Duan Yiheng turned around, gesturing for Lin Xi to sit in his seat. Seeing that he was about to reprimand someone, Tian Han abruptly stood up and said, "Mr. Duan, shall we go out first?" "Watch out," Duan Yiheng glanced around, "Sit down, don't move."
Tian Han, sweating profusely, sat back down. Duan Yiheng then pressed down on Vice President Sha's shoulder, firmly pinning him to the seat Lin Xi had been sitting in. The atmosphere in the private room froze, everyone holding their breath, watching anxiously.
Duan Yiheng smiled, one hand on the round table, the other on the back of the chair, his tone very soft: "Vice President Sha, don't tell me this is how you usually discuss projects."
Vice President Sha suddenly regained a sliver of clarity; the person standing before him wasn't Lin Xi, but Duan Yiheng. "Mr. Duan, I—" He tried to stand up, but Duan Yiheng pressed his shoulder down again. "You like drinking?" Duan Yiheng's gaze darkened. "The glass is too small, it's not satisfying. Use a wine glass." "I... Mr. Duan, could I—" "Drink." Duan Yiheng interrupted him.
Vice President Sha swallowed hard, not daring to disobey Duan Yiheng's order. He poured the baijiu into the empty wine glass that Lin Xi hadn't touched, and shakily drank a third of it as if it were water. The others instinctively felt a stomachache, not daring to look directly, only daring to glance out of the corner of their eyes.
Director Xu was completely unaffected, saying to Lin Xi, "I have a small bowl here that I haven't used. Shall I get you a bowl of soup?" Lin Xi's eyes widened slightly. Sister, you're so relaxed. "Do you want some?" Director Xu urged her. Lin Xi couldn't refuse her kindness, and smiled.
"Half is fine." Tian Han truly admired Director Xu's composure; while the scene next door was breathtaking, the two of them were eating right there. After downing a large glass of baijiu, Vice President Sha revealed a pained expression: "President Duan, I really can't drink anymore." "You still recognize me?" Duan Yiheng said in a deep voice, "Looks like this alcohol only works on women." Vice President Sha's face was deathly pale, and he shamelessly begged for mercy: "I was just joking with Secretary Lin, I didn't mean anything by it." "Is that so?" Duan Yiheng's eyes were devoid of warmth. "I was just joking with you too, keep drinking." Vice President Sha was almost in tears, but he could only keep pouring more wine and drinking. In the end, he wept bitterly, begging for mercy repeatedly, almost kneeling before Duan Yiheng, a truly pathetic sight.
Duan Yiheng finally let him go, saying, "Tomorrow I will notify the HR department to remove you from all your positions and thoroughly investigate all projects and accounts during your tenure. Any problems will be handed over to the legal department." Vice President Sha knelt down:
"President Duan, you can't do this to me! It's all my fault, I apologize to Secretary Lin..." Tian Han immediately got up and dragged Vice President Sha out the door. Just when everyone thought Duan Yiheng was about to warn everyone present, he said to Lin Xi,
"Are you full?" Lin Xi nodded. "Let's go." Everyone stood up with the two of them. Duan Yiheng didn't turn back, leading Lin Xi back to the hotel. She knew Duan Yiheng was doing this for her sake, but someone like Vice President Sha didn't deserve sympathy.
Before returning to her room, Lin Xi thanked Duan Yiheng. Thinking of Director Xu, she smiled and told Duan Yiheng that she was very interesting. Duan Yiheng nodded: "Were you scared tonight?" Lin Xi shook her head: "With you here." Duan Yiheng took a half step forward, staring at her and asking:
"What if I weren't here?" "I'd throw the wine in his face." Lin Xi made a "throw" gesture, almost hitting Duan Yiheng's face. He dodged, a faint smile appearing on his lips. Seeing that he finally relaxed his brow, Lin Xi said, "It's getting late, I'll go back to my room first. Goodnight." "Goodnight," Duan Yiheng said gently, only turning to go back to his room after Lin Xi had entered.
The next day, the matter concerning Vice President Sha was circulated internally within the company. Many people knew that Duan Yiheng was on a business trip, and this incident caused widespread anxiety. Of course, it was mainly the leadership who were afraid; it had little to do with ordinary employees.
Duan Yiheng handed Lin Xi a stack of documents, saying, "There's an internal seminar in half an hour. Take a look at the materials first; each department has adjusted the details of their plans." Lin Xi took the documents: "I'll prepare right away." Duan Yiheng's gaze fell on her face, and he suddenly asked:
"Didn't you sleep well last night?" Lin Xi was taken aback, subconsciously touching her face: "Didn't you cover your dark circles?" Duan Yiheng: "...I covered them. I just noticed you looked a little tired." Lin Xi breathed a sigh of relief, looking down at the documents, and said:
"I organized the meeting minutes, went to bed a little late, and also took a video call from Yutong." Duan Yiheng: "...You girls never stop chatting." Lin Xi snorted: "I didn't neglect my work." Duan Yiheng:
"..." Half an hour later, the two entered the meeting room from yesterday. Lin Xi witnessed for the first time how a holographic projection materialized the code stream into a blue waterfall of light. She stared in amazement, momentarily distracted. Duan Yiheng tapped his pen on the table:
"I need the actual stress test report, not the theoretical values. Secretary Lin, pull up the circuit breaker parameters from last year's Singapore project." Lin Xi snapped out of her reverie, her phone flying across the keyboard. The next second, the large screen switched to a comparison chart.
Everyone in the conference room was on high alert. Time ticked by, and before they knew it, it was past lunchtime. Fortunately, there was finally some progress, and they would continue in the afternoon.
Duan Yiheng was always in meetings when he was on business trips. The two of them grabbed a quick bite in the cafeteria. After an afternoon of hard work, Duan Yiheng finally finalized the sidechain solution.
He stayed on-site for two more days. The signing ceremony didn't require Duan Yiheng's attendance; the follow-up matters would be handled by others. They planned to go to Lu Tong's farm tomorrow.
Having spent four days in the office, dealing with piles of documents and data all day, Lin Xi just wanted to lie down and clear her mind when she received a call from Duan Mingxuan. At the same time, there was a knock on the door outside. Judging from the sound, it seemed to be Duan Yiheng knocking.
Lin Xi ignored her incessantly ringing phone and slowly got up from the sofa. Duan Yiheng came in and, hearing the phone ring, asked suspiciously, "Why didn't you answer?" Lin Xi, exhausted, sat back down on the sofa and showed him her phone:
"I'll answer it now, don't say anything." Duan Yiheng nodded. As soon as Lin Xi answered, Duan Mingxuan asked her on the other end of the line, "Xiao Xi, when are you coming back?" Lin Xi cleared her throat:
"Sorry, I probably won't be able to make it back for your birthday. I'm still on a business trip at the branch office." Duan Mingxuan: "Then when will you be back?" Lin Xi gave a very vague answer: "I'm not sure, it depends on the work progress."
Duan Mingxuan noticed the coldness in her tone and said, "My parents have been arguing these past few days, making a huge fuss at home. I couldn't stand being there, and I didn't want to go out drinking with Yu Lang, so I came to S City." Lin Xi:
"..."