SHE-DEVIL 32

At precisely 7 a.m. on a crisp Monday morning, the normally serene entrance of ZGDX Company was anything but quiet. A throng of paparazzi had gathered, their cameras at the ready, eager to capture the first glimpse of the company's new president.

From a distance, a Bugatti W16 mistrial roadster drove in. Flashes of cameras and the grunts of bodyguards were heard as they tried to stop the reporters from going closer.

Mulang dressed in a black suit came down from the driver's seat, his expression unreadable as he circled the car to the passenger side. With a gentle pull, Mulang opened the door, revealing a glimpse of a polished black heel stepping onto the pavement. Miss Xia, dressed in a white suit with silver accents came down from the car. Her hair was wavy as the breeze, and her beauty was not to be rivaled.

For a brief moment, the crowd was silent, captivated by her presence. Miss Xia's beauty was striking, her poise unmatched, and for those few seconds, it seemed as though time itself had paused. But the spell was soon broken as the reporters, driven by the urgency of their task, began shouting over one another, their voices merging into a chaotic chorus.

"Miss, what's your goal for ZGDX company?" A voice called out, desperate to be heard above the din.

"Do you think you can take the company to a higher height?" another shouted, thrusting a microphone toward her.

Miss Xia remained poised, her expression calm despite the growing intensity of the crowd. Mulang positioned himself protectively in front of her, leading the way toward the entrance as the bodyguards closed ranks around them.

"Miss Xia, can you have an interview with us? Us! Army entertainment!" A particularly persistent reporter from Army Entertainment pressed, his business card waving in front of her face as he attempted to break through the wall of bodyguards. Miss Xia glanced at the card for a split second, her eyes betraying nothing as she continued forward.

With the help of the bodyguards and Mulang, Miss Xia was able to escape the reporters and finally get into the company. The noise of the crowd abruptly cut off as the doors closed behind them with a decisive thud.

Miss Xia felt relieved and maintained her poise. The bodyguards stood behind her waiting for her move. Mulang stood beside her, continuously staring at her.

"Do I look good?" She awkwardly smiled at him.

"If you asked a few minutes ago, I would say yes!" He smiled at her.

"Then a few minutes later?" She asked with an unsure face.

"Of course not!" He dropped his smile. "You look all trampled!" He handed her phone to her.

She groans in frustration, seeing herself through the phone's front camera. "This is so messed up!" She sighs.

"How about I get you a new dress?" Mulang asked as he received the phone from her.

She sighs glancing around the reception hall. "We can figure that out later! For now, let's focus on the important stuff!" She said.

"As you say, my lady!" He smiled. The bodyguards followed Mulang and Miss Xia, heading towards the elevator.

Arriving on the 18th floor of the building, the elevator door opens. Miss Xia majestically came out with Mulang. They both headed towards the president's office.

"Boss! Boss!" A voice called from behind. Miss Xia looked back to see Chuxi running towards her.

"Boss!" Chuxi panted, getting to Miss Xia.

"Are....you alright?" Miss Xia asked wondering what happened to her.

"Boss! Good morning!" Chuxi bowed several times still panting.

"Alright! Alright!. What happened to you?" Miss Xia asked.

"It's still 7 a.m. and you look all sweaty!" Mulang said to her.

"Boss!" She ignored Mulang. "You have about 56 emails and 24 missed calls waiting for you!" She said still trying to calm herself down.

"Sounds like a Monday morning to me!" Miss Xia said.

"Hmm!" Mulang nodded in agreement.

"Most of them want an interview with you. Should I arrange a meeting with them?" She asked calmly.

"Let's talk properly in the office!" Miss Xia said.

"Ok!" She nodded.

"But before that...." Miss Xia scanned Chuxi. "Someone get Miss Chuxi a coffee! It's a Monday morning don't get worn out!" Miss Xia walked away.

Getting to the large well-designed and decorated office. Miss Xia places her handbag on the desk. She sits down calmly and waits for Chuxi's arrival.

"Have this, my Queen!" Mulang says with a warm smile, handing her a steaming cup of coffee.

Miss Xia takes the cup from him with a grateful smile. "Thank you," she says, her eyes lighting up at the gesture.

"I wonder how the week is going to go," Mulang sighs, leaning against the desk.

Miss Xia blows gently on the coffee to cool it down before taking a careful sip. "Hmm! Tastes good!" she comments, turning to Mulang with an appreciative nod.

Mulang beams with pride. "Of course! I added sugar and milk, just the way you like it!"

Chuxi bursts into the office, visibly out of breath. She quickly places a stack of files on Miss Xia's desk, trying to regain her composure.

"Are these files from last week?" Mulang asks, raising an eyebrow as he glances at the mountain of paperwork.

"They all came in this morning!" Chuxi says, her voice still catching slightly as she tries to catch her breath.

Miss Xia's eyes widen as she scans the files. "This… this is too much!" she exclaims, her tone a mix of shock and frustration.

"Exactly what I said!" Chuxi agrees, nodding vigorously.

"What are they even about?" Miss Xia asks, picking up a file at random and flipping through it with a frown.

"They're contracts," Chuxi explains.

"Contracts? What for?" Miss Xia asked curiously as she continued to examine the file.

"These companies hope to work in cooperation with ZGDX and need your approval," Chuxi clarifies.

"Should such be handled by me?" Miss Xia asks, tossing the file back onto the desk with a hint of exasperation.

"Partially, yes," Chuxi responds.

"What about the emails?" Mulang asks, folding his arms and surveying the cluttered desk.

"Most of them are interview requests," Chuxi informs them.

"Seems we are piled up already!" Mulang sighs, shaking his head as he takes in the workload.

"Chuxi!" Miss Xia calls out. "In the meantime, reject every interview request. We need to focus more on the contracts!"

"Hmmm!" Chuxi nods, understanding the urgency.

"I want to see the Head of the President's Department!" Miss Xia instructs her.

"Oh! I'll go get him!" Chuxi says hurrying out of the office.

"Mulang," Miss Xia says, looking at him with a focused expression. "How about counting how many files are here?"

"Okay!" Mulang replies, taking a deep breath as he begins to sort through the stack of paperwork.

A few moments later, Mulang exhaled heavily. He carefully and suitably arranged the files.

"How's it?" Miss Xia asked, glancing up from her desk as she noticed he was done.

"We have 19 files here!" He replied.

"Hmm!" She slightly nodded, acknowledging his efforts. "Thank you!" She smiled warmly.

"It's no big deal!" Mulang said with a modest shrug.

Chuxi walked into the office. She was accompanied by Mr. Bo, the head of the President's Department. He was a rotund middle-aged man.

"Boss!" Chuxi called out. "Mr Bo is here!" She announced, stepping aside to allow Mr. Bo to approach.

"Good morning, Boss!" He greeted with a slight bow.

Miss Xia's eyes looked on him. Her eyes scanned him thoroughly. "You are?" She asked, her tone polite but direct.

"I am Bo Wei from Shanghai. My friends called me Mr. Bo!" With a warm smile, he introduced himself.

"Bo Wei? Nice name!" Miss Xia commented with a smile.

"Thank you!" Mr. Bo responded.

"You are the head of the president's department?" She inquired.

"Yes Boss!" Mr. Bo confirmed, nodding firmly.

"How's the department?" Miss Xia asked, leaning forward slightly in her chair, her expression attentive.

"I wouldn't say fine or bad! We've been receiving endless calls all morning," Mr. Bo explained.

"What are your responses?" Miss Xia asked.

"The same statement: 'The boss is currently busy, we will get back to you" Mr. Bo replied.

Miss Xia paused, taking a deep breath to remain calm. She exhaled slowly before turning to Chuxi. "The department consists of how many?" she asked.

"There are currently 24 workers in the president department and 2 trainers!" Chuxi responds.

"Mr. Bo, have the workers divide into groups, each with different responsibilities! This way we can be able to carry out today's work!" Miss Xia said.

"Ok, boss!" He nodded eagerly.

"Also inform other departments about the arrangement" Miss Xia added.

"Yes, boss!" Mr. Bo said.

"You can leave now" she dismissed him with a polite nod.

"Why the need for groups?" Mulang asked, glancing up from a file he was examining with curiosity.

"With one group dealing with the phone calls and another managing emails, the work will be done faster!" She explained to him.

"What a brilliant idea!" Mulang smiled at her.

"Boss, I will go see how the other departments are doing!" Chuxi said.

"No problem!" Miss Xia replied, her smile encouraging as Chuxi walked out of the office.

----

Yuayua sat comfortably in the living room, her feet resting on the lap of a maid who was gently massaging them. On her other side, a second maid knelt gracefully, holding a plate of chopped fruits up to Yuayua. As she selected a piece of fruit, her fingers brushed lightly in the air, her eyes focused intently on the TV.

Mrs. Lun descended the staircase and approached Yuayua, surprised to see her lounging at home.

"Yuayua?" Mrs. Lun called out heading towards them.

"Mom!" Yuayua turned to her mother. The maids got up and moved aside.

"Why are you home?" Mrs. Lun asked as she sat down on the sofa.

"Can't I stay home?" Yuayua replied.

"Shouldn't you be at the company?" Mrs. Lun questioned her.

"Mom! I just needed a day off!" She wraps her hand around her mother's.

"And why is that?" Mrs. Lun inquired.

"Do you want me to have a heartache? I can't stand that being called Mei Xia!" She frowns.

"You can't stand her?" Mrs. Lun scoffed. "If you don't, everything will be taken by her!!"

"Mom! Why can't we just storm her office with armies and take all that's ours!" Yuayua grunted.

"What then will the public think of us? Crazy?" Mrs. Lun disapproved.

"What then? My brother was supposed to be the president!"

"Your brother? Does it seem like he is ready to fight for what's his?" Mrs. Lun retorted.

"I don't care! Ever since that mistress's daughter came in, defeat was written on our foreheads!" Yuayua said.

"Then erase it!!. Can't believe I gave birth to kids who give up easily!" Mrs. Lun sighed.

"Mom, what are we gonna do? The mistress daughter is taking everything!"

"I already said–I will take care of everything! You just play your role, don't disappoint me like your brother!". Mrs. Lun warned, pointing at Yuayua.

"Oh!". She responded quietly.

"Be at work tomorrow!" Mrs. Lun said firmly. She then got up and walked away.

----

After a long day at work, it was already noon. Miss Xia leaned back in her seat, resting her tired body.

"What a long day!" she sighed heavily.

"Your strategy worked well. We managed to wrap up today's work," Mulang commented.

Miss Xia felt a wave of relief. Just then, Chuxi entered the office, her smile as graceful as ever.

"Boss," she called softly.

Miss Xia raised her head slightly, acknowledging Chuxi. "Chuxi? Is there a problem?"

"Boss... Mr. Shanggue is here," Chuxi announced in a low voice.

Miss Xia sighed deeply. "Let him in," she said, waving her hand dismissively.

"Okay, boss." Chuxi left the office and returned moments later with Mr. Shanggue by her side.

"Boss, he's here," she announced again.

Miss Xia placed a hand on her forehead, staring at Shanggue. She sighed once more.

"I'll leave now, boss," Chuxi said with a warm smile before exiting the office.

"Why are you here?" Miss Xia asked nonchalantly.

Shanggue's gaze shifted to Mulang, who was leaning against the desk with a lollipop in his mouth. "Are we going to let a stranger listen to our conversation?" he asked coldly.

"What important things do you have to say?" Miss Xia replied, her tone uninterested.

"You seem to have forgotten who you are. Let me remind you—you're the president of ZGDX now. You shouldn't associate with people beneath you," Shanggue said, his eyes still fixed on Mulang.

Miss Xia let out a sarcastic laugh. "And what's so funny?" Shanggue asked, puzzled.

"I can't believe someone like you would say that," Miss Xia scoffed. "What is it? Did your dear mother abandon you because you're no longer her obedient puppet?"

Shanggue clenched his fists. "What's wrong with a brother trying to protect his sister?" he asked with a forced smile.

Miss Xia stood up and walked towards him. "A brother?" She scoffed again. "There's nothing wrong with that—except when it comes from you."

"And why is that?" Shanggue asked, locking eyes with her.

"It would be a crime if you cared about me," Miss Xia said with a snarky smile.

"And why is that?"

"Because you were born a puppet and controlled by her. You never act without her strings pulling you," she said, turning away to head back to her desk.

Shanggue panted heavily. "Don't you dare talk about my mother that way!" he snapped.

Miss Xia scoffed again. "You surprise me," she said dismissively. "Enough of the chit-chat. Why are you here?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Is this how you plan to lead the company?" Shanggue shot back.

"What do you mean?" Miss Xia asked, confused.

"Why did you suspend all operations? Do you have any idea what we've lost?" Shanggue asked angrily.

Miss Xia sighed. "Some things are more important than meaningless tasks. I don't see anything wrong with prioritizing," she said coolly.

"We lost approximately 60 million CNY in less than 8 minutes! How are you going to make up for that?" Shanggue barked at her.

"Why do dogs love barking," Miss Xia muttered, ignoring him as she picked up her bag from the desk.

"What do you mean? This is all because of you!" Shanggue accused her.

Miss Xia moved towards him, Mulang still by her side. "60 million CNY? That's nothing," she said, turning to face him. "I'm not surprised you're making a fuss over it—after all, it took you two years to make that much." She scoffed.

She smiled and walked out of the office with Mulang beside her, leaving Shanggue alone.

"She sees that amount as trash? And here I am, doing everything I can..." Shanggue laughed in frustration.

----

Arriving at the car park, Mulang and Chuxi stood beside Miss Xia. Miss Xia leaned on the car, she yawned stretching her body.

"It's a great day!" Miss Xia said, doing her stretches.

"Boss!" Chuxi called calmly.

"Yes!" Miss Xia answered her.

"Should I get you the massage therapist?" Chuxi asked.

"Right! How could I have forgotten?" Miss Xia sighed in exhaustion.

"Let's go in!" Mulang opened the car door.

"Oh!" She sighed.

"Miss! Miss!" A voice called from behind running towards her.

They turned to the lady, her breath coming in heavy pants as she skidded to a stop. Bent over, she placed her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

Mulang immediately stepped in front of Miss Xia, his expression turning hostile. "You are?"

The lady stood upright raising her hands in a peaceful gesture. "I don't mean any harm!"

"Who are you?" Chuxi asked.

"Oh! I am Ayin, a trainer reporter from Army Entertainment. I don't mean any harm, I just want to see you!" The lady, Ayin pointed at Miss Xia.

"I?" Miss Xia asked, puzzled.

"Hmm!" Ayin nodded eagerly.

"What do you want?" Mulang asked.

"I just want the president of ZGDX company to have an interview with us, Army Entertainment!" She said still unsettled from her previous running.

Chuxi sighed. "We said 'No Interview!–" Miss Xia interrupted her. She slowly moves forward to Ayin.

"Ayin?" She asked.

"Hmm!" She nodded in response.

"From Army Entertainment? Why does it sound familiar!" Miss Xia tries to recalll.

"Actually–" Miss Xia interrupted.

"Are you the reporter from earlier?" Miss Xia questioned.

"Yes!" Ayin awkwardly smiled. "Sorry about earlier, everyone seemed hasty!" She apologized.

"Oh! If you are here to request for a interview, I'm sorry to tell you that's not possible!" Miss Xia said.

"This is my first task as a trainer reporter, I really want to impress my director!. Can you please give us a chance? I promise you, we won't disappoint you!" Ayin pleaded with her.

"I like your courage and determination but, I don't do favoritism! If I do this, it means, I have to answer the others!" Miss Xia said.

Ayin sighed. "You don't have to accept the request now! You can think about it, Army Entertainment won't pressure you!" Ayin said.

"My answer remains the same!" Miss Xia said.

"I respect your decision, if in the future, you want to reconsider" she hands a business card to Miss Xia. "You can contact us through this!" She said.

"Well then! I'm leaving!" Miss Xia turned away, moving to her car.

Mulang opened the door for Miss Xia, and she slid into the back seat. Chuxi settled into the front passenger seat.

"Oh! Have a safe journey!" She waved as she watched them drive away.