Chapter 18

In a luxurious and spacious office, soft jazz music played leisurely. Shen Xiao stood by the bright floor-to-ceiling window, holding a cup of coffee as he admired the view. But all he could see was a concrete jungle of steel and cement, which grew tiresome after a few glances.
He turned away from the window, placed his half-finished coffee on the table, and picked up the remote to turn off the pretentious music. This kind of pretentious music style really didn't suit him, it gave him a headache.
He pressed the intercom and called Secretary Du in.
While waiting, he idly lit a cigarette and perched on the edge of his desk. Picking up a few darts from the table, he casually threw them at the dartboard on the bookshelf.
Each throw scored high.
Secretary Du was usually efficient, but something must have held him up this time. Shen Xiao had already thrown two rounds before he finally knocked and entered.
Shen Xiao squinted, aiming for the bullseye, a cigarette dangling from his lips. "Has the agency deal with SCD in the U.S. not been finalized yet? Wasn't it supposed to be in the final stages?"
Secretary Du's eyes flickered, and he cleared his throat. "There's been a slight issue. The team in charge is working on resolving it."
Shen Xiao stopped throwing darts and turned to look at him. "What kind of issue?"
Secretary Du said, "Two more companies have joined the competition, and they're quite formidable."
Shen Xiao threw the last dart in his hand and asked, "Which two?"
Secretary Du stepped forward, retrieved the darts from the target, and handed them to him before replying, "The Situ Group and the Li Group."
Shen Xiao stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray and toyed with the dart. "The Situ Group? Situ Yi? Why is it him again? He snatched a bid from us before!"
Secretary Du wiped his sweat and explained, "Last time, we were the ones trying to take it from him, but we failed."
Shen Xiao shot him a glare, displeased with the added clarification, and asked, "Then what about the Li Group?"
"Old Master Li has been considering handing over the business to his eldest grandson lately. This time, it's probably the heir building up his track record."
Shen Xiao remarked, "What they're after isn't just this agency deal, they're eyeing the entire SCD consortium behind it, just like us."
Secretary Du nodded and said, "So we can't afford to be careless."
"Damn it," Shen Xiao cursed under his breath. "One after another, they're all trying to steal my share. I'll make sure they regret it!" As soon as the words left his mouth, a dart flew out of his hand with a "whoosh," followed by a "thud" from the bookshelf as a decorative porcelain piece shattered into pieces.
The dart hadn't hit the bullseye but had instead pierced through a small ornamental plate on the bookshelf, a testament to the force behind his throw.
Shen Xiao was momentarily stunned. He walked over to assess the damage. On the wooden bookshelf, several porcelain pieces of varying sizes were displayed, the one he had just shattered was the smallest and most delicate.
He picked up the remaining half, examined it in his hand, and then released it mid-air, letting the shards crash onto the tile floor with a crisp "crack."
Suddenly, he recalled the time he had trashed Shen Yu's rented apartment and his own theory about the sound of porcelain breaking. He picked up another porcelain piece, raised it high, and let go. The porcelain plummeted to the ground, shattering with a sharp "crack" and scattering fragments everywhere.
He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, this sound was far more pleasing to the ear than that jazz music from earlier.
And so, he continued smashing...
Secretary Du watched him destroy the porcelain, his lips twitching, and couldn't resist saying, "Boss, the one in your hand is the last porcelain piece on the bookshelf." These were all exquisite works by master craftsmen acquired from auctions. Watching him smash several in one go, even as a bystander, he felt a pang of heartache.
Shen Xiao glanced back at the bookshelf, it was indeed much emptier. He placed the last vase on his desk, planning to take it home after work to let his sister listen to the sound of it breaking.
Secretary Du quickly made a call to have someone come clean up the scattered fragments, worried that his boss might accidentally injure himself.
After smashing some porcelain for a while, Shen Xiao finally felt much better and said, "That Situ Yi, should I find some time to meet him?"
Whether it was the people around him or matters at the company, they always seemed to have some connection to this person. It was utterly exasperating.
Secretary Du replied, "Situ Yi used to be an actor. He hasn't been in the industry long since retiring to take over the company. He keeps a low profile and rarely socializes these days. Many people want to get to know him but can't find a way in."
Shen Xiao thought for a moment, then took out his phone and called Bai Muqing, not caring whether she was in the middle of filming. Fortunately, the call connected without much delay.
Shen Xiao got straight to the point: "Last time, you mentioned Situ Yi would attend your school's anniversary celebration?"
Bai Muqing was a bit confused but quickly replied, "Yes, he'll definitely be there."
Shen Xiao said, "Alright, I'll go with you then."
Shen Yu took the script from Bai Muqing and went home to study it carefully. Although the script depicted a confrontation between a consort and the empress, the situation was completely one-sided. The favored consort held all the power and was arrogant, while the empress, though the emperor's legitimate wife, had no authority or influence, her status was even lower than that of a consort. When the two accidentally met in the imperial garden, the empress ended up being bullied to tears by the consort.
"What kind of garbage script is this?!" Shen Yu threw the two A4 pages to the ground in frustration, then angrily pummeled a couch cushion with a pillow.
Uncle Li came over carrying a plate of plump, glistening red grapes. Seeing the scene, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Miss, this is the first time I've seen you vent like this. It's actually quite refreshing."
Shen Yu: “…”
She had been so furious that she forgot to act like an innocent little white rabbit.
She stuck out her tongue and said to Uncle Li, "I didn't mean to, it's just that the script is so infuriating."
Uncle Li handed her the entire plate of grapes to hold while she ate, then bent down to pick up the two pages. He sat beside her and read them for a while before also expressing disdain, "This empress is utterly useless, completely outmatched by the consort."
Shen Yu stuffed two grapes into her mouth and mumbled through her chewing, "Exactly... so annoying!"
Uncle Li disdainfully tossed the pages back onto the floor and said, "Sweetheart, if something is this irritating, we don't have to look at it. Just throw it away."
Shen Yu: “…”
She shoved the plate back into Uncle Li's hands, swiftly picked up the papers from the floor, and said, "This is the script I have to perform. I can't throw it away."
Uncle Li ate a grape himself and chuckled, "Then, Miss, are you playing the favored consort?"
Shen Yu pouted, "I'm playing that pitiful little cabbage empress."
Uncle Li said, "That's just too tragic."
Wasn't it, though!
"I can't perform this play like this," Shen Yu muttered to herself. "I need to think it through carefully."
Uncle Li said, "Right, only a brain-dead person would perform it this way. Why not just revise the script?"
Shen Yu's eyes lit up. That's right, why was she obsessing over the script Bai Muqing gave her? Before, she just lacked a partner, but now that she had one, why worry about not having a play to perform?
The script was fixed, but people were flexible. She could just change it!
Once she had this realization, Shen Yu immediately felt a sense of relief wash over her, and even her appetite improved.
She took the plate of grapes back from Uncle Li and ate them one after another. "Uncle Li, these grapes are so chilled!"
Uncle Li said, "I bought them yesterday but forgot to give them to you. They were just kept in the fridge, it's fine."
Shen Yu nodded and continued eating.
After finishing a plate of grapes, Shen Yu felt discomfort in her lower abdomen, as if a chill was gradually gathering there, followed by a dull ache.
It had been over a month since she transmigrated, and this body hadn’t had a period yet. She guessed the original owner’s menstrual cycle was probably quite long, so she hadn’t paid it much mind. Could it be that it was coming today?
She needed to go back to her room and check.
Just as she was about to get up from the sofa, Shen Xiao returned, strolling in leisurely with a rather large porcelain vase in his hand. She had no idea what he intended to do with it.
Shen Yu, who had just set her feet on the floor, pulled them back, straightened up, and greeted him, “Brother, you’re back.”
“Why haven’t you gone to the gym yet today?” Shen Xiao asked curiously. Usually, by the time he got home, she would already be huffing and puffing on the treadmill. Today, she was slacking off.
Uncle Li stood up and moved aside, smiling as he said, “She was just about to go change. You came back early today.”
Shen Xiao glanced at his watch and realized he was indeed early. Then, noticing the porcelain vase in his hand, he handed it to Shen Yu and said, “This is for you.”
Shen Yu took the vase blankly and asked, “What’s it for?”
Such a big vase, was she supposed to arrange flowers in it?
“For you to smash,” he said.
“Smash??” Shen Yu was utterly confused.
Shen Xiao frowned impatiently. “Just smash it. Now, immediately, right away.”
Shen Yu instantly turned timid. Without questioning why, she raised her hand and threw the vase onto the floor outside the carpet. With a loud “bang,” the porcelain shattered into pieces.
Shen Yu: “…”
Uncle Li: “...”
Shen Xiao stepped over the fragments and sat down on the sofa, leisurely asking, “Was the sound crisp? Did it sound nice?”
Shen Yu immediately recalled their conversation back at the rental apartment and couldn’t help shivering. “Y-yes… it sounded nice.”
Shen Xiao nodded in satisfaction. “If it sounds nice, then it’s good porcelain. It was worth a million.”
Shen Yu: !!!
Damn, this vase was actually worth a million?? She had just shattered a million into pieces without even blinking?? What the hell, she really wanted to chop her hand off!!!
Uncle Li, seeing her face pale, quickly interjected, “Sir, don’t scare the young lady.”
Shen Xiao crossed his legs and said, “I’m not scaring her. It really was a million.”
Shen Yu’s face, which had only been slightly pale before, now turned completely green. Then she started breaking out in a cold sweat before finally crouching down, clutching her stomach, and letting out a pained cry, “It hurts so much!!”
Shen Yu felt a cold, heavy pain in her lower abdomen, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It felt as if someone were stirring a knife inside her, the pain was sudden and intense.
The two men beside her were startled by her sudden cry and exchanged bewildered glances. Shen Xiao remarked, “It’s just a million. It can’t be that bad, can it?”
Uncle Li quickly responded, "The young lady seems to be feeling unwell."
Shen Yu could no longer hold her squatting position and slumped onto the carpet. Fortunately, the spot was free of shattered porcelain shards, or her bottom would have been in for a world of hurt.
"Uncle Li, my stomach hurts," she said, clutching her abdomen with both hands and lifting a deathly pale face.
The sudden situation left Shen Xiao momentarily stunned. His face turned ashen as he bent down, wanting to pull her up but afraid to move her. He turned to Uncle Li and asked, "What's going on? Is she poisoned? What did she just eat?"
Uncle Li, already flustered, stammered, "It was... just a plate of chilled grapes!"
"Grapes?" Shen Xiao frowned and decisively said, "Let's get her to the hospital first!"
He then reached out to pull Shen Yu up. "Get up."
Shen Yu, weak and trembling all over, half-stood when he tugged at her, but as soon as Shen Xiao loosened his grip, she collapsed back onto the floor.
In that brief moment of her half-standing, Shen Xiao’s sharp eyes caught sight of the bloodstain on the white carpet. Instantly, his entire demeanor shifted, and his large hands began to tremble uncontrollably. Wide-eyed, he asked Uncle Li, "Is she... is she dying? She's bleeding!!"
Uncle Li: “...”