"I understand, President Pei. I'll find a way to repay the losses from this time and before as soon as possible. I'm feeling unwell right now and probably can't handle the afternoon's work. Please approve my leave."
Her pale face and weak voice stirred a hint of pity. Pei Shaoze initially wanted to refuse, but when he looked up and caught sight of her state, he opened his mouth but said nothing, merely nodding slightly.
"How did it go?"
Yan Xin was still waiting outside. Seeing her come out, he breathed a sigh of relief—at least Pei Shaoze hadn't kept her in the conference room to berate her for hours.
Su Banxia forced a faint smile at him. "It's nothing."
What else could she do? At worst, she'd be fired, which would actually suit her wishes. Unfortunately, Pei Shaoze wouldn't let her leave that easily.
Without waiting for Yan Xin's reply, she headed straight back to the office. Her mood was barely held together; she feared that staying any longer at Dingsheng would only make her feel worse.
Assuming she was returning to work, everyone was surprised when she soon came out with her bag and headed downstairs, not looking like she was fetching documents from other floors.
The staff watched her leave the company, murmuring among themselves.
"Is she getting fired?"
"Can't be, right? President Pei cares about her so much."
"Maybe, since she really messed up big this time."
The gossip leaned toward Su Banxia being dismissed. Some were happy, others worried. Zhang Shanshan was naturally thrilled—if Su Banxia left the company, no one would compete with her for President Yan!
Yan Xin couldn't believe Pei Shaoze had fired her. He clearly liked Su Banxia—how could he let her leave Dingsheng!
Forgetting Pei Shaoze's earlier words, he rushed back into the conference room, where Pei Shaoze was just getting up to leave.
"Did you fire Su Banxia?"
His face was full of indignation. If Pei Shaoze really had fired her, he'd have to seriously question whether Pei Shaoze had lost his mind.
Pei Shaoze glanced at him. "What do you think?"
Yan Xin, seeing his half-smile, was confused. "You know best what you feel for Banxia. So why are you always the one who hurts her the most?"
If the child weren't Pei Shaoze's, he'd want to step in and protect Su Banxia himself.
"When someone makes a mistake, they deserve punishment. Otherwise, where's the order? If President Yan has so much free time to bother me, then you can handle this contract."
Pei Shaoze didn't want to argue further. He dropped a contract and left, leaving Yan Xin no room to refuse.
The sudden contract annoyed Yan Xin. He'd come to seek justice for Su Banxia, only to end up taking on a contract for Pei Shaoze. Thinking about the workload, he felt even worse.
He flipped through it casually, and when he saw the partner, he froze. Wasn't this the same partner from the contract Su Banxia had handled? So the collaboration hadn't ended because she lost the contract?
Reading on, he saw everything was handwritten by Pei Shaoze, much more streamlined than the original. The person in charge column clearly bore Su Banxia's name—the collaboration was going smoothly!
He should have guessed. Pei Shaoze was always shrewd at work; he wouldn't let go of such a profit.
This revelation stunned him. It seemed Pei Shaoze couldn't have fired her!
Delighted, he was willing to organize the contract.
Meanwhile, Su Banxia had just left the company when she received a call from Lin Tongze. She smiled wryly and pressed the answer button.
"Banxia, where are you?"
One sentence told her he knew everything.
Su Banxia wasn't surprised. She'd long known he had people at Dingsheng, but since everything was normal and not harmful to the company, she'd let it slide.
She shook her head. "Hmm, did your informant tip you off again?"
She joked, though even if it were true, she understood Lin Tongze.
Lin Tongze didn't respond to her joke, his tone serious. "Where are you? I'll pick you up."
"At the Dingsheng building."
After hanging up, Su Banxia decided not to move, waiting downstairs for Lin Tongze to arrive.
Back in his office, Pei Shaoze found Su Banxia gone. He approached the window and looked down, seeing her frail figure standing alone below.
Frowning, he grabbed his keys and headed downstairs.
Su Banxia didn't wait long before Lin Tongze's car arrived. He must have been nearby, or he couldn't have gotten there so quickly from far away.
"Banxia, get in first."
Lin Tongze got out and courteously opened the door for her, his movements elegant. Su Banxia smiled, didn't stand on ceremony, and got in.
As Lin Tongze's car sped away, Pei Shaoze's hand gripping the car keys was white with bulging veins.
Lin Tongze knew everything Su Banxia had gone through at Dingsheng. He understood her—she wouldn't do what she hadn't done. Besides, this matter had nothing to do with her, yet she'd been forced to take the blame for delivering the contract to him because of their connection. In the end, it was his fault.
"Banxia, maybe you should leave Dingsheng."
After a moment, Lin Tongze spoke.
He'd initially needed her help to infiltrate Dingsheng and investigate that matter, but now everything was clear. Yet Su Banxia remained trapped there, dealing with the unpredictable and domineering Pei Shaoze. He worried something might happen to her.
Su Banxia smiled bitterly. She wanted to leave too. Not only was her boss a lecher, but she also had to constantly guard against her child's background being exposed. She'd rather not earn the kids' milk money at Dingsheng, but now she couldn't leave even if she wanted to.
"If leaving were that easy, I'd have done it long ago."
Her eyes were full of bitterness. Ever since joining Dingsheng, it felt like falling into a pit.
The car suddenly stopped by the roadside, and Lin Tongze's face showed a hint of anger. "What are you worried about?"
He genuinely couldn't understand what reason she had for being unable to leave Dingsheng—unless she'd really developed feelings for Pei Shaoze.
Lin Tongze had never been angry with her. Seeing his expression, Su Banxia dared not hide the truth anymore.
"I owe President Pei a huge sum of money. I can't leave until it's paid off."
It was a messy debt, to say the least.
Lin Tongze was startled. Though he didn't know why she owed Pei Shaoze money, hearing it was such a simple reason made him feel relieved.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Don't worry, I'll help you sort it out."
He only blamed Su Banxia for not telling him sooner. If his people hadn't informed him today that she was being harassed, he wouldn't have known how much she was suffering under Pei Shaoze.
Su Banxia looked at him without speaking. She knew Lin Tongze always had her best interests at heart. If she could, she wouldn't want to trouble him, but right now, he was the only one who could help.
Meeting her eyes, Lin Tongze couldn't help himself and gently pulled her into his arms. Su Banxia didn't resist; instead, she found the light embrace very warm.