Once in the car and started driving, Lin Tongze looked at Su Banxia and asked, "Has Pei Shaoze suspected you?"
Su Banxia nodded. "He must have looked into my relationship with you. I don’t know how much he’s found out!"
At this point, she could only take things one step at a time. Turning to Lin Tongze, she said, "What are you planning to do next?"
Judging by his tone at the banquet last night, it seemed he intended to bring down the entire Pei family.
"After all these years of lying low, since I’m back, I’ll just keep fighting," Lin Tongze said with a faint smile. The relationship between him and Pei Shaoze could only end in conflict, no matter what.
Su Banxia wasn’t one to pry into others’ private matters, but recalling the photo in Pei Shaoze’s room, she couldn’t help asking Lin Tongze, "Do you know how Pei Shaoze’s mother left?"
Lin Tongze frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow at her. "The women in the Pei family are subtle—nothing like the scenes in palace dramas."
Su Banxia felt a bit awkward, not expecting him to put it that way.
Given the bad blood between Pei Shaoze and Lin Tongze, her first thought was that their mothers had once been rivals. After all, Old Master Pei had only one wife but two women by his side.
Since he didn’t elaborate, she didn’t press further.
Instead, Lin Tongze spoke up. "Pei Shaoze’s mother died of illness when he was very young. By the time my mother and I were brought into the Pei family, she had already been gone for years."
Su Banxia was puzzled. "So you and Pei Shaoze aren’t blood-related?"
Lin Tongze was older than Pei Shaoze. If their mothers hadn’t clashed before, it could only mean that Lin Tongze’s mother had been married to another man before marrying Old Master Pei.
Lin Tongze looked at her and said, "Pei Shaoze and I are blood-related."
Su Banxia was confused. "Then…"
"When Pei Tianlin was young, he knew my mother. Later, he married another woman for a family alliance, and my mother married someone else. After Pei Shaoze’s mother died of illness, Pei Tianlin schemed to marry my mother, but the Pei family never accepted her. Eventually, at Pei Tianlin’s birthday banquet, she was humiliated and later jumped off a building."
Lin Tongze said this lightly, as if telling someone else’s story.
Su Banxia had initially assumed it was a rivalry between Pei Shaoze’s mother and his mother, but it turned out the fault lay entirely with Old Master Pei.
"What are you planning to do next?" she asked.
He had never mentioned his mother or the Pei family to her before. Judging by his demeanor last night, was he planning to take over Dingsheng?
After a moment’s thought, Su Banxia said, "Lin Group holds a significant position abroad, but swallowing Dingsheng won’t be easy."
Lin Tongze sneered. "My goal isn’t Dingsheng!"
Su Banxia wanted to ask more, but then realized this was between him and the Pei family. She was just an outsider. Even if she knew more, what did it matter to her?
With that thought, she held her tongue.
The car stopped at Dingsheng. This time, Su Banxia didn’t try to avoid anything. Pei Shaoze had already decided she was a corporate spy. Whatever she said now was useless. Besides, some things would have to be faced sooner or later. And she hadn’t done anything shameful. With that in mind, she felt more at ease.
She said goodbye to Lin Tongze, got out of the car, and walked straight into Dingsheng.
At the elevator, she saw Yan Xin standing with his hands in his pockets, head down, waiting. He looked off.
She walked up beside him and said, "President Yan."
Hearing her voice, Yan Xin looked up. As soon as he did, Su Banxia noticed a scratch on his face. "President Yan, what happened to your face?"
Yan Xin curled his lip slightly. "Got scratched by a stray cat last night."
Under what circumstances would a cat scratch someone’s face? Su Banxia didn’t speculate. Instead, she asked, "Is President Pei here?"
Today was going to be nerve-wracking. Su Banxia had run through every possible scenario of what Pei Shaoze might do to her. Though a bit scared, she still came. Hiding was useless—she might as well face it head-on.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Su Banxia suddenly remembered Pei Shaoyin mentioning the Su family of West City last night. She turned to Yan Xin. "Do you know the Su family of West City?"
Her sudden question startled Yan Xin. "Why are you asking about that?"
Had she already found out that Pei Shaoze had sent him to handle the Su family?
Seeing his shocked expression, Su Banxia guessed he knew something. She looked at him. "What are you planning by linking me to the Su family of West City?"
"What Su family of West City? I don’t know anything about that," Yan Xin said, having learned to keep his mouth shut. Otherwise, who knew what trouble he’d stir up.
Seeing he didn’t want to talk, Su Banxia dropped it. If she couldn’t get answers from him, she’d find out on her own.
When the elevator arrived, Yan Xin smiled at her. "Here we are. I’ve got work to do—tons of stuff waiting for me in the office."
Knowing he was avoiding the topic, Su Banxia didn’t push. She smiled faintly, nodded, and let him go.
She got off the elevator and entered the office. Pei Shaoze hadn’t arrived yet. She tidied his desk, then returned to her own spot. After a moment’s thought, she opened her computer and drafted a resignation letter, printing it out. She planned to hand it in and leave if things got too difficult.
But she miscalculated. Pei Shaoze didn’t come to the company at all that day. She only found out in the afternoon that he had gone to France on business, leaving everything to Yan Xin.
She was speechless. As the president’s secretary, she didn’t learn about his trip abroad until the afternoon. What could she do? Follow orders, of course.
Still, it gave Su Banxia a moment of relief. But soon, she regretted letting her guard down. Compared to dealing with Pei Shaoze, she had forgotten that what she hated most was the trouble stirred up by the office gossips.
When Pei Shaoze was around, Su Banxia worked in his office, so she didn’t have to interact with the gossips in the main office. She only had to handle Pei Shaoze. But now that he was abroad with no return date in sight, she couldn’t stay in the president’s office. She was reassigned to the shared office, working alongside those gossips.