Chapter 25: Sowing Discord

Yin Guizhen sneered and turned to leave. This was a public place, and the Yin family could not afford such a loss of face. Shang Qi glanced at Lu Kai and left the restaurant without a word. At that moment, her mind was in turmoil; she wanted to be alone. Suddenly, Yin Guizhen pulled her car over beside her. Holding a bag, she stepped out and said, "Yichen left his suit at my place last night. Since I happened to run into you, could you please take it back to him for me?"

Shang Qi looked at her coldly, suspecting that she was telling her this on purpose to stir up trouble. Shang Qi smiled faintly and said, "That is truly a bother for you! He has always been so careless."

Yin Guizhen gritted her teeth at Shang Qi’s calm and composed demeanor, yet her face remained triumphant, showing a hint of feminine coyness. She said, "Actually, there are many other things of his left at my place. But those are far too intimate; I think I had better return them to him in person."

Shang Qi was young after all, and her face paled at these words. Yin Guizhen offered a detached smile and continued, "I hear you have been keeping Luo Yichen at arm’s length. Isn't that just intentionally giving others a chance? I should really thank you for looking after my man for me and then sending him right back to my side."

Shang Qi was ashamed and furious, wanting to retaliate but not knowing what to say. She was not as strategic as Yin Guizhen when it came to such unspeakable matters; she could only stare in helpless anger. At that moment, the administrative manager and her assistant caught up. They had returned from the restroom to find that Shang Qi had already left, so they rushed out to look for her.

Yin Guizhen placed the bag into Shang Qi's hands and left with a smile. Shang Qi gripped the handles of the bag tightly, wishing she could tear the clothes to shreds. She recalled Luo Yichen’s words from the night before: "Do you really want me to go find another woman to satisfy my needs?" Could it be that he wasn't just speaking casually, and had actually gone to find Yin Guizhen?

Shang Qi’s expression turned grim as she looked down in thought. The administrative manager wondered: What happened? Did Lu Kai fail to negotiate the price and offend her instead? And why would Yin Guizhen appear here? Neither she nor Qi Yanran dared to ask, and the three of them returned to the company in silence.

The more Shang Qi thought about it, the angrier she became. She took the bag and went to find Luo Yichen. The secretary blocked her way, saying, "President Shang, President Luo is discussing business with people from the bank; he is not seeing anyone right now."

Shang Qi, incensed by Yin Guizhen, had lost her composure. Ignoring the secretary, she burst into the office without knocking. At that moment, Luo Yichen had just finished talking with President Zhang of the bank and was seeing him out. Seeing Shang Qi barge in, he was immediately displeased. President Zhang looked at them with a surprised expression.

Luo Yichen reprimanded her: "Don't you know how to knock before entering? Get out!"

Shang Qi’s inner rage was further fueled by Luo Yichen’s words. She snapped, "Since anyone can walk into your office, why should I be required to knock?"

President Zhang observed Shang Qi, tacitly aware of her relationship with Luo Yichen. He was there for business and had no interest in their private affairs. However, seeing Luo Yichen in such an awkward position, he couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. Knowing he should save face for Luo Yichen, he immediately said, "President Luo, let’s consider the matters just discussed settled. You don’t need to see me out."

Seeing that Shang Qi remained standing there, Luo Yichen ignored her. Fearing she might say something else to embarrass him, he quickly added, "Very well, please take care. I will have the finance manager follow up on this."

After President Zhang left, Luo Yichen noticed that Shang Qi was still looking indignant. He said, "Qiqi, this is the company. No matter what happened, you must leave me some face. How could you just barge in like that? If it were anyone else, I would have fired them already."

Shang Qi threw the bag at Luo Yichen and said, "What were you doing last night? How could you let Yin Guizhen return your suit to me?"

Luo Yichen thought to himself: What is Yin Guizhen trying to do? To think she would sow discord between me and Qiqi like this. However, seeing her angry look, he actually felt quite pleased. So, she cares about me this much! With this thought, Luo Yichen asked with a playful grin, "Are you jealous? Don't be so narrow-minded!"

Seeing Luo Yichen’s nonchalant attitude, Shang Qi couldn't help but feel a little heartbroken. The thought of him being with Yin Guizhen last night made her feel terrible. She didn't want to share Luo Yichen with anyone. To be the woman of a CEO, one must be able to face the women around him with a smile. This was the third tenet. But Shang Qi could not do that. Ignoring Luo Yichen, she turned to open the door to leave.

Luo Yichen pulled her forcefully into his arms. Shang Qi was in no mood for such intimacy; she pushed him away with all her might and ran out the door. Seeing that the secretary was not at her desk, Luo Yichen chased after her. Shang Qi reached the elevator bank and saw that the employee elevator was stopped on the first floor. She stepped directly into the private elevator for the CEO.

When Luo Yichen caught up, the elevator doors were just about to close. He forced them open with his hand and squeezed in. Shang Qi did not want to be with him and immediately tried to leave the elevator, but he pulled her back. Luo Yichen grabbed her arms with both hands and said, "I only ran into Yin Guizhen at the cocktail party last night; I didn't do anything with her."

Shang Qi refused to listen. She raised her leg to kick him in the crotch. Luo Yichen dodged slightly to the side. He shouted, "What are you doing? Are you really going to play dirty?"

Shang Qi cried out, "Anything I do is cleaner than what you did last night! Yin Guizhen described it in vivid detail; do you want me to repeat it for you?"

"What did she say? Repeat it for me!" Luo Yichen said with a wicked smile.

Shang Qi instantly blushed. She shouted, "Shameless! Let me go."

During their struggle, the collar of Shang Qi’s blouse was pulled open. Being tall, Luo Yichen looked down and caught a glimpse of her décolletage. Seeing that she wouldn't listen to a word he said, he kissed her red lips directly. Luo Yichen’s kiss was overbearing and passionate, making Shang Qi’s heart race.

After a long while, once Shang Qi had calmed down, Luo Yichen let her go. He said, "Why won't you believe me? I haven't touched Yin Guizhen for years; why would I go fool around with her after getting a divorce? Just think about it for a second, and you’ll know that’s not plausible!"

Shang Qi was not as angry anymore. She pouted and said, "Who knows if you suddenly got the urge? That time at the hotel, didn't you show me the scene of your passion?"

Luo Yichen cursed himself silently. He had only wanted to provoke Shang Qi at the time, never expecting so many aftereffects. Now his reputation as a playboy was impossible to wash away. He said, "Who told you to ignore me back then?"

This was like adding fuel to the fire. Shang Qi glared at him and said, "So you just find other women?"

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly complicated, Luo Yichen quickly tried to retract his words. He said, "Can we not talk about the past? I promise, since the divorce, there has never been another woman. Qiqi, you saw that night—I was in such pain from holding back, and I still didn't mess around with anyone else. Please, stop being angry!"

Seeing Luo Yichen begging, Shang Qi thought: His words are not without reason; I must not fall for Yin Guizhen’s trap. If I have a falling out with Luo Yichen now, it will only let her reap the rewards. Thus, she said, "This is the only time. If any other woman brings your clothes to me again, I’m finished with you."

Luo Yichen raised his hands and said, "I guarantee there won't be a next time."

Shang Qi finally broke into a smile and stopped lecturing him. Luo Yichen pressed the elevator button and said, "Come with me to the surveillance room."

"What for?"

"There are cameras in the elevator. If you don't want our passionate kiss to make the headlines, come with me," Luo Yichen said without any hesitation.

Shang Qi punched him in the chest and said, "Why are you always so reckless?"

Luo Yichen chuckled, "The camera is still on! You flirting with the CEO is not my fault!"

"Hateful!" Shang Qi’s delicate, whining voice was enough to melt a person’s soul. However, she didn't dare to have any more intimate contact with Luo Yichen.

After arriving at the surveillance room, Luo Yichen told the security guard, "You go out first; I need to check some footage."

The security guard had seen the whole scene earlier. He didn't dare to speak a word and immediately left. Luo Yichen quickly found the recording. Shang Qi said, "Hurry up and delete it!"

Luo Yichen smiled wickedly again and said, "It’s not often I get such a precious record! I need to keep a backup."

Before Shang Qi could react, he had already sent the video to his own email address. Shang Qi said, "Why are you so annoying? Delete it for me right now."

After deleting the footage from the surveillance room, Luo Yichen stood up and walked out. Shang Qi followed him, nagging, "Hurry up and delete the one in your email too!"

Luo Yichen turned his head and said with a grin, "This is a company; you need to mind your words and actions. Don't forget, I am the CEO of the Luo Corporation. Here, no one can order me around."

Shang Qi had no choice but to keep her mouth shut. Luo Yichen took her hand and asked, "Are you unhappy again?"

"No."

"Qiqi, I’m not using my position as your superior to pressure you. In front of others, you must leave me some face. Just now, by barging in like that, you made me a laughingstock in front of President Zhang."

Thinking back to the scene, Shang Qi realized she had gone too far and had indeed put Luo Yichen in an awkward position. She said, "I understand. I will be more careful in public in the future."

"Good girl! When it’s just the two of us, I will endure whatever you do. After all, you are just so captivating to me."

Shang Qi was amused by him and said, "Stop with your honeyed words."

After that, they each returned to their offices. Looking at the suit in the bag, Luo Yichen thought: I must be careful with Yin Guizhen; I can’t let her hurt Shang Qi. I hope she is just having a moment of irrationality. Otherwise, she cannot blame me for being ruthless.

Ever since that blind date, Mu Lichen would occasionally chat with Shang Qi. She was happy to have gained another friend. Over the past few years, Luo Yichen had always managed to "invite" away the men around Shang Qi at just the right time. Consequently, none of the male colleagues in the company dared to get too close to her. As for the female colleagues, most were jealous of her and rarely got close to her either. Shang Qi was, in fact, quite lonely in the company.