SHE-DEVIL 25

At Mei Xia's office.....

'. Take it easy!!'. She said as Fan Yin hugged her tightly.

'. Henceforth, you are not allowed to go anywhere alone!'.

'. Got it!'.

'. Do you care about yourself? What if that scumbag had his way?'.

'. I am fine!....stop worrying!'. She sat on the seat.

'. I was so scared when I heard you got attacked!'. He sat.

'. I didn't learn martial arts for nothing!'.

'. [Smiles] silly!'.

'.Where are Mulang and Chuxi?'.

'. They went to the construction site with Lin Ba!'.

'. The construction site?'.

'. Yes!'.

'. The project has been quite successful!'.

'. Future Group sure stands by its name; the designs are super exclusive!'.

'. I knew I made the right choice!".

'. Are you free this Friday?'.

'. This Friday?.....umm... I am not sure!'.

'. Not sure?.....are you that busy?'.

'. Of course!... I am busy with the project and also have to take care of other things!'.

'. Now I miss being in the States!'.

'. [Smiles]'.

'. How about going to a karaoke bar?'.

'. That's good!...but...I might not be able to make it tonight. Grandpa wants me to come home for dinner!'.

'. [Sighs]... Why does it seem like I have lost my friend?'.

'. I am still here!.... I will accompany you another time!'.

The wind blew gently and softly. Mr. Ài sat there on the rooftop, beside him was Mr. Rong.

'. Sir, about the meeting you called for...?'.

'. Did they agree to it?'.

'. Yes, sir!'.

'. Then that settles it!'.

'. Sir, do you think the board members would support your decision on this matter?'.

'. They have no other choice!....what do you say about this?'.

'. Sir, Miss Xia has been in the States for 16 years; the possibility of the board accepting her is very low!'.

'....and Shanggue?'.

'. The board is very difficult to deal with... Mr Shanggue has been handling the company ever since he graduated; the board would accept him!'.

'. Mr Rong, things aren't as simple as they seem! I trust Xia; she would never fail me!'.

'. I believe that whatever choice you make, it is always for the best!'.

'. Of course it is!'.

'. Mom!!.....mom!!'. Yuayua called.

'.....you!...you!'. She called the maid.

'. Yes, young madam!'.

'. Where is my mom?'.

'. Madam went out.

'. Out?....any idea where she went?'.

'. Not at all.

'. What about my grandpa?'.

'. He just went to the garden!'.

'. Clean up the living room; do not leave a stain. "

'. Okay, ma!'. Yuayua walked away.

At the Garden...

'. Grandpa!!'. She hugged him from behind.

'. Yuayua, you are back!'.

'. Grandpa, did you miss me?'.

'. Of course, I did!'.

'. Grandpa, why are you out here?....don't you care about your health?'.

'. I am fine!...it's too early to get off work. Why are you here?'.

'. Ooh!....brother, let me get off work!'.

'. Why would he do that?'.

'. Grandpa, I wasn't feeling well, so my brother asked me to go home!'.

'. It seems like Shanggue shows favoritism a lot!'.

'. Grandpa, don't blame him; he just cares about me!'.

'. How is working in the company?'.

'. Don't even talk about it....so stressful!!'.

'. You need to get used to it!'.

'. Grandpa, I have been in the company for some time now, and I can confidently say that my brother is hardworking....if you could give him a chance to prove it, you will be surprised!'.

'. Are you speaking up for him?'.

'. Grandpa, Shanggue is hardworking; he would do anything to make you proud!'.

'. I know Shanggue, he has been working hard for the past years, and I have seen what he has done.....compared to others, he is really good!'.

'. So Grandpa...'.

'. When you do things you love, you don't just need the skills and talent.....you need passion, inspiration, and confidence!....losing yourself halfway is equivalent to failure!'.

'. Grandpa, it would have been nice if you were a professor!'.

'. [Smiles].....Yuayua, I know working in the company wasn't your idea...!'.

'. You are right!.... but I have no other choice. I have to help my brother run the company!'.

'....what about your sister?'.

'. Sister?.....what sister?'.

'. Who else?'.

'. Ahhh!....you mean Xia?'.

'. Um!... Xia is a girl filled with spirit!....how about I make you an intern under the guidance of Xia!'.

'. Grandpa...I don't accept it!!'.

'. Yuayua, it will be of great advantage if you learn from her!'.

'. [Frowns]...I don't agree!'.

'. [Smiles]....kids of these days!'. He slightly nodded his head.

'. Boss, you needed to see how beautiful the buildings were!!'. Chuxi smiled.

'. Really?'.

'. Boss, Future Group is a good company!'.

'. Now I see why it is a top company!'. Fan Yin said strolling through the phone as he took a look at the designs of the building.

'. Boss, I have to say this,....we must not let go of Future Group no matter what!'.

'. [Smiles]...Future Group!....pretty good!'.

'. Xia, now that the project has gotten to great progress, we should celebrate!'. Mulang said.

'. Celebrate?....maybe next time!'.

'. Boss is very busy!...she won't have time for that!'.

'. The project isn't a problem anymore!...now it's time for me to deal with Lei company!'.

'. Speaking of which, Future Group is the top architect and design company, even if you take over Lei company it would be hard to meet up!'.

'. That's true!... Future Group is more like a stumbling block to any architect company!'.

'. So the percentage of Lei company making a comeback is at most 5%'.

'. So low?..... Boss, doesn't this mean that we don't have a chance of survival in this?'. Chuxi asked.

'. Survival?.....who's talking about survival?.. I only know a few things about architecture, if I insist on moving on like this, we might go into bankruptcy!'.

'. So what's your plan?'.

'. Plan?..... I noticed that 20% of the company's workers are more skilled in design, so I thought of changing the company!'.

'. Changing the company?'.

'. To what?'.

'. From a low architect company to a cosmetic company!'.

'. You have got to be kidding me!!'.

'. By cosmetic, you mean producing beauty products?'.

'. Yes!'.

'. Then the percentage of the company going bankrupt is 99.9%!'. Fan Yin said.

'. Like seriously?'.

'. That's not a good idea!... Lei company is already at the edge of bankruptcy, even if we wish to turn it into a cosmetic company, we don't have enough capital to do so!'.

'. Chuxi, Fan Yin, and Mulang....you guys worry too much....capital isn't it?...that's not a problem!'.

'. But Xia, even if we start up this cosmetic company, how long do you think you can hold on?'.

'. [Sighs].....when we get to that bridge we will cross it!... I have faith in this!'.

'. We have a main problem here!'.

'. What problem?'.

'. The board members as well as the investors!'.

'. [Sighs]'.

At the company's rooftop...

Shanggue stood there. He held a can of yogurt. Mr Hun walks to him.

'. Your Grandpa called for a board meeting, did you know?'.

'. A board meeting?'.

'. I guess you are not well informed!'.

'. Does it matter?'.

'. This board meeting matters a lot!....it might be about the company's stability so far!'.

'. Not how far but how well!'.

'. [Smiles]...of course not how far...so how well has it been?'. Shanggue turned to him.

'. [Sighs]'.

'. You failed several times to get a contract with Future Group, you lost to our rivals and we even lost 2 of our investors!....how well indeed!'.

'....'.

'. Did you know that ever since your sister came back your percentage of becoming the president dropped by 5% each minute?!'.

'. So what are trying to say?'.

'. Are you gonna let her have her way?....she is the illegitimate daughter, remember?..'.

'. [Sighs]...Xia spent 16 years in a foreign land, she has no idea what business is....and also do you think the board would accept an illegitimate daughter as their president?'.

'. [Scoffs]....most times our intelligence leads to our downfall!'.

'. Mr Hun, the board members would not let Xia become president....why then do I have to worry about these things?'.

'. Shanggue! Shanggue!.....you are right, I would have agreed with what you just said but,.....I realized that there is someone who is more powerful than the board and you aren't even in favor of him!'.

'. You mean my Grandpa?'.

'. Who else?'.

'. Though Grandpa is the chairman of the company, he is to follow the decision of the board!'.

'. [Sighs], dear Mr Shanggue.....Good luck then!!'. He walked away.

In the dining room. The family gathered for dinner.

'. Grandpa, I am back!'. Mei Xia ran to hug her grandpa.

'. Ooh!....my dear!'. He smiled.

'. Grandpa, how have you been these days?'. She sat down.

'. I am fine!.... I have Mrs Bai to accompany me!'.

'. That's good to hear!'.

'. How is the company?'. He turned to Shanggue.

'. Grandpa, the company is doing well!'.

'. Um!'.

'. Xia, I heard you have been busy lately!'. Lun Weishan asked her.

'. That's true!'.

'. You are a girl, you shouldn't carry all the burden alone, Shanggue is here, he will help you!'. She faked a smile.

'. Stepmother, thank you for your contribution, but I am not some weak girl, I do not need anyone's help!'.

'. Xia, what if you fall sick? Don't you care about Grandpa?'.

'. [Sighs]'.

". Xia, your mother is right!....you can't fall sick...you have Shanggue and Yuayua to help you!'.

'. You don't have to worry about me, I am fine!'.

'. [Smiles]...I know you, you are fine when you aren't!....how about letting Shanggue help in the project?'.

'. Even if a gun is pointed at my head, I won't hand over a single detail to anyone!'.

'. Xia, you can't say such things!'. Lun Weishan said.

'. A surprise is a surprise!...strangers are not allowed!'.

'. Mei Xia, haven't you been too much!!'.

'.....'.

'. Xia, you can't keep forcing yourself like this!'.

'. Grandpa, I thought this dinner was some kind of family reunion stuff!'.

'. It is dear!'.

'. If so, then business should not be involved!'. She stared at them.

'. All right, let's eat quickly!'.

'. Grandpa, I have a question to ask!'. Shanggue said.

'. Go on!'.

'. Grandpa, it's been a while since you visited the company,.....why are you suddenly holding a board meeting?'.

'. I can't just let the presidential seat be empty forever!....we have to make a decision!'.

'. Grandpa, the presidential seat isn't empty...Mei Xia took over the office without authorization!'. Yuayua said.

'. Xia, how can you do such!....why do you keep breaking the rules?!'. Lun Weishan yelled at her.

'. For someone like you...I don't think you have the right to yell at me!'.

'. I am your mother!!.... I have every right to correct my child!!'.

'. [Smiles].....I wonder what hurts you the most....is it the fact that I took over my father's office, or because I took the presidential seat?'.

'. You....!!!'.

'. And also, my mother isn't a mistress, neither will I be the daughter of a mistress!'.

'. That's a fact dear sister!'. Yuayua said.

'. And dear younger sister, I was referring to your mother!'.

'. .....you!!!'. Yuayua angrily got up.

'. You can't say such things, Xia!'. Shanggue stared at her.

'. Why not?... I told the truth![scoffs].....or am I wrong?'.

'. Xia, you are crossing the line!!'. Shanggue said as his mother cried.

'. Such a pity that she isn't an actress!'.

'.....'.

'. Grandpa, I have work to do, we can continue this dinner next time!'. She smiled and walked away.

'. [I will make you pay!!]'.