This breakfast didn’t take too long, and after finishing, Bai Qiao Mountain and He Cailan greeted Lu Tianxing and then returned to their room.
Seeing her grandparents leave, Bai Weiwei’s eyes sparkled, and she suddenly moved her chair to sit next to Lu Tianxing. Her eyes brimmed with irrepressible curiosity, "Brother-in-law, did you sleep well last night? Did you and my sister share a bed? Besides sleeping, did you do anything else last night? Do your legs feel weak, or is your back sore?"
Choking on his congee at Bai Weiwei’s brazen questions, Lu Tianxing coughed violently, nearly choking to death. Were these questions a little sister-in-law should ask? Being brazen had its limits, after all. She was a girl, not a female... hoodlum.
"Why ask such things? When you grow up, you’ll naturally come to know," he said.
Lu Tianxing completely ignored Bai Weiwei. He had come to understand that, although his little sister-in-law seemed harmless on the surface, deep down she was as sinister as they come, a veritable Little Witch who set traps at every turn. One misstep, and you might fall right into one of her traps and be at her mercy.
"Hmph, if you won’t tell, then don’t. Who cares anyway," she retorted with a snort.
Seeing Lu Tianxing disregarded her, Bai Weiwei pouted in dissatisfaction. She then glanced down at her chest and muttered to herself, "Such an insensible fool who can’t appreciate the finest ’bamboo shoots’ shape."
By the time breakfast was over and Lu Tianxing drove to the office, he was nearly an hour late. However, to everyone else, Lu Tianxing’s tardiness was no longer surprising. Despite being late so many days in a row, instead of packing his things and leaving, he had actually become the Chairman’s Assistant. They didn’t believe for a second that he had no connections. He was someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Carrying his breakfast into Bai’s Group, Lu Tianxing noticed a change in the usual atmosphere; everyone’s expression was serious, they moved briskly, rushing through the office. Even the usually smiling receptionist lost her smile, her face filled with tension. The whole company’s atmosphere was very oppressive, like a storm was approaching.
"It seems Bai’s Group has really met its match this time," Lu Tianxing thought.
The power of the opponent who could unsettle such a large corporation must indeed be formidable, he reflected silently.
He took the elevator straight to the Chairman’s office.
When Lu Tianxing pushed open the door and entered, he found the Chairman’s office empty. Bai Zhiqing was not there, nor was her most loyal gatekeeper, Lan Xin.
Lu Tianxing shook his head slightly, placed the thermos on the desk, and took the elevator to the Financial Department. Since Bai Zhiqing wasn’t in her office, she must certainly be overseeing things personally in the Financial Department.
At that moment, the atmosphere in the entire Financial Department was incredibly tense; solemn-faced financial traders were sweating profusely as they frantically operated their computers. Apart from the sounds of keyboards clacking and stock market analysis, you could hear almost nothing.
Bai Zhiqing sat at her position in the Financial Department, her gaze cold as she scanned the surroundings. There was no sign of nervousness about the approaching battle, only a calm demeanor as she issued orders methodically.
However, whether she was really as calm as she appeared on the surface was something only Bai Zhiqing knew. This time, the opponent was resolute in a do-or-die battle with Bai’s Group, and no matter how much additional funding Bai’s Group injected, the opponent kept up steadily, always outweighing Bai’s Group by a margin.
This was a war with no retreat, a war where a defeat in guarding meant that Bai’s Group would be utterly crushed in the business competition. Even if it didn’t go bankrupt, it would degenerate into a second or even third-tier company in the coming years, forever losing its qualification as a stable leading enterprise.
Bai Zhiqing sat in her chair with no change in expression. The more critical the moment, the more she had to remain calm. She represented the entire morale of Bai’s Group. If even she faltered, there would be no hope for the company to turn the situation around.
It wasn’t until Lu Tianxing entered the finance department that he realized the room was crowded with many people, all of whom were senior executives of Bai’s Group. The mid-level employees simply didn’t have the qualifications to be there.
Among them, Lu Tianxing saw many familiar faces: Lin Qianru and Xue Man stood like guards on either side behind Bai Zhiqing. Of course, there was also the Vice Chairman of Bai’s Group, Lin Yao, whom he had previously scorned mercilessly.
"Assistant Lu, what are you doing here? Is this a place for you to be? Get out of here quickly. Can’t you see we are busy? Lack of respect, get out," Lin Yao said, a flash of anger in his eyes upon seeing Lu Tianxing. Clearly reminded of the past mockery from Lu Tianxing, he immediately lashed out loudly.
Lu Tianxing glanced at Lin Yao and responded ungraciously, "Who do you think you are? What I do is none of your business. Are you blind? Did you not see the chairman has not said a word? Who told you to speak? Lack of respect, did you educate yourself on moral thinking?"
Lin Yao, pointing at Lu Tianxing, turned various shades of purple and green with rage, deeply insulted by a mere assistant’s mockery.
"What ’you’? Don’t point your finger at me. You should know what I did before I became an assistant. Dare to point at me again, and believe it or not, I will cripple that hand of yours," Lu Tianxing said, completely disregarding the glances Lin Qianru was sending his way.
Lin Yao was almost choking with fury, staring at Lu Tianxing with an iron-blue face.
"Look at you, you must be furious, itching to hit me! Too bad, you’re a coward; you don’t dare to touch me, afraid that I’ll hit back and you’ll lose face. In that case, shut your trap. No one is mistaking you for a mute," Lu Tianxing mocked with a cold laugh.
Respect me an inch, and I’ll respect you a yard. Since Lin Yao had practically served his face up for a slap, Lu Tianxing would be remiss not to return the favor.
Hearing this, Lin Yao clenched his fists and turned to look at Bai Zhiqing, saying, "Chairman, you see, this is what our company’s employees are like, so lacking in quality. This kind of person does not deserve to stay in Bai’s Group. He will only tarnish our reputation. Moreover, I suspect that he may be involved in the recent customer data leak. I suggest we call the police immediately to arrest him and investigate thoroughly; we might just get to the bottom of this."
Lu Tianxing nodded repeatedly as if in agreement with Lin Yao’s words: "Chairman, I think Vice Chairman Lin is right. I recommend calling the police immediately. Didn’t he go abroad recently? I seriously suspect he was bought off by some company while overseas. Otherwise, why would this data leak incident occur as soon as he returned to the company? It must be related to him."
"Furthermore, Vice Chairman Lin doesn’t understand etiquette, showing lack of respect. Chairman, even before you spoke, he started talking, obviously not giving you any consideration. Moreover, keeping such a coward who is full of rage but doesn’t dare to act in the company is utterly useless. Having him as a vice chairman is worse than raising a pig, which at least can be slaughtered for meat during the New Year."