Chapter 36: What’s Your Relationship

After speaking, the girl behind quickly grabbed onto Fu Xingchuan’s clothes, as if she was afraid that Ruan Li would do something to her.

The livestream comments, which were already skeptical of Ruan Li, now overwhelmingly leaned against her.

“I really hate people who screw up and then try to blame it on their colleagues.”

“Who’s this guy? He seems to have some authority. Does Ruan Shu know him? She’s even tugging at his clothes.”

Ruan Li stepped forward quickly, glaring at both of their faces. She raised her hand, intending to slap both of them, but a sharp pain shot through her wrist, forcing her to stop.

“Stop it, Ruan Li. This is a company,” Fu Xingchuan said nervously, trying to sound calm.

Since her wrist was too sore to use, Ruan Li gave up on hitting them, but she never spared anyone with her words. “Oh, now you remember this is a company? There are cameras everywhere in Fu Corp. Do you really think one sentence from you can cover for her?”

Fu Xingchuan had completely forgotten about that in the heat of the moment. He frowned, a bit confused. “Then why did you even ask me?”

“I’m a kind person, always like giving people a chance. You just didn’t take it,” Ruan Li sneered. She had thought that even though Fu Xingchuan was a bit dim, he at least had a good heart. Clearly, she was wrong.

She placed the USB drive on the project leader’s desk. The whole team, who had been silently watching the scene, didn’t dare to speak up. Ruan Li was just about to ask someone to pull up the security footage when a timid voice piped up.

“Miss Ruan, Young Master Fu… I think that area might be a blind spot for the cameras…”

Ruan Li was stunned. She turned to see Ruan Shu standing behind Fu Xingchuan, realizing that Ruan Shu had been working in the logistics department lately, and that Fu Xingchuan had been overseeing this project. It was clear that Ruan Shu had been making her rounds here often. Today’s incident was no coincidence; they had been waiting for her.

The livestream comments were now buzzing with excitement.

“Did Ruan Li just try to hit someone? What a spoiled brat!”

“She must have some serious connections. Who else would dare to talk like that to a guy called ‘Young Master Fu’?”

Ruan Li calmed herself for a moment. Given how important this project was, Fu Huaizhou definitely wouldn’t have handed it over completely to Fu Xingchuan. Anyone with half a brain would know that trying to tamper with business operations would make Fu Xingchuan an easy target. Fu Huaizhou must have made all necessary preparations; there’s no way he would overlook a blind spot in the surveillance system.

Fu Xingchuan, thinking the matter was resolved, reached out to place his hand on Ruan Li’s shoulder. “It’s over now. Don’t push it any further. Just go back.”

Ruan Li stepped aside, letting his hand fall to the air.

Embarrassed in front of so many people, Fu Xingchuan’s face darkened, losing the friendly tone from earlier. He was about to say something

“You’re mistaken,” a cool voice cut through the tension.

The camera crew was about to shift their angle when the assistant beside the man gave a signal. The crew quickly caught on and moved the camera to focus only on the man’s lower body.

The crew members were already drenched in sweat. These were people they would never get the chance to meet in their entire lives. They weren’t even worthy of knowing their names.

Everyone turned to see who had spoken. A man in a light gray custom tailored suit, with sharp, handsome features, stood there. His presence radiated authority, but his expression was much softer than Fu Huaizhou’s. There was a faint, barely-there smile on his lips.

Fu Xingchuan was momentarily stunned. After all, not many people dared to call him out directly. Recently, though, it seemed like he’d been running into just those kinds of people…

Ruan Li, on the other hand, recognized him immediately. With a face that bore an 80% resemblance to Shi Xun’s, along with the photos she had seen at Ye Mian’s place, she was certain this was Shi Mu, the head of the Shi family.

Shi Mu had been passing by when he saw the commotion and had decided to step in as a witness.

“I’m not sure if this young lady did it on purpose, but it’s true that her actions caused the fall,” Shi Mu said, addressing the frail-looking Ruan Shu.

Ruan Shu, having never met this man, instinctively sensed that he was someone she couldn’t afford to offend. She quickly apologized, “I wasn’t paying attention. Maybe I was careless. Ruan Li didn’t see either, which caused the misunderstanding.”

Ruan Shu stepped forward to grab Ruan Li’s wrist, saying, “I’m sorry, I didn’t react in time earlier.”

As soon as she pulled on Ruan Li’s injured wrist, the pain shot through her arm again. Tired of pretending, Ruan Li yanked her hand away. “Stay away from me.”

She turned to Shi Mu. “Thank you, Mr. Shi. I need to see Mr. Fu about something, so I’ll take my leave.”

Shi Mu didn’t move aside. “I’m actually on my way to see Fu Huaizhou. Let’s go together.”

Ruan Li still felt stifled inside. Her wrist throbbed, though it was starting to regain a bit of strength. As she passed by Fu Xingchuan and Ruan Shu, she grabbed a nearby folder and flung it right at their faces.

Ruan Shu let out a sharp scream as the entire room gasped.

Once the two of them left, the project team fell into a tense silence. Fu Xingchuan’s face was grim. He had only wanted to prevent Ruan Li from making a scene and causing chaos, but in the end, he had been humiliated instead.

Touching his face, Fu Xingchuan felt a sharp pain and noticed a small smear of blood on his fingertips.

Ruan Shu, on the other hand, wasn’t too worried. As long as she maintained that it was an accident, no one could say otherwise.

In the elevator, Ruan Li and Shi Mu stood side by side. The two had barely interacted before. Since the Shi family had primarily operated abroad, Shi Mu wasn’t often in the country, and he rarely attended social gatherings.

The livestream viewers were in a frenzy after watching the latest drama unfold.

“Workplace drama, anyone not caught up yet?”

“Quick side note: Isn’t Shi a super rare surname? Could this be Shi Xun’s brother?”

“Ruan Li’s last move was epic. Finally, someone who doesn’t take any crap! But where’s our boss? If he doesn’t show up soon, I’m shipping Ruan Li and Shi Mu.”

“Why does Ruan Li keep holding her wrist? Is she faking it or what?”

As the elevator doors opened, Assistant Qin saw the two of them walking together and widened his eyes in surprise. He quickly dialed Fu Huaizhou’s office.

Shi Mu was immediately directed into Fu Huaizhou’s office. He glanced back at Ruan Li, who was about to return to her desk. “Weren’t you looking for the security footage? For important projects, only he has access to the recordings.”

Ruan Li had been ready to drop the matter since Shi Mu had already spoken up in her defense. But now that he mentioned it, she thought, why let them off the hook?

Just as they were talking, the office door opened, and Fu Huaizhou stood there, his gaze directed at Ruan Li. “Just getting back now?”

He had been caught up in an overseas conference call and hadn’t checked the livestream, so he almost thought Ruan Li was sneaking off early.

Ruan Li replied with a simple “yeah,” but Fu Huaizhou could sense something was off with her mood.

“Come in,” he said.

The camera crew, seeing Assistant Qin’s signal, knew they had reached another no-filming zone. It just so happened that the livestream was almost over anyway, so the stream abruptly went black.

Yet the comments kept pouring in.

“Why is she going in with him? Is this about to be a showdown?”

“I’m dying to know what’s on that footage. Will Fu Corp really release it?”

“Do people really think Ruan Li has that much power? Keep dreaming.”

Inside the office, Shi Mu sat opposite Fu Huaizhou at his desk, while Ruan Li made herself comfortable on a nearby sofa, scrolling through her phone and seemingly uninterested in their conversation.

Shi Mu, having initially thought Ruan Li was just an ordinary girl, was surprised to see Fu Huaizhou allowing her into his office while they discussed business.

“What’s this about?” he asked with a hint of amusement.

Fu Huaizhou glanced at Ruan Li, who was still sitting idly on the sofa, admiring her nails. Assuming Shi Mu was concerned about confidentiality, he said in a detached tone, “Don’t worry about her. She won’t understand any of this.”

Ruan Li, who had been spacing out, snapped out of it upon hearing his comment. She turned to stare at Fu Huaizhou, baffled. Was he serious? That was just insulting!

Shi Mu nearly laughed at the exchange, shaking his head as he asked, “No, I meant… what’s your relationship?”