Cheng Yuan had come to ask about Jiang Xiao, not to chat about looks. "I'm asking you one more time. Where is Jiang Xiao?"
"Gone," Zhang Rong said. "She went where she should go."
"What do you mean by 'where she should go'?" Cheng Yuan was barely holding onto his sanity. "I'll ask you one last time. Where did she go?"
"I don't know," Zhang Rong said. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell."
Cheng Yuan moved to grab her. Zhang Rong stuck out her neck and threatened, "If you dare touch me, Jiang Xiao will suffer. Want to try?"
Cheng Yuan's spread fingers slowly clenched. His cold eyes gathered frost. "You're doing all this just to get into the company, aren't you? Fine. I agree."
Zhang Rong knew he wouldn't agree for nothing. "What's the condition?"
Cheng Yuan: "I want to know where Jiang Xiao is."
"President Cheng is so capable. Finding someone should be easy," Zhang Rong said with a smile. "No comment."
Cheng Yuan glared at her fiercely. "You'd better not play tricks, or I won't let you off!"
"Don't forget, I'm your mother," Zhang Rong said, bending over to sit upright on the sofa. "Is that how you talk to an elder? Where are the Cheng family's manners?"
"Does the Cheng family have any?" Cheng Yuan had pretended to be a playboy, a rogue, a bastard before. Now he stopped pretending. "The Cheng family isn't worthy."
"You're a Cheng too."
"So I'm not worthy either.""
Zhang Rong: "Issue the appointment letter tomorrow. I want to enter the board next week."
Cheng Yuan sat opposite her, chin slightly raised. "She's safe, and then you can enter."
"I enter, and then she'll be safe."
That was the last thing Zhang Rong said that night.
*
Three days later, the Cheng Group issued a new appointment letter, appointing Mrs. Zhang Rong as Vice President of the Cheng Group.
A few of Cheng Yuan's close friends didn't know what had happened. They arranged to meet him at the Jiesè club.
"Hey, what's going on with you? How could you let that woman onto the board? Don't you know what she's after?" Friend number one, Zhou Jin, said.
Friend number two, Xu Cong, chimed in, "Don't drink yet. Tell us what's really going on!"
Friend number three, Lin Xu, patted Xu Cong's shoulder. "A Yuan always acts steadily. He must have a compelling reason."
"He'd better have one, or I'll think he got his head stuck in a door," Zhou Jin sneered.
Cheng Yuan leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, sinking deep into it. In the corner of the room, the light didn't reach him fully, only faintly illuminating the sharp line of his jaw.
It was tight.
"She wants in. Let her in," he said.
"Cough, cough, cough." Xu Cong spewed out a mouthful of wine. "You spent so much effort to stop her from entering the board before. And now you just lightly say 'let her in'? What happened?"
"Let me guess," Lin Xu said. "Does it have something to do with your little bunny?"
At that, Cheng Yuan finally stopped drinking. He lifted his eyes. "She's gone."
"Gone? Gone where?"
"I don't know.""
"There are things even you don't know?" Xu Cong nearly dropped his jaw. "You watch her so closely. How could there be something you don't know?"
"She slipped away quietly. Zhang Rong helped her leave," Cheng Yuan said, his teeth grinding audibly. "I had people search. No trace."
"Did you check the neighboring cities?"
"Even abroad. Nothing."
"Tsk, tsk." After holding back for a long time, Zhou Jin finally managed a full sentence with mockery. "You mean you've been dumped?"
"..."
*
After Jiang Xiao left, the first person she contacted was Shen Yue.
Shen Yue was eager to share news with her too.
"Babe, I have to tell you—big news!" Shen Yue chattered. "That Cheng Yuan guy, he must be crazy. You know what? This morning, the Cheng Group issued an appointment. Your mother-in-law—oh, no, ex-mother-in-law—she actually got onto the board and was appointed Vice President! If I remember correctly, when Old Master Cheng was alive, she made a scene to get onto the board, but he never agreed. I don't know what's wrong with Cheng Yuan's head, but he actually agreed."
"You don't think he went stupid after you left, do you?"
Jiang Xiao sipped her tea and said, "Cheng Yuan must have his own considerations. As for being stupid—do you think he looks like someone who could go stupid?"
Shen Yue thought about it and shook her head. "No."
Then she asked, "By the way, were you really okay that day? You don't know how scared I was when I heard about the car accident. I was terrified you were in the car."
"I had already left by then," Jiang Xiao reassured her. "I'm fine."
"What are you planning to do next?"
"Travel a bit first, then maybe pursue further studies. You know I'm interested in design."