?
At its peak, the timing was about right.
He tidied up the things he hadn't prepared in the morning, finishing just as the people from China Southern Airlines arrived.
In the conference room.
There were about a dozen people in total.
But the key figures were just Pei Shaoze and Manager Liu from China Southern.
The two exchanged smiles and greetings, then cut straight to the point. The cooperation they were discussing involved China Southern's new project: technical inspection of wing safety.
Due to several recent incidents, China Southern had decided to entrust this task to the more professional Dingsheng.
Hence, the opportunity for them to collaborate here.
But Su Banxia was momentarily confused. The content of their discussion didn't seem to touch on the company's profit trends in recent years.
Still, this was the conference room. Su Banxia stayed by Pei Shaoze's side, listening to their conversation and jotting down details of the cooperation between the two parties.
After the meeting, Su Banxia followed Pei Shaoze back to his office and looked at him. "Mr. Pei, the people from China Southern seemed curious about Dingsheng's recent development trends?"
Pei Shaoze nodded. "Mm, they appear eager to understand the fundamental growth of Dingsheng over the past few years."
Almost instinctively, Su Banxia thought of the finances.
But during the meeting, Pei Shaoze didn't seem inclined to disclose Dingsheng's profit situation from recent years to China Southern.
She didn't bring it up further—it wasn't a big deal anyway.
However, Pei Shaoze suddenly mentioned Lin Tongze. "The Lin Group also seems interested in cooperating with China Southern. They've probably been looking for an opportunity to talk to Manager Liu recently."
Su Banxia was taken aback, instinctively looking at him. She saw his dark eyes fixed on her with a faint, probing gaze.
She blurted out, "Hasn't China Southern already made it clear they're cooperating with Dingsheng?"
Pei Shaoze curled his lips, his charming eyes almost devilish. "Has China Southern signed a contract with Dingsheng?"
"No."
Su Banxia shook her head.
What they discussed today was just about mutual interests. If a contract were to be signed, it would likely be delayed by a couple of days.
Pei Shaoze snorted coldly. "Promises without legal effect are usually used to fool the naive and foolish."
Su Banxia pouted.
This man was exceptionally arrogant.
"Knock, knock!"
A knock came from outside the door.
"Come in."
Pei Shaoze said.
The office door opened, and Yan Xin entered. He glanced at Pei Shaoze and Su Banxia, subtly observing them for a moment. Nothing seemed off.
He looked at Pei Shaoze. "The eldest son of the Ye family wants to see you."
"Ye Hengtian?"
Pei Shaoze frowned.
"Yeah."
Yan Xin nodded. "It should be related to the recent issues at the Ye Corporation."
Pei Shaoze lowered his gaze, paused for a moment, then said, "When is it scheduled?"
"Tonight, at Ye Mei."
"Heh..."
Pei Shaoze let out a low, slightly mocking laugh. "I'll take it."
Yan Xin nodded, glanced at Su Banxia with a smile, and left.
Su Banxia didn't know much about Pei Shaoze's relationship with the Ye family. What she understood so far were just rumors about a possible marriage alliance between the two families.
But recently, she had noticed more than once that Pei Shaoze seemed intent on weakening the Ye family.
As for why, Su Banxia had no idea.
In Yan Xin's office.
He stared blankly at a potted green plant for a long time.
Until Zhang Shanshan came in with documents.
"Mr. Yan, these are today's files, all sorted. Would you like to take a look and see if they need to be archived?"
Yan Xin snapped out of it at her voice, looked up, and gave her his standard smile. "Shanshan, you seem even prettier lately."
His gaze fell on her dress. It looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.
Zhang Shanshan blushed at his compliment, lowering her head slightly. "Mr. Yan, you're teasing me again."
Yan Xin shook his head, resting his chin on his hand. "No, you really look good today. That dress is lovely."
Zhang Shanshan smiled, her cheeks flushing deeply.
"Mr. Yan, if there's nothing else, I'll get back to work."
Yan Xin genuinely thought her dress looked nice today—mostly because it was pleasing to the eye.
Evening.
It seemed Su Banxia wouldn't be able to make it home in time to be with her two kids again.
She sat in her office, hesitating for a while, before finally calling them.
Su Hao answered. "Guoguo wants egg tarts. Bring some back when you come."
That kid, always starting with that.
Su Banxia paused, then said, "Xiao Hao, Mom has something to do tonight..."
"You didn't come home last night. You were gone all night."
Su Hao's tone was light, simply stating a fact.
He was truly her son. Without saying much, just a few words made Su Banxia feel incredibly guilty.
She struggled for a moment, knowing she couldn't get out of Pei Shaoze's plans. He had said she needed to accompany him to meet the Ye family's eldest son.
So...
Biting her lip, she apologized. "Xiao Hao, I'm sorry. Mom really has work. I promise I'll come home early tomorrow to be with you and Guoguo, okay?"
Su Hao didn't respond. Instead, Guoguo's childish voice came through the phone. "Brother, is that Mom calling?"
"Yeah."
It was Su Hao's voice.
"I want to talk to Mom."
Su Hao seemed to refuse, directly saying, "Mom doesn't have time to come home."
Su Banxia wanted to say more, but the call had already been hung up.
Clearly, the little guy was upset.
Helpless, Su Banxia sent a message to Fang Shiqing, asking her to look after the kids.
Fang Shiqing replied with a few messages.
"Spending too much time with him—aren't you afraid feelings might develop?"
Su Banxia: "..."
Fang Shiqing continued, "Falling for him over time wouldn't be bad. Then Guoguo and Su Hao could live with their biological father. That'd be nice too."
Su Banxia rubbed her forehead and typed back, "Don't joke around. I'll finish investigating Lin Tongze as soon as possible and leave Dingsheng."
Fang Shiqing had nothing more to say, just typing, "Good luck."
Putting down her phone, Su Banxia looked up at Pei Shaoze, who was reviewing documents. The man was handsome, with striking features and an air of nobility.
Already outstanding, he was especially captivating when focused on work.
Watching him, Su Banxia couldn't help but daydream. Her eyes traced his brows, his eyes, his nose, his lips...
Every feature seemed meticulously carved by God.
Her gaze lingered on his lips, and her mind wandered to their moments of intimacy...
"Seen enough?"
Su Banxia's thoughts were miles away when Pei Shaoze's low voice suddenly reached her ears.
Startled, she shot up from her seat.
In her haste, she knocked over her chair, which fell backward. She lunged to catch it but lost her balance and stumbled.
"Ah..."
Instinctively, she screamed.
She braced herself for a painful fall to the floor.
But then, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her sharply into Pei Shaoze's embrace. He looked down at her, slightly frowning, and uttered a single word, "Clumsy."
Su Banxia blinked a few times, then steadied herself and pulled away from his arms. "Thank you, Mr. Pei."
"Let's go.
Time to meet that eldest son of the Ye family."
With that, he strode out of the office.
Su Banxia watched him, momentarily dazed, before following him out of the company.
In the car, Su Banxia asked, "Mr. Pei, will it end late tonight?"
Pei Shaoze glanced at her sideways. "In a hurry to get home?"
Su Banxia didn't deny it and nodded. "Yes, you know I have kids. I didn't go home last night, so..."