The company hired two accountants in total.
The first accountant, Zhao Yatong, was transferred to Guangming Distillery by Xu Xiuwen.
The second accountant is also a woman, neither too young nor too old, with five years of work experience. Her work performance is decent, and of course, her appearance isn’t bad either.
Her name is Yu Zhaozhao.
Shortly after, Xu Xiuwen called Song Xiaomi.
Soon, Song Xiaomi and Yu Zhaozhao came running upstairs from downstairs.
When the two entered the office, they saw President Xu and his new secretary.
The two women felt uneasy, unsure of the reason for the meeting.
Xu Xiuwen didn’t waste time. He got straight to the point and asked sternly, “Yu Zhaozhao, did Lu Xinyao resign?”
His tone was cold and very serious.
Yu Zhaozhao was startled and quickly replied, “Yes, President Xu.”
“Who allowed her to resign? Don’t you know she was my secretary? Without my permission, why did you help her process her resignation? And it’s been half a month since she left—why didn’t you inform me?”
Xu Xiuwen’s voice was serious.
Although he wasn’t yelling, there was an undeniable sense of authority.
Yu Zhaozhao immediately bowed her head and said, “I’m sorry, President Xu. It was my mistake.”
“I don’t want to hear your apology; I want to know why. Why didn’t you tell me about this for so long?”
Yu Zhaozhao explained seriously, “President Xu, it was Lu Xinyao who told me you had already approved her resignation. That’s why I processed it. I didn’t expect her to deceive me. I thought you were aware, so I didn’t bring it up. It was a lapse in my duties...”
Hearing this explanation, Xu Xiuwen stared at her for a few seconds.
Finally, he concluded that she wasn’t lying.
It seemed the truth was just as she had said—Lu Xinyao had deceived her.
As his secretary, Lu Xinyao must have told Yu Zhaozhao that Xu Xiuwen had already approved her resignation.
As the company’s accountant, Yu Zhaozhao naturally wouldn’t doubt her.
After all, their company was still small and not very formal. Despite being in charge of accounting, Yu Zhaozhao also handled some HR matters.
Perhaps she never expected Lu Xinyao to deceive her.
With this thought, Xu Xiuwen’s anger towards Yu Zhaozhao subsided considerably.
“Now let me ask you, what’s the deal with Liu Xinran? The company hired a new employee and arranged a new secretary for me—why wasn’t I informed?”
Yu Zhaozhao’s expression remained calm as she replied, “President Xu, Secretary Liu was assigned by Director Hang.”
Hearing this from the accountant as well, Xu Xiuwen had no choice but to believe Liu Xinran hadn’t lied.
At this point, Xu Xiuwen turned to look at Song Xiaomi, who was visibly uneasy.
“Song Xiaomi, let me ask you: why didn’t you tell me about Lu Xinyao’s resignation?”
“I thought you already knew, President Xu.”
Another identical excuse.
Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but feel helpless.
He rubbed his temples and continued asking, “Then let me ask you, has Lu Xinyao moved out of the company dormitory?”
“Sister Xinyao has already moved out. Her room is now vacant.”
“Do you know where she went after resigning?”
After hesitating for a second, Song Xiaomi shook her head.
“Alright, I understand. Also, Yu Zhaozhao, from now on, if there are any personnel changes in the company, I don’t want to have to find out myself.”
“Understood, President Xu.”
“Alright, you two can leave now.”
Xu Xiuwen waved his hand, signaling for the two women to leave.
Song Xiaomi and Yu Zhaozhao bowed their heads and turned to leave.
Now, the room was left with only him and Liu Xinran.
Xu Xiuwen continued rubbing his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Xu Xiuwen didn’t know how to handle Liu Xinran.
At the same time, he was very curious.
Why did Hang Fei agree to let her join the company and even arrange for her to take the position of his secretary?
After the two women left, Liu Xinran smiled faintly and said, “President Xu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head out too.”
“Wait a moment.”
Xu Xiuwen stopped her.
He stared at Liu Xinran.
Her face was undeniably beautiful.
In bars, there were many so-called “ambiance beauties” and “lighting beauties”—girls who only looked stunning in the colorful, dimly lit environment. Outside of that, their beauty didn’t hold up.
The first time Xu Xiuwen briefly met Liu Xinran was in a bar.
He had been momentarily impressed by her looks but hadn’t thought much of it afterward.
It wasn’t until now that he realized Liu Xinran wasn’t just an “ambiance beauty” or “lighting beauty.”
Her facial features were exquisite, her skin fair.
She was tall, probably around 1.7 meters.
Wearing high heels, she stood almost as tall as Xu Xiuwen.
Her figure was impeccable, perfectly proportioned—neither plump nor too slim to appear underdeveloped.
She wore a women’s business suit.
Even in such ordinary clothing, her curves were noticeable, yet she didn’t come across as overly provocative.
On the contrary, she exuded an air of elegance—a kind of innate nobility.
“Is there something you need, President Xu?” Liu Xinran’s face carried a polite smile.
But Xu Xiuwen felt there was something unsettling about her smile, as if it wasn’t entirely well-intentioned.
“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?”
“An explanation for what?”
Xu Xiuwen didn’t speak, simply staring at her.
“Oh, I get it. You want me to explain why I came to work at your company? There’s no special reason—I just needed a job, so I came.”
Xu Xiuwen thought to himself: You’re Li Xiangjun’s lover, yet instead of staying comfortably in that role, you’ve come to work at my company?
Suddenly, a thought struck him—could it be that Liu Xinran had set her sights on him?
But then, how did she even know his real name? How did she find out that he owned a company, and how did she locate it so accurately?
Xu Xiuwen had many questions swirling in his mind.
Keeping his tone calm, he said, “Liu Xinran, I don’t have time to play games with you. If you’re looking for fun, I suggest you find someone else.”
“Heh... President Xu, have you misunderstood something? I’m here to work, not to play. Just because we’ve met before, does that mean I can’t work at your company?”
If she were genuinely here to work, Xu Xiuwen wouldn’t be unwelcoming.
But it was clear Liu Xinran wasn’t here for a legitimate job.
Xu Xiuwen casually glanced at her clothes.
All high-end brands.
The price of just one item she was wearing could likely buy everything Song Xiaomi and Yu Zhaozhao were wearing combined.
Her salary at the company probably wouldn’t even be enough to buy her a single outfit.
“Stop messing with me. What’s your real purpose here? Just say it!”
Xu Xiuwen decided to stop beating around the bush and got straight to the point.
Hearing this, the smile on Liu Xinran’s face gradually faded.
She looked back at Xu Xiuwen, her gaze now serious.
“If anyone’s been messing around, it’s you. I should be asking you—do you find it fun to play with people?”
“When did I ever mess with you? What are you talking about?”
“Oh really? You’ve never?”
“I, Xu Xiuwen, act with a clear conscience.”
“Ha...”
Another mocking laugh escaped her lips.
“Then should I address you as President Xu or President Yang?”
President Xu? President Yang?
Xu Xiuwen froze for a moment but quickly understood.
“President Yang” referred to the fake name he had given her—Yang Baishan.
In an instant, he realized what she was implying.
He remembered that night at the bar when he had casually given her a false name, thinking he’d never see her again.
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
Yet here she was, not only meeting him again but also exposing his lie.
Feeling a little awkward, Xu Xiuwen averted his gaze, his tone softening.
“President Xu, it seems you were the one playing games first,” Liu Xinran said.
“Well... back then, I thought—anyway, I was wrong about that. I owe you an apology.”
Xu Xiuwen’s tone was genuinely apologetic.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you and given you a fake name.”
Liu Xinran smiled again. “Forget it. I didn’t take it to heart.”
“Thank you. By the way, I’m curious—how did you find me even after I gave you a fake name?”
“What’s so hard about that? Just ask someone, and you’ll find out,” Liu Xinran replied casually.
“Who did you ask?”
“Who do you think?”
Although she didn’t explicitly say, Xu Xiuwen immediately thought of someone—Meng Dong.
Meng Dong often frequented that bar and knew all about Xu Xiuwen’s real identity.
Judging by Liu Xinran’s expression, she must have learned about him through Meng Dong.
That Meng Dong, seriously! Why didn’t he give me a heads-up?
Xu Xiuwen silently grumbled about Meng Dong in his heart but kept a polite smile on his face.
“Liu Xinran, I have another question.”
“You sure have a lot of questions,” Liu Xinran said, her words making Xu Xiuwen feel a little embarrassed.
But then she added, “Alright, ask away.”
“Why did you come to work at my company? And how do you know Hang Fei? Why did he agree to let you join and even arrange for you to be my secretary?”
“That’s one question?” Liu Xinran asked with a faintly amused smile.
“Don’t worry about how many questions there are. Just answer.”
“I already told you—I came here for a job, to make money. But you don’t believe me.”
“Don’t joke around. The clothes you’re wearing cost more than what my employees earn in a month.”
“Alright, fine, no more jokes. The truth is, I came here to avoid my dad.”
“To avoid your dad?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Why?”
“Have you forgotten my English name?”
“I haven’t—Rachel?”
“Exactly. Now you get it, right?” Liu Xinran blinked playfully at Xu Xiuwen.
Xu Xiuwen frowned, deep in thought.
Suddenly, it clicked.
In Friends, Rachel ended up working at the coffee shop because she ran away from her wedding.
Could Liu Xinran be escaping a marriage too?
Judging by his expression, Liu Xinran smiled faintly. “Looks like you’ve figured it out. That’s right—I don’t like my fiancé, so I ran away.”
“If you don’t like him, why not just call off the engagement? Why run away?”
“You don’t understand. I just graduated from university and returned to the country. My dad immediately arranged a marriage for me. The other family is an old friend of his, so I had no way to refuse.”
“Then you could’ve gone to work somewhere else. Why come to a small company like ours?”
Liu Xinran glanced at him and said, “At first, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to run away, so I went to bars every day to drink and think. That night when I met you, you gave me the push I needed. So I made up my mind to back out of the marriage. Since it was your fault, of course, I came to you to take responsibility.”
“I can’t take that responsibility. You should find another job. You’re a returnee from overseas—it’s a waste for you to work as my secretary in a small company like this.”
“I don’t care. It’s because of you that I decided to escape the marriage, so you have to take responsibility. And I don’t mind working for a small company.”
Xu Xiuwen fell silent.
Liu Xinran observed his expression and suddenly said, “My fiancé’s family is quite influential. If they find out you’re the one who ‘lured’ me away, they might get very angry.”
“Why drag me into this? I don’t think I’ve done anything to offend you.”
Xu Xiuwen’s face turned cold.
He was usually a patient man, but no one could stay calm in the face of someone digging a pit and forcing them to jump into it.
If it weren’t for the potential complications, he might have lost his temper right there.
Perhaps sensing Xu Xiuwen’s irritation, Liu Xinran quickly said, “Don’t be angry. I know what I did wasn’t fair, but I’ll compensate you.”
“Compensate? Do you think I care about that? And what could you possibly offer me?”
Xu Xiuwen deliberately let his gaze sweep over Liu Xinran from head to toe, his eyes filled with mockery.
His expression seemed to say, Your body might be worth something, though.
Liu Xinran felt uneasy under his bold, invasive gaze.
If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have hesitated to snap at them or even slap them.
But because it was Xu Xiuwen—and because she was the one in the wrong—she held back her frustration and said, “You own the Guangming Distillery, right? If you want to break into the Feishi (Fei City) market, I can help you.”
“How could you help me?”
Xu Xiuwen’s earlier aggressive expression was just to scare her; he wasn’t genuinely interested in her.
Hearing her offer, he quickly returned to his usual composed demeanor.
Liu Xinran smiled and said, “I know Qian Jian. I can connect you with him.”
Hearing the name Qian Jian, Xu Xiuwen froze.
The name wasn’t unfamiliar to him.
Qian Jian was the largest liquor distributor in Feishi. Nearly every distillery in the province had dealings with him.
He had extensive channels at his disposal.
Through him, not only could they establish a foothold in Feishi’s liquor market, but they could also expand across the entire province.
Xu Xiuwen weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Keeping Liu Xinran around had its benefits, but also potential downsides.
The downside was that her fiancé might take his anger out on him. But then again, he might not. It was impossible to say for sure.
The upside was that if she wasn’t bluffing and could really get Qian Jian to work with Guangming Distillery, it could be a game-changer.
The new liquor could potentially make a significant splash in the provincial market.
After all, the liquor market in Anhui Province was fiercely competitive.
Although Xu Xiuwen had a lot of confidence in the distillery’s new product, if there was a shortcut available, why not take it?
Still, he hadn’t made up his mind yet.
“How can you prove that you know Qian Jian? Are you close to him?”
Liu Xinran smiled. “Not really. If I didn’t know you owned a distillery, I wouldn’t have bothered paying attention to some distributor. But Uncle Li is close to him.”
“Uncle Li? Who’s that?”
“You know him too. He helped you out the other day. Don’t you remember?” Liu Xinran said with a smile.
Her reminder jogged Xu Xiuwen’s memory.
It was the bar owner he met that night—Li Xiangjun.
Xu Xiuwen also remembered hearing from Meng Dong that Liu Xinran was supposedly Li Xiangjun’s lover.
That was what he had always believed.
But now, hearing Liu Xinran call him “Uncle Li,” Xu Xiuwen suddenly realized the rumors might not be true.