f-key. She gasped for breath and desperately swallowed, even a bystander could tell she was parched and uncomfortable. Shen Xiujin stared at her with an icy expression, "If you can't finish singing, y...Beep—

The frigid chime of the bell pierced through the silent air of the cold office, shattering not only the stillness but also the eerie atmosphere that hung heavy within.

Many men have lost weight, glancing casually at the phone screen on their desk, "Don't mind"

She slightly raised her eyelids, glancing over at the other man on the opposite side of the desk. He was equally impressive.

Although it was a question, it was clear that regardless of whether the person sitting across from him cared or not, he didn't really care.

Without waiting for the other party's response, the long fingers had already picked up the phone on the table and pressed the call button.

Xi Chen pressed the call button. When the screen showed that the call was connected, he silently handed the phone, which was already in a calling state, to the slender hand reaching out towards him.

Jian Tong's hands trembled slightly, not uttering a word as she forcibly squeezed back tears, her eyes red-rimmed.

On the other end of the phone, in the office of the president of Shen's Group, the man behind the desk remained silent for a long time. Usually, his patience would have worn thin by now, and he would have hung up without hesitation.

This time, as if possessed, he kept the cold, hard phone pressed to his ear, even though there was still silence on the other end.

Yet there was a strange feeling—this phone call, couldn't be hung up.

A full half minute passed.

"Spare the Jian family."

Over the phone, the woman stated four words flatly.

When the sound rang out, a look of ecstasy flashed in the narrow eyes of the man behind the desk. It brought this cold and nearly lifeless figure to life for a moment.

But soon, the joy faded, leaving behind deep thoughts.

A subtle upturn of his lips, and then a low voice, slow and deliberate, broke the silence:

"Are you begging me, or ordering me"

Request, together with, and require, only differ by one character, but their meanings can be vastly different.

On the phone, Jian Tong stubbornly pursed her lips. She had "asked" him for too much in her life. For three years, the warmth and tranquility by the Erhai River almost made her forget who Shen Xiuqin was, and who she was.

Her eyes, with a hint of mockery, swept past the elegantly dressed ladies in attendance. One of them, her face creased with anxiety as she watched every move made by — Jean Tong — was particularly focused on her.

He was even more nervous than her.

The drooping eyelids, forlorn and pitiful, and the tightly pressed lips, savoring every detail, felt ironically bitter.

She wanted to pull herself out of this maelstrom, but every time she thought she had finally escaped, she fell back into the mire.

They were all holding onto her most precious things, ignoring her scars that were riddled with pain, and stabbing them even deeper until they bled.

"Beg..." Her throat felt unbearably tight, and unconsciously, her lips were already burning with pain. She frowned and lowered her eyes: "Beg you, so what Demand of you, is that how it is"

On the other end of the phone, a strange smile flickered in the man's eyes. He idly curled his lips:

"If you ask me," he said, a playful smile in his eyes, a hint of mischief lurking beneath, his thin lips curving casually, his voice light and carefree: "I have the right to say no."

"So, you refuse" she asked.

A flash of anxiety, magnified a hundredfold, crossed Mrs. Jian's face as she caught Xiao Tong's eye. "Xiao Tong," she pleaded urgently, "please beg Mr. Shen for mercy. We can't let Jian Shi go bankrupt."

Xi Chen's eyes narrowed, and he shot a dagger at her. Mrs. Jian was frightened and took half a step back.

Shen Xiujin wasn't surprised to hear Mrs. Jian's voice. Ever since Jian Tong asked him to let the Jian family go, he had expected this, Someone from the Jian family had gone to plead with Jian Tong.

And Mrs. Jian was in Yunnan.

There were so many flies between him and Jian Tong. Thinking this, Shen Xiujin's phoenix eyes swept over the one sitting opposite him, a proud and arrogant sneer in his heart.

Then, facing the woman on the phone, his expression softened immediately, becoming warmer.

"What identity are you asking of me"

Jian Tong's eyes flickered: "Friend," she finally said.

The man on the phone didn't show any sign of anger. His voice was gentle but firm: "I'm sorry, I can't agree to that." His refusal was straightforward and unwavering.

Jian Tong's face changed color. She had expected him to possibly refuse, but she hadn't expected him to not even consider it, rejecting her without any mercy or hesitation.

The man let out a light sigh and began to explain in a phony way:

"Little one, you must also know that while I am the CEO of Shen Corporation, there is still a board of directors above me.

The acquisition of Jian Shi was a decision made by the entire board.

Even though the Jian family has fallen from grace, they still possess a considerable fortune. In such a large case, I, Shen Xiujing, as a friend of theirs, pleaded on their behalf and managed to get them off with only a portion of their assets being forfeited.

Emotionally, I can't let it go. Logically, because a friend of mine pleaded with me, I can't report back to the board.

Little child, you were also a businessman from the start.

You say we're friends, so you wouldn't make it difficult for a friend, would you

Xichen was very close to Jian Tong, and he had excellent hearing. He could hear Shen Xiuqin's voice on the phone clearly.

That face, which was always laughing and smiling, suddenly became mysterious.

Acting all innocent to fool whom

The board of directors of Shen

If the Shen Corporation's board of directors were able to make decisions, then Shen Corporation wouldn't be in his, Shen Xiuqin's, hands right now.

The current members of the Shen family board are all in a difficult position, like crossing a river on muddy ground.

He, Shen Xiujin, fully invested AG, almost diluting the equity of other directors on the board. It's already considered kind of him, Shen Xiujin, to spare those old fellows on the board; it shows his heart isn't black.

Still the board of directors

Can't explain it to the board

Let's go!

In the office of the Shen Group's CEO, a man with long, narrow phoenix eyes gently closed his eyelids... The opportunity given by God couldn't be too harsh. Scaring this woman away would mean no one would marry him.

With a hint of compromise, he let out a soft sigh. His phoenix eyes deepened with a touch of ruthlessness, and he curled his lips into a smirk. "Of course, if you forcefully demand that I let the Jian family go," he paused, "then I wouldn't be able to refuse."

But — the only person who can make demands of me, Shen Xiujin, is my wife.

Jian Tong squeezed his phone tightly, anger flashing in his eyes—he just wouldn't let her go, wouldn't let them both go, would he

In anger, thoughts flew wildly.

After a long silence, she finally regained her composure. Her eyes, filled with anger, looked like frozen branches of ice: "This time, how should I please Mr. Shen again Three years after three years, is it another three years" She lowered her gaze, asking softly, a subtle pain in her eyes that didn't need to be known by others.

There, the man holding his phone, his grip was just as tight. His heart felt like an invisible sword pierced through it. He took a deep breath, his eyes filled with pain, but he pretended to be carefree, lifting the corners of his lips into a charming smile, like a playboy amidst a sea of flowers, nonchalantly raising his voice:

"Indeed, another three years. Should you"

He wanted to entangle with her for the rest of his life Three years How was that enough

It's better to coax her, scaring her away would mean he has no one else to catch.

The woman said, "If I could, I wouldn't ever ask you again in my life!" She gritted her teeth, and a string of words squeezed out from between them.

The call abruptly ended.n Xiujin:We are all the same, we all have our flaws. So I deserve it, and you do too. I endured the pressure from my family for her, but in the end, I lost to my ridiculous pride and hollow self-estee...