Mr. Shen walked into the meeting two hours after the scheduled time. It was held on the 28th floor. Without a word, he took his seat at the head of the table. He Qinglu followed and placed the necessary files in front of him.
Seated around the large table were the shareholders of Shenlong Group. To Mr. Shen's left sat the CEO of Luchen Tech, Mr. Lu Jianhong, and his assistant, Lin Rui. The seat to his right was conspicuously empty—but no one, not even Mr. Shen, seemed concerned.
As Lin Rui began setting up the presentation, a voice rang out from the far end of the table.
"It's funny how he thinks he can just waltz in here like we haven't all been waiting two hours. How preposterous!"
It was Mr. Wu—the newest shareholder, owning 1% of the company. Everyone knew Mr. Shen did whatever he wanted, but being late was rare for him. His punctuality was usually non-negotiable.
Another shareholder, Mr. Xu (0.5%), tried to calm him down, whispering urgently, "There's a reason for the delay, Mr. Wu. Just let it go."
Mr. Wu yanked his sleeve away. "What reason? He always acts like the world is here to serve him."
At that, Mr. Shen chuckled—low and chilling. The sound alone sent a wave of unease around the room. Even Mr. Lu chuckled. The tension thickened instantly. People were more worried about their jobs than what would happen to the fool who had just dared to speak.
"Jianhong, do you see this?" he asked, laughing even harder. Their cackles echoed through the pin-drop silence of the room—a laugh that was anything but amused.
Everyone knew it carried more than just jest.
When Mr. Shen stopped laughing, his face was deadly serious. He closed the file in front of him and gestured.
"Come here."
Mr. Wu, still oblivious, walked over with misplaced pride and sat in the empty seat on Mr. Shen's right.
The room gasped.
Murmurs broke out. The woman seated next to that chair—Mrs. Li, the largest shareholder at 6%—immediately stood up and tried to drag him away by his jacket.
"Hey! Old lady, stop harassing me!" Mr. Wu snapped, brushing her off.
"Get up, now! Of all days, you chose today to lose your mind?" she barked.
"Am I troubling you?", He asked foolishly.
"YES!" the other shareholders echoed in unison.
Mr. Shen remained quiet, but his knuckles were white on the table—boiling with fury.
Another shareholder, Mr. Gao (5%), turned to He Qinglu with urgency. "Please remove that pest before we're all doomed."
The meeting room was spiraling. Chaos, begging, shouting. It was too late.
Mr. Shen slammed both palms on the table and stood.
Mrs. Li immediately let go and relocated to the far end of the room.
The seated shareholders bowed their heads to the table in silent submission.
"The audacity of that fool to walk in here and cause trouble for all of us," one muttered.
"This is why people don't survive in Shenlong. It's idiots like him who don't do their research," another whispered.
Mr. Wu remained seated—too stunned to move.
Mr. Shen calmly unbuttoned his shirt sleeves, rolled them up to his elbows, and removed his watch, setting it gently on the table.
Before anyone could react, he grabbed Mr. Wu by the collar with both hands and lifted him out of the chair.
He Qinglu quickly turned to security. "Dispose of the chair, It's tainted. Burn it if you have to. Also, inform Miss Wang to order a new one."
Security nodded and wheeled the chair away. But who would want to burn such an expensive looking chair.
Mr. Wu gasped as Mr. Shen's grip tightened. His face turned red, then began to lose color. He flailed, clawing at Mr. Shen's hands.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Mr. Shen asked, then threw him to the floor.
Mr. Wu lay coughing and wheezing, desperate for air.
"I insulted you?" he croaked out.
One shareholder screamed in horror: "NO!"
Mr. Lu turned, "Do you know what he did wrong?"
Lin Rui shook his head silently.
Mr. Shen glared down at the man still gasping on the floor.
"I made Mrs. Li the largest shareholder so people like you wouldn't even breathe the same air or look at that seat," he growled. "And you—you dared to contaminate it."
He stepped closer.
"There are eleven shareholders in my company. How much do you own?"
"1%..." Mr. Wu stammered.
He had only earned that 1% because his father died recently passed, leaving him the shares.
"That 1% cannot cover the distress you've just caused," Mr. Shen snapped, voice strained with a deeper emotion.
"You, a man nearly in his 40s, thought this was okay? Fool."
*******
Meanwhile...
Ziyu finally left the café after taking Mr. and Mrs. Lu's number. She saved the contact as "The Weird but Powerful couple."
She hailed a taxi to Shenlong Group. The only reason she was even in the area was to check on a laptop she ordered from Luchen Tech—set for delivery to her house.
As soon as she arrived, she stepped out of the car with her lunchbox in hand. Eyes followed her—elegant in a white dress, with a calm, innocent face and striking hazel eyes. Her features were delicate and symmetrical, her presence graceful.
She approached the front desk.
"Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Shen. Please let him know Ziyu is here to see him."
The receptionist blinked, then nodded politely. "I'm sorry, the CEO is currently in a meeting. Would you mind waiting a few minutes?"
Ziyu smiled and nodded.
Behind the desk, Miss Wang finally looked up—from her computer screen, where she was mid-order on a custom-made swivel chair: 5 million yuan, handcrafted by a Parisian artisan, full-grain black aniline leather, stitched by hand, silent-spin weighted.
Then she froze.
There, at the guest area, Ziyu sat quietly with a lunchbox on the side table, fiddling with her phone.
Miss Wang rushed over.
"Good afternoon. You're… Miss Ziyu, correct?"
Ziyu nodded.
"I'll be right back."
Miss Wang stormed back to the front desk.
"Which one of you attended to the young lady sitting there?" she demanded. The receptionist nodded slowly, confused.
Miss Wang grabbed the receptionist by her shirt.
"Do you have a death wish?!"
She had seen Ziyu's photo many times on the CEO's desk, but seeing her in person nearly raised her blood pressure to fatal levels. She fumbled for her phone and called He Qinglu immediately.
Back in the meeting room, He Qinglu answered—Mr. Shen's voice still shouting in the background:
"How did a man like you even come to exist in my company—worse, commit such crimes?", he shouted.
"Yes?" He Qinglu said into the phone.
"It's a message for Mr. Shen," Miss Wang said shakily.
He put her on speaker.
"Mr. Shen?" she called hesitantly.
"What?!" he barked.
"The… the Young Mistress is here."
Mr. Shen froze.
Then he bolted.
He ran to the elevator, hitting the button repeatedly like a madman. He Qinglu, Mr. Lu, and Lin Rui scrambled to follow. The elevator took its time, but when it finally opened, Mr. Shen pressed the first floor and began tapping his foot impatiently.
Back in the meeting room, the shareholders exploded into applause.
"She saved our lives!" Mr. Gao cried out.
The tension cracked into laughter and cheers. Except for one.
Everyone turned to Mr. Wu.
"You just had to drag us all to hell with you," someone muttered.
Mrs. Li twisted his ear and hissed, "Didn't you know the CEO's daughter was back?!"
The elevator doors burst open.
Mr. Shen rushed out and into the reception area.
"Yu'er!" he called, wrapping Ziyu into a tight hug.
"Dad," she said warmly.
The room went silent.
Especially the receptionist who had made her wait.
The icy and intimidating Mr. Shen… had a daughter complex.