Chapter 3

Xiao pulled a black supplementary card from my pen holder, pinched it between two fingers, and gave it a little shake.

“This unlimited credit card is linked to the company account, too.”

“You’re not a child anymore. You can’t keep bleeding the company dry with everyone else’s hard-earned money.”

She slipped the card gently into her business-card wallet.

“Learning to stand on your own will help you in the future.”

I watched her smooth, practiced movements and found them amusing.

She used the gentlest tone to do the cruelest things.

And every reason she gave was so flawless that no one could argue with it.

“So as of today, there’s no place for me in this building?”

I stood and straightened my dress.

Xiao rose as well, tilting her head with a sweet smile.

“You can ask for a desk in the regular staff area.”

“But I checked the attendance records. You don’t even come in for three full days a month. By policy, we’d have to treat that as unauthorized absence.”

“Xiao, do you think that controlling the company’s books means you control everything?”

I looked at her and asked calmly.

Xiao chuckled softly and smoothed a tiny crease in my shoulder.

“Little sister, times have changed. Having your name on a few old yellowed papers doesn’t make you the owner.”

“Ability and value are what matter.”

She turned and walked toward the door.

“I’ll have the cleaners pack up your personal things and send them to you.”

I didn’t need the cleaners to pack for me. I took only the old diary my mother had left behind, then walked out of the building.

Without my private driver, I had to hail a taxi.

“Driver, take me to No. 14 Nanshan Road.”

It was a centuries-old house halfway up the mountainside, the first property my mother had bought.

Every spring, I returned to sit beneath the old camphor tree in the courtyard and drink tea.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped in front of the stone path leading to the old house.

I’d barely opened the car door when I saw a bustling scene.

More than a dozen box trucks were parked outside the courtyard. Workers streamed in and out, carrying all kinds of building materials and old furniture.

The house’s simple wooden doors had been removed and replaced with modern automatic glass doors.

A brand-new sign hung above the entrance:

“Han Tea Premium Cultural Experience Center.”

I stood at the foot of the steps and watched several workers carry out a huge wooden crate.

Inside were my favorite Qing-dynasty Yixing teapot set and several bamboo carvings my mother had collected.

The crate was packed too full. A carved bamboo tea scoop fell to the ground and was crushed beneath a worker’s leather shoe.

“Hey, be careful! Just take this junk straight to the dump behind the mountain.”

A familiar voice came from the courtyard.

Xiao wore a fitted long coat and a wide-brimmed hat, directing the work from the middle of the yard.

When she saw me, she froze for a moment, then immediately put on a flawless smile.

“Little sister, what are you doing here?”

She clicked over to me in high heels, her voice still so gentle no one could find fault with it.

“Didn’t I tell you that you no longer needed to worry about what happens here?”

I looked at the bamboo carving broken in half on the ground and said nothing.

“It’s a waste to leave this old house empty. Han Xu says the feng shui is good here, so it’s perfect for hosting our overseas VIP clients.”

Xiao followed my gaze to the broken bamboo pieces, then casually kicked them aside.

“The furnishings are too old. They don’t fit our brand’s upscale positioning anymore.”