, that only one person could call the shots. And in many situations, it is always the woman who chooses to take a step back. We knew that day would come, but none of us expected it to happen so soon..."

Speaking of the past, Liu Lei felt a wave of nostalgia. After all, that was the most unrestrained and passionate period of their lives—unlike now, when they sat in higher positions and their mindsets had grown smooth, cautious, and sophisticated.

"However, even Chen Antai didn't know that Zhang Yuan and I weren't banished because of your resignation, but rather entrusted with heavy responsibilities," Liu Lei suddenly changed the subject and said.

Wen Zhixia's thick eyelashes fluttered slightly. "What?"

Liu Lei explained: "At the time, the market prospects of those two companies were favored by President Gu, but no suitable candidates could be locked down. Furthermore, to avoid drawing the attention of other groups or corporations, he selected Zhang Yuan and me. First, everyone would assume our distant transfers were due to being implicated; second, it was a recognition of our capabilities..."

Therefore, Liu Lei told her that there had never been any plot to hollow out her faction from the beginning to the end. It was only at this moment that Wen Zhixia recalled asking Gu Pingsheng why he had done that back then in his office, to which he had casually replied that it was just normal personnel deployment within the group.

Only back then, deep down in her heart, she probably hadn't believed it.

"Because you no longer interfered in the group's internal affairs at the time, and we were under strict gag orders not to speak of it to anyone... But we never expected Chen Antai to pass on the wrong message." Ever since learning that Wen Zhixia had separated from Gu Pingsheng, Liu Lei had kept this matter on his mind. "If you and President Gu developed a rift because of us, I felt it was necessary to come and clarify the matter."

Wen Zhixia was briefly lost in thought. Her alabaster fingers gently brushed the cyan rim of the teacup, and with her eyes half-dropped, she murmured, "...Some things cannot be changed by just one or two events."

It was not a matter of a single accumulation; a thousand-li embankment could never collapse in a single instant.

Having been away from Sifang City for many years, Liu Lei did not know what had transpired between them, nor was he in a position to judge her choices. "I came today to fulfill a wish of my own. Regardless of whether you are still the Little President Wen of the Guxia Group, the rest of us will forever remember your kindness in our hearts."

Had it not been for her, they might still be struggling to make ends meet, neither succeeding nor failing in life.

Wen Zhixia had lost count of how many times she had heard these exact words from Chen Antai. Gathering her thoughts, she smiled faintly. "You truly are sworn brothers, saying the exact same things. You don't need to exchange pleasantries with me here. Knowing that you weren't implicated because of me brings me a lot of peace of mind."

Assistant Xiao Chen knocked on the office door. "President Wen, Ms. Wu has arrived."

Wen Zhixia nodded. "Take her to the reception room first and bring the sample footage over."

Assistant Xiao Chen replied, "Understood."

Seeing this, Liu Lei stood up. "Since Little President Wen has other matters to attend to, I will head back first. Please go ahead with your work."

Wen Zhixia did not make any elaborate attempts to keep him. After he left, she sat alone on the sofa, dazed for a few seconds, before finishing the remaining half cup of tea.

Liu Lei's visit today had indeed unburdened a knot in her heart.

As for Liu Lei, passing by the reception room on his way out, his peripheral vision caught the dignified figure of a woman inside. He paused for a split second, feeling as though he had seen her somewhere before, but because the door closed quickly, he didn't get a clear look and simply left.

Two or three minutes later, after adjusting her clothes, Wen Zhixia walked into the reception room.

Inside the room, desserts and tea had already been placed on the table where Wu Wenjing sat quietly. In her hand was the tablet handed over by Assistant Xiao Chen.

After Wen Zhixia walked in, the two exchanged a slight nod, and Wu Wenjing continued watching.

When the advertisement finished playing, Wen Zhixia asked for her opinion. Wu Wenjing raised two or three minor issues, but overall affirmed the production quality and visual presentation of the advertisement.

Wen Zhixia noticed that the raised issues were all extremely trivial and could be modified very quickly—essentially ready for final approval after a second revision. Running into such an easygoing client was probably something every advertising agency would burn incense and pray for.

"We will step up the revisions and won't delay your scheduled release time. Let me see you out," Wen Zhixia stood up and said.

Wu Wenjing nodded and said, "Please go ahead with your work, President Wen. I can find my own way back."

However, just as Wu Wenjing reached the door of the reception room, she suddenly turned around and asked with a smile, "I noticed earlier that the ring on President Wen's ring finger is very beautiful. Is it a wedding ring?"

Wen Zhixia lowered her gaze to touch the ring on her hand. "Yes."

Wu Wenjing continued, "I heard... her husband's surname is Xu?"

This was no longer a secret, so Wen Zhixia nodded. "Does Ms. Wu know him?"

Wu Wenjing smiled. "I've long heard of his great reputation, though we've never met. Until next time."

Wen Zhixia didn't take this interaction to heart. Countless people wanted to get acquainted with Xu Qichen; anyone would want to claim some form of connection to the Xu family of Beijing.

Downstairs, after getting into her car, Wu Wenjing squinted at the sign of "Yihe Zhixia" while being pulled over and kissed by the man in the driver's seat. "What are you thinking about?"

Wu Wenjing leaned back against the seat. "I'm just wondering what kind of expression he'll have if he finds out which company produced this commercial."

"That kid isn't easy to deal with. Plenty of business magnates haven't managed to get any upper hand from him. Are you sure... this method will work?" the man asked.

"Whether it succeeds or not isn't the point. What matters is that during this bidding war, with him caught up in such a huge scandal, he loses the qualification to compete with Zhiyan," Wu Wenjing said in a low, deep voice.

Guxia Group.

Gu Pingsheng looked at the man sitting across from him and leaned back into his chair. "Chairman Zhang has graced us with his presence. I wonder... to what do I owe the honor?"

"We are father and son, not enemies. Must you speak to me in this tone?" Zhang Zhangrong said with a mix of disappointment and a heavy sigh.

Every time Gu Pingsheng saw this hypocritical facade, he felt nauseated. A man who climbed up by clinging to a woman, only to cheat on her and abandon his wife and children—what right did he have to put on the persona of a deeply affectionate man in front of him?

"Chairman Zhang's memory is truly appalling. Even if your mind is unclear and you like assigning sons randomly, I wouldn't dare to casually claim a father. I, Gu Pingsheng, only have a mother. If Chairman Zhang is here for the sake of the bidding conference, there's no need to put on such a hypocritical act, lest word gets out and makes people think the Zhang Group has fallen to such a destitute state that its chairman has to come play the fool and make a laughingstock of himself." He gently adjusted his cuff, only to discover that the button was somehow missing.

It must have been in the car this morning, torn off by Wen Zhixia while he was holding her and kissing her.

Thinking of the morning's events, the annoyance brought by Zhang Zhangrong seemed to lighten considerably.

Over the years, Zhang Zhiyan had been pampered and fawned upon both at home and in the company, but he repeatedly hit a wall with Gu Pingsheng. This made Zhang Zhangrong increasingly displeased with this son. Since he refused to be used by him, what use was any amount of capability?

"I truly don't know how your mother raised you!"

Gu Pingsheng's fingers fixing his cuff paused slightly. His narrow eyes narrowed slightly as he cast a freezing glare at Zhang Zhangrong.

Even though he was his own son, Zhang Zhangrong still felt a chill run down his spine under that piercing gaze.

"You have no right to mention her!" Gu Pingsheng dialed the internal line. "Show him out."

Zhou Anbei stepped in immediately. "Chairman Zhang, this way please."

Zhang Zhangrong hit a brick wall, and his expression as he left was predictably unsightly.

"The Zhang Group has been on the decline in recent years and is pinning high hopes on this bidding conference. They must be desperate to put all their eggs in one basket. If President Gu makes things too hostile with him at a time like this, in case they resort to dirty tricks behind the scenes..."

Zhou Anbei handed over a fresh cup of tea.

Gu Pingsheng twirled the teacup in his fingers. "It doesn't matter. The bad blood between the Guxia Group and the Zhang Group is a well-known fact in the industry."

Being hostile or not made no difference.

"How are the arrangements I asked you to make coming along?" he shifted the topic.

Zhou Anbei replied, "Domestic divorces are still primarily focused on mediation to resolve conflicts between both parties. Out of concern for their reputation, the Xu family did not mention bigamy when filing for divorce; the stated reason is incompatibility. As long as President Gu insists on contesting it, the court won't rule on it anytime soon."

This bought him time to win back Wen Zhixia's heart.

Gu Pingsheng tapped his forehead with his fingers twice. "...Contact Yihe Zhixia and tell them... we are very satisfied with the new commercial. To reward them for their tireless shooting in the mountains, the Guxia Group will play host and treat them to dinner."

Zhou Anbei paused, bit his lower lip, and softly reminded him, "President Gu, yesterday... your official response was to reject the new commercial outright."

Having been so tough and dismissive just yesterday, only to turn around and say they were very satisfied and wanted to treat them to dinner today—wasn't this slapping his own face?

However, Gu Pingsheng cast a cold, detached glance at him from his deep eyes, shimmering with an eerie glow. "Isn't this because you misunderstood my instructions and messed up the communication?"

In short—since the big boss could never be wrong, the one who was wrong must be the subordinate.

Zhou Anbei choked back his words. "...Yes, it was my fault."

Gu Pingsheng patted his shoulder. "Pay closer attention in the future."

Zhou Anbei: "..."

When the boss was pursuing his ex-wife, the ones who always suffered the torture were the people below.

After pondering for a long time and carefully weighing his words, Zhou Anbei dialed the contact number at Yihe Zhixia.

The person who picked up was Sister Wang. When she heard Zhou Anbei first apologize for misunderstanding the boss's intentions and then relay that Gu Pingsheng wanted to host a dinner as a token of appreciation, she was left speechless for quite a while.

How could the wind direction change in the blink of an eye?

"This... I need to discuss this matter with President Wen first."

Zhou Anbei smiled and said that was fine. As an attentive secretary capable of accurately grasping his direct superior's true intentions, he added, "Before that, President Gu also wants to discuss some other details regarding the subsequent commercials with President Wen. After all, it's a major quarterly order, and we still need to be cautious."

His reasoning was sound and logical, leaving Sister Wang with no excuse to refuse, so she could only say she would relay the message entirely.

After hanging up, Zhou Anbei certainly knew Wen Zhixia's personal number, but this call could not be made directly to her. Otherwise, a rejection would simply be a rejection. But once everyone else at Yihe Zhixia knew about it, Wen Zhixia wouldn't be able to turn it down so easily, given that... it was cloaked in the guise of work.

Therefore, when Sister Wang relayed the matter to Wen Zhixia, Wen Zhixia, who was reading a contract, paused and looked up. "Secretary Zhou said this?"

Sister Wang replied, "It was Secretary Zhou. He said the venue has already been booked and sincerely invited us to go."

What she didn't mention was that several people had already overheard her end of the call and spread the news like wildfire. Right now, everyone in the office was eagerly watching the direction of the president's office.

When Wen Zhixia said she would give an answer later, Sister Wang passed the message along, and everyone felt somewhat disappointed.

Based on their years of workplace experience, whenever top leaders used words like "let me think about it," "hold on," or "let's see," it was usually a polite refusal.

"Alright, back to work. Our company's orders are already lined up three to four months in advance. Keep working hard, and do you think your year-end bonuses will be lacking? Back to work, everyone," Sister Wang said.

An hour later, since Wen Zhixia still hadn't given a reply, everyone tacitly assumed it was a rejection. Seeing no hope and abandoning all illusions, they waited for her eventual word before throwing themselves back into their tasks.

Right at that moment, a Rolls-Royce Phantom slowly pulled up downstairs at Yihe Zhixia. The car door opened, and Zhou Anbei walked around to open the rear door. A long leg stepped out, clad in a tailored suit beneath a matching overcoat, his dark, bottomless eyes unreadable.

The employees of Yihe Zhixia watched as he walked straight toward the office area. Xiao Chen, who wanted to go in and serve tea, was intercepted by Zhou Anbei, whose slender, articulate fingers took the cup from her hands and walked directly into the office.

Zhou Anbei closed the door and stood guard outside.

For a moment, everyone looked at each other in dismay, wondering whether this was still Yihe Zhixia or an annex of the Guxia Group.

Wen Zhixia was deeply engrossed in her work with a newly brewed cup of tea placed beside her desk. Assuming it was Xiao Chen, she glanced at it casually and reached out to pick it up, but the teacup was snatched away by another hand in her peripheral vision.

Wen Zhixia frowned and looked up. Gu Pingsheng was leaning his long legs against the edge of the large desk, raising a hand to loosen his tie as he drank the tea that belonged to her.

"What are you doing here?"

Gu Pingsheng cleared his throat. "I'm here to listen to your work report."

Only then did Wen Zhixia remember what Sister Wang had mentioned. "Wait a minute, let me finish what I'm doing first."

Surprisingly compliant this time, Gu Pingsheng moved the chair opposite her right beside hers and sat down with a brazen lack of ceremony.

Wen Zhixia paused. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to finish your work," he said.

Wen Zhixia glanced at the sofa nearby; her intent to gesture him over was obvious.

However, Gu Pingsheng had no intention of complying. Leaning in close to her ear, he said with a hint of roguish charm, "Xiaxia, a person shouldn't demand too much. I've given you time to handle your work and am willing to sit here and wait—I'm already a very agreeable sugar... daddy."

Wen Zhixia's ears tingled. She stood up abruptly and said sternly, "If you're here to talk business, talk business! What are you playing at?!"

Seeing her acting as stern and righteous as a young nun untainted by worldly desires, Gu Pingsheng chuckled softly and coaxed her in the tone one might use for a child, "Alright, alright, you go back to work."

Interrupted by him like this, Wen Zhixia lost all mood to continue, especially with him sitting right next to her in a moved chair. If anyone walked in and saw this, there was no telling what rumors would spread.

So, she picked up her documents and walked over to the sofa, sitting down to discuss the quarterly advertisement project for the Guxia Group with him.

Seeing this, Gu Pingsheng didn't object. He sat right beside her, and while Wen Zhixia was giving a brief summary, he would occasionally stroke her hair or touch her waist, making it utterly impossible for her to concentrate.