DASFAM_62
One week later, Xie Qi and Chen Yufei finally returned home.
Bai Xu had just finished tidying up and came downstairs, only to be met with both of their gazes fixed on him at the same time, "Young Master Bai."
Bai Xu smiled, "You're back? Did the project handover over there go smoothly?"
Xie Qi nodded and reported, "Yes, all the project teams have been fully assembled. We also successfully completed the handover with Mr. Chu and the Chu Group. From now on, we'll submit updated detailed work progress reports every week, so it's convenient for you and Third Young Master to confirm in sync."
"Also, if it's inconvenient to make the trip for the monthly meetings, we can use video conferencing instead."
"Good."
Bai Xu trusted Xie Qi's ability to handle things and casually asked about Chu Yate's situation, "How are things going with Second Chu?"
"Chu Yuncheng was sentenced to three years in the first trial. Word is there's a lot of resentment within the group."
"The collaboration rights for 'Eaglet Cinema' are now in Second Young Master Chu's hands. The shareholders are almost unanimously in support. Once Old Chairman Chu retires at the end of the year, what he wants should be a done deal."
Bai Xu raised an eyebrow slightly, "I suppose we've helped Second Chu get what he wanted. Hopefully when we need something, he won't go back on his word."
Xie Qi said, "Second Young Master Chu heard I was returning to the country and asked me to pass on a message. He said when he has time, he'll come to the capital to find you and Third Young Master."
Bai Xu gave a light laugh, "Alright, you two get some rest. I'm heading out for a bit."
Chen Yufei asked, "Young Master Bai, where are you going? Would you like me to drive you?"
"Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master have both gone to the group. I'm free with nothing to do, so I'm thinking of going to have a look."
Bai Xu continued walking out, his eyes brimming with interest, "I heard the second branch gave up the Huawei Motors acquisition case. Isn't that something unusual?"
Xie Qi and Chen Yufei exchanged a glance and fell into step behind him in tacit understanding.
Bai Xu slowed his pace, "You're not resting?"
Xie Qi answered, "Not tired. I actually need to go to the group to find Third Young Master anyway."
Chen Yufei, rarely one to ask follow-up questions, said, "Young Master Bai, you said the second branch gave up the project? What does that mean?"
Although Shang Yun and Shang Songming, that father and son pair, weren't as difficult to deal with as the first branch's whole family, ever since the third branch's incident, they had taken quite a few opportunities to suppress, mock, and snatch projects.
So why would they suddenly give up a project now? Could there be a trick to it?
The car door closed.
Bai Xu casually buckled his seatbelt in the back seat, "I know what you're both suspicious of. It's just that compared to deliberately setting a trap, I lean more toward the second branch trying to show goodwill."
Xie Qi was surprised, "The second branch?"
Bai Xu spoke bluntly, "Only the wise adapt to the times. Whether fighting against the first branch or the third branch, with that brain of Shang Songming's, what chance does he have of winning?"
"If Shang Yun has any sense, now is the time to distance his own family and choose a side to stand on."
Chen Yufei started the car, not entirely certain, "Then will Third Young Master and Fourth Young Master accept?"
Bai Xu looked out at the scenery rushing past the window and did not make the decision for them, "No rush. It all depends on whether the second branch is still hiding any malicious intent."
Whether it was the cause of Old Master Shang's illness or the car accident involving the third branch's family, if the second branch had any hand in pushing things from behind the scenes, that would be a different matter entirely.
...
The car arrived at the underground parking lot of the Shang Group building.
Like any other workday, the internal garage was always packed full, and Chen Yufei drove toward the parking spaces exclusively reserved for the third branch.
Just as he was reversing into the spot, a woman's crying and screaming suddenly rang out across the parking lot, "He can't treat me like this!"
It was a hysterical breakdown, completely stripped of any sense of propriety.
"......"
Bai Xu instinctively glanced out the car window, and with his sharp eyes he quickly located the source of the sound, "Wait, stop the car first. Turn off the engine."
Chen Yufei didn't understand why, but he complied.
Bai Xu frowned and gestured to the two people in the front seats, "Look diagonally ahead. Isn't that person Shang Qishun's assistant? I remember seeing him at the shareholders' meeting."
Xie Qi and Chen Yufei immediately looked in the direction Bai Xu indicated.
Nearly every parking space in the garage was taken up by employee vehicles. Diagonally ahead of them, separated by a row of cars, they could only make out a vague silhouette through the gaps between the vehicles.
Xie Qi looked carefully, "It looks like it might be Special Assistant Xiao, Xiao Kai."
But the figure standing across from him was blocked by the vehicles, making it impossible to see clearly who it was.
Due to the distance, Bai Xu and the others couldn't make out Xiao Kai's expression clearly, only catching a glimpse of him apparently saying a couple more words before turning around and walking briskly back toward the nearby elevator lobby.
Immediately after, the woman chased after him two steps while crying, then seemed to lose her strength and collapsed at the entrance of the elevator lobby.
"......"
Xie Qi watched with complete bewilderment, "What's going on?"
Chen Yufei shook his head, "Even you can't figure it out, so how would I know? Is she Xiao Kai's girlfriend? Did they have a fight?"
Bai Xu heard this and a faint glimmer stirred in the depths of his eyes, "Quick, drive the car over. Pretend we're just slowly passing by."
"Huh?"
Chen Yufei was even more confused than before.
Taking advantage of the moment while Chen Yufei started the car, Xie Qi couldn't help but turn to look back at Bai Xu, "Young Master Bai, what are you doing?"
Bai Xu wasn't certain of the situation yet, "Let's take a gamble first. I could be wrong."
Half a minute later, the car pulled up to the entrance of the elevator lobby diagonally across the way. The woman was still sprawled on the ground in a sorry state, sobbing very softly.
Bai Xu rolled down the car window, putting on an air of having only just noticed her in passing, "Miss, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell and in need of help?"
"......"
The woman hadn't expected anyone to pass by at this hour, and lowered her head even further, hastily wiping her tears away with her hands, "I'm- I'm fine."
Bai Xu held out a tissue from inside the car, "I have tissues here."
The woman got up from the ground and looked over, "Thank you."
The words of thanks had barely left her mouth when her desperate eyes locked onto Bai Xu's face, "You, who are you?"
Xie Qi in the front seat, having already received a signal from Bai Xu earlier, spoke up at the right moment, "This is Young Master Bai of the Shang family's third branch."
The woman confirmed Bai Xu's identity and murmured in a daze, "I- I know."
Bai Xu quit while he was ahead, "Miss, if you're not feeling physically unwell and don't need any help, then we'll be on our way."
With that, he instructed Chen Yufei to 'go'.
But the moment the wheels began to move, the woman suddenly rushed up to the car window, "Wait! You know Shang Yanxiao, don't you?! Mr. Bai, can you help me arrange a meeting with him?!"
Xie Qi's alarm bells went off immediately, worried that Bai Xu might get the wrong idea, "Miss, what are you talking about? The Third Young Master has never met you before, you'd better not..."
"No, that's not it."
The woman shook her head in a somewhat uncontrolled manner, "I'm not here to make trouble for him. I- I want to ask him to help me."
Bai Xu naturally trusted Shang Yanxiao's character and probed along with it, "What do you want him to help you with? Or rather, who in the Shang family do you know? Shang Qishun?"
As the last name was spoken, the woman trembled uncontrollably. She choked on her breath and let the tears of pain and despair fall freely.
"Yes, Shang Qishun. I- I don't want him to have an easy time!"
"......"
Bai Xu placed the tissues in the woman's hand, then turned his gaze away, "Xie Qi, find a quiet place and invite this young lady to sit for a moment and collect herself. I'm going upstairs."
Xie Qi suppressed the shock in his heart and replied, "Understood, Young Master Bai."
...
—Ding.
The elevator stopped at the sixteenth floor.
The departments of Shang Group were distributed across various floors, and both Shang Yanxiao's and Shang Queyan's offices were on this floor.
The front desk staff was still quite unfamiliar with Bai Xu's face, "Hello, sir. Who are you here to see? Do you have an appointment?"
Bai Xu was in no hurry to go in, putting on a composed and earnest air, "Hello, I'm here to see Shang Yanxiao, Mr. Shang. I would say I don't have an appointment."
The staff poured him a glass of water, remaining polite as ever, "Please wait a moment, I'll put through an internal call for you."
"Of course."
As the internal line connected.
The front desk staff promptly inquired, "Mr. Shang, there is a gentleman at the front desk here to see you, but he doesn't have an appointment. Are you available to meet now?"
"Who is it?"
The front desk staff glanced back at Bai Xu again, "Oh, his name is..."
Bai Xu curved his lips slightly and spoke at a volume just loud enough to be picked up by the receiver, "Mr. Shang, my surname is Bai, given name Xu."
Bang.
The call abruptly ended, the sound of it carrying a fair amount of force.
The front desk staff was startled, thinking Bai Xu had somehow displeased Shang Yanxiao, "Sir, I'm sorry, since you don't have an appointment, I'm afraid you can't go in..."
Before she could finish, Shang Yanxiao came striding out, "What brings you here?"
Bai Xu waited for him to come closer, "I was bored sitting at home and thought I'd wait for the Third Young Master to get off work so we could go out for a meal together."
It was barely past four o'clock, still a long way from the six o'clock end of work.
Shang Yanxiao gave a light laugh, "You've come at just the right time, I've just finished up what I had on my hands."
"......"
The front desk staff stood there in a daze, an endless stream of thoughts racing through her mind.
What the hell!
Just what kind of relationship do Mr. Shang and Mr. Bai have?
Having worked at the front desk for so long, she had never once seen Mr. Shang smile so freely like that! Or be so eager to leave work!
Just as she was thinking this, Shang Yanxiao gave his instructions, "From now on, when Mr. Bai comes to the office he doesn't need an appointment. Just bring him straight to my office."
The staff nodded repeatedly, "Understood."
Shang Yanxiao turned his attention back to Bai Xu, "A' Xu, come in with me first. Wait while I grab something and then we'll go."
"Alright."
The two walked in together.
Bai Xu thought of the front desk girl's startled expression just now and couldn't help saying, "You're just openly handing me the privilege of 'no appointment needed' like that. Aren't you afraid the front desk staff will turn it into gossip that spreads everywhere in no time?"
Shang Yanxiao countered, "Young Master Bai had the nerve to openly come and pick me up from work, so isn't this the privilege you wanted in the first place?"
Bai Xu's playful little scheme had been seen right through, and he gave a huff, "Where is Queyan?"
"On the ninth floor in a meeting, probably not back yet."
Shang Yanxiao led Bai Xu into his office and packed up his things as quickly as possible, "Never mind him. What do you want to eat for dinner?"
Before he could finish, Bai Xu's phone received a message from Xie Qi.
Shang Yanxiao noticed he hadn't answered, "A' Xu?"
"Hm?"
"It's still too early for dinner."
Bai Xu put his phone away and looked at Shang Yanxiao with a meaningful expression, "I just happened to stumble upon quite a show. I'd like to invite the Third Young Master to watch it together. Care to join?"
Shang Yanxiao seemed to understand something, "Let's go."
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