During the meal, she focused on tidying up the clothes in front of her, and something by the bedside accidentally fell to the floor. She bent down to pick it up, feeling a hard object under her fingers. She pulled it out with effort—it was the contract she had lost earlier, now in her hand.
Fang Shiqing hurried over and, seeing the contract, quickly said, "Banxia, you... really misunderstood Shanshan." She thought Fang Shiqing had dropped the contract under the bed herself.
Su Banxia paused, stopping her movements. "You still think I’m blaming Zhang Shanshan out of prejudice?"
Fang Shiqing knew her character, but to her, this seemed like a misunderstanding. "No, Banxia, she never entered your room." That day, aside from when she changed clothes, she had been with Zhang Shanshan the whole time. Besides, Zhang Shanshan didn’t even know where Su Banxia’s room was—how could she have tampered with anything? Moreover, the Zhang Shanshan she knew wasn’t that kind of person.
"Heh, Shiqing, if I had done it, I wouldn’t risk angering President Pei just to drive a wedge between you two. I remember clearly—this contract was on my desk. It wasn’t you, and it certainly wasn’t Guoguo or Haohao. You know, between then and now, only Zhang Shanshan was there!" She laughed coldly, her words sharp and relentless, leaving Fang Shiqing speechless.
Her reasoning wasn’t without merit. Fang Shiqing didn’t know what to say now and could only frown as she watched her pack her luggage.
At the company, it was past work hours and Su Banxia was still absent. Pei Shaozhe’s face remained cold and indifferent.
"President Pei, President Lin Tongze asked me to give you this." The front desk receptionist entered Pei Shaozhe’s office with an envelope, speaking respectfully.
Pei Shaozhe was puzzled—when had he and Lin Tongze had such a connection? Tearing open the envelope, the first thing he saw was a check, followed by Su Banxia’s resignation letter.
"Fifty million. Heh, Lin Tongze sure is generous." He glanced at the check and tore it up without hesitation—he, Pei Shaozhe, didn’t lack that money!
"Did you get the check? I’ll inform you here, President Pei, about Banxia’s resignation. She may not be able to work for you anymore. That money covers what she owes you, plus the losses from that contract. You really misunderstood Banxia—she didn’t give me the contract." Just as he tore up the check, Lin Tongze’s call came through.
Pei Shaozhe’s face grew even colder. "Heh, President Lin is quite generous. My people—do you think you can just take them away?"
"President Pei should grow up a bit." Lin Tongze didn’t argue, ending the call after that.
Furious, Pei Shaozhe immediately strode out. "Yan Xin! Take people to the airport now!"
Yan Xin was startled by his intensity. "What’s wrong?" he asked, confused.
"Lin Tongze is taking Banxia back to France!" Pei Shaozhe said, already heading for the elevator. Yan Xin, not daring to delay, quickly called to assemble a team and drove off himself.
The entire airport was filled with Pei Shaozhe’s people, and flight information was being searched. Pei Shaozhe was frantic, calling Su Banxia’s phone, but it was still off.
Lin Tongze had just entered the airport with the three of them when they were stopped. He felt a bit caught off guard—he should have had the check and Banxia’s resignation letter delivered after the plane took off.
Seeing Pei Shaozhe’s dark expression, Su Banxia felt a pang of guilt. "President Pei... didn’t you get my resignation letter?" She knew Lin Tongze had already settled the money she owed Pei Shaozhe, but seeing his large group of men, she worried about what this man might do.
Pei Shaozhe didn’t answer her, instead looking at Lin Tongze. "President Lin is truly generous, throwing down a fortune for my people." That fifty million felt like an insult to him.
Lin Tongze remained unflappable. "You’re too kind, President Pei. Banxia isn’t your person. The money’s been paid, so please don’t make a fool of yourself."
Pei Shaozhe sneered. "Worry about yourself. Funny thing—on the way here, I took a look at Lin Group’s overseas situation. It’s probably in chaos by now." He had indeed considered targeting Lin Group to throw them off balance, but when he accessed Lin Group’s internal data, he found it was already in disarray. Seeing Lin Tongze’s calm demeanor, he clearly had no idea.
Lin Tongze couldn’t believe it. If something had happened to Lin Group, why hadn’t he received any news? He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "What’s going on with Lin Group?"
As Lin Tongze’s expression darkened, it was clear Lin Group was indeed in trouble.
"Come with me!" Pei Shaozhe stepped forward and hoisted Su Banxia onto his shoulder. Yan Xin’s heart raced as he quickly took Guoguo and Haohao by the hands.
Guoguo and Haohao weren’t strangers to Yan Xin. Seeing their mother taken away, they had no choice but to follow.
At that moment, Su Banxia stopped struggling. From Lin Tongze’s expression, she could guess Pei Shaozhe was telling the truth—Lin Group was in turmoil. "Did you do this to Tongze?" She just wanted to know if Pei Shaozhe was behind it. After all, they were brothers—how could he do such a thing?
Pei Shaozhe was annoyed that she only cared about Lin Tongze. "Do I look like that kind of person?" he said curtly.
This made Su Banxia misunderstand, thinking he was guilty. "You took his check, so why—"
"Who said I took it? I tore it up. If I had actually taken that check, his company wouldn’t recover." He said it nonchalantly. That check meant nothing to him, but to Lin Tongze at that moment, it was a lifeline. He had never intended for Lin Group to collapse.
Su Banxia’s view of him shifted slightly, and her tone softened. "Put me down."
"No way! What if you run off again?" Pei Shaozhe refused outright. He didn’t want to chase her across the globe again.
He tossed her into the passenger seat and even buckled her seatbelt. Looking back, he saw Yan Xin approaching with Guoguo and Haohao. "You head back to the company; I’ll handle this." He picked up Guoguo and said to Yan Xin.
Pei Shaozhe placed Guoguo in the back seat’s child safety seat and then reached for Haohao, but the boy pushed him away coldly and climbed in himself.
Su Banxia noticed that Pei Shaozhe had installed child safety seats in his car. Such attention to detail stirred something in her.
As Pei Shaozhe started the car, Su Banxia realized they had nowhere to go. She had already moved out of Fang Shiqing’s place and couldn’t just shamelessly go back. "Stop at the mall ahead. I’ll take Guoguo and Haohao for a walk. We’ll head back on our own. The flight’s missed, and I won’t leave," she said quickly. She couldn’t let him take her back to Fang Shiqing’s—that would be too embarrassing. She could use the time to look for a place to stay.
"What’s there to shop for? I have everything you need. Why waste time?" Pei Shaozhe’s tone was still cold, but softer than before.