The female colleague stuck out her tongue. "Okay, Sherly."
The two tidied up the meeting room, placed paper and pens at each location, checked the projector and chairs, and then opened the meeting room door and waited at the entrance.
The security guard just informed us that Xu Lang has entered the headquarters building and is currently in the elevator.
Sherly watched as Xu Lang emerged from the elevator, surrounded by a large group of people. Among them were his newly hired special assistant, as well as senior executives from various branches and subsidiaries whom he had met before and those he hadn't. The CFO and business director from headquarters also rushed to Xu Lang's side, vying to show themselves.
This scene reminded Sherly of the emperor's morning court sessions in ancient times, which probably weren't much different.
There was one exception—Zhou Luming.
She remained standing by the window after Xu Lang appeared, only slightly turning her head to look in his direction. Her gaze was indifferent, detached, and cold, as if she were looking at a group of ants at Xu Lang and the high-ranking officials surrounding him.
Sherly paused slightly, noticing Zhou Luming's probing gaze directed at her. Sherly composed herself and nodded to her. Zhou Luming nodded back, a faint smile playing on her lips, like a lurking hunter plotting something in the shadows.
A group of people rushed into the conference room. Zhou Luming was seated very close to the front. Xu Lang was quite considerate of the future heir in front of everyone, arranging for her to sit on his right.
Zhou Luming idly twirled her pen, but accidentally dropped it. Sherly picked it up for her, and their hands bumped into each other. She quickly withdrew her hand. The perfume on Zhou Luming was light and subtle, which clashed with her usual style. This was not like her personality; it was more like the style of Miss Xu, who had accompanied her to the Zhou Group headquarters before.
"Thank you." Zhou Luming winked at her.
Sherly was startled. "No...you're welcome."
As she closed the conference room door and stood guard outside, Sherly looked at the sky outside and thought to herself that the weather might be about to change.
Sherly had no idea what the meeting's outcome would be, but as the "gatekeeper," she vaguely heard arguing inside. Zhou Luming's voice rose slightly midway through, as if he was somewhat displeased. The person she was clashing with was the administrative director of headquarters; she wondered who gave him the courage to confront the future major shareholder.
Sherly waited a while longer, and finally heard Zhou Luming say, "Then do as you please." Then the door behind her opened, and Zhou Luming came out. When he bumped into Sherly, who was standing guard at the door, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes. "Excuse me, could you please move aside?"
Sherly awkwardly stepped aside, watching Zhou Luming rush out of the conference room alone and leave without looking back.
It was only later that I learned that the executive director suggested that the largest office on the 88th floor—originally Mr. Zhou's office, which symbolized the chairman—be given to the acting chairman, Xu Lang.
This wasn't just a simple office reshuffle; it symbolized the transfer of power from chairman to chairman. Like the ancient practice of relinquishing the throne, the meeting just now coerced Zhou Luming into relinquishing control of the Zhou Group.
Isolated and helpless, Zhou Luming had no choice but to comply.
Sherly couldn't help but ask if Ms. Zhou, the security guard at the entrance, had already left.
The security guard at the gate replied that he saw Mr. Zhou's car leave, but it was carrying one more person.
Sherly knew that as an employee of the Zhou family, this was enough. As for who was sitting in the car, that was not her place to ask or concern herself with, as that would be overstepping her bounds.
At that moment, in the passenger seat of Zhou Luming's car, Xu Yan leaned back and asked, "Did you really throw a tantrum and storm out of the conference room? Did you go too far...?"
Zhou Luming raised his eyebrows. "I guarantee everyone will think I'm furious."
Xu Yan hummed in agreement.
Zhou Luming gripped the steering wheel. "Xu Lang is a workaholic, a narcissist, and also overly cautious. He goes to the headquarters office almost every day. His office is heavily guarded, and even a big shot like Sister Anjing couldn't break through the network security system... After Wu Fan was transferred, we thought that connection was lost, but I didn't expect you to come up with this method to make Xu Lang walk right into the trap. Xu Yan, you're too smart."
Xu Yan said, "It wasn't a very smart move, but it exploited Xu Lang's weakness—he was too eager for that position, so after he got the position he dreamed of, he was immersed in the joy of victory and easily overlooked potential dangers."
The long-unused chairman's office had been equipped with the most basic means of security—hidden cameras and listening devices. The cameras were pointed at Xu Lang's desk, allowing a view of his computer screen.
Xu Yan gazed thoughtfully at the scenery outside the car window: "Next, we just need to wait for him to introduce himself." Once they get Xu Lang's bank account number and even his password, they can follow the clues to find the big fish.
I wonder what expression Mr. Xu, who was so arrogant at the meeting, will have when he learns that his bank account has been emptied.
Xu Yan will wait and see.
"Where are we going now?" Zhou Luming asked.
Xu Yan gave an address.
Zhou Luming's eyes lit up. "You booked a car for me?"
"Yes, it's arrived. Let's go pick up the car. After all—I haven't given you your birthday present yet."
Chapter 81
===================
On the day they picked up the car, Xu Yan clearly saw starlight in Zhou Luming's eyes.
She excitedly sat in the car and said to Xu Yan, "This is the happiest and most at ease gift I've ever received since I was a child, because no one has ever celebrated my real birthday. Birthdays at the orphanage were very simple, and I don't remember much about them. Later, when I had adoptive parents, they didn't even remember that birthdays existed. I was very envious when I saw other people with their parents and friends."
Xu Yan: "None of your later boyfriends, girlfriends, or matchmakers celebrated your birthday?"
Zhou Luming replied casually, "They're celebrating other people's birthdays for me, not mine."
Xu Yan moved his lips slightly, because this day wasn't Li Ruo's birthday, but his own. "I don't know your real birthday, so I've taken the liberty of setting your birthday to be the same day as mine. I hope you don't mind."
“I don’t mind, because you gave me a birthday, and it’s the same day as yours. There’s an old saying, ‘I don’t ask to be born on the same day, month, and year, but I do ask for—oops, the last part is unlucky, let’s just stick to the first part.’ Xu Yan, I feel very lucky to share a birthday with you.” Zhou Luming started the car, and the 4S store salesperson set the nearest gas station as their navigation destination.
Zhou Luming drove a bright red, flashy Maserati onto the street.
“I rarely have anything that truly belongs to me, but now I have two at the same time.”
"Two different things?" Xu Yan asked back.
Zhou Luming hummed in agreement. "One is this car, and the other is—" She glanced at Xu Yan out of the corner of her eye and smiled gently.
Xu Yan understood what she meant, and pretended to look ahead, but unconsciously tightened his grip on his knees.
Stopping at a traffic light, Zhou Luming reached out and grabbed Xu Yan's hand, their hands clasped together. Her initiative made Xu Yan's face burn bright red; she felt so guilty she dared not look at Zhou Luming's face, much less her eyes. Her face was burning hot; she knew without even looking in a mirror that it was excessively red.
Although they couldn't openly announce their relationship, they tacitly began discussing their "secret romance." Although Xu Yan had been living abroad, Zhou Luming understood her inherent introverted and conservative nature. He knew she wasn't someone who would easily reveal her true feelings; she kept everything bottled up and wouldn't seek recognition for good deeds.
Zhou Luming thought to himself that it was fortunate that he had found and taken in such a wealthy and kind-hearted character; otherwise, he didn't know who would have taken advantage of him.
"Focus on driving." Xu Yan let go of her hand.
Zhou Luming smiled. "Yes, yes, as you command." He turned on the partition. "Where to?"
"Let's go home," Xu Yan said.
"Huh? So impatient? After dropping off the car, why don't you go out for a candlelight dinner or watch some fireworks to set the mood before going home?" Zhou Luming teased, deliberately steering the conversation in an ambiguous direction.
She knew Xu Yan wouldn't be thinking about such nonsense, but she just wanted to see Xu Yan's cute blushing reaction.
Sure enough, Xu Yan's ears turned pink. "There's food at home."
"Oh." Zhou Luming stopped there. "Let me make this clear, I don't eat what you cook. To be honest, you're good at everything, except your cooking. I think it's safer to eat out than to waste your time and energy."
Xu Yan said seriously, "I didn't cook."
Zhou Luming chuckled, "It's not you who's cooking; looks like you've called in reinforcements."
"Are you trying to trick me into revealing information?"
"Okay, I'm not going to tease you anymore. Let's go home quickly. I want to see what surprise you have prepared for me."
Zhou Luming's driving skills were always very steady. It was as if she had a living 3D map in her mind. After refueling, she abandoned the navigation and navigated through various streets and alleys before smoothly parking the Maserati in a public parking lot some distance from home. The two then walked home.
The parking lot attendant couldn't help but peek out of the security booth at the two women getting out of the car. He wanted to know who was driving such a luxury car to this dilapidated old residential area.
Zhou Luming strolled hand in hand with Xu Yan through the bustling crowd, oblivious to the surprised looks from those around them.
"After completing your commission, I plan to quit and settle down somewhere where no one knows me. I'll live a quiet life, have a dog and a cat, live in a house with a big yard, drink coffee, read magazines, and grow vegetables and flowers in the yard. That's my dream life," Zhou Luming described her beautiful future.
Xu Yan almost blurted out the question about what she should do, but after hesitating, she swallowed her words.
Zhou Luming shook the hand he was holding and whispered in her ear, "Now we need to consider buying a bigger house so that the two of us can live together."
Xu Yan was stunned, turning her head to look into the eyes of the person so close to her. Her gaze was sincere and clear, not like a casual joke.
"Are you taking me with you?"
"Don't you want to?" Zhou Luming frowned.
Xu Yan thought that she was still pretty even when she frowned and had a serious face, but she didn't like the way she frowned. She reached out and smoothed out the wrinkles between her eyebrows. "I will pay the rent."
Zhou Luming couldn't help but laugh when he heard her say seriously that she needed to pay the rent.
"Haha, you really can't take a joke."
Xu Yan touched his nose, "I often can't tell if they're joking or serious..."
Zhou Luming continued to hold her hand and lead her home, saying, "You're so cute."
Xu Yan's face flushed again. She felt that she often felt her emotions were about to collapse in front of Zhou Luming.
Once they reached the sixth floor, Xu Yan said, "Let's go to the rooftop."
Zhou Luming stood at the doorway for a moment, then narrowed his eyes dangerously at Xu Yan. "Oh, so the surprise is on the rooftop. You're not really going to set off fireworks, are you?"
Xu Yan felt awkward and uneasy. "No, fireworks aren't allowed in the city." But if Zhou Luming wanted to see them, she would take her to the suburbs. After all, she had mentioned it twice that night; she must really want to see them.
Zhou Luming's suspicious gaze made Xu Yan's skin crawl. Forced into a corner by her, Zhou Luming reached out and blocked Xu Yan between himself and the wall. This domineering posture made Xu Yan like a little rabbit cornered by a fox, froze in panic and didn't dare to move.
Zhou Luming pinched Xu Yan's chin and deliberately asked in a seductive voice, "Oh? If there are no fireworks, there won't be any messy decorations. Are you planning to win me over with a luxury car and a romantic dinner tonight?"
Xu Yan pressed his back against the wall like a startled prey, his hands practically carving a masterpiece out of it.
"I didn't think that much about it, I just wanted to celebrate your birthday."
Zhou Luming curled her lips slightly, knowing when to stop. "Let's go, let me see what you've planned."
Xu Yan had never been in a relationship, and Zhou Luming didn't expect her to come up with any romantic gestures. In her opinion, the fact that Xu Yan thought of celebrating her birthday and arranging a gift was already a sign that she had figured things out.
Pushing open the iron gate to the balcony, she saw not a candlelight dinner, but a barbecue grill and some marinated ingredients.
Zhou Luming looked at Xu Yan, then at his own custom-made dress, "Xu Yan, you're not going to make me wear this barbecue outfit, are you?"
Xu Yan said, "A bib can prevent oil fumes from spreading."
Zhou Luming covered his face, "As expected of you."
Xu Yan stared at her blankly and innocently, unsure whether her words implied happiness or unhappiness.
But things had already come to this point, so Zhou Luming had no choice but to follow Xu Yan's instructions. While expressionlessly flipping the beef skewers in front of the grill, he was stung by the smoke that rose up and forced to suppress his urge to cough and touch up his makeup. Zhou Luming asked Xu Yan to bring over a metal plate and eat some first.
Just as the two of them finally started to enjoy their meal, Xu Yan was about to say, "The ring you were going to give me the other day..." when she was interrupted by her phone ringing.
"Hmm? What's up, Lao Liu?" Xu Yan answered the phone, glanced at Zhou Luming, and said, "I know, I'll be right there."
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Luming said, "It's okay, I've already had a perfect birthday. I'll take you to the hospital after you put out the fire."
She picked up her car keys and coat and walked toward the iron gate.
After extinguishing the charcoal fire, Xu Yan looked at her retreating figure and said, "I'm sorry, but Lao Liu's father passed away tonight. They need to read their will that night, and as their estate administrator, it's my duty to step in."
“I understand and I get it,” Zhou Luming said with a smile.