Third Uncle

'I need to see what the old nag is up to now. Father's health is not good and giving more stress will be adding fuel to fire. I should have a look' Shi Lian worries as she reaches her father's cabin. The secretary got up to greet her, she opens her mouth to ask about her but before that Shi Lian already barges into the office.

When Shi Lian walks inside the office, all who are in the room turn their attention to her. Her uncle stares at her and remembers that he saw her earlier. 'Why is she here?' He wonders.

"Shi! What brings you here?" Mo Zheng Yuan asks in a surprised tone.

As soon as he said 'Shi', the man looks at her again and he could not believe that the lady standing in front of him is her very own niece, Shi Lian.

The Shi Lian he knows is not the one standing in front of him; even the way she is dressed is not the style Shi Lian used to wear.

"Shi Lian! You are Shi Lian?" he gasps.

"Of course it's me uncle, have you forgotten me?" Shi Lian smirks.

Her cousins, children of Zheng Yi used to bully her when they were little; Shi Lian was a sweet, fragile, and pure-hearted girl and this was why she was an easy target.

"No! never! How can I forget my dear niece? It's great to see you after so many years. Your aunt, your cousins, and of course me, we all missed you" he lies, showing his fake concerns.

"Oh! Is that so? How lovely to know that you all missed me" Shi Lian says with mock disgust but covers it with a fake smile. He nods and asks her to join him to have a little talk with her.

Mo Zheng Yuan is a bit worried about her daughter because he knows how his brother's cousins bully her and Shi Lian always has been afraid of him. He was not expecting Shi Lian to barge through the door and talk with her uncle. He says nothing and just sits and watches what Shi Lian will do next.

"When did you arrive in China Shi?" her uncle asks.

"A week ago" she answers plainly. She used to feel afraid of him but not now, she needs to overcome all her fears and handle them like she has to.

"Brother you should have informed me, I could come earlier to say hello to my dear Shi Lian!" he turns to Mo Zheng Yuan and plays his role as a loving uncle.

"I wasn't feeling to meet anyone so I said father not to tell anyone about it," Shi Lian tells him confidently.

"Oh...I remember you were an introvert and always stayed alone with no friends by your side, I mean you used to go out less. You are still the same" he mocks her in a twisted way. Shi Lian did not comment.

"Anyway, what are you doing in the company? Came to take a tour of it?" he asks, a fake smile plaster on his face.

"I work here" she replies making direct eye contact with him.

Zheng Yi is taken aback, he can't believe what he just heard. "You work here? Since when?" he is curious to know everything about her.

"From yesterday" she answers nonchalantly.

"Brother, what's this? why is the necessity for her to work here?" he questions his elder brother.

"She is going to be the future Chairman of this company so is it necessary for her to work," Zheng Yuan says in his serious tone.

All the colors from Mo Zheng Yi are all drain out, his complexion is as white as anything.

Shi Lian let out a soft chuckle watching her uncle's shocked face.

"What? Are you out of your mind? How can you make her the Chairman?" Zheng Yi yells slamming both his palms on the desk of Zheng Yuan.

"I don't need your permission and besides don't forget that I am the Chairman now. Your behavior now is disrespectful towards me" Mo Zheng Yuan says coldly. Zheng Yi comes to a realization and apologizes to him for his outrage.

"Uncle, it's true what my father said and that's the reason I am working here," Shi Lian says with an evil smile.

"You barely know anything about the company, how can you be able to run it? You shouldn't have agreed just because your father has asked you to" he disparages. He is desperately trying to covet the Chairman's position but after knowing that Shi Lian is going to be the Chairman, he just can't swallow it. All his hard work will go to waste if this happens so he definitely cannot let this happen.

"It's true that I know nothing about running a company but Uncle you shouldn't underestimate anyone. Our Mo corp specializes in fashion and I have a degree in fashion and art so that will work as a benefit for me. and for your kind information, I was the one who agreed to this" Shi Lian says confidently. The way Shi Lian said with such charm and eloquence,

Zheng Yi is speechless. He was not at all expecting this side of her; her aura is different from before, much stronger and bolder.

Zheng Yi knows Shi Lian is a genius in fashion and it will be beneficial for her no doubt but he couldn't just give up and ran home, he needs to deal with her first.

"Oh, Shi! Don't take it wrongly, I am only worried about you. Managing a company is not a child's play, your father is working all day and night without getting much sleep. You are so young, do you want to stress over handling the company or enjoy your life?" Zheng Yi says in the hope to manipulate Shi Lian.

"I know what I am doing. I chose this for myself and I know its consequences. You should worry less, Uncle. You have wrinkles all over your face, your hair might be all white if you keep worrying about others" Shi Lian comments.

Zhang Hao chuckles hearing her say he is old.

Zheng Yi rises from his seat in anger but does not says anything. He controls his outrage by breathing in and out.

'So what if she got a witty tongue, she is still that dumb and fragile girl! I need to deal with this differently' he schemes.

"Brother, about the position…..I think I am a far better choice than Shi Lian. She is too young to run the company. I think-"

"I have made my decision" Mo Zheng Yuan ends the discussion.

'What an idiot! Looks like I have to use that method' Zheng Yi thinks. He never regarded Zheng Yuan as his brother; when he took over the company as the Chairman, Zheng Yi was seething with wrath.

He is just a shareholder of the company with lesser power than Zheng Yuan. He cannot digest the fact of losing to him. From then on, he has been trying hard to remove his brother from the position but never succeeded.

When he got to know about the company's fall out, he felt hopeful that maybe he can take over Chairman's position by eliminating his brother but what now? His daughter will run the company now? No way he could let this happen! The company is his and he will do anything to covet it!

"Uncle, you should at least have a little faith in me," Shi Lian says acting like a pitiful innocent child.

"I do believe you my niece but the company is also ours. If it falls out, we would be doomed" he says turning to him.

'Faith? Heh! Stupid girl!' "I know Uncle but I will do my best!" she boasts. Zheng Yi just smiles at her, a fake kind of smile.

"Alright then, I should go now." Zheng Yi takes his leave saying his goodbyes to them. after he leaves, Zhang Hao closes the door before they start saying anything.

"Shi, why did you came here?" Mo Zheng Yuan asks.

"I saw Uncle in the morning so I just came to say hello" she lies.

"Silly child…" he sighs, "I am not that weak to get bullied by your uncles."

"That's not what I meant, father" Shi Lian got up from her seat and walks to her father, "It's true I was worried but not about you getting bullied", Shi Lian takes her father's hand in hers, "But because of your health. I know how my uncle is, he would do anything to take on this position and if you start arguing with him about the Chairman thing, he would burst out just like how he did now. And besides, I wanted to see his reaction on hearing this."

"You changed so much. Proud of you my daughter" Mo Zheng Yuan smiles warmly at her. After watching her performance, he is more confident in his decision than before.

Looking at the father-daughter pair, Zhang Hao got emotional.

'Shi Lian has changed so much' he reckons.

"I should get going now or else Ruxi will kill me" she ran hurriedly exiting the door and ignoring the people walking around her.