Shine on Me

I thought the incident in the pantry would just fade away, but to my surprise, Jiang Ya was transferred to the marketing department a few days later. Vice President Lin's reasoning was that the marketing department needed someone as articulate as Jiang Ya.

Just like that, Jiang Ya ended up working under Minister Li, the very person she had spoken ill of before.

This made me deeply realize that Mr. Lin Yusen's nature might not be as mild and harmless as he appeared.

But what I didn’t expect was that, not long after, I was also transferred.

Summoned to Lin Yusen’s office, I stood bewildered by the scene before me—General Manager Zhang, Vice President Lin Yusen, and my former supervisor from the finance department… What were they calling me here for?

Seeing me enter, General Manager Zhang laughed heartily and said, “Xiao Nie, you’ve been in the management department long enough. How about it? Want to return to the finance department?” He patted the finance department head on the shoulder. “Old Wu has been complaining to me, saying we borrowed their staff and never returned them.”

Section Chief Wu looked just as confused but dryly chimed in, “Yes, our finance department is a bit short-handed.”

What was going on?

I turned a puzzled gaze toward Lin Yusen.

Lin Yusen smiled faintly. “Xiao Nie was only on loan here. It’s normal for her to return now. Of course…”

Suddenly irritated, I cut him off, “Shouldn’t someone have asked for my opinion first?”

Lin Yusen laughed again, leaving me utterly baffled. He turned to General Manager Zhang and said, “General Manager Zhang, let me discuss this with Xiao Nie first. We can’t disregard an employee’s wishes.”

“Fine, fine. You young folks talk it over first.” General Manager Zhang stood up and said meaningfully, “Honestly, I’m getting old. I don’t interfere much with company affairs or personnel matters anymore.”

With that, he left, taking the thoroughly bewildered Section Chief Wu with him.

Lin Yusen politely saw them out and then closed the door.

I asked, “What’s really going on?”

“Today, General Manager Zhang suddenly told me he wanted to transfer you back to the finance department. I thought it was your idea…” He paused thoughtfully. “Turns out it was President Nie’s doing.”

I was stunned. “You mean… my dad?”

He nodded. “Reading between the lines of what General Manager Zhang said, it seems so.”

“But my dad doesn’t involve himself in this company’s operations, does he?”

“Hmm, I underestimated this.” He looked pensive, then said, “Xiguang, let me treat you to dinner tonight.”

Seriously? I thought he was pondering something profound, and his conclusion was to invite me to dinner? I couldn’t help but deadpan, “…How did your train of thought jump to dinner?”

“President Nie might… have some misunderstandings about me. I suspect he’ll soon approach you and urge you to stay away from me. I need to seize the opportunity to… well, as you’d say, ‘earn some goodwill points.’”

“…How exactly did you offend my dad?”

Lin Yusen gave a wry smile and admitted frankly, “Back at headquarters, I disagreed with President Nie on a couple of collaboration proposals. I essentially blocked his financial interests twice. Offended him quite badly.”

I stared at him in amazement. “So you really do have a grudge against my family…”

“Just business is business.”

“So my dad doesn’t have a great impression of you?”

“Not too bad.” He considered it seriously. “President Nie once praised me for hiding a dagger behind my smile.”

I burst out laughing.“You think I don’t understand idioms? Is this supposed to be a compliment?”

“As a surgeon, carrying a scalpel is perfectly normal. If I didn’t smile, how could patients feel at ease? Isn’t this praising my professional ethics?”

“Hey!”

Mr. Lin, where’s your bottom line?

“Actually, it’s not bad that you’re going back to the finance department.” Lin Yusen looked as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “I’d feel a bit awkward making a move on a direct subordinate. President Nie did me a favor, in a way.”

This conversation was clearly beyond salvaging.

“…Alright, I’m leaving too.” I quickly made my escape but turned back at the door. “Vice President, during work hours, it’s best not to discuss personal matters. Let’s not make this a habit, okay?”

Lin Yusen’s prediction was spot-on. Over the weekend, Dad personally came to Suzhou to summon me.

The moment I sat down, he demanded, “What’s going on between you and Lin Yusen?”

His tone was far from friendly—more like an interrogation. Annoyed, I didn’t answer right away.

“Are you really together?” Dad’s expression darkened, and he couldn’t even wait for my reply before exploding. “This won’t do. Break up with him immediately. I’ll transfer you to another company right away.”

I was speechless, thinking he was being utterly unreasonable. Sure, Lin Yusen and I weren’t officially together yet, but who likes being ordered around like this? Seeing him so flustered was rare, so I decided to let him stew in his misunderstanding. Since he’d dragged his feet for so long without resolving his messy affairs, this was my way of standing up for myself and Mom.

“Dad, this is my business.”

“What do you mean ‘your business’? You’re my daughter! My only child!”

“Oh, but my custody belongs to Mom.”

His expression stiffened, and he sighed, shifting to a more reasonable tone. “I know you’re angry with me. I’ve been too busy lately to handle some things. But you’re my daughter—do you really think I’d harm you? You’re still young and don’t understand how treacherous people can be. So many are eyeing your wealth—”

“His family is wealthy too.”

“He has no inheritance rights!”

Even though he was my father, I couldn’t help but give him a disdainful look. “Dad, he was a renowned surgeon before. Now, at the very least, he’s a high-ranking executive in the company. What does it matter if he doesn’t have inheritance rights? As long as he has enough money, it’s fine. Lin Yusen isn’t the ambitious type.”

“Not ambitious?” Dad’s tone turned especially cutting. “Every descendant of the Sheng family is ambitious—it’s just that some lack the ability, and others lack the fate.”

He emphasized, “Lin Yusen doesn’t have that fate, but you do!”

“In the year and a half he’s been at Shengyuan’s headquarters, he’s set countless traps for us. At such a young age, he’s already made me suffer losses. Xiguang, how could you possibly outmaneuver him? You’d just end up being sold off while counting his money for him.”

Dad grew increasingly agitated. “After all these years in business, do you think I’d misjudge someone? This man is cold-hearted by nature, hiding a knife behind his smile. Ten of you wouldn’t equal half of him. Do you think he’s content staying in Suzhou? He’s retreating to advance, biding his time. It was my oversight—I only knew he left Shengyuan’s headquarters but didn’t pay attention to his movements. No!” He suddenly realized something. “He deliberately misled me. Xiguang, he came here targeting you!”

“Alright, alright.”His central argument is simply that Lin Yusen isn't interested in me, but in his money.

I deliberately provoked him, "If he really pursued me because of your wealth, wouldn't that be more unshakable than being attracted to my looks, personality, or anything else? After all, the money in your bank account will last forever, Dad."

Hmph. Besides, I'm not so insecure as to believe "Nie Chengyuan's daughter" is my only redeeming quality. I truly can't tell whether Dad is trying to discredit Lin Yusen or undermine my confidence.

Yet I'm also slightly startled—have I subconsciously placed so much trust in Lin Yusen?

Dad looked at me with exasperation, his lips parting several times as if to speak before hesitating. Finally, he said, "I didn't want to say this. I didn't want to hurt you."

"He pursued Nian Yuan."

My head snapped up to stare at him.

"Last year—no, the year before, around this same time. You attended your godmother's banquet, then left early in a huff, remember? He came with Sheng Xianmin. Nian Yuan took a liking to him and invited him to Wuxi to see the plum blossoms after the banquet. But he got into a car accident on the way there."

I listened numbly, a storm of shock, anger, and humiliation raging inside me, leaving me utterly at a loss for how to react.

"If Nian Yuan hadn't told me, I'd never have known any of this." Dad's gaze was full of anguish. "Xiguang, don't you see? What he values is what our family can offer him. Even Ma Nian Yuan—just a junior acquaintance of mine—was enough to make him chase after her. How much more tempting would you be, my own precious daughter?"

I stared at him intently. There wasn't a trace of deceit in his expression.

A heavy silence stretched between us.

After a long while, I stood up and slowly uttered three words: "I don't believe it."