The towering glass building of Shenzhi Corporation reflected the early morning sun, glowing like a fortress of power in the heart of the financial district. Inside, the atmosphere in the grand conference room was taut with anticipation. Sleek chairs surrounded a long obsidian table, and the air was perfumed with the soft blend of expensive colognes, fresh-brewed coffee, and polished ambition.
Shenzhi stood at the head of the table, tall and composed, dressed in a sharp, obsidian suit that matched the energy of the room. His presence was commanding, as always stoic, unreadable, and coolly powerful. He scanned the room briefly before settling his gaze on the man seated across from him—Chen Yuze.
Yuze wore a tailored steel-gray suit, a smug smile lingering on his lips as he reclined slightly in his chair. His eyes, sharp and cunning, flicked over to Shenzhi with amusement barely veiled. He knew this project was critical, and he had every intention of twisting it in his favor.
Also seated at the table was the esteemed CEO of Meng's Canning Food Industries, Chairman Meng. Elderly but shrewd, Chairman Meng had been in the food industry for over forty years, building an empire from traditional recipes and rural farming roots. Now, he sought modernization and expansion—an entrance into the international market.
Chairman Meng cleared his throat, his voice gravelly but firm. "Gentlemen, we are here today to discuss the possibilities of a merger,a partnership that will bring tradition and innovation under one brand. Our canned products are renowned for their flavor and shelf life, but we need a new logistics strategy, an advanced production process, and digital marketing capabilities. That's where the Shenzhi Group and Yuze Corporation come in."
Yuze nodded first, leaning forward slightly. "Chairman Meng, I have studied your company's past successes, and I believe what you need is not just modernization, but cultural rebranding. Let us package the story behind your recipes, the generations of knowledge, into something export-worthy. My team has already prepared proposals on how to approach the European and Southeast Asian markets."
Shenzhi remained still, only slightly raising an eyebrow. "Cultural rebranding is necessary," he said evenly, "but let us not forget the heart of this business quality control, preservation technology, and ethical sourcing. We already have a supply chain prototype in place. Partnering with Meng Foods, we can apply our preservation technology without altering the taste profiles that have made your products popular."
Chairman Meng looked impressed but thoughtful. "Both arguments are valid. Perhaps we combine strengths Yuze Corporation handles the brand identity and storytelling, while Shenzhi Group manages production and technology."
Yuze smirked, tapping the table with his pen. "A joint project, then?"
Shenzhi's cold eyes met his. "If trust can be ensured."
There was a heavy silence.
Chairman Meng broke it with a chuckle. "Gentlemen, I like the fire in this room. Let's review the logistics. Show me your cost breakdowns and timeline estimates."
As the assistants moved to project the presentation slides, Yuze casually crossed one leg over the other and murmured low enough for Shenzhi to hear, "You're good at business, Shenzhi. But are you as good at keeping what's yours?"
Shenzhi didn't turn his head. "Only fools believe what isn't theirs can be taken."
"Is that so?" Yuze's voice was like honey over ice. "You don't even know who you're sleeping beside."
Shenzhi's jaw clenched for a brief moment, but his face remained unreadable. "We're here to discuss business. Stick to your lane."
Yuze chuckled softly, then returned his attention to the screen. But Shenzhi's mind had drifted—briefly—back to the night before, to Jiaxuan's warmth pressed into his back as she murmured his name. Her touch had felt real. Her voice, sincere.
Still, doubt laced his thoughts. Was her affection genuine… or just another game?
Chairman Meng was speaking again, pointing at the slides showing predicted growth curves. Shenzhi forced himself to focus. This meeting was critical, and he wouldn't allow personal matters to blur his judgment. Not here. Not now.
But as Yuze continued to smile that knowing smile, Shenzhi's fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the table.
The war between them had just begun.
Chairman Meng gestured to the large digital screen, his silver-framed glasses catching the reflection of the presentation slides. "Now, let's talk real numbers. Supply chain costs, marketing budgets, and regional export viability."
One of his aides passed out printed documents while another clicked to the next slide an intricate projection chart detailing factory output, transport networks, and estimated overheads. As the others skimmed through the figures, Shenzhi leaned forward, steepling his fingers.
"Our proposal," Shenzhi began, his voice steady and cool, "focuses on long-term scalability. We've invested in AI-assisted production lines. Each canned product will be quality checked by thermal imaging sensors and freshness scanners no human error. It will reduce wastage by 40% and improve shelf-life consistency by 35%."
Chairman Meng nodded slowly, impressed. "And logistics?"
"We have a partnership with SkyRoute Logistics. Shipping and customs clearance will be integrated with our internal system less paperwork, more transparency."
Chen Yuze, not to be outdone, smiled and slid a tablet toward Chairman Meng. "Meanwhile, our campaign model is ready to launch. We've already lined up a culinary influencer from Thailand and a food vlogger from Korea. Once the first batch hits the market, we'll flood social media with stories about Meng's recipes. Not just canned food, but nostalgia in a tin."
Chairman Meng's brow lifted slightly, clearly intrigued. "Both proposals are ambitious."
"They're compatible," Yuze said smoothly. "Shenzhi handles what he does best machines and math. I handle people and their emotions."
Shenzhi's jaw shifted ever so subtly. "People don't eat emotion," he said flatly. "They eat what doesn't rot on the shelf."
The room fell into a quiet tension, but Chairman Meng only chuckled again, stroking his chin. "Interesting dynamic, you two. You've both got fire in your bellies."
Yuze leaned back, cool and arrogant. "We've just got different kinds of appetite."
For a brief second, Shenzhi's eyes flicked to him, sharp as a blade. He knew Yuze's words were double-edged. This wasn't about canned goods. This was personal. Beneath all the suits and numbers, Yuze had always wanted to challenge him not just in business, but in life.
And now Jiaxuan was somehow at the center of it all.
Chairman Meng folded his hands. "Here's what I propose. You'll both submit your finalized blueprints in five days—joint or separate. I'll go with whichever route guarantees Meng Foods a sustainable, profitable, and scalable future."
"Agreed," Shenzhi said simply.
Yuze stood, buttoning his jacket with a smirk. "I'm looking forward to it."
As the meeting came to an end, the executives filtered out, murmuring among themselves. Shenzhi remained behind, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, his mind no longer on canning methods or AI production. He thought of Jiaxuan… and the smugness in Yuze's eyes.
Was this project just a front? Or a move in a far more dangerous game?
One thing was certain—he wouldn't lose.
Not again.
The conference room slowly emptied, executives from both companies rising with practiced poise as they tucked away laptops and leather portfolios. The meeting between Shengyuan Group and Meng Canning Foods had been scheduled to continue the next day—today had only been the groundwork. Polite smiles were exchanged, hands shaken, and the gleam of interest in a lucrative collaboration hovered in the air like perfume.
Soon, the door clicked shut.
Only two men remained.
Shenzhi still seated tall and composed, the collar of his navy suit crisp against his neck. He didn't move, didn't speak, didn't even acknowledge the figure behind him yet. His reflection in the glass was cold and unreadable—just like the man himself.
Chen Yuze tossed a pen onto the polished table and let out a dry laugh. "Still playing the devoted husband?"
Shenzhi didn't answer.
Yuze straightened his posture, voice losing its mockery and settling into something darker, quieter. "It's only a matter of time, you know. She's going to leave you."
That got Shenzhi's attention. He didn't turn, but his jaw clenched ever so slightly.
Yuze smirked at the reaction. "Women like Jiaxuan… they don't stay. They can't stay. The moment things stop feeling like a fairy tale, they run. You think you're her happy ending?" He scoffed. "You're her cage."
"You speak as if you know her," Shenzhi said at last, voice low and even.
"I do." Yuze leaned forward on the table, his tone smug, confident. "Better than you ever will."
"You knew the girl who followed behind you blindly," Shenzhi replied, finally turning to face him. His eyes were hard, his voice calm like a frozen lake. "But you never took the time to understand her. That's not the same thing."
Yuze's smile faltered, but he didn't back down. "I don't need to understand her to predict what she'll do. Trust me she's not the type to suffer long. One day, she'll wake up, look at you, and realize how cold it feels to sleep beside a man who doesn't know how to love."
The words stung more than Shenzhi expected.
He could already feel it,the wall between him and Jiaxuan. How she smiled so easily now, so brightly, as if nothing from the past haunted her. How she brushed against him like warmth seeking warmth, only to retreat whenever he reached out to touch it. It was confusing. Frustrating.
"She might be in your house now," Yuze went on, his voice slick with poison, "but one day she'll walk out of it. And when she does, don't expect her to look back."
Shenzhi didn't flinch. "Maybe," he said quietly. "But if she ever does walk away… it won't be for you." He tried to lie to himself that maybe she wouldnt leave.
Silence.
Yuze's eyes narrowed. "You think she won't come back to me?"
"I don't think," Shenzhi said, stepping past him, shoulders squared. "I know."
He hadn't seen Jiaxuan's eyes when she looked at Shenzhi now. Hadn't felt the quiet persistence in the way she called his name, or how her warmth clung to their shared space like sunlight. He didn't know.
And that was his greatest weakness.
Shenzhi remained seated, expression unreadable, his gaze locked on the sleek screen of his tablet. He wasn't reading. He was waiting.
Chen Yuze, on the other hand, leaned back in his chair, arms folded behind his head, his legs stretched with all the arrogance of a man who believed he had nothing to lose. The glint in his eyes was sly, the kind of mischief born from bitterness. He'd waited for this moment—for the others to leave, for the air to still, for the two of them to be left alone.
"I almost forgot how fun these little meetings could be," Yuze said, his voice casual, almost amused. "Though I have to say, Shenzhi, you look... exhausted. Marriage not treating you right?"
Shenzhi didn't glance his way. "We're done here."
"Oh, I'm not." Yuze leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You know, I saw her the other day. Jiaxuan. She's still beautiful. Still trying so hard to be that perfect wife, isn't she?"
That name....her name hung in the air like smoke. Shenzhi's jaw ticked, but he said nothing.
"She always tried too hard. Like she had something to prove," Yuze continued, his tone now laced with mock sympathy. "But it gets tiring, doesn't it? Pretending to love someone who can't see past your cold exterior."
Still silence.
Yuze's smirk widened. "You think you've won just because she sleeps under your roof? That she'll stay just because you share a bed?" He laughed softly. "You don't know her, Shenzhi. You never did."
Shenzhi finally looked up. His gaze was glacial.
"You speak as if you do."
"I do," Yuze replied smoothly, leaning back again. "I knew her when she was still full of dreams. Before your family humiliated her. Before you froze her out. Back when she used to cry to me about how she wasn't enough for you."
Shenzhi said nothing, but the tightness in his grip on the tablet betrayed the impact.
"Don't worry," Yuze added with a cruel grin. "I don't blame her. One day, she'll wake up and realize she made the wrong choice. And when she does, I'll be there."
"You won't."
The words were calm, cold, and absolute.
Yuze's smirk faltered.
"You think she'll forgive you?" Shenzhi's voice dropped, firm and deliberate. "You who abandoned her. Betrayed her. Humiliated her when she was most vulnerable. You don't even know the woman she's become."
Yuze shrugged. "You mean the one pretending to be your loving wife? The one playing house while waiting for the next storm to roll in?"
"You're right," Shenzhi said after a moment. "She might leave one day. I won't stop her. But she will never..never..walk back to you."
Yuze's face darkened.
Shenzhi stood, tall and composed, smoothing his blazer. "You're not her past. You're her mistake."
He had no idea what was happening in that house.
He didn't know Jiaxuan had started smiling again—real smiles.
He hadn't seen her take Shenzhi's black card with a gentle thank you, or buy a tie for the man he believed she'd grow to hate. He didn't hear her voice calling Shenzhi "honey," or see the way she back-hugged him in the middle of the night with trembling arms and whispered promises in her sleep.
Chen Yuze only knew the girl he once controlled.
He didn't know the woman who had been reborn.
And in his ignorance, he mistook Shenzhi's silence for defeat when it was only the calm before the storm.
Shenzhi hadn't sat back down when the door to the boardroom opened hastily. His personal assistant, Li Qiang, stepped in, his face pale, breath coming quick as if he'd sprinted down the entire hallway.
"President Mo—" Li Qiang paused briefly, glancing at Chen Yuze, who remained seated with an arrogant tilt to his chin. "Madam Jiaxuan is here. She's asking to see you. She's waiting outside."
Shenzhi's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, the only sign of emotion flickering across his otherwise unreadable expression. For a brief second, he wondered why she had come. She hadn't mentioned any plans for the day beyond shopping, and she'd been warm,playful, even when he left the house this morning. It was unlike her to show up at his office unannounced.
Before he could speak, a derisive chuckle echoed from the corner.
Chen Yuze rose slowly, smoothing the sleeves of his designer jacket, and strolled toward the door like he belonged in the room more than the owner himself. "Well, well. Maybe she finally came to her senses," he drawled with a smug grin. "I told you. A woman like that? She only sticks around for the comfort. Sooner or later, they all remember who treated them sweetly first."
Shenzhi's gaze slid to him, sharp as a drawn blade, but he didn't respond.
"Don't look at me like that," Yuze continued, shrugging. "She knows where she truly belongs, and deep down, you know it too. Maybe this is her way of saying goodbye."
Li Qiang's brows twitched with discomfort, unsure whether to speak or step out. The tension between the two men was thick enough to crack the walls.
But Shenzhi's voice came, low and controlled. "Step aside."
Yuze raised both hands in mock surrender, but the smirk never left his face. "Of course, of course. I wouldn't want to miss the reunion. Go see your little housewife."
Shenzhi brushed past him, his strides steady, but something inside him churned—not out of fear of losing her, but out of anger that someone like Yuze dared to speak of her like that. As if she was weak. As if she hadn't suffered. As if he knew her.
Yuze didn't know her anymore.
And Shenzhi was beginning to realize—
He didn't either.
But he intended to.
Starting now.
The door to Shenzhi's private office clicked open softly as he stepped inside, the tension from the boardroom still clinging to his shoulders like a second skin. He expected silence. He expected the familiar scent of wood polish and faint cologne that lingered on his tailored suits.
What he didn't expect… was her.
Jiaxuan sat comfortably in his leather chair, legs crossed delicately, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of her lips. The morning light filtered through the blinds, casting a soft glow on her features. She wore a simple cream blouse tucked into a pastel skirt, her hair loosely tied back. A thermos and several neatly packed containers sat on his desk, the aroma of warm food spreading subtly through the room.
"Good morning, honey," she greeted with a sparkle in her eyes, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.
Shenzhi stood in the doorway, momentarily frozen. Not because of the nickname though it caught him off guard but because of how she looked sitting there. So at ease. As if this office, this space that had always been cold and strategic, belonged to both of them now.
He closed the door slowly. "You... came all the way here."
"I thought you'd be hungry," Jiaxuan said cheerfully, standing up to start unpacking the food. "You left early and skipped breakfast again. You do that when something's bothering you."
He watched her movements graceful, familiar. Her hands didn't tremble. Her voice didn't falter. The woman who had once been shy in his presence now spoke with warmth, acting as if everything between them had always been soft and easy.
She set the last container down and turned to him, tilting her head. "Aren't you going to sit and try it?"
"You didn't have to come all this way just to bring me food."
"But I wanted to," she replied, stepping closer, her tone playfully teasing. "You've been working too hard, and you need someone to remind you to take care of yourself."
Shenzhi's chest tightened at her words. There was a time when that sort of concern from her would have felt forced—like she was doing it out of obligation or guilt. But now? It almost felt... real.
He pulled out the chair across from her and sat. "What is it this time? Congee? Dumplings?"
She smiled, pleased that he asked. "Congee with shredded chicken and goji berries. Your favorite. And some steamed buns. I made them myself."
He picked up a spoon slowly, his gaze lingering on her face. "What are you trying to do, Jiaxuan?"
She leaned closer, resting her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand. "Can't a wife spoil her husband just a little?"
"Honey," she added in a whisper, her lips curling into a smile that made his heartbeat quicken before he could stop it.
He scoffed under his breath but reached for the congee anyway.
Outside, through the glass, his assistant watched with wide eyes, quietly sliding the door shut again and backing away from the door, deciding to postpone any interruptions for now.
Inside, for the first time in a long time, the cold air in the office began to feel a little warmer.