"Are you sure you want to stand so far away from me?"
Pei Shaoze's deep voice carried a hint of impatience.
Su Banxia cleared her throat and looked at him calmly. "President Pei, is there something that needs to be said so close?"
A smirk curled at the corner of Pei Shaoze's mouth. "Are you sure you want me to shout out all the things we've done in private?"
Seeing the serious expression on Pei Shaoze's face, Su Banxia figured that, given his personality, he might actually do something like that.
Reluctantly, she stepped a few paces closer to him.
Pei Shaoze frowned, grabbed her with some irritation, and pulled her directly onto his lap.
"President Pei!"
Startled and flustered, Su Banxia tried to stand up.
"If you dare move again, I'll take you right here and now!"
A shadow of gloom settled in Pei Shaoze's eyes.
Su Banxia was so frightened she barely dared to breathe, quickly resigning herself to being held by him.
Seeing her finally calm in his arms, Pei Shaoze couldn't help but smirk.
"What... what did you want to tell me?" Su Banxia asked softly.
"The main reason you went to sign the contract with Li Yi was because you were worried about me?"
He leaned close to her ear, whispering softly.
Feeling the warmth at her ear, Su Banxia instinctively pulled away.
"What happened with Lin Tongze before was my fault, so I wanted to do something to make up for it. I just didn't expect to be set up by someone else."
"Is that all?"
Pei Shaoze's hand on her waist began to wander restlessly.
Su Banxia's heart leaped into her throat. She cleared her throat and nodded faintly. "If not that, what else would President Pei think it is?"
Pei Shaoze breathed softly against her ear. "Call me Shaoze."
"President Pei..."
Sensing a dangerous aura, Su Banxia tried to break free, but the strength difference between a man and a woman was too great—she couldn't push him away.
"Don't make me repeat myself!"
A sly smile curved on Pei Shaoze's lips.
All of Su Banxia's defiance was instantly extinguished. She lowered her eyes and weakly murmured, "Shao... Shaoze..."
"How old are those two children now?"
Pei Shaoze's pitch-black eyes were unreadable.
"Five."
"When did you meet me?"
"Six years ago."
After obediently answering Pei Shaoze's questions, Su Banxia felt a vague sense of unease. Suddenly, she jolted awake and looked up at the man behind her.
"Are you going to tell me yourself, or do you want me to investigate and force it out of you?"
"President Pei is mistaken. Those two children have nothing to do with you."
Su Banxia forced down the tension in her heart.
"So, did Secretary Su conjure those two children out of thin air?"
Behind Pei Shaoze's faint smile lay boundless impatience.
Su Banxia's fingers instinctively curled toward her palms, her sharp nails digging deep into her flesh, but she seemed to feel no pain.
"President Pei, I spent six years in France."
The implication was clear.
"Are you Lin Tongze's mistress?"
For some reason, when those words left his mouth, Pei Shaoze felt a sharp sting in his heart.
"President Pei, can you let me go now?"
Su Banxia's cold, beautiful face showed no extra emotion.
"I really didn't see it coming. Behind that dignified facade, Secretary Su hides a restless heart, huh?"
Pei Shaoze's words dripped with sarcasm.
Hearing this, Su Banxia felt as if her heart was being torn open. She struggled desperately to break free from Pei Shaoze's grip, but he seemed determined to oppose her.
"I wonder how my skills compare to Lin Tongze's?"
Pei Shaoze leaned close to her ear, gently nibbling on her earlobe.
Su Banxia's sensitive spot was instantly ignited. Her remaining sanity drove her to push him away with all her might. "Pei Shaoze! Don't go too far!"
"Going to great lengths to get into Dingcheng Group, stealing information for your lover, and putting the company in a tight spot—who do you think has gone too far?"
Pei Shaoze's words immediately silenced Su Banxia.
He was right. Compared to her, this little punishment of his was nothing.
Even if leaking company secrets wasn't her intention, it still originated from her.
"Nothing to say? Does that mean you admit it?"
Pei Shaoze squeezed her arm hard.
Su Banxia winced in pain but kept her expression unchanged, gritting her teeth and enduring.
"Secretary Su's face is truly stunning. It catches eyes wherever you go!"
Pei Shaoze yanked off the glasses from her nose.
Su Banxia's lightly made-up, beautiful face was fully revealed to him. Though it wasn't the first time he'd seen her true appearance, Pei Shaoze was still taken aback.
"President Pei can punish me however you like. This is my fault."
Su Banxia lowered her eyes without any resistance.
"Fine then! The losses from Lin Tongze before were about 50 million, plus the 80 million from breaking the contract with Li Yi now—that's 130 million in total. I hope Secretary Su can come up with it soon."
Pei Shaoze's voice was icy, like a demon emerging from hell.
"I... I don't have that much money," Su Banxia said weakly.
"No money? No problem. You've got plenty of resources on you to earn it back!"
Pei Shaoze sneered mockingly.
Su Banxia knew exactly what he meant, and her face instantly darkened with fury.
"Is this how President Pei usually enjoys trampling on others' dignity?"
"In front of me, you have no right to talk about dignity!" Pei Shaoze said coldly.
"Right, someone as arrogant as President Pei would never listen to the words of commoners like us."
Su Banxia turned her head to look at him, a faint smile on her face.
"Su Banxia!"
What Pei Shaoze hated most was seeing her fearless face.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He stood up and pinned her onto the office desk.
"What are you doing?"
"What else? Fucking you!"
"Pei Shaoze, that's illegal!"
Su Banxia shouted in panic. The office door wasn't locked—if someone barged in, everything would be ruined!
Pei Shaoze paid no attention to her words. His large hands roughly tore away the barriers on her body.
"Pei Shaoze!"
"If you want to attract a crowd to watch, go ahead and scream louder. I don't mind."
A shadow of gloom settled in Pei Shaoze's eyes, sending a chill down her spine.