Wu Qingyi watched the scene unfold in silence, her calm gaze resting on the manager as if she were watching a poorly acted drama on a cheap television screen. Every word that fell from the woman's lips was coated in false concern and crocodile tears, so fake that even the air around them felt suffocating. Lin Xi, however, had reached her limit. Her fingers curled tightly at her sides, her chest rising and falling unevenly. The injustice clawed at her throat, and she was just about to speak when Shen Yiran's voice broke the tense air. "Yes, you are right…"
The manager's eyes lit up instantly. Joy flashed across her face, unhidden and greedy. The corners of her lips lifted as she thought, it worked. But the very next moment, Shen Yiran's tone turned cold like a blade drawn slowly from its sheath. "You are absolutely right. It is your fault that you failed to manage your subordinates properly." His eyes darkened as they fixed onto her trembling figure. "Which means… you are no longer qualified to remain as the manager."
The room seemed to freeze.
"You're fired."
The words fell softly.
Yet they echoed like thunder.
The manager stood frozen, her mind refusing to accept what her ears had just heard. For a brief, foolish second, she believed she had misheard him. But then she saw Shen Yiran calmly picking his phone and calling the HR head, "Terminate the current manager's employment contract immediately. Complete the documentation… and blacklist her from the industry." The colour drained from her face.
Slowly, Shen Yiran turned his gaze back to manager. His eyes were no longer warm, no longer amused but only cold and merciless. "What I hate the most," he said, each word sharp like a blade, "is deception." Her legs trembled. He continued, "Did you really think I wouldn't see through your little schemes?" His lips curved into a faint, dangerous smile. "You are the most foolish person I've ever seen."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Security. Throw her out." Within seconds, guards stepped forward, their firm grips closing in as they dragged the stunned, screaming woman out of the showroom, her pride shattering along with the sound of her footsteps fading into the distance. Silence fell over the hall like a heavy curtain.
Shen Yiran turned to Lin Xi, his expression unreadable, and said calmly, "You were right as well. I truly don't know how to manage people properly, and running a company is exhausting." After a brief pause, he added lightly, "So from today, you will be the manager." Lin Xi stood frozen, her mind going blank as the last few minutes replayed like a storm in her head. Before she could even react, Shen Yiran had already called his secretary, instructing them to announce her promotion and circulate the appointment notice throughout the company.
Only then did Lin Xi realize how terribly she had misjudged him. Guilt washed over her, and she opened her mouth to apologize, to thank him for the trust, for the position she so desperately needed. But before a single word could leave her lips, Wu Qingyi suddenly looked up at Shen Yiran and asked the question no one in that room had ever dared to ask.
Wu Qingyi, who had been silently observing Shen Yiran's every move, suddenly lifted her head. Her clear eyes were filled with pure, unfiltered curiosity as she blurted out in a soft but earnest voice, "Are you really an orphan?"
Shen Yiran stiffened. For a heartbeat, the world around him seemed to fade. No one ever asked him that so directly. The faint mockery he expected never came, yet old wounds still stirred. He lowered his gaze, his fingers curling slightly at his sides before he answered in a quiet, restrained voice: "Yes… I am an orphan."
Wu Qingyi looked at him with clear, sincere eyes and spoke softly, each word carrying a strange warmth. "From the way you handled everything just now, I know you are actually a good person. You care about people, but you don't really know how to care for them." Her voice was gentle, unaware of how still the room had become. "It isn't your fault… You grew up alone. As an orphan, no one ever taught you how to be protected, so how could you learn to protect others?" Silence spread through the air.
Yet she continued casually, as if discussing something completely natural. "After I officially marry Wang Lingxuan, you can be added under our household registration as my brother. From now on, I'll take care of you. Slowly, you'll learn how to take care of your friends too." Every breath in the room seemed to freeze.
She tilted her head, she said. "Lin Xi said your company might be on the edge of ruin. You must be having financial problems. You're just too proud to ask for help because you've always depended on yourself." She smiled faintly, completely serious. "But it's okay now. Your sister is here." She raised a finger lightly. "Is five billion enough to help? Ah… right. I saw in the news that you want to acquire a company called Hengda Living, didn't you? Wait a minute."
Shen Yiran stood rooted to the spot, his mind blank for a long, breathless moment. In all his years of clawing his way to the top, no one had ever looked at him with such strange, sincere eyes, the eyes that held neither fear nor calculation. He had tried to test her, frighten her, expose her, and yet… she had reached out to him instead.
Calling him family.
Before he could steady the storm rising in his chest, he saw her walk a short distance away, her slender figure turning as she made a brief phone call. He didn't know whom she spoke to, nor did he care. For the first time, the matters of money and power seemed irrelevant.
What haunted him was a single thought…. Will she really… treat me like a brother?
Lost in that thought, he didn't even notice when she returned. Her soft voice pulled him back to reality. "By the way," Wu Qingyi said lightly, as if discussing the weather, "we can change your name to Wu Yiran. But if you want to keep Shen Yiran, I will respect it. Your name belongs to you, so the choice should too." He froze again.
Then she continued, completely unaware of the shock she was causing. "Oh, and my grandfather-in-law will be having his birthday celebration soon. You don't need to prepare any expensive gift. I know you're having financial problems." She smiled gently. "I'll teach you how to bake cookies. You can give those as a gift. What matters isn't the price, but the heart behind it."
The room fell into a heavy, stunned silence. Shen Yiran felt something crack quietly inside his chest, something he had locked away for far too long.
Warmth and perhaps… a home he never knew he was allowed to have.
Before Shen Yiran could gather his thoughts or decide how he should respond, his phone vibrated violently in his hand. The sharp ringing shattered the strange, heavy silence that had settled in his heart. He answered the call, and his secretary's frantic voice burst through the line. "President Shen, people from Hengda Living are here. They insist on seeing you immediately. They said it's urgent."
Shen Yiran's eyes darkened slightly. "Tell them to wait," he replied in a low voice. "I'll be there." He slipped the phone back into his pocket just as hurried footsteps echoed behind him. Wang Hao had returned. He stepped forward respectfully and said in a composed but firm voice, "We need to leave now. It's already late, and Young Master has been waiting for a long time." Shen Yiran glanced once more at Wu Qingyi's retreating figure, his heart in quiet turmoil. Things… were no longer as simple as he thought.
Before leaving, Wu Qingyi gently slipped her WeChat number across to Shen Yiran, her eyes clear and sincere. "Think about what I said," she murmured softly. "When you've made up your mind, call me." Shen Yiran stared at the number for a long moment, as if it carried a warmth he had never known. Wang Hao, standing nearby, was completely baffled. He had no idea what his young madam had asked the CEO to "think about," but he wisely chose not to probe.
There were more urgent matters at hand. The time had already grown late. They had to leave. They had to return not to the grand Wang residence, not to the luxurious mansion everyone imagined but to the small, hastily arranged single-room apartment he had prepared in advance.
And above all…Young Master is waiting…
After Wu Qingyi left, Shen Yiran slowly turned toward Lin Xi, his cold aura replaced by something dangerously intense. "You are the manager now," he said in a low, firm tone. "Take this position seriously."
Then, after a brief pause, his voice shifted no longer icy, but urgent. "Your first task: prepare a private office cabin for my sister. Inside it, create a resting area. You're close to her so find out what she likes and what she hates. Arrange everything according to her taste." He was already thinking far ahead. "Add a kitchen. Stock it fully. Especially baking tools and ingredients. If she gets hungry while she's here, she should be able to cook or bake without any inconvenience." Then he stopped while he thought something, then he said quickly, "No… hire a private chef as well. What if she's too tired to cook?"
His orders didn't stop. "Prepare a wardrobe inside her resting room, fill it with high-end clothes and accessories. Add all daily necessities. Nothing should be missing." His eyes darkened as his voice grew colder again. "And inform everyone. From cleaners to top executives. From guards to kitchen staff that Wu Qingyi is my sister. Treat her like a VIP. No…" He corrected himself, jaw tightening slightly. "Treat her like a princess…."
With that, he turned and walked out to meet the people from Hengda Living. Lin Xi stood frozen in place, heart racing. The aloof, arrogant CEO she thought she knew had transformed in mere minutes into a fiercely doting brother and somehow… she felt happy for them both.