Su Banxia was troubled. If Pei Shaoze wouldn't relent, there was nothing she could do. But she had no idea how to explain this to Su Sinian.
Noticing the woman beside him had gone silent, Pei Shaoze found it dull and looked up at her. "What? So eager for me to cooperate with the Su family? Though you share the surname Su, as far as I know, Su Jin only has one daughter—Su Sinian."
His tone was dripping with contempt, with no regard for Su Banxia's feelings.
"President Pei, you misunderstand. I never intended to climb above my station. But cooperating with the Su family wouldn't hurt you, and it would put them in your debt. Why rush to refuse?"
Su Banxia pressed on. She still remembered the kindness Su Jin had shown her in the past. Now that he was in trouble, she wanted to fight a little longer—who knew if this fickle President Pei might suddenly change his mind?
She looked at him with a fawning expression, a flicker of hope in her heart.
Pei Shaoze stared at her for a long moment before finally dropping his disdain. "Su Banxia, singing the Su family's praises like this—could it be that Su Jin is your father?"
Even knowing he was joking, Su Banxia couldn't help trembling. "President Pei, what a joke. You said it yourself—he only has one daughter, Su Sinian. Forcing me into the Su family like this wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
Her expression shifted slightly as she grew serious.
"What's this? You speak so highly of the Su family that even their only daughter would pale in comparison."
Pei Shaoze didn't notice her unease and kept pressing.
Hearing this, Su Banxia felt a bit baffled. Was he actually praising her now? If Pei Shaoze hadn't rejected Su Sinian and refused to talk to her, would Su Sinian have come to her instead?
She stole a glance at him, her eyes full of resentment.
Suddenly, Pei Shaoze looked at her. Su Banxia quickly forced a smile, afraid he'd catch her displeasure—otherwise, she might end up working overtime again.
"If you want me to cooperate with the Su family, it's not impossible."
He changed tack, voicing the thought in Su Banxia's mind.
She was visibly excited, a far cry from her usual composed demeanor as Secretary Su.
"Really?"
She leaned closer to Pei Shaoze, her big eyes sparkling.
As she drew near, Pei Shaoze swept an arm around her, pulling her into his embrace. The atmosphere grew thick with ambiguity. "That depends on how you perform."
He toyed with a strand of her hair, his eyes clearly spelling out "desire."
His husky voice sent a tingle through Su Banxia. She quickly struggled to break free—if she stayed in his arms any longer, she'd be devoured in no time!
"What does this have to do with me?"
She glared at him, displeased with his recent behavior.
This matter had nothing to do with her. If the two sides cooperated, they'd both benefit—it wasn't like she, as a secretary, would get a cut.
Pei Shaoze caught the anger in her eyes and suddenly snorted coldly. "Su Banxia, don't forget your place. You're just a secretary. What right do you have to speak for others?"
His words were laced with mockery, making her face flush. "I..."
"You really think Dingsheng pays easy money?"
Before she could finish, Pei Shaoze cut her off ruthlessly.
"I'm sorry, President Pei. I am indeed just a secretary and shouldn't overstep."
Even though Su Banxia had plenty more to say, she held back. At Dingsheng, she was nothing more than a voiceless figure.
"Good that you know. But I still prefer the Secretary Su from the bedroom."
Finally, seeing Su Banxia's red-rimmed eyes, Pei Shaoze couldn't resist adding that.
"President Pei, you're joking again. The planning department still needs the documents I'm delivering. I'll head over now."
She grabbed the file and was about to leave when someone grabbed her. Before she could turn around, she was lifted by the waist and placed on the desk.
The buttons on her shirt's chest had somehow come undone.
"President Pei, this is the office!"
Su Banxia was panicked. Seeing Pei Shaoze like this, he was probably driven by lust again!
"Su Banxia! You're getting more and more out of line! So what if it's the office? Should I leave the door open?"
He gritted his teeth in anger.
This Su Banxia always managed to infuriate him!
"President Pei... it hurts... Pei... President Pei..."
His rough movements made Su Banxia wince in pain, but he didn't stop.
Until a piece of her clothes was torn off, revealing her shoulder, the whip marks left by Li Yi were strikingly visible.
"What difference is there between what President Pei is doing and what he did?"
Pei Shaoze knew who she was referring to, and his brow furrowed deeper. "Of course there is—you're my woman!"
He stared at her despairing face, a surge of anger rising in him.
Su Banxia let out a cold snort and stopped struggling, lying limp like a puppet as he handled her.
Seeing her like this, Pei Shaoze was furious. "Get out!"
He didn't look at her again, letting out a low roar. Su Banxia calmly took a change of clothes from the cabinet, put them on, and walked out without a word.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Su Banxia's pale expression, Fang Shiqing knew something was up.
Su Banxia shook her head and walked away.
"Yan Xin, this is yours."
Pei Shaoze tossed him a file and turned back to his office.
"A cooperation proposal? The Su family? Didn't he always refuse to work with them? What's going on?"
Yan Xin looked at the file in his hand, muttering in confusion.
At home, Fang Shiqing had already put the two little ones to sleep and was now heading toward Su Banxia's room.
She'd sensed something off at the office, but with so many people around, it wasn't the right place to ask.
"What happened? Did President Pei bully you again?"
Only Pei Shaoze could make Su Banxia this upset.
She shook her head and sighed. "Su Sinian asked me to help the Su family and get President Pei to cooperate with them."
"What? Didn't President Pei already reject them? They still won't give up?"
Fang Shiqing knew about the Su family's attempt to partner with Dingsheng, but Pei Shaoze hadn't given them any face at all.
Now asking Su Banxia to persuade President Pei—wasn't that putting her in a tough spot? If Su Sinian herself couldn't manage it, how could she be so sure Su Banxia could?
"So President Pei rejected me too. I just don't know how to tell her, and Su Jin was kind to me."
She lowered her head, not wanting Fang Shiqing to see her dejection.
Fang Shiqing felt for her, but this wasn't something she could fix with a few words. She could guess how hard it would be to get Pei Shaoze to budge.
"What about asking Lin Tongze for help?"
Fang Shiqing suddenly suggested. She knew about Su Jin's kindness to Su Banxia, but since Pei Shaoze refused to cooperate, the only one who could give the Su family a hand was Lin Tongze.
Hearing Lin Tongze's name, Su Banxia snapped to attention. How could she have forgotten him?
But the hope that had just lit up in her eyes dimmed again. "Will he agree?"
She'd always seen Lin Tongze as a friend and never asked him for anything. Asking him to help the Su family out of the blue—she didn't know if he'd say yes.
"He'll definitely agree. Don't you know how he feels about you? Get some rest early. Don't show up with dark circles under your eyes."
Fang Shiqing gave her a meaningful smile.