Chapter 228: Chapter 228: Futile Effort
"Idiot." Xu Ke sneered.
Liao Yanyan, who had been scheming against Xu Ke all along, didn’t know her plan had gone awry from the start.
When Xu Ke arrived at the Lin Group, Lin Mengyao had not finished her work, so Xu Ke sat on the sofa in the office, quietly watching Lin Mengyao at work.
While working, Lin Mengyao was different from usual; from head to toe, she was sharp as a steel blade, cutting with just a glance and making others dare not look again. Yet, Xu Ke loved Lin Mengyao like this.
A woman as hard as a knife, yet soft for one person; how could Xu Ke not love such a Lin Mengyao?
"Why didn’t you call out to me? How long have you been waiting here?" Lin Mengyao asked as she looked up from the endless sea of documents, noticing Xu Ke staring at her intently, her demeanor softening somewhat.
Xu Ke stepped forward and massaged Lin Mengyao’s sore neck and shoulders, speaking softly, "I didn’t want to disturb you since you were busy, and I haven’t been waiting long. What would you like to eat for lunch today? Since you’re so tired, let me take you to the Imperial Kitchen for some pigeon soup; the head chef today is best at making it."
"Sure, I happen to crave it too." Lin Mengyao replied with a smile.
Xu Ke set aside thoughts of Liao Yanyan and led Lin Mengyao to enjoy some pigeon soup.
Originally, Xu Ke wanted to talk to Lin Mengyao about Liao Yanyan, but Lin Mengyao interrupted, and he forgot about it. When he remembered again, it was late at night; looking at Lin Mengyao’s sleeping face made him abandon the idea altogether. He believed he could handle it, but underestimated Liao Yanyan’s speed.
"President Lin, there’s a package for you." The assistant placed the package on Lin Mengyao’s desk with a peculiar expression. Having joined the Lin Group for nearly two months, it was her first time receiving a package for Lin Mengyao. The assistant couldn’t help thinking it was unexpected for a big company’s CEO to enjoy online shopping like ordinary workers.
"Just leave it there. You may go." Lin Mengyao instructed without looking up.
The office returned to silence again; after some time, Lin Mengyao rubbed her sore neck and finally looked up from the mountain of files, turning towards the package on the side.
"Strange. I didn’t buy anything or sign any new contracts. Who sent this?" Lin Mengyao murmured curiously as she picked up the package from the desk.
The package showed no sender’s address or name, and it wasn’t very large, appearing to contain documents or similar items. This piqued Lin Mengyao’s curiosity even more.
"Could it be a gift from Xu Ke?" The thought softened Lin Mengyao’s expression instantly, with a hint of shy delight.
With a mix of shyness and excitement, Lin Mengyao opened the package. Inside fell more than a dozen photos, which none resembled the surprise she had imagined; gravely, she brushed aside the torn package and picked up the photos from the desk.
The sight of Xu Ke’s face in the photos stabbed Lin Mengyao like steel sharpness into her eyes, but more glaring was the woman snugly close to Xu Ke in the pictures.
For a moment, Lin Mengyao’s mind went entirely blank, even stopping her breathing. If the pain from prolonged oxygen deprivation hadn’t awakened her, she might have suffocated to death as an entrepreneur.
Just as Lin Mengyao regained her senses and was about to call Xu Ke, an unfamiliar number came through on her phone.
"How is it? Did you receive the photos I sent you?" Liao Yanyan, dressed in a fiery red dress, sat in her car with a gleeful expression.
"Who are you? What’s your aim in sending me these things?" Lin Mengyao took a deep breath, forcibly steadying herself as she spoke.
"Some things are hard to explain over the phone. I’m right below your office building now. Why don’t you come down so we can find a place to have a proper conversation?" Liao Yanyan adjusted her freshly permed hair in the car, checked her bright red lips in the mirror, and said with satisfaction.
"Go to the café across the street. I’ll be there shortly." Lin Mengyao’s hand gripped the office desk unconsciously, her knuckles strained, and the nail on her middle finger split from the force, spilling bright red blood.
"Alright, I can’t stay out too long, so you’d better move quickly. Otherwise, I might not feel like clearing your doubts next time." Liao Yanyan said with a hint of provocation.
After hanging up, Liao Yanyan looked at her phone and snorted coldly, "Hmph, so what if she’s a female CEO? She can still be toyed with by me, Liao Yanyan." She sneered.
After hanging up the phone, Lin Mengyao glanced at her still bleeding nail. Her wandering rationality seemed to return with the flow of blood.
"Xu Ke isn’t that kind of person. Lin Mengyao, believe in your judgment of men. Don’t you know Xu Ke’s intentions for you? You can’t condemn Xu Ke so quickly if all this is just a frame-up. How unfair would it be if he’s innocent?" Lin Mengyao murmured to herself.
Lin Mengyao dabbed her bloodied nails with a tissue, then took out her phone to photograph the content of the photos, nervously sending them to Xu Ke and waiting for his response.
Almost as soon as she sent the last photo to Xu Ke, her phone that had been clutched tightly in her hand suddenly rang with the unique ringtone only Xu Ke had.
"Yaoyao, you have to believe me. What’s in the photos isn’t true. It’s just a misalignment; I’ve never done anything to betray you. Someone is trying to frame me and drive a wedge between us."
When Xu Ke saw the photos Lin Mengyao sent, he broke out in a cold sweat, sprang up from his chair without thinking, and called Lin Mengyao, fearing she’d misunderstand him.
On the other end, upon hearing Xu Ke’s denial, Lin Mengyao’s expression did improve, although there was still some dissatisfaction in her tone. "A misalignment? So, you indeed met her. Why didn’t I know about it? What were you discussing in the garage? Why is she pestering you?" Lin Mengyao’s questions tumbled out one after another, following Xu Ke’s words.
"She’s an artist under my company. We met just yesterday when I went to inspect the company. She always tries to capture my attention and get close to me, but I already have my dear wife, so I rejected her advances. Who knew she’d go so far as to set up paparazzi in the garage, capturing these distorted images." Xu Ke explained, his tone frosty.