Chapter 41: The Appearance of Yang Shanshan

Although Wan Si was unmarried, as a woman, she understood the deep trauma a miscarriage could inflict. She felt that the root of Kong Lingxin’s inner turmoil stemmed from that loss.

On the way back to the villa, Wan Si had repeatedly wanted to tell Kong Lingxin things like, "You are still young, only twenty-one, and your whole life is ahead of you; there will be many more chances to have children..." Yet, she could never bring herself to say it. Sitting beside this woman, whose expression was melancholic yet whose eyes remained firm and stubborn, Wan Si felt that any words would be pale and powerless, so she simply chose to remain silent.

Upon arriving, Kong Lingxin said politely, "Thank you for your company today, Miss Wan. I’ll have the driver take you home in a moment."

Although there was a smile on Kong Lingxin’s lips, Wan Si felt a persistent sense of distance, perhaps simply because she was being too courteous.

"Miss Kong, please don't be so formal," Wan Si replied. "This is my number; call me if you need anything. Also, as soon as there is any news about Huang Xiaoyong, I will let you know. I’ll feel young again and join you in your fan activities."

Kong Lingxin smiled and replied, "All right, thank you."

No sooner had Wan Si left Meng Zexiao’s villa than he impatiently called her. "You’ve been with the Young Mistress for half the day. Now, make me a list of things I should do. Send it to the office shortly, and then you can clock out."

Even in assigning such a task, Meng Zexiao’s tone remained unchanged, which left Wan Si feeling somewhat disoriented. However, it also reminded her that Meng Zexiao was taking this matter very seriously, and she could not afford to be careless.

After hanging up, Wan Si pulled out her tablet and wrote the so-called "Romance Report." She finished just as the driver pulled up to the Dingsheng Building. She opened her work email and hit send.

As she entered the company, she bumped into Liu Feifei and the Deputy Director of the Finance Department—who was also Meng Zexiao’s sister-in-law and the eldest daughter-in-law of Dingsheng Group’s Chairman, Meng Haoquan—Yang Shanshan.

It had long been rumored that Liu Feifei, a woman of limited intellect, was only part of Meng Zexiao’s secretarial staff due to her close relationship with Yang Shanshan. Seeing them together today, Wan Si understood perfectly.

She had intended to walk around them, but they moved with clear intent, blocking her path. Yang Shanshan raised her chin, looking at Wan Si with a cold gaze.

Backed by such support, Liu Feifei wore the smug look of a small-minded person who had gained the upper hand. "Wan Si, where have you been?"

Wan Si only wanted to do her job and collect her salary; she preferred to steer clear of petty people. "I was doing something arranged by Mr. Meng. It’s not really convenient for me to tell you, sorry."

With that, Wan Si reached for the elevator button, but Liu Feifei blocked her. "If you don't explain yourself clearly, don't think you're going anywhere!"

Wan Si was seething with frustration, but she couldn't show it. She simply fell silent. Seeing Wan Si’s reaction, Liu Feifei assumed she had been intimidated and continued, "You’d better explain what you were doing this afternoon, or Director Yang will make you regret it!"

Wan Si scoffed inwardly, though her expression remained unchanged. She looked at Yang Shanshan and said, "So it is Deputy Director Yang who wants to know my itinerary for the afternoon. I will ask Mr. Meng in a moment, and if necessary, I will report my schedule to Deputy Director Yang."

Yang Shanshan was no pushover. Even as a Deputy Director, the Finance Director himself had to show her deference due to her status. Everyone in the company addressed her as "Director Yang." Not only did this insolent Wan Si fail to answer her question properly, but she even dared to call her "Deputy Director Yang"!

"It seems the secretarial office is in need of a cleanup," Yang Shanshan said haughtily. "How did such riffraff get in here?"

*Riffraff?* Wan Si was furious, but she held it in. She knew something of Yang Shanshan’s character, and given the current situation, she realized it would be difficult to get away. If she wanted to keep her job at Dingsheng Group, not offending Yang Shanshan was a basic necessity. Wan Si was cornered.

Just as Yang Shanshan was about to take further action, Meng Zexiao called Wan Si again. "I told you to come back to the company to speak with me in person! An email is not going to brush me off!"

Under normal circumstances, a reprimand from Meng Zexiao would have dampened her spirits, but now, hearing his voice brought her a strange sense of relief.

"Mr. Meng, please don't be impatient," Wan Si said into the phone. "I’m already downstairs at the office. I’m getting on the elevator right now."

She then turned to Yang Shanshan. "I’m very sorry, but I must head upstairs to report to Mr. Meng."

Though Yang Shanshan would have loved to drag Wan Si into her office and teach her a lesson, she was wary of her brother-in-law, Meng Zexiao. She let Wan Si go for now—but as for the next time...

The malice in Yang Shanshan’s eyes was enough to send a chill down one's spine, even in the height of summer.

In the elevator, Wan Si pondered the situation. No matter how close Liu Feifei was to Yang Shanshan, surely Yang wouldn't go out of her way to cause trouble for a member of Meng Zexiao’s staff for such a trivial reason. There had to be something else going on.

Yet, she couldn't recall doing anything to offend Yang Shanshan. She sighed inwardly; she had been dragged into this conflict without even knowing why.

When she reached Meng Zexiao’s office, Wan Si took a deep breath, just as she always did before facing one of his outbursts, and then carefully knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Meng Zexiao’s voice was booming, tinged with a hint of joy.

Puzzled, Wan Si pushed the door open and saw that Meng Zexiao was indeed beaming. He didn't even look up from his computer. "Sit down," he said.

What a drastic change! One moment she was nearly torn apart by his sister-in-law, and now this man, usually so icy, actually had a smile on his face. Wan Si pinched herself—she wasn't dreaming.

"Your analysis was quite accurate," Meng Zexiao said, his eyes fixed on the screen. "The Young Mistress really has changed. She is very different from before. In the past, if I returned home, she would always be right in front of me, yet I could never feel her presence. Now, she seems to radiate a light that captures everyone’s attention at every moment."

*So that’s it,* Wan Si thought. *The power of love.* No matter how cold a man seems, once he has feelings for a woman, the sunlight of his emotions can melt the iceberg.

"Perhaps it is because you haven't seen her for over a month," Wan Si said with a smile. "Now that she’s back, you’ve finally noticed her. After spending half the day with her, I think she is truly remarkable. She possesses very rare qualities. She is very different from other wealthy heiresses; she is kind and unaffected. It is rare to find a girl who grew up in such a family with such qualities."

Hearing someone praise his wife, Meng Zexiao was clearly in a wonderful mood; the curve of his smile widened.

However, the smile didn't last long. Soon, his brows knitted together, and he seemed to mutter to himself, or perhaps to Wan Si, "When something is good, everyone wants to snatch it up. It seems someone is now setting their sights on my wife."