Chapter 2

This was the only place in the building that was truly mine.

The desk phone rang. Reception had transferred a video call.

The screen lit up with the weathered face of my uncle, Shen Peifeng.

Behind him stretched a lush tea garden—the mountain behind our old home in Jiangzhe.

“A Chi, have you had breakfast?”

My uncle’s voice was warm, touched by the accent of home.

“I have, Uncle.”

Seeing his hair turn gray, my heart gave a pang.

After my mother died, he was my only blood relative left in the world.

He never married and had always loved me as if I were his own daughter.

But his health had been poor these past few years. He’d stayed home to recuperate and handed full control of the tea estate to Han Xu.

“Good, good.”

My uncle rubbed his hands together, looking a little awkward.

“Han Xu called this morning. He said the company wants to do some kind of… restructuring.”

He didn’t understand complicated business jargon and could only repeat it hesitantly.

“A Chi, I know you may not be happy about it.”

“But I’ve watched Han Xu grow up. He wouldn’t hurt us.”

My uncle sighed, offering sincere advice.

“He and Xiao just got married. Xiao’s a good girl, educated. She left a high-paying job overseas to come back and help us run the tea estate.”

“We can’t let her down.”

I listened quietly without interrupting.

Han Xu really was clever. He knew exactly what I cared about most, so he’d put my uncle in front as a shield.

“Do you know what kind of restructuring they’re planning?”

I asked calmly.

My uncle paused, then waved it away.

“Oh, it’s just giving a few shares to the people who work there.”

“A Chi, you can never earn enough money. Our family has a solid foundation. We won’t miss a little bit.”

“Listen to your uncle. Don’t be angry with them. Just sign.”

“Then you can live your own life in peace. Han Xu will shoulder everything for you.”

I said nothing, looking into my uncle’s trusting eyes.

Han Xu had kept him so sheltered that he couldn’t see what the world had become.

“I understand, Uncle. Please take care of your health.”

I ended the video call.

The screen had barely gone dark when my office door opened.

Xiao walked in carrying a freshly squeezed glass of juice.

She set it on the desk in front of me, still smiling with her usual gentle, harmless expression.

“Fresh orange juice. Have some vitamins.”

She glanced at the dark screen, her tone a little careless.

“Done talking to your uncle? Older people really do know how to reason.”

I didn’t touch the juice. I looked straight at her.

“Did you need something else?”

Xiao pulled out the chair across from me and sat down elegantly.

“Nothing major.”

She took a list from her jacket pocket and slid it gently toward me.

“If you don’t want to sign the share agreement, then as the company’s finance director, I’ll have to follow the rules.”

“The cost of maintaining your top-floor office is too high. Besides, you hardly ever come in. It’s a waste.”

“I’ve arranged with Administration to turn this space into a reception room for important clients tomorrow.”

She looked at me without a trace of provocation, only the cold certainty that things had to be this way.

“And the company car and driver you usually use are registered to the company.”

“The company needs to cut unnecessary administrative expenses, so starting today, neither will be available to you.”