Xiao Linye took Ye Yuning back to the log cabin estate. Feeling somewhat unwell, she headed to her room first, while Xiao Linye stayed outside to call Lai Shuo.
By now, she had come to understand the extent of Xiao Linye’s position within the Xiao family’s business. Even the CEO’s assistant sometimes had to report to him—his status was truly extraordinary!
Before her shower, Ye Yuning called Chen Wei.
Chen Wei picked up quickly. Before Yuning could speak, Chen Wei began with a pitiful tone, "Boss, when on earth are you coming back?"
When our little boss was here, with her slight build, she always seemed a bit unreliable. But now that she’s gone, we realize how reassuring her presence actually was.
"What’s wrong?" Ye Yuning asked.
"Lai Shuo keeps staring at you!" Chen Wei complained. "Every day, he’s there—can you imagine? He was watching us at the Xiao Corporation, and now that we’re back at Manlang Studio, he’s still hovering. It’s like he’s trying to stare a hole right through us!"
When Ye Yuning heard that Lai Shuo was constantly watching her, her breathing involuntarily deepened. "Doesn’t he have anything else to do all day?"
Is watching me his only job now?
Chen Wei, thinking of Lai Shuo’s current attitude, also felt indignant. "I think his only job now is to keep an eye on you. This isn’t collaboration—it’s more like surveillance! Who watches a collaborator ? Regardless of whether it’s proper or not, in my opinion, there’s no one else like him. It shows such a lack of trust. Since he trusts us so little, why doesn’t Seventh Master Xiao just establish his own design department? That way, he could watch it every day. Oh, wait, that’s not right—they tried that before, and it failed."
Ye Yuning didn’t want to talk about Lai Shuo; just mentioning him felt unlucky. She changed the subject, asking, "Did you send them the progress chart?"
"Yes, I sent it," Chen Wei replied. "I sent it to Manager Zheng and Lai Shuo, but neither replied. They probably found no issue with it."
Speaking of the current progress on Nanjia Peak, Chen Wei was even more puzzled. She had also sent a copy of the draft to Lai Shuo, but he hadn’t raised any objections. So why was he still keeping such close tabs on her boss?
"Alright, I understand," Ye Yuning said, her hand to her forehead. She was now pretty much certain that Lai Shuo spent all his time watching her. He’s so annoying.
Meanwhile, Xiao Linye also called Lai Shuo.
Over the phone, Xiao Linye launched into him without preamble, "Is supervising Boss Ye all you can do? Didn’t you see the draft she sent you?"
"I... this..." Lai Shuo stammered.
At that moment, Lai Shuo was beside his computer. When Xiao Linye asked about the design draft, Lai Shuo belatedly opened his inbox. Seeing the design draft Chen Wei had sent him earlier, he was completely dumbfounded. She sent it to me—why didn’t she tell me? Now I’m getting an earful from the Master!
Lai Shuo’s breathing became irregular, and he felt like he could eat Chen Wei alive.
"She didn’t send it to you?" Xiao Linye pressed, his tone growing heavier as Lai Shuo remained silent.
"She sent it! She did!" Lai Shuo finally said.
"She sent it, so why didn’t you read it?" Xiao Linye questioned.
"Lai Shuo, when did this start? Is this your work attitude now?" Xiao Linye’s tone was sharper and more laced with disappointment than ever before. Yes, pure disappointment.
Hearing the disappointment in Xiao Linye’s voice, Lai Shuo felt a crushing sense of suffocation. "I’m sorry, Master," he apologized. "I didn’t expect her to send it to me, and she didn’t tell me either."
"Checking your email is a daily task, is it not? And she didn’t tell you?!"
It was true! Checking his email was supposed to be a daily task. But after returning to the country, many of his job duties hadn’t been clearly defined. Besides, hardly anyone had emailed him before, so he had overlooked it.
"Send the draft to me immediately!" Xiao Linye commanded, livid. Thinking of how Lai Shuo had been constantly complaining about Manlang Studio these past few days, his disappointment in him intensified.
Lai Shuo slumped in his office chair. Staring at the email on his computer, he felt completely overwhelmed.
Why had he been fixating on Ye Yuning these past few days? It was because she wasn’t at the Xiao Corporation’s offices, nor was she at Manlang Studio. He had suspected she was slacking off, worried that the Nanjia Peak project wouldn’t stay on schedule. But now... this... Not only was the Master disappointed in him, but he himself wanted to slap his own face. What on earth had he been doing all this time? And what was the point of it all? After all this, had he just become a petty, gossiping man?
The thought made Lai Shuo shudder uncontrollably.