SWNOVELS Chapter 49
Never in Shi Nuan's wildest dreams did she think Fu Xicheng would be such a scum. He was the one who wronged her for cheating on her with Shi Wei. How dare he blame her for what he did?
Shi Nuan glared at Fu Xicheng. "I'll forget what happened-this once. I won't tell anyone, but I don't want this to happen again." Shi Nuan left after saying that.
Fu Xicheng stared at Shi Nuan's back. The fragrance that he caught when he was hugging Shi Nuan left him in a daze.. He recalled a fragrance that was unique to Shi Nuan. When they were dating, he'd hold her hand for the entire day, and her scent would linger even after she had left.
Fu Xicheng clenched his fists as his eyes reddened with fury.
Shi Nuan belongs to me! She can only belong to me. Even if I don't love her, she's mine!
Shi Nuan went upstairs swiftly. She felt tainted by Fu Xicheng's hug. Hence, after putting her belongings down, she went to the restroom and scrubbed her hands aggressively until her skin almost peeled off. She only stopped when it started to hurt, and she exhaled heavily.
She told herself that Fu Xicheng had nothing to do with her, but she still felt hurt when she recalled the times she spent with him.
Fu Xicheng had been the man of her dreams ever since she was young. Back then, even before she started dating him, she'd always followed him around. Fu Xicheng was a few years older than her. When she was in junior high, all her attention was on the senior that would walk past her class during recess.
Shi Nuan didn't know what it was like to love someone back then. All she knew was that her heart felt contented whenever she looked at him.
On a fateful day, he had coincidentally saved her, and that was the beginning of their friendship. Before Shi Wei interfered, everything was wonderful.
Even though the Shi family ostracized her, Fu Xicheng gave her warmth. When she was eighteen, he was the first one to celebrate her birthday.
Shi Nuan's eyes reddened as the memories flashed quickly before her eyes. She still remembered everything, but the young man in her memories had changed. Turns out time was their biggest enemy. Right when Shi Nuan was about to leave the restroom, she heard people talking about her. "Did you know? Someone in the carpark saw Shi Nuan driving an expensive car to work!"
"Expensive car? It's just a Ferrari. What's the fuss about?" Ms. A was jealous when she heard what Ms. B said. "You know nothing about cars. Let me tell you. Rich people won't drive that brand!" "Really?" Ms. B smiled, "I think you're jealous! I heard that the Ferrari is the latest model and it had been modified. If she isn't rich, why would she spend money to do that?" Ms. B was slightly envious. "Ms. Shi keeps a low profile, huh?"
"Are you sure the car belongs to Shi Nuan? If it belongs to another man-"
"Shh!" Ms. C cut them off. "How dare you talk about this in public?"
"Why are you afraid? Can't we talk about her?"
After they left, Shi Nuan slowly exited her cubicle, smiling dejectedly. She hadn't expected to be the center of the office gossip, let alone overhear it in the restroom.
Shi Nuan checked her appearance before going back to her office. Some of her colleagues were already at work. When they saw her, the chatter died down. "Ms. Shi." "Ms. Shi, good morning!"
"Good morning!" Shi Nuan smiled and drummed her fingers on the table. "Pei, come with me!"
Pei had been working under Shi Nuan a year ago. However, while Shi Nuan was overseas, Pei was tasked to help other colleagues. Since Shi Nuan was back, she wanted Pei back by her side.
Pei was taken aback when she heard Shi Nuan's order, but she quickly collected herself and tidied the stuff on the table. "Yes."
Pei followed Shi Nuan into her office. "Ms. Shi, is there anything I can help with?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I have something to ask you. Are you willing to come back and work with me?"
Pei was stunned by her question, and her eyes immediately reddened. "I thought you won't want me anymore!"
Shi Nuan arched her brows in amusement. "What happened? Why wouldn't I want you back?" Pei was a meticulous assistant who had helped her a lot. However, since Shi Nuan had not been in the office for over a year, she was afraid that Pei wouldn't want to come back to work with her.
"You came back a while ago but didn't come to me. I was afraid you wouldn't want me anymore. Previously-"
"Shh!" Shi Nuan cut Pei off. "Let's not dwell on the past. Since that person was your superior, some things should remain a secret." Shi Nuan smiled and glanced at the files on her table. "I've neglected work for a while because of personal reasons, so I didn't have time to talk to you. I should be the one apologizing!"
"No, I've heard all about you, Ms. Shi. I think that those who were spreading the rumors don't know you well." Pei had been working under Shi Nuan for a while now, so she trusted Shi Nuan. "Plus, I often saw you together with Mr. Fu, so I know you're not that kind of person."
"Okay, let's not talk about personal matters at work. Since you've decided to work with me, we're in this together."
"Okay!"
"That's all. You can leave now. I have a meeting later."
After dealing with Pei, Shi Nuan skimmed through at her work schedule last week. She frowned when her gaze settled on a set of data.
In the conference hall, most of the senior management staff were prepared for Fucheng's morning meeting. However, Fu Xicheng was running late.
Fu Yuqing glanced at his watch and said, "Let's start now!"
"I'm sorry for being late." Fu Xicheng pushed the door open. When he saw everyone waiting for him, he bowed in apology. "I was held back by something. Sorry to make you wait!" "Since you're here, take a seat." Fu Yuqing shot Fu Xicheng a warning glance before announcing the start of the morning meeting. "Please start reporting your recent work!"
The executives started to report their respective department's progress. When it was Shi Nuan's turn, Fu Yuqing glanced at her and said, "Ms. Shi, you must be tired after that business trip. How are you adapting to the change?"
Shi Nuan narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Thank you for your concern. I've been back for a while, so I'm doing well now." Shi Nuan flipped the work log open. "I have something to report about our department. For the past month, Fucheng's sales have dropped drastically. Our orders are also decreasing. Have any of you realized this problem?"
Shi Nuan glanced at Mr. Li. "Was this in your report, Mr. Li?"
"Well..." Mr. Li was surprised too. He should be aware of this matter as it was impossible not to notice it. "That's impossible!"
"I'm in disbelief too. But this is what I just discovered this morning. Please take a look at this." Shi Nuan pointed out a few problems. "Shengyuan Group's orders suddenly declined, and the products sent to Shengyuan's departmental stores were returned too."
Shi Nuan paused before continuing, "Actually, it isn't that obvious for now. But if this goes on, I think we'll eventually run into trouble with Shengyuan."
When Shi Nuan mentioned the word "Shengyuan", Fu Yuqing and the other board members' faces fell.
Some present might not know, but the chairman and the board members were well aware of the gravity. All these years, if it wasn't for Shengyuan Group, Fucheng wouldn't be able to grow to this scale. Shengyuan's orders were their lifeline.
Although it was near impossible to discern if Shi Nuan's report rang true as of now, it was a warning to Fu Yuqing, nonetheless. Bringing up this issue in the morning meeting had humiliated Fu Yuqing and the others. "Ms. Shi, stop talking nonsense. We've been working with Shengyuan happily for years. Okay, let's move on."
Shi Nuan narrowed her eyes in confusion. She did not expect Fu Yuqing to react this way. Fu Xicheng shot her an upset look, hinting her to stop talking.
Shi Nuan raised her brows and smiled, "Maybe I saw it wrong."
After the morning meeting ended, Mr. Li approached Shi Nuan. "My dear niece, you can't make irresponsible remarks like what you did earlier!"
"Mr. Li, what do you mean?" Shi Nuan smiled. "I don't get it."
"Ha! You said Fucheng's sales are declining? What do you mean by that?" Mr. Li clenched his teeth and shot her a threatening look with his beady eyes.
Shi Nuan noticed it, but she took things seriously at work. "Mr. Li, you know what I meant. I won't elaborate on that."
Shi Nuan brushed past Mr. Li and left without a backward glance. Mr. Li glared at her back. "Ungrateful young brat!"
Mr. Li despised Shi Nuan, who always interfered in his business. If it wasn't for Shengyuan's issue that diverted their attention, the others would've realized something was amiss.
Mr. Li immediately made a call to someone. "Pay attention to the accounts!"
After returning to her office, Shi Nuan finally heaved a sigh of relief. She only found out today who was behind Fucheng's back.
They were backed up by the most powerful Fu clan in Jiang City, who was also Fu Chengyan's family. Fu Chengyan was Shengyuan's CEO, the heir of his family.
Shi Nuan recalled her conversation with Fu Chengyan. No wonder Fu Chengyan was so unbothered about Fu Xicheng. Turns out, Fu Xicheng's family was only an insignificant branch of Fu Chengyan's clan.
Fu Xicheng and his family depended on Fu Chengyan to survive. To put it bluntly, they were actually living on charity and financial help.
Shi Nuan had worked in Fucheng for quite some time, but the surfacing problems showed that their operation wasn't well-established yet. Fucheng would not stand a chance against Shengyuan.
But why did Shengyuan suddenly cancel its orders from Fucheng, thus retracting its support?
Shi Nuan gnawed on her lip cluelessly.