511 Sky's anniversary arc (16)
“Zhan Yahui.”
Zhan Yahui turned as she was just about to leave the conference room after the shareholders had left. She smiled, watching Shi Zhelan’s fury and helplessness. The decision of granting temporary CEO rights to Zhan Yahui couldn’t be anymore devastating to her.
“Don’t you dare think that you have won with this…No matter what others say I know that you are behind everything! Your temporary authority won’t stay for long…” she dug her nails into her palm.
“Mrs. Shi, like I said before, it’s all your misunderstanding. I stepped in because I wanted the best for Shi Huan and this company.”
“You hate us!” She angrily laughed. “Don’t waste your breath in trying to convince us that you care about us.”
“But your daughter loves you, right? This situation wouldn’t have turned out like it did if she had been a little careful.”
Huan jolted for a moment, but she quickly stood firm. “I…have always been careful.”
Zhan Yahui raised her brow.
“Just because I used to meet Yunru doesn’t mean that I had any agenda. Not all rivals need to be enemies,” she quietly but sharply said, feeling hurt remembering how Yunru looked aggrieved.
It made her wistful but determined at the same time. “Yunru and I are innocent, and I will definitely prove this…” she clenched the hem of her dress.
Zhan Yahui smiled. “Be my guest.”
And she walked away, taking large steps with pride. As she reached a little bit of distance, she took out her phone and typed a message.
‘What’s going on over there?’
She got a reply instantly.
‘Doesn’t seem to be good news for us.’
Zhan Yahui didn’t show much change in her expression.
‘I see. I will think about what to do about it. As much as possible, I don’t want to lose Cai Guiying.’
She kept her phone back, taking a deep breath. Her body was, in reality, trembling with frustration itself. Her eyes, which looked friendly until now, didn’t emit much warmth anymore.
Liu Jun…a formidable enemy indeed.
The one thing which she couldn’t understand at all was how he was able to figure out the connection between Zixin’s accident and Guiying’s betrayal for MrPerfect. It was a perfect plan that should have worked without flaws but at the last moment, Guiying dropped such a bomb of Jun probably knowing everything.
She pressed her brows, gritting her teeth.
It all started when she started meeting Chen Zixin! How…How did I not get to know such a critical fact?
Where did I go lax in my plan…?
—
Sky Publishing.
‘Guiying’ held her chin as ‘she’ processed her thoughts over and over again. Jun’s words made sense to her but not at the same time. But to think that Zhan Yahui would try to manipulate Guiying felt like a stretch to her.
At present, Jin, Ai and Zixin were impatiently waiting for ‘her’ answer. They knew she had someone in mind and once they learned it, they would finally be able to untangle this whole complicated web of truths and deceits that had affected them so deeply.
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‘Guiying’ slowly parted her lips to speak. “I think…that person might be…”
“Zhan Yahui…?”
‘Her’ eyes slightly widened as ‘she’ heard Jun revealing the name ‘she’ was about to bring out.
“Huh?”
How did he know?
But Jun’s attention wasn’t on ‘Guiying.’ Instead, his gaze was fixed on the big TV screen mounted on the wall in his office. The TV was already on in mute mode when everybody came in to talk. The current channel displayed was a news channel at which Jun was focussing on at this moment.
The news that was being highlighted on that channel was regarding the recent dispute and plagiarism issue between Sky and Shi Publishing. But what he found interesting was one other piece of news scrolling by at the same time.
One part said how Zhan Yahui was revealed to be Shi Shuren’s illegitimate daughter today which also pointed out the ugly truth of him having an affair in the past.
But what was more odd was that the same illegitimate daughter was suddenly granted temporary CEO rights to Shi Publishing.
Jun stared hard at the TV screen as he read the news again and again. Tilting his head slightly, he took out his phone and dialed Huan’s number.
“Hello? Bro Jun?” Huan’s soft but strained voice came from the other end.
“Shi Huan. Tell me again. Didn’t you say before that your mother hated Zhan Yahui?”
He heard a sigh escape her lips. “Guess you saw the news then…Yes, Mom doesn’t hold Zhan Yahui in high regard and you know why.”
“Then how in the world did she become the CEO?”
“Mom didn’t wish for it. In fact…that’s the reason why Mom and Dad are arguing. But the investors and shareholders didn’t leave her any choice.”
She gave a quick summary of the meeting to Jun after which the decision came into place.
“I see…” he then smiled and said, “You don’t worry, okay? This whole mess wouldn’t stay for long.”
“Th-Thanks Bro Jun…” she wholeheartedly expressed her gratitude.
Jun hung up after which Jin said, “Heh…isn’t she one of Dream High’s editors?”
“Yes,” Ai nodded and replied. “I still cannot believe the news I am seeing.”
Huh wait…she suddenly paused.
Zixin furrowed his brows as well, silently thinking of something.
Jun turned his head and squinted his eyes at ‘Guiying.’ “The name I asked you to give…is that Zhan Yahui?”
Ai’s eyes widened, expressing her disbelief. “Zhan Yahui?”
‘Guiying’ stayed silent for a few moments but then ‘she’ grudgingly nodded. “I still don’t understand a lot of your jibber jabber, but that’s the only name in my mind. How…did you know?”
“Because in this whole fiasco, the one person who has remotely gained anything from this mess is her,” Jun pointed out at the TV screen where Zhan Yahui’s name was flashing.
Wait a minute…
Jun blinked his eyes several times.
He faintly remembered some events from his past life where some news of a new person becoming Shi Publishing’s came into his ears. But by that time, his life had turned upside down with Shui’s rejection so he hardly focused on it.
He glanced at Jin and Ai to check if they remembered anything. Jin shook his head. He wasn’t much involved in their line of work in the past and didn’t keep tabs of news of the publishing industry.
But Ai’s eyes slowly shone as the memory came to her.
She tiptoed and whispered into Jun’s ear. “I do remember Zhan Yahui stepping in as Shi Publishing’s CEO in the past but that was five years later, not now.”