Three clients were lost in just two days after she left the company.
Pei Kexin couldn't imagine the challenges Pei Shi would face once the news of the old man's passing spread.
After some thought, she decided that she absolutely had to call a meeting with the heads of all departments one last time.
Her assistant notified the departmental leaders, and soon, the final meeting was convened in the main conference room.
Pei Kexin sat at the head of the table and asked everyone to share their thoughts on the client losses.
A sales representative, who was well-informed, said.
"I heard that Zhan Corporation intends to acquire our company. They failed once before, so could this be their deliberate move while Chairman Pei is in trouble?"
Zhan Corporation?
Although she had heard the name frequently, hearing it today somehow felt different.
She thought of Zhan Mouchen.
He said he wasn't from Nan Cheng, but was he really not?
And if he was from Nan Cheng, there weren't many people surnamed Zhan there.
Unsure of who to ask for verification, Pei Kexin searched on Baidu after the meeting.
Baidu had comprehensive information, but it was all about Zhan Bei Jue, Jiang Nan Fang, and the quadruplets. There was no mention of the fifth or sixth child, only their approximate ages.
The fifth child was already 23.
Zhan Jing Rui and Jiang Jing Yu had photos on Baidu, and their respective business responsibilities were also clearly stated.
More importantly, the two of them looked identical, and Pei Kexin knew Jiang Jing Yu.
Jiang Jing Yu, Jiang Jing Chen...
Pei Kexin repeatedly examined their names and appearances, and finally, with growing suspicion, she began to inquire about this third young master Zhan.
The first person she thought of was Gu Wei: "The third young master of Zhan Corporation, do you know him?"
Gu Wei didn't reply immediately, but Fu Duoduo responded right away.
"Why are you suddenly asking about him?"
Pei Kexin briefly explained what had just happened at the company, as well as her discovery that Jiang Jing Chen actually had the surname Zhan.
Fu Duoduo: "Oh no, I knew it!"
"What's wrong? What do you know?"
Fu Duoduo: "Yesterday at Nishang, didn't I tell you I saw Jiang Jing Chen?"
"Do you know who he was with? Yao Dongzhuo! Yao Dongzhuo's sister was holding his arm, they looked like a perfect match!"
Pei Kexin: "..."
"At that time, he pretended not to know me, and he and Miss Yao looked like a golden couple. I was afraid of mistaking him, so I didn't dare to approach. I even thought to myself, how could a mere delivery man like him possibly get involved with the Yao family? Now it seems... If it really is him, the third young master of the Zhan family, was your marriage to him a pre-arranged trap?"
Pei Kexin couldn't tell who was tricking whom at the moment.
"Nothing is conclusive yet, don't panic. Can you help me find some information about him?"
To be undercover for the third young master of the Zhan family, and the two of them...
What was all this about!
Fu Duoduo worked in the entertainment industry, and the Zhan family was a prominent one, so it should be easy to investigate a young master.
"No problem, it's on me. But don't rush, give me some time."
After hanging up, Pei Kexin felt the situation was becoming increasingly grim.
Losing three clients in just two days, if she continued to be careless, by the time the funeral formalities for Pei Shi were completed and all the funeral details were handled...
No. She had to inform the Pei family in advance so they would be aware.
No matter what, for the old man's sake, she didn't want Pei Shi to fall into someone else's hands.
Besides, she had called the old man "Dad" for nearly twenty years, and now he was going to be buried, she couldn't possibly not go and see him one last time.
Within the Pei family, the person least hostile towards her was the youngest daughter of her second uncle's family.
Pei Kexin didn't want to deal with too many people, so she called her.
The young girl said they were at the funeral home, picking out an urn, and the memorial service would be held officially tomorrow.
Pei Kexin got the address and immediately drove there.
She hadn't eaten lunch and had a meeting at the company. By the time she arrived at the funeral home, it was already past two in the afternoon.
In the spacious and cold front hall, the men and women of the Pei family, young and old, stood in a cluster.
Pei Kexin parked her car and walked over. As soon as she stepped onto the stairs, someone alertly spotted her.
The eldest sister was displeased and turned to ask her eldest brother.
"Haven't all the evidence been prepared? Why hasn't her position in the company been revoked yet? Don't tell me you're still planning to let her see Dad off tomorrow out of consideration for your sibling relationship."
The eldest brother looked at Pei Zongrui: "Wasn't it handed over to you to handle? What was the outcome?"
Pei Zongrui sized up Pei Kexin through the crowd and said coldly.
"Don't worry, the agreement has been signed anyway. She won't get a single cent from our family now. As long as the evidence is in our hands, she can never escape our grasp. What's there to be afraid of?"
"We've been busy these past two days, so we haven't had time to bother with her. Let her come if she wants, it's good to have one more person to run errands."
Pei Kexin had already walked over, and everyone fell silent, all looking at her.
She also looked at them, "I'm late. Where is Dad now?"
The eldest sister sneered: "What? The memorial service hasn't even started yet, are you here to cry prematurely?"
"I called him Dad for more than ten years, shouldn't I cry?"
"You should. He's lying in the box, just taken out, still warm. Hurry up and cry."
Pei Kexin: "..."
As the eldest daughter of the Pei family, the old man's only biological daughter, to speak of her father in such terms after his death truly challenged common sense!
Pei Kexin vowed that this was truly the last time she would deal with the Pei family in her life!
"I know you don't like me and don't welcome me, but I still came."
"Eldest Sister, I didn't come here to annoy you or argue with you. It's just because the person I care about is here, and you happen to know him, his name is Pei Yuan Jing."
"Everyone's attention is focused on Dad's death now, and Pei Shi's business rivals are already starting to stir. I've come to remind everyone..."
No one wanted to listen to grand pronouncements, especially tedious and dull ones.
Before Pei Kexin could finish her heartfelt speech, she was met with a round of ridicule.
"An outsider picked up from nowhere, after working at the company for a few days and signing a few clients, you think you're so great? Coming to Dad's funeral to lecture us, your self-importance is off the charts, Li Lanlan!"
Pei Kexin: "...Think whatever you want. Whether I came with sincerity or put on a show, it doesn't matter anymore. I've said what I wanted to say. Since you still have things to do, I'll be going now."
As she turned to leave, Pei Zongrui called out to her from the crowd: "Stop."
"Aren't you very filial? You always say you want to repay Pei Yuan Jing. Since you're here, why don't you show it?"
"Coincidentally, a ritual needs to be performed in the mourning hall before the ashes are taken out. You, go. Hold your father's memorial tablet and kneel to perform the ritual."
"It wouldn't be right for such a filial daughter to not participate in her father's ritual, would it?"