Chapter 31: Are You Teaching Me How to Do Things?

Lu Zhixia had a sharp tongue, but she had never won an argument against Shen Wanqing.

Standing in the bathroom, she analyzed the reasons: first, Shen Wanqing was shameless; second, Shen Wanqing was still shameless.

Of course, now there was a third reason—Shen Wanqing had become her direct superior.

As the saying goes, you can run from the monk, but you can’t hide from the temple. You might dodge the first debt collection, but not the fifteenth.

A subordinate meant absolute obedience, at least at Haijing Senhua.

Lu Zhixia had read the new employee handbook on Monday: subordinates must obey their superiors without question.

Indirectly, that meant Lu Zhixia had to listen to Shen Wanqing. She frowned as she washed her hands.

During the meeting, sitting beside Shen Wanqing, a wild urge churned inside her like a rebellious child. Lu Zhixia summoned every ounce of her willpower to hold it back.

Shen Wanqing, by contrast, acted as if nothing had happened—completely unfair.

She didn’t speak much in the meeting, but every word landed with force, decisive and dominating the room.

Earlier, on her way to the bathroom, Lu Zhixia had overheard someone call Shen Wanqing the Ice Beauty, their tone laced with both awe and fear for the stunning president.

She’d witnessed Shen Wanqing’s fiery side, too—going soft in her arms, whimpering and rubbing against her shamelessly.

Lu Zhixia washed her hands clean and swapped out her Inhibitor Patch. Only then did her restless heart settle somewhat.

Back in the office, she organized her tasks, scheduling one-on-one reports with the executives.

Shen Wanqing hated delays; her first day was packed solid.

The 22nd floor was her exclusive office space—no current company executives allowed.

Lu Zhixia headed up to coordinate with the Technical Director, swiping her card to call the elevator.

Beyond the glass doors stood Shen Wanqing’s four bodyguards.

Haijing Senhua’s top-floor office featured a smart recognition system; the doors slid open automatically for Shen Wanqing or Lu Zhixia.

She escorted the Technical Director inside. Shen Wanqing glanced up, her face impassive. “Sit.”

There was a dedicated seat for Lu Zhixia right beside her, positioned at a perfect ninety-degree angle. From there, she could watch both Shen Wanqing as she listened to the briefing and the Technical Director holding forth.

At work, Shen Wanqing transformed entirely. Her aloof detachment gave way to sharp professionalism and focus; she scrutinized every detail with precision.

The Technical Director prattled on. Shen Wanqing endured it for a bit before gesturing for him to stop. “I’ve heard all that already. Tell me something I don’t know.”

He looked baffled. She leaned back in her chair, her expression turning grave. “As Technical Director, you know less than I do? I need to reevaluate if you’re the right person for this job.”

Embarrassment colored his face. He phrased it politely, but resentment seeped through. “President Shen, what exactly do you mean?”

Shen Wanqing ignored the subtle challenge. She met his eyes steadily. “It means I know Rhine Group runs two operating systems—and so does Haijing Senhua. You only told me about the public-facing one. I need details on the internal system used by senior leadership.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off coolly. “A reminder: I’m your direct boss now. If your loyalty lies with your old superior, I can make that permanent for you.”

Her words hit home. He bowed his head.

She gave him no room to recover, pressing forward relentlessly. “Anything else you need to add?”

The Technical Director’s face hardened. He hesitated.

“Mi Xiu, who’s next?” Shen Wanqing asked. No response came from her side, so she rapped her knuckles on the desk. “Mi Xiu.”

Lu Zhixia snapped to attention, blinking once before answering. “President Shen, next up is the Marketing Director…”

The Technical Director rose, his voice subdued and respectful now. “President Shen, I do have more to add.”

Lu Zhixia stood too. “Prepare all your supplementary materials and let me know two hours in advance. I’ll schedule your follow-up then.”

She walked him to the door, saw him out, and ushered in the Marketing Director without missing a beat.

She’d hoped for a lunch break, but they ate right there in the President’s Office dining area.

Lu Zhixia couldn’t even recall the food. All she remembered was the Sales Director reeling from the barrage of data Shen Wanqing unleashed.

Shen Wanqing laid into him with utmost seriousness. “As Sales Director, you need to know every scrap of data on every product like the back of your hand.”

A new president meant some executives weren’t fully on board.

Sales was the core department, its leaders prouder than most. Grinning half-jokingly, he shot back, “President Shen, do you know every bit of Sales Department data yourself?”

Lu Zhixia sat beside Shen Wanqing, eating while jotting down meeting notes. She stole a glance.

The queen who had been challenged refused to back down. Shen Wanqing’s voice was flat as she said, “I know your sales department forged contracts and fabricated debts, resulting in direct losses of 28.45 million yuan to Haijing Senhua.” Her tone was light, but every word landed with crushing weight, her presence utterly overwhelming. She added by way of reminder, “I’m giving you permission right now to question any data point with me. In exchange, your department will have worked the entire year for nothing—all bonuses forfeited.”

What she had said was crystal clear: I’m allowing you to ask. Her position was unequivocal.

“I’m sorry, President Shen.” The apology came out barely above a whisper.

“Mi Xiu.”

“President Shen.”

…

By the end of the day, everyone in the company knew Lu Zhixia’s code name: Mi Xiu.

Shen Wanqing was a total workaholic, but it was her first day in the new role, and she had promised to head out at six for the new hires’ party at the International Convention Center.

Right on cue at five-thirty, she called the meeting to a halt. The procurement director, mid-sentence, trailed off awkwardly. “Then… President Shen?”

“Mi Xiu, we’ll pick this up Monday morning at eight-thirty.” Shen Wanqing didn’t so much as glance up. Lu Zhixia showed their guests out. “Take care.”

Back in the president’s office, Shen Wanqing held out her hand. “Meeting minutes.”

Lu Zhixia hadn’t even had a chance to tidy them up yet. She hesitated, and Shen Wanqing simply snatched the notebook away.

“President Shen, just hear me out.” With her background in translation, Lu Zhixia had her own quirky method for jotting down notes word-for-word. “It might look like chicken scratch, but I promise I got every bit of it down clearly.”

Shen Wanqing looked up, her mismatched eyes gleaming coldly, her face a mask of indifference. “I need a complete set of polished minutes on my desk by ten o’clock tonight, no later.”

“Then… can I skip the new hires’ dinner?” Lu Zhixia did a quick mental tally. Even pulling an all-nighter, she might not make it—especially with how much hot air all the execs had spewed.

Shen Wanqing rose and began gathering her things, her tone utterly nonchalant. “The new hires’ dinner. You’re the new hire. If you think it’s appropriate to skip it, then by all means, do.”

The words hit like a gut punch, leaving Lu Zhixia speechless. She drew in a deep breath. “President Shen, I’ll go to the dinner. But I’d like to request—could you please stop calling me Mi Xiu?”

Shen Wanqing paused in straightening her desk and shot her a sidelong glance. “Don’t read into it. All my assistants are Mi Xiu.”

Something about that icy expression set Lu Zhixia’s blood boiling for reasons she couldn’t quite name.

She spent the rest of the day parked beside Shen Wanqing, looking every bit the picture of focused professionalism—though only she knew the storm raging inside.

It had been days since she’d last laid eyes on Shen Wanqing, and she’d been white-knuckling it on inhibitor patches to keep her urges in check. Her gland ached miserably, but there was nothing for it but to grit her teeth and bear it.

Now the frustration boiled over. “Are you doing this out of spite?”

“Am I?” Shen Wanqing’s voice remained coolly detached. “That’s just your guilty conscience talking.”

The more aloof Shen Wanqing acted, the more it grated on Lu Zhixia. Long-buried impulses twisted darker in her mind, clawing their way to the surface. She could barely keep them leashed.

With a shaky inhale, Lu Zhixia turned back to her office to pack up her laptop for the overtime grind.

She’d barely stepped out the door, computer bag in hand, when her LT buzzed. A voice message from Shen Wanqing, curt and commanding: “Where are you?”

Lu Zhixia froze in the doorway and pressed a hand to the inhibitor patch at the nape of her neck. Twenty layers strong, and still her gland felt like it couldn’t draw a proper breath.

Even so, a deep, insistent craving for Shen Wanqing simmered at her core.

It hit hardest when her emotions spiked—like moments ago. If she’d lingered even a second longer, she might have shoved Shen Wanqing onto the desk and marked her right then and there.

Maybe Shen Wanqing had seen it coming all along. Like how Lu Zhixia had nearly gone into heat.

Or maybe it was these past few days, when Lu Zhixia had noticed her senses sharpening to an uncanny degree.

It was a strange sensation, like stepping into an ultrahigh-definition reality where she could pick out the rhythm of one particular person’s breathing from across the room.

Sure enough, Shen Wanqing appeared in the doorway moments later, thrusting her bag into Lu Zhixia’s arms. Lu Zhixia accepted it stone-faced.

With her promotion to special assistant came chauffeur duty.

The bodyguards trailed in a separate car as Lu Zhixia drove Shen Wanqing toward the International Convention Center.

Shen Wanqing’s ride was a sleek black Hongqi—fierce, powerful, not the sort of beast a delicate driver would dare tame.

From the back seat, Lu Zhixia could hear Shen Wanqing on one call after another, all company business.

It puzzled her. As her assistant in name only, Lu Zhixia had no business hearing half this stuff.

Yet Shen Wanqing held nothing back—not even word of how Haijing Senhua’s previous leadership had perished in a car crash that smelled of foul play.

A more pressing headache suddenly struck Lu Zhixia. She still had to email headquarters with Shen Wanqing’s itinerary for the day.

The thought was interrupted by a ping from her phone—the custom alert she’d set for HQ mail.

An email at a time like this? Lu Zhixia had a bad feeling.

She pulled up at a red light, and there it was: the sender demanding far more granular details.

Things like the objects of the memorial service, exact times and locations…

Or Shen Wanqing’s precise criteria for new hires, salary packages, benefits, and so on.

Lu Zhixia felt a pang of melancholy. With the overtime ahead, she figured she’d be working until the wee hours.

The two rode in silence all the way to the hotel. Lu Zhixia grabbed her bag and proactively opened the car door for Shen Wanqing.

“Mi Xiu.”

“President Shen.” She was reluctant, but the response came out smoothly by now.

“In the future, don’t stare at your phone for long stretches while driving.”

“Got it.”

They walked inside one behind the other. Shen Wanqing headed first to the VIP lounge reserved for the executives.

Lu Zhixia was told she didn’t need to follow, so she quickly found a conference room to catch up on the meeting minutes.

Perhaps because of her special status, everyone who saw her greeted her with great enthusiasm.

She was the president’s right-hand woman—in their eyes, a favored attendant by the emperor’s side. Those calculated shows of closeness had obvious motives.

Lu Zhixia tucked herself into a corner spot, leaving the door cracked just enough to hear when Shen Wanqing and the executives emerged.

Even as her fingers flew across the keyboard, she couldn’t keep up with the directors’ endless ramblings.

She didn’t cut anything arbitrarily, instead highlighting the key points to preempt any nitpicking from Shen Wanqing.

After half an hour of frantic work, she vaguely caught the sound of Shen Wanqing’s voice. She snapped her laptop shut and stationed herself at the door.

The crowd bustled out together, Shen Wanqing striding in the middle like a queen.

Unlike other companies that mandated attendance, this time everyone actually showed up without being forced.

The dinner venue had been prepared in advance, set up buffet-style.

The five-star hotel’s five-star Big Chef was cooking outdoors on-site.

With the freshest ingredients and the sizzle of food straight from the pan, the delicious dishes vanished amid lively chatter. Fine wines flowed freely.

Expensive seafood spreads, premium wagyu beef, authentic roast whole lamb… Anything anyone could imagine, Shen Wanqing had prepared.

Only then did everyone realize the dinner had been personally orchestrated by Shen Wanqing herself.

She raised her glass to thank them for their hard work all this time—she downed hers in one go, leaving the rest to drink at their leisure.

Lu Zhixia overheard plenty of high praise from those around her: Shen Wanqing wasn’t rigid, she was poised and generous, and she got things done with swift efficiency.

All the hated staples were absent: no mandatory attendance, no forced seating with the boss, no obligatory toasts to leadership.

Pre-dinner speeches, new hire introductions, drawn-out meetings, interactive segments required elsewhere… all skipped.

For the first time, everyone truly savored the joy of a company dinner. No faking enthusiasm, no assigned tables—they could pick their food, chat with colleagues or even friendly rivals…

The leaders were pulled aside by Shen Wanqing for a stern talking-to: no disrupting the vibe.

They were more than happy to oblige, scattering to eat, drink, and enjoy a rare moment of genuine fun.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled. Today’s one-on-ones had been a wake-up call; tough times lay ahead.

The most miserable was Lu Zhixia, huddled in the farthest corner, silently typing away.

Someone spotted her by chance and tried currying favor with some food, but she waved it off. They left her in peace after that.

Finally finishing the minutes, Lu Zhixia emailed the digital file to Shen Wanqing.

She rose and wandered deeper into the wooded area behind, away from the noisy crowd. Breathing in fresh air eased the frustration knotted in her chest.

She’d just settled into a spot when she faintly heard someone on the phone. She had no interest in eavesdropping, but the voice grew closer: “So what if I like playing around? I’ve never even thought about marriage.”

It was Shen Wanqing.

Lu Zhixia stood to leave, but a sharp question cut from behind: “Are you eavesdropping on me?” The tone was still icy.

Without turning, Lu Zhixia replied, “I’m not eavesdropping.”

“Heard what you heard.” Shen Wanqing stepped up behind her, indifferent. “If you like me, just say it to my face. No need to lurk…”

Lu Zhixia hated being misunderstood more than anything. She turned slowly, irritation clear in her voice. “I said I wasn’t eavesdropping.”

“Is that so?” Shen Wanqing turned and walked off, her tone flat. “Sure, if you say you weren’t.”

In the next instant, her wrist was seized in a vise grip. Lu Zhixia slammed her body forward, pinning her against the tree trunk.

In the dim depths of the woods, occasional cicada chirps pierced the air. Lu Zhixia’s breaths came heavy, like those of a provoked beast. Through gritted teeth, she growled, “Shen Wanqing, I said I wasn’t eavesdropping. I wasn’t.”

“You should call me President Shen.” Shen Wanqing tilted her head up slightly.

“I won’t.” Lu Zhixia’s temper ignited, her dark eyes blazing with aggression. “It’s after hours now, Shen Wanqing. Spare me the lecture.”

“Heh.” Shen Wanqing let out a light chuckle. “Are you teaching me how to do things?”

Shen Wanqing’s fingertip hooked Lu Zhixia’s collar, yanking her close.

She lifted her chin with haughty pride, staring down the woman teetering on the edge of fury. Word by word, she enunciated, “Lu Zhixia, what gives you the right?”

Lu Zhixia gripped Shen Wanqing’s shoulders like a pair of vise grips, her body pressed right up against her. Her heavy breathing rasped in Shen Wanqing’s ear as she ground out through clenched teeth, “You’ve really pissed me off.”