When Wen Baozhu came out of the meeting room, she didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief.
Before she even reached the door of her own office, she was stopped by A Yan who came from the opposite direction.
"Miss Wen, Mr. Fu asks you to go to his office when you have time."
As soon as these words were spoken, Wen Baozhu immediately became vigilant.
She responded with an okay, knocked on the door of Fu Lian's office, and after hearing the man's permission, she pushed the door open and entered.
Fu Lian was reclining in his leather chair, casually flipping through the documents on the desk with a lazy air, his eyes full of nonchalance.
Just back at the company, she had thought that there would be a mountain of work piled up on his hands, but he was still handling everything with ease, showing no sign of being flustered.
It seemed that even though he had been away from the group for some time, he was still well - informed about the progress and direction of each project.
Wen Baozhu closed the door and walked to the opposite side of the desk.
Before the man could speak, she decided to conduct a self - reflection first to ease the man's anger: "Mr. Fu, I was impulsive just now. I apologize."
Only then did Fu Lian raise his eyes and sweep his gaze across her face: "Why are you apologizing?"
"I was overwhelmed by my emotions just now. I spoke recklessly at the shareholders' meeting and told a series of lies."
"You're quite clear about your own faults."
His voice was extremely deep, and it was hard to tell his real emotions from his tone.
"I don't know if I should say you're too emotional or rational enough."
Too emotional, that's why she had stepped forward without hesitation when Li Wenshu was being attacked by those old foxes;
Rational enough, because after doing all that, her first reaction wasn't to make excuses or flatter, but to admit her mistakes frankly.
Fu Lian closed the document in front of him and tossed it aside. "You don't need to be overly nervous. I didn't call you here to criticize you."
Wen Baozhu was shocked and looked up in disbelief.
"On the contrary, I'm here to praise you."
He looked at her with a very gentle look in his eyes, with undisguised admiration. "You did the right thing just now."
Wen Baozhu thought Fu Lian was being sarcastic.
"If Mr. Fu wants to punish me, I'll accept it." Her tone was urgent. "I made a mistake in this matter. I disrupted Mr. Fu's plan."
"What plan of mine?" Fu Lian asked her calmly.
Wen Baozhu looked dazed: "To let the shareholders impeach Mrs. Li and make her release the shares of the Fu family so that Mr. Fu can smoothly..."
"You're wrong again, Baozhu." Fu Lian leaned back in his chair, stretched out his long legs, and waved to her. "Come here and sit on my lap and talk."
This was the office, not home. Wen Baozhu felt a bit uneasy. She looked back at the door.
Fu Lian lifted his lips: "What are you afraid of?"
Wen Baozhu gave in. She walked over and sat on his lap but didn't dare to lean into his arms.
This man was like a smiling tiger. Who knew if this moment of tenderness was just a prelude to his harshness later.
Feeling the weight on his thigh, Fu Lian slowly began to speak: "It's true that I want Li Wenshu to completely step down, but I have no intention of letting others share the Fu family's fortune."
Forcing Li Wenshu to hand over her shares and let the major shareholders fight among themselves, and then taking them over later, would be too inefficient.
It would be better to accept them smoothly, saving a lot of intermediate steps and being more worry - free and labor - saving.
"But I just took sides for Mrs. Li. I... I embarrassed Mr. Fu."
She was extremely nervous.
Fu Lian lowered his eyes. Seeing her absent - minded look, he couldn't help but smile. "What are you thinking? Do you think Uncle Ning is on my side?"
"Isn't he?" Wen Baozhu countered.
Fu Lian pinched her cheek. He liked to push the flesh on her cheeks together and watch her mouth puff up like a goldfish's.
She looked so cute and a bit stupid.
"The members of the shareholders' meeting want to take advantage of the situation, and Li Wenshu wants to defend her position. A fight between the two sides is inevitable sooner or later. I don't need to stir things up. There are already people eyeing the situation covetously."
He had just predicted this showdown in advance; it was just his foresight.
However, he hadn't expected that the usually conservative Wen Baozhu would step forward at this critical moment.
Fortunately, the result wasn't bad.
Instead, it surprised him.
Wen Baozhu looked blank: "Then what role does Mr. Fu play in all this?"
"Me?" Fu Lian smiled.
"Of course, I'm just an onlooker."
His tone was calm. "Since they regard me as a dog without real power, then I'll be a dog that never interferes."
When he said this, although his expression remained unchanged, there was a visible frost in his eyes.
Hearing him call himself a "dog", Wen Baozhu's heart trembled slightly.
She remembered the argument they had before. When she was extremely angry, she had blurted out, "Mr. Fu treats me like a dog." Hadn't it also hurt his feelings?
The apology in her heart didn't last long before Fu Lian spoke again.
"Seizing power from Li Wenshu by force won't work. She should have told you, and you heard it just now. I have no share in the Fu family's inheritance."
"Even if I snatch the shares from Li Wenshu, the shareholders' spittle would be enough to make me obediently hand over the real power."
By then, today's Li Wenshu would be tomorrow's Young Master Fu.
"Does Mr. Fu mean to make Mrs. Li write her will voluntarily?"
His gaze was very calm. "Without any accidents, I'll never be able to get the right of inheritance from her smoothly in my life, and she'll never hand it over to me."
Not long ago, his informant reported that Li Wenshu had recently been looking for an adopted son, seemingly wanting to be a godmother.
It was usually men who had this hobby. After gaining some wealth and power, besides their own descendants, they always liked to adopt a bunch of adopted sons and enjoy being called "godfather", as if they had endless descendants.
Women usually didn't have this kind of vanity, unless it was the flesh and blood of a close friend that they would love the son for the mother's sake and act as a godmother.
Li Wenshu had just been diagnosed with a serious illness and was in a hurry to find an adopted son. The meaning behind it was easy to understand.
Obviously, she really intended to give the Fu family to a trustworthy outsider rather than willingly hand it over to Fu Lian.
When mentioning this, Fu Lian's face turned cold.
"What should we do then?" Wen Baozhu couldn't help but worry. "If Mrs. Li really adopts a godson, won't Mr. Fu have one more competitor?"
"No." When he looked at Wen Baozhu, his eyes softened again. "Since she has such a plan, then I'll personally present her with a reliable heir. It can be regarded as my filial piety as a son."
Wen Baozhu sensed something wrong in his words.
"You did a great job today. Li Wenshu is besieged on all sides, and there are no of her confidants in the group. It was already a foregone conclusion that she would be in an embarrassing situation. But you, a little nobody, dared to stand up for her. I wonder how much she appreciates and is grateful to you."
Fu Lian's insight was sharper than X - rays: "She deliberately kept you behind. I'm sure it wasn't to criticize you."
Wen Baozhu pursed her lips.
It really wasn't criticism. Just as he had predicted, it was appreciation, gratitude, and an obvious increase in trust.
"You played this move well." He smiled and praised. "It's no surprise that she saw through that you were sent by me. But you've helped her so many times. Sooner or later, you'll touch her and make her let down her guard."
"What's the use of touching her? She won't love me for your sake and let down her guard against you."
The man's eyes were extremely gentle: "Having you is enough."