Once Lu Xinyi presented her devil’s food cake to the judges, Tian Lingyu knew that he didn’t need to worry about his sister not passing the exam anymore. When the box containing her ingredients was given to her, it was Huang Shenghao who pointed out the wrong items on Lu Xinyi’s box. If there was something Tian Lingyu knew about Huang Shenghao, it was his ability to know the quality and identify the ingredients just by one look.
“Lingyu, do you think you can convince your sister to remake her devil’s food cake some other time? Damn, she’s a she-devil, isn’t she? Those who are in a diet can never resist this kind of dessert from her.” Huang Shenghao commented, trying to suppress the sudden hunger that hit him.
“You can ask her herself though I wouldn’t be so hopeful if I were you.”
“What? No fair, Lingyu! You have to do something!” Huang Shenghao whined while Tian Lingyu fought hard not to roll his eyes at his companion. His gaze went back to the event. There was no doubt that Lu Xinyi had won this round.
As the audience continued to accuse Lu Xinyi of cheating, Tian Lingyu saw Chairman Han’s seat empty. Where would that old man be? Madam Li had also expressed her displeasure with the sudden changes in the competition. Surely, Director Han wouldn’t let the issue leak to the public. She was one of the control freaks that Tian Lingyu tried to get away from.
Meanwhile, outside the stadium, Shen Yi met his assistant inside the car and adjusted the collar of his dress shirt. He changed from his disguise to his usual business attire to meet Chairman Han later.
“What did you find?” He asked Qiao He while he slipped an arm on one sleeve of his coat and followed by another one.
“The preparations had been conducted last night by five proctors. All of them have the same copy of the key for the stockroom. I haven’t found out who switched Young Madam’s ingredients but based on the time logs of Silver Leaf, a proctor named Tong Yan was the last one to inspect the boxes.” Qiao He responded. He deeply sighed and thought another migraine was coming.
Why couldn’t these people leave their young madam alone? Was there a target-shooting mark at the back of her head? Sometimes, he thought that Shen Yi and Lu Xinyi should just announce their marriage to the world so these conniving people would stop harming her.
“Did you find anything about her?”
Shen Yi had already expected that Qiao He would’ve taken a quick background check of his subjects. After all, they stuck side-by-side during high school. Qiao He was a year younger than Shen Yi and had known his boss’s temperament of all people. He even knew Shen Yi’s deepest secrets that Lu Xinyi had no idea exist.
“Why, of course, Boss Yi. Coincidentally, there are records of phone calls between Miss Tong and young miss of the Sun family.” Qiao He responded. There might be no direct evidence against Tong Yan for now, but he’s already requested the copies of the CCTV around the area. Anything that could lead to Tong Yan would make her the prime suspect.
“Find her and don’t give her a chance to escape. Break her limbs if you have to. If she’s so desperate to ruin Lu Xinyi’s future, then she should prepare when her plan backfires.”
“As you wish, Boss Yi.” Qiao He bowed his head slightly before slipping out of the passenger seat to make phone calls. Shen Yi’s words were absolute law that his own family—even the matriarch— could not force him to do something out of his will. Of course, Shen Yi wasn’t exercising these on his family; but the main decisions for the Shen Group lie in his hands.
While Shen Yi was the third generation to handle the businesses of the Shen family, it was his grandfather who established it. Many businessmen knew of his grandpa as a man who worked himself to death to keep the business standing. After that, Shen Huang took over the management; but since he wasn’t raised as the next successor, he struggled to keep everything in place until Shen Yi joined the company.
The public might have forgotten about it, but once, the Shen Group nearly came crashing down. Shen Huang wasn’t prepared for the crash that brought the financial institutions at its knees. The Shen Group affected the nation’s economy, and it was the most critical time when Shen Yi came into the scene to save their business.
Fresh from the graduate school, it was Shen Yi’s knowledge and understanding that kept The Shen Group from falling any further. His grandpa might have started the company and had sought and made partners with other businesses, but Shen Yi had the education to manage it. He knew the in and out of business that kept them away from the losing side.
It didn’t matter that he had to sacrifice his personal life and social life to learn everything about The Shen Group. It was already a miracle for his family for him to be able to find a wife in Lu Xinyi. He knew each CEO and president of the companies they made partnerships and knew which deals would bring profits and losses. He knew the extent of their investments and the margins on their returns.
He took risks, and because of that, the Shen Group diversified and was stronger than ever. Each decision was calculated with painstaking analysis in his part. He scrutinized everything from the data to location, from history to its market and everything.
“Boss Yi, we found her.” Qiao He told his boss when Shen Yi stepped out the car and prepared to meet Silver Leaf’s official.
“Then let’s go and not waste time. My wife is waiting for me.”