Zheng Yixu diligently reviewed all the documents. Of course, whether he understood them or remembered anything was another matter.

In any case, Zheng Yixu had two main objectives for coming to the company.

One was to address the public opinions and rumors. The other was to openly acknowledge that he was still experiencing some aftereffects and to ask the company staff to work a bit harder in the meantime, with a promise of salary increases. If any urgent issues arose, they could first discuss them with Zhao Louqin, and he would make the final decisions.

Although the beginning was tense, the middle was full of pitfalls, and the ending was somewhat passable, it was overall acceptable.

The anxious staff at the company were reassured. As long as Zheng Yixu was doing well, taking a vacation was understandable. Even ordinary employees, after many years of hard work, might want to resign or take a long break. Given that the president had been managing so many affairs for so long and had gone through a major ordeal, wanting to take a break and enjoy family life was reasonable.

Ahem, of course, the term “family life” here was filled with endless imagination. It carried a hint of sensuality, enough to make some people chuckle and exchange knowing glances.

The Issue of hierarchy remained unresolved after all these years.

It was unclear whether it was the “sadistic CEO top vs. beautiful star bottom” or “beautiful top vs. abstinent CEO bottom.”

Hehe, such matters were best discussed privately, as no one had the courage to ask directly.

The situation should have ended there. The senior management was generally satisfied with Zheng Yixu’s responses and went on their way. Zheng Yixu could soon return to his otaku lifestyle, occasionally defending against romantic rivals, using both emotional and rational appeals to entice the young beauties, and eventually seizing the opportunity to leave with them smoothly.

Unfortunately, Lin Ninghua was not one to let such a good opportunity slip by.

Just minutes after Zheng Yixu arrived at the company, Lin Ninghua announced that Lin Enterprises planned to cooperate with Xucheng Group. Xucheng Group had long been a giant in real estate, but times were changing, and the real estate market had become saturated. In other words, if Xucheng Group didn’t expand into other areas, it would be stuck in place. However, most enterprise systems were already established, and expanding into any new field was no easy task.

Therefore, Zheng Yixu usually only invested personally in other industries or in films and TV dramas. He also arranged some resources for his partner, making sure the benefits stayed within the family.

Lin Enterprises was a company with a diverse range of sectors. Its subsidiaries included entertainment, food, fashion, skincare, and more. The advantages were clear: not putting all the eggs in one basket meant that losses in one area wouldn’t significantly impact the development of other sectors. However, the drawbacks were also evident. Since the subsidiaries’ businesses had little overlap, it was challenging to rapidly raise funds for further development. Additionally, the customer resources were scattered, resulting in wasted opportunities.

Overall, Xucheng Group and Lin Enterprises were a perfect match! For a long time, many reports had suggested that the two companies were bound to collaborate further.

Unfortunately, even after more than a decade, they had chosen to partner with other companies rather than each other. This puzzled many people. Of course, those who understood the situation knew that no saint would want to see two already powerful enterprises join forces.

The matter of the collaboration naturally got delayed.

Lin Ninghua could understand why Zheng Yixu didn’t want to see him before. Therefore, he had always only dared to silently keep an eye on him without making a nuisance of himself in front of Zheng Yixu. But now things could be different. Zheng Yixu had completely lost his memory, so there was no reason for him to reject Lin Ninghua anymore!

Perhaps he should have a good talk with Zhao Louqin next, to prevent the latter from interfering and ruining his plans. Zhao Louqin was a very proud person; while he might appear carefree on the surface, he was actually quite vengeful, just like a typical Zhao family member.

Zhao Louqin was now committed to his path and had long missed the best opportunity to explain everything to Zheng Yixu. As long as Lin Ninghua interacted with a few members of the Zhao family, he could always change Zhao Louqin’s mind.

After thinking it over, Lin Ninghua decided to send Zhao Louqin a text message, inviting him to dinner.

Although, after sending it, he immediately regretted it!

“Zhao Louqin, you have a text message,” said Zheng Yixu, who had sent all the company employees away. He continued browsing posts on his phone without looking up.

Zhao Louqin was sitting at the desk, helping Zheng Yixu process some newly arrived documents, with his phone on the table.

“Yixu, can you take a look at this for me?” Zhao Louqin frowned, struggling with the contract in his hand. This contract was obviously not rigorous enough and had quite a few areas that needed amendments. Had the staff become a bit lax because Zheng Yixu hadn’t been around?

Zheng Yixu sighed; since Zhao Louqin was helping to handle matters for this body, he couldn’t just ignore it.

After all, Zhao Louqin had nothing to hide.

Checking someone’s phone can be quite an interesting activity.

If there’s a problem between partners, one person will inevitably want to use the phone to track the other’s whereabouts. If the partner discovers that they aren’t the first contact in the phone book, that there are flirty messages from someone else, that their photo together isn’t the phone’s wallpaper, or that all the messages have been deleted, well, this is sure to spark a conflict!

Conversely, if you’ve taken care of all these details on your phone, congratulations. No matter how badly you fought before, their anger will subside.

Zhao Louqin mastered this skill over a decade ago when he was pursuing Zheng Yixu!

Therefore, Zhao Louqin was actually very eager for Zheng Yixu to look at his phone more often. Upon opening it, Zheng Yixu would see that the wallpaper was their very handsome wedding photo! All the text messages between them were meticulously kept, reflecting the deep bond between them, sure to tug at the heartstrings and bring tears to the eyes.

Of course, if Zheng Yixu examined the phone even more closely, he would notice that his number was the first in the contacts list, and the email Inbox contained only messages from him, with nothing from anyone else.

Zhao Louqin had long mastered this seemingly casual yet highly effective way to boost his favorability. For instance, he would often “accidentally” leave his phone at home, hoping Zheng Yixu’s curiosity would lead him to take a look.

If he did, Zhao Louqin was sure his favorability with Zheng Yixu would soar.

Unfortunately, Zheng Yixu rarely noticed. Even if he did, he had no curiosity to check.

From Zheng Yixu’s perspective, snooping through someone’s phone was something usually done between romantic partners. Why would he go through someone’s phone for no reason?

But now, since the phone’s owner had requested it, Zheng Yixu, who had answered his roommates’ calls and read their texts during university, had no qualms about it and promptly unlocked the phone.

Then he saw the sender’s name…

Ha, Lin Ninghua!

Those two scoundrels were indeed in cahoots!

The little spark of undefined feelings in Zheng Yixu’s heart was instantly doused with cold water, extinguishing it completely.

No matter how much the original owner had cared for Zhao Louqin, no matter how tirelessly Zhao Louqin managed the company’s affairs for the original owner, it couldn’t compare to a single text from Lin Ninghua.

Thinking about it, he felt…

Thinking about it, he felt extremely sad.

He really was just cannon fodder. If he were the protagonist, he wouldn’t be treated like this.

“Yixu, who sent the message?” Zhao Louqin asked casually.

“It’s Lin Ninghua.” Zheng Yixu lowered his head, scrolling through the message content. A hint of a mocking smile appeared on his face, but his voice remained as steady as ever, giving no Indication that anything was wrong.

“He invited you to dinner and specifically mentioned that he wants to meet just the two of you,” Zheng Yixu said slowly, sneaking a glance at Zhao Louqin’s expression while listening intently for his response.

Zhao Louqin, at that moment, was also contemplating Lin Ninghua’s intentions.

This guy never does anything without a hidden agenda. Wanting to have dinner with just the two of us definitely means there’s a scheme involved! But that’s fine. If I bring Yixu along and he sees Lin Ninghua desperately trying to win him over, it would make for an excruciating meal!

Moreover, Zhao Louqin had just received news. Lin Ninghua had announced plans to collaborate with Xucheng Group.

His intentions were clear. Lin Ninghua’s real aim was to use the collaboration as a pretext to get close to Yixu. Did he think the finance director was oblivious?

This battle was destined to be his victory from the start.

With this thought, Zhao Louqin’s expression brightened considerably.

“Okay, Yixu, could you reply for me? I’ll go. Tell her to set the time and place and let me know,” Zhao Louqin said with a smile, having figured out Lin Ninghua’s intentions.

To Zheng Yixu, this was a clear sign of a heartless scoundrel!

Did you see that?

Did you see that!

Just one text from that alluring little demon Lin Ninghua, inviting him to dinner, and Zhao Louqin was smiling like a blooming flower, like a blooming flower!

Grinning from ear to ear, so cheerful and radiant!

If one text had this effect, if Lin Ninghua cleaned up and got into bed, this guy would probably jump at the chance and immediately divorce him!

Although divorce might not be a bad thing, Zhao Jiusi’s custody rights were still not secured!

No, he couldn’t just sit idly by!

Zheng Yixu composed and sent a text as Zhao Louqin requested, but his thoughts were entirely elsewhere.

On closer reflection, Zhao Jiusi was already fifteen, an older child, and it was time for him to know about the family situation.

Zhao Jiusi should understand that Zhao Louqin had wronged him and his father. Therefore, when it came to deciding whom to side with, there was no need to deliberate.

Catching someone in the act—once Zhao Jiusi sees it with his own eyes, he will naturally draw his own conclusions!

Great, let’s do it this way! =V=~