Chapter 66: The Transformation of the Demon

Just as Kong Lingxin's mind was racing to figure out her next move, Meng Zexiao suddenly said, "Stop pretending. Aren't you exhausted? Thank you for giving me face tonight and not making a scene in front of all those people. There are no outsiders here now, so you don't need to put on an act anymore. Don't worry, I keep my word. I am going to pursue you all over again, and I won't go back on it. I don't like seeing you maintaining that guarded expression all the time. You think you're hiding it well, but your eyes betray you."

There was not a trace of warmth in Meng Zexiao's eyes, perhaps because the recent events had also left him deeply overwhelmed. Yet, faced with such a frank and honest statement from him, Kong Lingxin felt a slight stirring of favorable impression toward him for the very first time.

The devil's sudden transformation caught Kong Lingxin off guard, so she simply laid her cards on the table. "Fine, from now on our way of getting along will be this: if a third party is present, I will give you all the face you need, but in private, I can only be my true self."

Meng Zexiao said nothing more, which counted as an agreement with Kong Lingxin.

After returning home, Meng Zexiao went straight to the study. His purpose in doing so was to review all available information on the King Group, especially regarding their Greater China President, Song Siyuan.

Watching Meng Zexiao's somewhat heavy footsteps as he retreated, Kong Lingxin felt an indescribable sensation in her heart. She knew that Meng Zexiao had barely eaten anything at the banquet that evening. After a moment of hesitation, she ultimately chose to head to the kitchen.

There was very little news online, and the King Group's official website provided no valuable clues. Although Meng Haoquan had warned him previously, Meng Zexiao had brushed it off. However, after witnessing the King Group's eye-catching capability tonight, he no longer dared to take them lightly.

Faced with the enigmatic yet aggressively surging King Group, Meng Zexiao felt the displeasure of losing control. Accustomed to always being at the top, a challenger had now arrived, and it would be hard to avoid stepping into the ring.

When Kong Lingxin entered carrying a bowl of lily and coix seed porridge, Meng Zexiao was leaning back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose with an expression of sheer exhaustion.

Upon seeing Kong Lingxin and the porridge in her hands, Meng Zexiao froze for a moment. The scene felt intimately familiar. In the past, whenever he worked overtime in the study, Kong Lingxin would always bring something in. But back then, he had detested her, feeling that her actions were purely a waste of his time. Out of ten times she brought something in, he would eat it at most once, and on that single occasion, she would stand right beside him watching him eat. Even a single bite from him would make her happy for the entire evening—

"What? Don't you want to eat?" Seeing Meng Zexiao's dazed expression, Kong Lingxin assumed he was still dwelling on steak and red wine and had no interest in porridge.

Meng Zexiao snatched the bowl over. "Who says I don't want to eat! I barely ate anything all evening."

Kong Lingxin stood in front of the desk, watching him spoon the porridge into his mouth, finding it utterly ridiculous. A man accustomed to delicacies of land and sea was actually relishing a bowl of plain porridge so much.

Halfway through the meal, Meng Zexiao looked up at Kong Lingxin. He noticed that although she was watching him eat just like she used to, her face lacked the infatuated expression of the past. Moreover, seeing how heartily and voraciously he was eating, a flicker of disappointment crossed his mind.

Meng Zexiao asked, "How come I've never eaten this porridge before this week?"

Indifferently, Kong Lingxin replied, "Because you rarely ever ate at home before!"

Meng Zexiao was startled. He lowered his head and finished the remaining half of the porridge, muttering inwardly—she was reminding him of past disappointments every single moment. If he had to reshape a completely new self, would he still even be Meng Zexiao? The most haunting part was that he actually found himself willing to change slowly for her sake.

Seeing that he had finished eating, Kong Lingxin took the bowl back and left him with one final remark: "If you're going to be late, could you consider sleeping in the guest room? It's too late, and you'll disturb my sleep!"

With that, without waiting for any reaction from him, Kong Lingxin turned and walked out of his study.

What?! She was actually telling him to sleep in the guest room! The heart that had just been warmed by the porridge was instantly chilled again by Kong Lingxin's words!

In truth, Kong Lingxin knew very well that a man with such immense pride and a strong streak of machismo like Meng Zexiao would never actually go sleep in the guest room. The only reason she said it was to make him go to bed earlier—granting him that concession in return for the honest words he had spoken in the car earlier that day.

Just as Kong Lingxin emerged from her shower, she saw that Meng Zexiao had already returned to the master bedroom. She smiled secretly to herself—it seemed that tactic had truly worked.

Next Saturday was Meng Haoquan's sixtieth birthday. Kong Lingxin had been pondering what kind of gift she should give him. She typed "sixtieth birthday gifts" into a search engine and browsed around, only to find that none of the ideas were constructive. Meng Haoquan simply lacked nothing that could be bought with money, and the more she thought about it, the more her head ached.

Emerging from the bathroom, Meng Zexiao saw her deep in thought and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Meng Zexiao was stripped to the waist, his alluring abdominal muscles coming into Kong Lingxin's line of sight. Although she had already seen them many times, knowing that Meng Zexiao would no longer treat her frivolously, she couldn't help stealing a few extra glances.

So she only looked at him with that infatuated expression when he was bare-chested, just like before. Meng Zexiao hooked up his brow triumphantly and smiled seductively. "Do you want to touch them—"

Unflustered, Kong Lingxin said something she didn't mean, "I think you might have gained weight."

"Would it kill you to say something nice?" Acting like a child who could never win praise from parents or teachers no matter how well he performed, Meng Zexiao angrily lay down in bed and pulled the quilt over himself.

Watching him lie on his side with his back turned to her, Kong Lingxin found it amusing. However, before the smile could even fade from her lips, Meng Zexiao rolled over, looked right at her, and said, "You still haven't told me what on earth you're thinking about!"

It seemed she wouldn't be able to sleep in peace tonight unless she answered him. Kong Lingxin said, "I'm thinking about what gift I should get your father for his birthday."

Though he knew Kong Lingxin wouldn't be furrowing her brow over him, realizing she was agonizing over something that, in his eyes, wasn't even a problem, Meng Zexiao felt a fresh wave of disappointment. He turned his back to her and spat out two words: "Go to sleep!"

He rolled up almost the entire silk duvet, leaving Kong Lingxin with barely enough to cover half her body. Yet, she would rather brave the cold than cross the boundary line to get closer to him.

The next day, Meng Zexiao got up early and arrived at the company gates before Meng Haoquan. In front of the Dingsheng Building, he unexpectedly spotted Yang Shanshan, who usually never showed up at the office before ten o'clock.

Spotting Meng Zexiao's car, Yang Shanshan deliberately slowed her pace. Meng Zexiao had never liked this sister-in-law of his, but since they didn't live together, it was a case of out of sight, out of mind.

Realizing Yang Shanshan was deliberately waiting for him, he didn't dodge her either. He walked straight ahead and, as he passed behind her, said, "Well, the sun really must have risen from the west today. How is it that sister-in-law is here so early?"

Yang Shanshan was dressed in a dark suit with the collar of a white blouse folded out over it. Although professional, her overall look gave people an intensely uncomfortable feeling, and coupled with her provocative gaze, anyone near her felt deeply oppressed. Meng Zexiao could simply never fathom why his older brother had married such a woman. An artist's mindset was truly beyond the comprehension of ordinary people!

Hearing Yang Shanshan let out a harsh, grating laugh, she replied, "Father has important work arrangements for me today, so I came in earlier. Zexiao isn't late today either; you rarely ever show up around this time normally."

By then, Dingsheng Group employees were arriving at the company one after another. Seeing the uncle and sister-in-law talking on the building steps, they couldn't help casting curious glances.

Not wishing to continue exchanging pointless words with Yang Shanshan, Meng Zexiao strode forward and said, "Since sister-in-law has important matters, I won't disturb you any longer."

With that, Meng Zexiao stepped into the executive private elevator. Watching the doors close, Yang Shanshan narrowed her eyes into slits, a chilling, terrifying glare flashing through them.

Liu Feifei walked into the company swaying in a dress that showcased her S-curve to perfection, clicking along in high heels. Catching sight of Yang Shanshan, she walked straight over without reservation and said, "Shanshan, you're so early today."

Yang Shanshan shot her a cold look. "How are you dressed for work! This is the Dingsheng Group, not a nightclub! And is 'Shanshan' what you call me? From now on, address me as Director Yang!"

"Shanshan, what's wrong with you today!?" Liu Feifei could not believe her ears. Just days ago they were sisters in the same trench, yet now she was turning hostile without warning, especially when she hadn't done anything wrong.

With extreme impatience, Yang Shanshan glared at Liu Feifei. "I said, call me Director Yang from now on! Break the company rules, and I'll have no choice but to send HR to have a chat with you!"

Having said that, Yang Shanshan stepped into the stairwell whose door had just opened. Seeing her go in, the other employees tactfully moved aside to wait for another elevator. Everyone in the building knew how domineering Yang Shanshan was. Although she was the eldest daughter-in-law of Chairman Meng Haoquan, that private elevator was strictly reserved for Meng Haoquan and Meng Zexiao. Yang Shanshan had once held a grudge when she took the employee elevator and a staff member followed her in; subsequently, the employees riding with her were all summoned by HR. Ever since then, no employee would ever crowd into an elevator with her.

After Yang Shanshan went upstairs, the crowd walked over to the doors of another elevator about to reach the first floor. True to form, Liu Feifei was the last to walk over, yet she immediately shoved her way to the front.

Someone had overheard what Yang Shanshan said to Liu Feifei just moments before. Because Liu Feifei usually relied on her ties with Yang Shanshan to bully others and throw her weight around, offending quite a few people in the process, someone couldn't help muttering, "No flower blooms for a hundred days. Even when it's already withered, it still struggles to put on a dazzling display—how ridiculous."

Liu Feifei turned around to search for the person who spoke, and right at that moment, the elevator doors opened. Everyone surged forward, and Liu Feifei, wearing ten-centimeter high heels, lost her footing and turned her ankle in the rush.

Wansi was also in that elevator and had seen and heard the entire scene clearly. She truly couldn't make head or tail of the sisterly bond between Yang Shanshan and Liu Feifei.

The offices of Meng Zexiao and Meng Haoquan were both on the top floor, along with their secretarial pool. As the passengers in the elevator stepped out one by one, only Wansi and Liu Feifei were left.

Seeing Liu Feifei's expression of pain, Wansi softened and said with reluctant sympathy, "You'd better ask for leave and go see a doctor."

To her surprise, Liu Feifei showed no appreciation whatsoever. Even without Yang Shanshan backing her up, she was just as caustic to Wansi as ever. "Don't pretend to be a good person! Who doesn't know your background!"