When Shen Yiran returned to his office, the atmosphere had already shifted. Inside the spacious cabin stood three people waiting for him - the owner of Hengda Living, his assistant, and a lawyer in a crisp black suit. The moment Shen Yiran took his seat, a thick folder of documents was slid across the polished table. The owner spoke calmly, almost too calmly. "CEO Shen Yiran, I have already transferred Hengda Living under your name. You only need to provide your identity documents and sign the ownership agreement. Once done, the company is yours."
Silence filled the room. Shen Yiran's secretary - Meng Xue stood frozen at the side. Her fingers tightened around the clipboard. They had spent months negotiating, calculating, bargaining, yet never once did they get close to acquiring Hengda Living and now, its owner was personally delivering it…. Her instincts screamed danger. This isn't normal, she thought. Deals like this were never this easy. Something was terribly wrong. The air felt heavy and unseen currents had already begun to move.
"We were ready to offer the highest price among all competitors, yet you refused to sell. Now you appear before me, willing to hand over the company so easily. Tell me, at what price are you selling Hengda Living to me?" Shen Yiran asked, his voice calm but sharp, his gaze piercing straight through the man.
Hengda Living's owner broke into a cold sweat as he hurried forward, lowering his voice in panic, "CEO Shen Yiran… how could I dare take money from you? If I had known you were related to Miss Wu Qingyi, I would have handed this company over long ago. Please, just sign the transfer documents quickly. I still have to report back to Miss Wu Qingyi… and if I delay even a little, she might really skin me alive. Just take it and please consider it a gift."
Shen Yiran's eyes flickered faintly when he heard the name Wu Qingyi, and in that instant, the image of her stepping aside to make that mysterious phone call flashed through his mind. He felt as though a silent thunder had exploded inside his chest. So… it was her. She had casually handed him what he had struggled to obtain for so long - lightly, effortlessly, as if offering a piece of chocolate instead of an entire company.
After a long moment of silence, he picked up the pen and signed the documents. With that single stroke, Hengda Living was transferred into his name without a single yuan leaving his account. When the people of Hengda Living left in a rush, the room fell deathly quiet. Secretary Meng Xue could no longer hold back her curiosity. She stepped forward and asked softly, "CEO… who is Wu Qingyi?"
A rare, gentle smile curved on Shen Yiran's cold lips. His voice, low and warm, carried a pride he had never felt before. "My… dear sister."
Shen Yiran immediately typed out a message on WeChat and sent it to Wu Qingyi, his expression caught somewhere between disbelief and restrained excitement "Sis, thank you for the gift. When I'm capable enough, when I've accomplished something worthy, I'll change my name from Shen Yiran to Wu Yiran. Also… just a reminder, a few days before Old Master Wang's birthday, I'll call you. We'll bake cookies for him together."
Very soon, a soft chime announced her reply: "Sure, you can call me anytime to bake the cookies."
Shen Yiran's lips had just lifted into a faint smile when another message arrived. This time, the words seemed to carry warmth straight through the screen: "Brother, I will wait for the day you become successful… All the best…"
Shen Yiran never imagined there would come a day when someone would place unwavering trust in him with no doubts, no conditions, no hesitation. As he looked at the simple message on his screen, a warmth spread quietly through his chest. So, this… is what it feels like to have someone standing behind you. Someone who believes in you, supports you, and entrusts you with their faith. For the first time in a long while, he felt the weight on his shoulders grow lighter.
Then, he turned to Meng Xue and instructed calmly, "Prepare an agreement to transfer five percent of Hengda Living's shares to Old Master Wang. It will be the birthday gift from his granddaughter-in-law's family." As for Shen Yiran, he left the office with an uncharacteristic lightness in his steps. There were arrangements to be made at home, and one more urgent task he refused to take lightly that is finding a professional baking chef. After all, he had promised his little sister that they would bake cookies together. And for the first time in his life, he didn't want to disappoint someone who genuinely believed in him.
Meng Xue stood rooted to the spot, horrified yet bewildered, as he watched his master's expression with an unguarded, genuine smile, not the polished mask he wore in the business world. Sister? Her mind spun. When had the CEO found a family? Wasn't he an orphan? And who in the world was "Old Man Wang's granddaughter-in-law"?
Something extraordinary must have happened today to make their aloof, untouchable CEO soften like this. Unable to resist, he finally sought out Lin Xi, the newly appointed manager. After hearing the full story from her from the chaos at the estate to Miss Wu Qingyi's thunderous entrance into their CEO's life, Meng Xue could only nod in dazed understanding. No wonder their cold, distant CEO was smiling as if spring had finally arrived.
A few hours earlier, Wang Hao had slipped out of the estate and urgently instructed the bodyguards to locate an old, run-down single-room apartment, something that looked naturally lived-in, as if someone had occupied it for years. Only after the preparations were well underway did he finally gather every ounce of courage he had… and place a call to his master.
"Hello, Master… how are you?" Wang Hao asked cautiously, his voice tight with the nervous courage he had just managed to gather.
Wang Lingxuan's voice cut through the receiver, low and stern. "When did my secretary become so free-spirited that he calls just to chat? Speak. You know I have no patience for beating around the bush."
Wang Hao cleared his throat, gathering every last drop of courage before speaking. "Master… about the bride," he said in a small, cautious voice, "we… we are bringing her home."
"What? She's not satisfied with the money you offered?" Wang Lingxuan's voice sharpened with impatience. "Then give her more or give her whatever she wants. Just settle it. Do I really need to teach you something this basic?"
Wang Hao swallowed hard before forcing the words out. "No, Master… it's not about money. The situation is… different." His voice dropped to a trembling whisper. "Your bride… she isn't like what we expected. She's… mentally challenged, Master. We can't leave her alone on her own."
Wang Lingxuan's impatience faded the moment he heard those words. "Then bring her here," he said, his tone softening unexpectedly. "Take good care of her and arrange proper treatment. If she recovers, then she can decide her own path and if she can't recover let's see later what to do with her."
Wang Hao swallowed hard as there was no escaping now. "Master… it's not that simple," he began, voice trembling. "We can't bring her to the Wang Mansion. You… you…" He was scrambling for the right words, afraid that a single misplaced syllable would ignite his master's temper. But before he could gather the courage to continue, Wang Lingxuan's icy voice cut straight through him. "Wang Hao," he said, each word heavy with warning, "when did you start hiding things from me?" A beat of silence followed, colder than winter steel. "Speak. Now. And don't make me repeat myself."
"Master… we've already bought an old single-room unit, and you'll need to move into it immediately so that you're there before we bring the young madam home," Wang Hao blurted out in one breath. A heavy silence settled on the other end of the call, but he could feel that his master was still listening, so he forced himself to continue, "Young Master… Young Madam believes you live in a rundown place, she only knows what she saw in the news. Right now, she's at Golden Crest Properties because she wants to buy you a house as a wedding gift. We can't let her good intentions go to waste. That's why… that's why you need to pretend to be poor until we move into the property she chooses." Finally, Wang Hao spilled everything he had been struggling to put into words but he didn't tell the part where Wu Qingyi thought he was weak and needs protection.
Wang Lingxuan was stunned into silence. Him? A poor man? The thought was so absurd it almost felt refreshing. A slow, unexpected curve lifted at the corner of his lips as he mused over it… interesting… For the first time that day, a spark of curiosity stirred within him about this strange bride of his who believed he lived in poverty and still wished to buy him a home as a wedding gift. After a brief pause, his voice came through the receiver, low and tinged with amusement. "Alright," he said, a hint of intrigue woven into his calm tone. "I will become the poor man my wife believes me to be."
Wang Hao was taken aback. He had expected a battle, at least a few sharp questions or cold refusals. Yet his young master accepted the absurd plan of pretending to be poor with such ease that it left him momentarily speechless. Letting out a long, weary sigh, he gathered himself and hurried back to escort the young madam.