The Art of Teasing - Chapter 163

Chapter 163

Wen Zhengyu didn't understand. If there were no plans to change the chairman, why were such rampant rumors circulating throughout the company?

Ye Ling explained, "I was away from the company for several months previously. Matters I normally handled were delegated to Vice Chairman Xu and General Manager Zhang. Typically, shareholder and board meetings are held at the end of November or the beginning of December. Since I'm the largest shareholder and the chairman, and I wasn't here, the meetings weren't convened. It's inevitable that all sorts of speculation would arise."

She paused briefly before continuing, "The Cen Family has business interests here, and those interests were affected during our previous clashes with them. I've also offended quite a number of people over the years. It's only natural that they'd seize this opportunity to secretly cause me trouble and obstacles. Spreading rumors, after all, costs next to nothing."

Wen Zhengyu thought for a moment before asking, "So it's just rumors? Not internal power struggles? There haven't been any changes in company equity?"

Seeing the worried look on Wen Zhengyu's face, Ye Ling couldn't help but smile. Wen Zhengyu showed little concern for her own assets, yet was terrified of her suffering the slightest loss. She said, "There have been no changes in the parent company's equity or the shares held by stockholders. Subsidiaries, due to operational considerations, may see some adjustments. The main reason I've been so frantic lately is because I was away from the company for months. Just reviewing the accumulated reports takes several days, and some critical data requires personal verification. As both the largest shareholder and the chairman, I must have a clear and complete grasp of the entire group's operating status. There's absolutely no room for slacking off on this."

With little confidence, Wen Zhengyu asked, "Then postpone the meeting for a few more days? You've worked yourself sick."

Ye Ling gave a helpless smile. "Tasks ahead will only pile up. Delaying further will just create a bigger backlog. If problems truly arise from the delay, losing my own money would be one thing, but the shareholders would also come looking for trouble with me."

Seeing how overwhelmed Ye Ling was, Wen Zhengyu felt embarrassed to even request leave.

Ye Ling, noticing the subtle look in Wen Zhengyu's eyes, said, "If you have something to say, just say it."

Embarrassed or not, Wen Zhengyu had to ask. She said, "Tomorrow is my master's wife's birthday. I need to go offer her my congratulations and wish her longevity. I'm requesting one day off."

Ye Ling's lips curved into a smile as she teased her, "You're asking me for leave? That's skipping a level in the chain of command, you know."

Wen Zhengyu shot Ye Ling a slightly exasperated glance, then stood up and left. She went to Human Resources, collected a leave request form, filled it out, and submitted it to the chief secretary.

If the CEO's spouse wanted leave, how would the chief secretary dare refuse? He took the form to sign it, but upon seeing the reason stated, his pen couldn't help but pause.

Reason for leave: Tomorrow is my master's wife's birthday; going to offer her my congratulations and wish her longevity.

Inwardly, he sighed, "Honest and straightforward!" He approved the request and had Wen Zhengyu submit it to the Human Resources Department.

The HR staff naturally had no objections to Wen Zhengyu taking leave. However, after she submitted the form, the reason she had written still circulated privately within the department.

Wen Zhengyu had been apprenticed when she was still quite young and unversed in the ways of the world. Raised under the care of her master and his wife since childhood, and being his final formal disciple, the bond was naturally exceptional. Early in the morning, she headed to her master's home. No matter how busy she was, Ye Ling still accompanied her there, only leaving for the company after paying her respects to the elderly couple.

At her master's house, Wen Zhengyu met many old friends of Old Master Wen. Seeing her prompted another round of concerned inquiries, and they also made frequent mention of Ye Ling. During her hospitalization, many of these elderly men and women had come to visit her. At that time, her awareness had been rather fuzzy, and it was Ye Ling and Lian Xin who had received them all. Quite a few of the elderly guests had significantly revised their opinion of Ye Ling.

Surrounded by these old folks, she rediscovered that familiar, comfortable sense of ease—the sense of belonging that she hadn't felt at the company, where she felt like an outsider unable to fit in.

She understood why she couldn't fit in. Even though she went to the company and worked from nine to five, while others worked to earn a living or build a career, she was just there to kill time. She had thought she was starting from the ground level, but in everyone else's eyes, she was parachuted in. After spending so many days at the company, she had also come to realize that Ye Ling hadn't sent her to learn the ropes from the bottom at all. Ye Ling was simply worried she'd be bored at home alone and wanted her by her side. Since Ye Ling was too busy to properly look after her, she had been placed in the secretariat.

Her former life was drifting further and further away. The elderly men and women around her were aging day by day, their numbers dwindling each passing year. The senior apprentice brothers and sisters who had been quite young in her childhood were now solidly middle-aged, with children already in high school or university. The child of her Eldest Apprentice Brother was only a few years younger than her, yet towered over her by a full head and was forced to address her respectfully as "Shigu"—Little Apprentice Aunt. He deliberately swallowed the "Little" part of "Little Apprentice Aunt." Absolutely incorrigible.

In the morning, everyone had a lively gathering at her master's house. In the afternoon, they moved the party to her art studio.

Chu Ci had managed the studio exceptionally well, implementing many operational improvements.

When the topic shifted to the studio's payment methods, one of the old gentlemen chuckled and said to her, "When you're around, we never worried about you lacking funds—only about whether you were actually at the studio." Everyone voiced no objections to the practice of settling accounts monthly at the start of each month.

Wen Zhengyu had only taken one day off. The next day, she returned to playing wallflower at Ye Ling's company, where she finally encountered the legendary Vice Chairman Xu.

Vice Chairman Xu appeared to be in his late thirties, even more meticulous about his attire and appearance than Lian Xin, presenting the very image of a successful career. He had just returned from Shanghai, and reportedly, the business deal he had negotiated would be enough to sustain the company for three years.

Secretary Ji came once more to report the latest gossip to Wen Zhengyu: "Word around the company is that this deal Vice Chairman Xu secured could significantly boost his bid for the chairman position." She was quite worried that her own boss might be on the verge of being toppled. If the big boss fell, a low-level secretary like her could easily be swept out the door in the aftermath—how would she manage her monthly mortgage? She even asked Wen Zhengyu if she had any inside information, deliberating whether she should start sending out her resumé.

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Is your mortgage pressure really that severe?"

Secretary Ji replied, "Yeah, I financed a pre-construction property. The building isn't even finished yet. I'm paying the monthly mortgage while also paying rent, so over two-thirds of my monthly salary goes to housing costs. But that's a worry someone like you probably wouldn't understand. Hey, speaking of which, I heard someone mention the reason you wrote on your leave slip was to wish your master's wife a happy birthday. News has spread all over the company."

Wen Zhengyu looked completely baffled. "What's there to spread around about that?" Had the office workers truly reached such a level of boredom?

Secretary Ji was speechless. She said, "Never heard of anyone taking leave for their master's wife's birthday." Privately, some people were saying much nastier things; some even suggested there was something going on with the master.

Wen Zhengyu felt even more bewildered. At her master's place, the three annual festivals and two birthday observances were absolutely mandatory. She knew Secretary Ji meant well in warning her, and the person spreading rumors wasn't Secretary Ji, so she couldn't very well argue. She could only manage a noncommittal "Oh."

The two of them were right in the middle of gossiping when there was a gentle knock on the office door. Immediately after, Vice Chairman Xu strode in briskly, beaming. "Miss Zhengyu!" he called out, heading straight for Wen Zhengyu and extending his hand.

Wen Zhengyu hurriedly rose and extended her own hand to exchange formal greetings with Vice Chairman Xu.

Vice Chairman Xu said with a smile, "I spotted you just now, was about to greet you, but you turned and left right away."

Wen Zhengyu replied with a smile, "I saw you were busy and didn't dare disturb you."

Vice Chairman Xu chuckled merrily. "Not busy, not busy at all. Seeing you, even matters of monumental importance must be set aside temporarily."

Wen Zhengyu smiled and was just about to exchange more pleasantries when she noticed Ye Ling appearing in the doorway.

Ye Ling called out, "Old Xu, we're discussing business. Where have you wandered off to?"

Vice Chairman Xu clicked his tongue. "Ah, Chairman Ye, I was just chatting for a moment."

Ye Ling said, "What's there to chat about? Don't disturb her work. Quickly, we're all waiting for you."

Vice Chairman Xu drew a large red invitation card from the inner pocket of his suit and handed it to Wen Zhengyu. "My engagement banquet. Miss Zhengyu, you absolutely must honor me with your presence."

Wen Zhengyu accepted the invitation, smiling as she replied, "Certainly."

Vice Chairman Xu grinned. "Then I shall go attend to business." He added with a teasing remark, "Today I've finally seen with my own eyes that our Chairman..." Before he could finish, Ye Ling grabbed his arm and dragged him out. He yelped, "Hey, hey, hey! Gentle words, please! No need for manhandling!"

Ye Ling gave a couple of "heh heh" laughs, her tone laced with unmistakable threat. "My tendency to resort to action at the slightest disagreement is hardly a recent development." She ground her teeth, her whole demeanor resembling that of a mother hen fiercely protecting her chick.

Vice Chairman Xu hastily said, "Hey, no, no, no. I was just getting acquainted. I'm practically a family man."

The two of them, jesting and chuckling, disappeared into the Chairman's office.

Wen Zhengyu watched as Ye Ling hauled Vice Chairman Xu away, noting that the company rumors were vastly different from what she observed firsthand. She glanced again at Vice Chairman Xu's engagement party invitation and wished very much that she could hand out such invitations herself. Sensing that Secretary Ji beside her seemed a bit off, she turned her head to find Secretary Ji staring at her with a face full of astonishment. She asked, "What's wrong?"

Secretary Ji held back for several seconds before asking, "You're Chairman Ye's legitimate girlfriend, right?" Her gaze shifted between the invitation in Wen Zhengyu's hand and the way Chairman Ye and Vice Chairman Xu had just treated her, concluding that no other explanation would make sense.

Wen Zhengyu felt that her relationship with Ye Ling was even closer than that of a legitimate girlfriend, but Secretary Ji's question put her in a position where she couldn't very well argue the point. She could only give a somewhat reluctant "Mm." Seeing that Secretary Ji was worried about losing her job and being unable to pay her mortgage, she offered some reassurance: "Don't worry about the job situation. There probably won't be any major upheavals." She observed Vice Chairman Xu's visibly cheerful demeanor, coupled with Ye Ling's cordial attitude—it didn't seem at all like the two were about to engage in a power struggle. Even if the chairman were to change, Ye Ling would still be the majority shareholder. Any resulting changes wouldn't reach down to a minor secretary.

Compared to trusting what others in the company were saying, Secretary Ji was far more inclined to believe Wen Zhengyu's insider information. Reassured, she shelved any plans to circulate her resumé. She found it extremely puzzling that Wen Zhengyu would actually end up doing odd jobs in the secretariat, but she was also aware that too much prying would become annoying, so tactfully, she pretended not to know about the relationship between Wen Zhengyu and Chairman Ye.

Nevertheless, whenever she heard any rumors, she still made a point of informing Wen Zhengyu.

Aside from marveling that the water content of these office rumors was so high as to practically constitute slander, Wen Zhengyu simply let the hearsay about her pass.

Amidst the swirling rumors and murmuring, the company welcomed the Shareholders' Meeting.

The meeting was held in the company's main conference room.

When she arrived at the company in the morning, the secretaries in the secretariat were already bustling about. As she entered the office, she ran into Dong Yuan, who stepped back two paces to let her through, cheerfully wished her a "Good morning," and slipped two boxes of celebratory candies into her hands.

Wen Zhengyu glanced at the candy, then at Dong Yuan, quite taken aback. "Married? Congratulations."

Dong Yuan beamed. "Yes. I requested both my annual leave and marriage leave together. CEO Ye granted me a nice long vacation." He had requested the leave while Wen Zhengyu was present, but at the time, she had been very ill and groggy. He estimated she might not have paid much attention. "You were still sick when I applied, so the boss handed over your red envelope along with hers." He expressed his thanks to Wen Zhengyu with joyful countenance. He worked hard, and his boss was extremely generous to him, giving him two particularly substantial red envelopes.

Wen Zhengyu uttered several more congratulations before Dong Yuan hurried off to attend to his duties.

Wen Zhengyu placed the two boxes of wedding candies on her desk. After a moment's thought, she took a photo and sent it to Ye Ling via her chat application.

Moments later, Ye Ling replied with a single message: "Come marry me, and you'll have wedding candies to hand out."

Wen Zhengyu sent back a line of ellipses to Ye Ling: "......" She found that the word 'reserve' had completely vacated Ye Ling's vocabulary.

She did want to get married, but the betrothal gifts weren't ready yet.

Around ten o'clock, Secretary Ji came to inform her that the shareholders had arrived.

Ye Ling had long since prepared all the materials for the shareholders' meeting. Shareholder meetings were exclusively the shareholders' business, having nothing to do with lowly secretaries like herself. Wen Zhengyu responded with an "Oh" and continued pondering her betrothal gifts.

Seeing that Secretary Ji hadn't left, she looked up and asked, "Is there something else?"

Secretary Ji leaned in closer to Wen Zhengyu. "Just now, I overheard two shareholders talking about Chairman Ye. They said she was absent for months, and as soon as she comes back to the company, she brings her... uh... lover to work... and they said they want to nominate Vice Chairman Xu as the new chairman."

After hearing these rumors and murmurs for so many days, Wen Zhengyu had grown entirely accustomed to them. Even though these words came from the mouths of shareholders, she basically didn't take them seriously anymore. Not all shareholders were equal.

The sound of Ye Ling's footsteps approached, followed by Ye Ling knocking on the door. "Zhengyu, let's go. Time for the meeting."

Wen Zhengyu stared in astonishment. "What meeting?"

Ye Ling replied, "The Shareholders' Meeting."

Wen Zhengyu was even more taken aback. "I'm not a shareholder." Shareholders' meetings contained a great deal of high-level confidential information; secretaries weren't permitted to attend.

Ye Ling glanced at the dumbfounded Wen Zhengyu. "Just come and listen."

Wen Zhengyu protested, "Wouldn't that be inappropriate?"

Ye Ling said, "Your shareholders' meetings have always been attended by me on your behalf. What's there to be inappropriate about? Come on, don't keep them waiting."

Wen Zhengyu asked, "Do I need to prepare anything or bring anything?"

Ye Ling replied, "Grab some paper and a pen. If there's anything you don't understand, jot it down. I'll explain it to you thoroughly later."

Wen Zhengyu retrieved a notepad and pen from her drawer and followed Ye Ling out.

The two entered the main conference room. Ye Ling pulled out a chair for Wen Zhengyu, seating her right next to herself. She rolled up her sleeves, opened her laptop, and first greeted everyone present.

A shareholder seated at the far end of the table quipped, "My, oh my. Chairman Ye really does dote on her... companion. Never forgets to bring her everywhere she goes." His eyes swept condescendingly up and down Wen Zhengyu. "I've heard that for the sake of this soulmate of hers, Chairman Ye has... well... 'neglected the morning court' ever since."

Ye Ling shot the shareholder a sidelong glance, her smile not reaching her eyes. "Director Jin, my presence or absence from the company has never delayed your dividend payouts."

Director Jin replied, "That's true. The real work is done by Vice Chairman Xu and General Manager Zhang anyway."

Vice Chairman Xu interjected, "Director Jin, everything I've handled falls squarely within my duties."

Director Jin said, "Vice Chairman Xu is too modest. However, I do have a question. I recall that this... Miss Wen, is it? She's not a shareholder of our company, correct? Therefore, you have no qualification to be seated here."

Ye Ling leaned back in her chair. "So, the rampant rumors about replacing the chairman originated with you," she said, looking leisurely at Director Jin. "Well, then, how about I step down and hand the chairman position to you?"

Director Jin declared, "I am nominating Vice Chairman Xu for the position of chairman."

Three other minor shareholders chimed in with their agreement, heaping praise on the business deal Vice Chairman Xu had just secured for the company.

Wen Zhengyu watched, somewhat stunned by the spectacle. This situation closely resembled the rumors, yet was markedly different from what Ye Ling had described.

Vice Chairman Xu pointed at them, then pointed at the seat where Ye Ling was sitting. "If you lot want to be chairman, then go ahead and step up yourselves. Don't drag me into this. I'm busy planning an engagement and wooing a wife. I've no time to get involved in these schemes of yours. Ah, General Manager Zhang, if you're interested, be my guest."

The portly General Manager Zhang waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no. Chairman Ye is capable and hardworking. She's young and in the prime of her career. I'm old, can't handle the grind anymore." He was the first to raise his hand in a show of support. "I vote for Ye Ling as Chairman."

Vice Chairman Xu raised his hand. "I vote for Ye Ling as Chairman."

The minor shareholders immediately turned their gazes toward Vice Chairman Xu and General Manager Zhang, exclaiming, "Vice Chairman Xu! General Manager Zhang! A cooked duck, and you're just pushing it away?"

Director Zhao declared, "This Ye Ling took months off work, offended people everywhere you look, and just last month, I even heard someone was investigating her. With her as chairman, she'll drag us all down with her. Moreover, she's a woman, and she brings another woman into the company to stir up trouble and chaos. What kind of image does that present?"

Director Jin added, "Chairman Ye, this isn't about me targeting you personally. It's about the sheer number of enemies you've made. Your stepping down would be better for all of us." He then glanced at Wen Zhengyu. "While this is indeed your private matter and none of our business, still... bringing her into the company... it truly damages the group's image."

Director Yu spoke next. "Chairman Ye, I heard that late last year, you formed a separate company to take on a project and made a huge profit. As chairman, how could you prioritize that over the interests of us shareholders?"

Ye Ling nodded. "Fine. How about this, then: either you all withdraw your shares, or I withdraw mine. If you withdraw, I'll buy you out at thirty percent above market price. If I withdraw, I won't demand a high price from you. Just compensate me at the current market rate for my forty-two percent stake. You can take it over."

The minor shareholders all turned to look toward Vice Chairman Xu.

Vice Chairman Xu said, "Your appetites are too big. You go ahead and take over. I simply can't afford to."

They then looked at General Manager Zhang.

The portly General Manager Zhang pointed at Ye Ling. "I hold twenty-six percent of the shares, and I vote for Chairman Ye to continue serving. I have no interest in your shares either. If you want to divest, why don't you ask Miss Wen if she has any interest in acquiring them?"

Director Yu sneered, "How much money could she possibly have?"

Ye Ling closed her laptop and gazed leisurely at the four minor shareholders.

Director Jin, sensing a hidden implication in General Manager Zhang's words, had a sudden thought. Sizing up Wen Zhengyu, he said, "Chairman Ye, you wouldn't be thinking of funding Miss Wen to push us out, would you?"

Ye Ling replied, "You've done all the talking—what's left for me to say? The targets set last year were exceeded. The dividends you were entitled to were distributed to your accounts without a single cent missing."

Previous Table of Contents Next