Pei Yan stomped into his office, slammed the door behind him, and threw himself inelegantly into his leather chair. He leaned back, pinched the bridge of his nose, and exhaled through clenched teeth.
These last three days had been the absolute worst of his life.
"The usual," he grunted into the air, praying for his headache to evaporate out of existence.
It was a habit. Tuesdays were board meetings - he had to outwit the vultures who circled him. And every tuesday, after the meetings, Lu Mian would always be there in his office to make him soothing tea to take care of him.
The gentle sounds of someone making tea filled the air - the familiar sounds of porcelain and water helped Pei Yan relax a little.
His mind automatically started analysing the events of the past few days.
Client X indeed withdrew a couple of days back - exactly on the "third day" as Lu Mian had predicted. And when they pulled out, the company's capital chain trembled. It immediately threw them in turmoil.
Shareholders wanted an explanation. His father, furious with him for amending the contract, wanted him to rectify it asap.
And the backlash of one client withdrawing made investors nervous and some of them had started pulling back from projects.
Pei Yan was spread thin trying to convince the investors on one side and desperately trying to win back Client X on the other. Unfortunately, all his efforts to meet the President were in vain. He couldn't even get the secretary on the phone.
What really hurt his pride was that this was his first independently drafted contract since becoming the CEO.
He had done everything by himself from meticulous market analysis, competitor benchmarking, projected workflow modeling, even the pricing matrix.
The Board didn't love it, but they didn't object either. And then… Lu Mian had quietly amended it before submission to the client.
The Client truly liked the amendment she had made without his knowledge. Her adaptive dual-pipeline model showed a way to restructure the workflow in the most cost-effective way.
The President of X personally called him to congratulate him on a fantastic proposal. He had been over the moon and they had a signing meeting in the next hour.
Lu Mian had been in the office that day with him, he recalled. She had been thrilled too "I knew the change would do it Yan ge" she'd cried, her eyes shining with happiness.
And that's when Pei Yan found out that the contract he had so painstakingly worked on had fundamentally changed because of a few amendments by Lu Mian.
He was furious with Lu Mian for meddling. He couldn't see her good intentions then. After yelling at her for her arrogance - for being such a show off, Pei Yan bribed the secretary and changed the contract back to the original version.
He refused to believe his hardwork was useless, or that he wasn't as smart as a girl still in school.
Fully confident that Lu Mian's changes were rubbish, Pei Yan had rejoiced when the contract came through and the first month invoice came in.
That was until a few days back.
It's the damn video" he muttered to himself. The clients must've seen the viral video from the breakfast shop a few days back and then re-checked the fine print.
Till now Pei Yan didn't believe his suggestions were worthless. He pegged the Client withdrawing to finding out they were tricked. He was confident if he explained his side of things, they would be able to reach a happy conclusion.
The faint chink of a teacup placed next to him woke him from his thoughts. Eyes still bleary, he automatically reached out and bent to take a refreshing sip of freshly brewed Pu'er tea.
"Bleagh". It was proof of his strict upbringing that Pei Yan didn't spit it back out. Where was the brew Lu Mian usually made? Wide awake, he turned to yell at Lu Mian and stopped short.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, looking at Lu Xinya who seemed rather embarrassed by his reaction.
"I came to see you Yan gege" blushed Xinya prettily. "Mother wanted to know if we could go together to the NineStrings festival. We have first row tickets - courtesy of the Lanting Academy because they loved my submission so much" she continued trying to be modest and reserved. "We can…"
"I will see." Pei Yan cut her off impatiently. He had no time or patience for this girl. "I am very busy with the company at the moment. I will ask if my mother can come." In case Lu Xinya wins, it will reflect well on them - and could alleviate some of the pressure he was feeling.
"But Yan ge" Lu Xinya looked at him with wide eyes, biting her lips. "I want to introduce you to all my friends, they have been asking to meet you. After the recitation…"
"It's a fake engagement anyway" Pei Yan brushed her off again. "No need to make it so public"
Lu Xinya teared up. "I am sorry Yan gege. I knew you belonged to sister, but is it wrong of me to enjoy these small pleasures? I cannot stand next to you as your wife. I thought… I thought… I could satisfy this little thing…." and tears fell down her face like broken pearls.
"I am sorry." she continued bravely. "I thought too much… I…" and she choked up, apparently too sad for words.
Pei Yan looked at her a bit frustrated. Lu Mian never cried. She always prioritized his work first. The unbidded thought startled Pei Yan. One of his biggest complaints about Lu Mian was how strong she was. She never cried, never needed his help, and in fact helped him out in the company.
What had attracted him to Lu Xinya was that she depended on him and looked up to him for everything. He thought then that girls should be more like Lu Xinya - obedient and knowing their place.
Pushing away the random thought, he wondered how to soothe this girl.
"Stop your crying girl. Of course Yan'er will accompany you" Father Pei called from the door.
Pei Chengyuan sailed in, his eyes gleaming with calculation. He had been wondering how they could turn the crisis in the company around. And now, he had found the perfect way.
"Dry your tears and run along now. Our Yan'er didn't mean anything. He just doesn't know how to please girls. You can slowly teach him later" he continued and asked the secretary to usher her out.
"Thank you Uncle Pei" Xinya said demurely. "Of course I don't blame Yan gege. I think he is awesome, working so hard in the company."
And giving Pei Chengyuan a beautiful, yet brave smile, she left.
"Father, I have no time.." began Pei Yan.
"Stupid boy. Don't you think you have caused enough trouble? Opportunity is in front of you and you still don't seize it?" Pei Chengyuan was truly fed up with his son.
"With the video still going viral, people are asking if you will return the prescriptions back to the Lu girl. Now is not the time to make mistakes" he scolded.
"So what if we return them. The Pei Enterprises can last well without them and Lu Mian can…"
WHACK
Pei Chengyuan had used his cane to give his son a painful whack across his back. "Your arrogance will be the end of our time here." he yelled, furious.
"Do you know how much the prescriptions make every quarter?! Do you know how much Lu Mian really does for this company? The company is in turmoil today because she's no longer around."
"Every one of the investors came for her. They are pulling back now because she isn't overseeing the projects anymore."
"Impossible." stated Pei Yan in denial. "She just helps with some editing on the side. They don't even know she exists. They have never met her!" Pei Yan knew this for a fact.
Pei Chengyuan took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. "Don;t you think that is even more terrifying? They had never met her but the minute she stops handling projects, they can sense the change and aren't happy anymore…"
"You think she conspired against us?" frowned Pei Yan. "Did she…"
"Stop." said Father Pei wearily. He realized his son was too prejudiced and arrogant to see facts.
Pei Chegyuan was not a genius by any means. Neither was he a good man. He took shortcuts, used people, and cheated his way up to the top. Regardless of his shortcomings, there was one ability that made Father Pei stand out. Self-awareness.
He knew exactly where he stood, what his capabilities were, and what he was worth. It was this practical self-awareness that enabled him to see talent in others, in Lu Mian and use them to climb up.
How did I have such an incompetent son? He wondered, thoroughly disappointed.
"Attend the festival with your fiance. When you are there, coax the older Lu girl - we need her prescriptions and her genius. She's hopelessly in love with you. Seeing you with her sister - especially when her sister is so excellent will weaken her. I hope I don't have to spell out how to win her back." Father Pei instructed, looking annoyed.
"Of course I will coax her back" murmured Pei Yan resentfully. He knew his father was right about the video going viral. A lot of people would be watching how he reacts. Now, more than ever he cannot make mistakes.
But Pei Yan had his pride. After all the trouble Lu Mian had caused, he wanted her to beg him and crawl back. He wanted her to see how easily she could be replaced.
"And son" called Father Pei as he turned to leave. "If you haven't already, you should read the contracts Lu Mian has written. Start from the one that made you the CEO here" Father Pei left.
Back then, when Lu Mian helped with the company, Father Pei had his reasons for keeping quiet about it. He didn't want the elder branch of the family sniffing her out and using her. He also didn't want the Board or the Shareholders to think his son wasn't capable.
So he never publicised how crucial Lu Mian really was. After all, in the Pei family the wife's success always belonged to the man.
Now, for the first time, Father Pei wondered if he had miscalculated. He didn't feel any guilt or remorse about how he used her. In fact, he thought using Lu Xinya to get make the girl jealous would get them more benefits.
He just felt maybe had his son known more, they wouldn't be in this crisis today. Hopefully, they can win back lost ground at the Nine Strings Festival next week.
A lot was riding on it.