In Country C, Shang Capital
Seated inside the first-class cabin of a renowned international airplane, Stephanie Ruan looked at the city through the window, with deep emotions in her eyes.
Up until today, her family's car accident which had happened 8 years ago remained vivid in her mind.
Just like the members of the public, she too wanted to believe that the tragic incident which had killed her parents and sibling was unintentional.
However, she remembered very clearly the words of a young man who seemed to be reporting to someone over the phone that day. "I've confirmed it, the Ruan family members are all dead."
The cold voice sent shivers down her spine. Though Stephanie Ruan did not dare to open her eyes back then, that particular voice would be etched on her memory forever.
The young man deliberately threw the phone towards her, which had accurately landed a few centimetres away from her face, just like how he had expected it to be.
He then walked towards the phone and immediately crushed it beneath his shoe, while staring at the uninjured girl who is stubbornly trying to keep her eyes shut.
Feeling the young man's face getting closer to hers, Stephanie Ruan could not help but become more nervous. "Oh no... Has he found out that I am still alive??!"
"..."
But what the young man subsequently said to her had shocked her the most! "Leave this country and don't ever come back!"
"!!..."
"So he knew... Back then he knew that I was alive!" Stephanie Ruan sat on her seat and subconsciously clasped her hands together.
Just then, a hand suddenly came over and tapped on her arm. She reflexively turned to the side and looked at the person with widened eyes.
Seeing her personal assistant's shocked expression, Stephanie Ruan calmed down a little and gave her a light smile. "I'm sorry, Mia. You were going to tell me something?"
Mia Xue did not know what had gotten into her boss. She noticed that Stephanie Ruan had not been herself ever since she had boarded the plane.
Nonetheless, she went on and reported to her respectfully. "Director Ruan, the plane has landed. We can alight now."
Stephanie Ruan nodded and elegantly put on her black sunglasses. "Okay, let's go."
The sound of her high heels had filled the entire corridor and attracted the attention of many passengers who had just alighted.
Her graceful and dignified demeanour, coupled with her beautiful facial features and figure had caused the people around her to be unable to shift their eyes away.
"Unbelievable!! Could anyone be prettier than her?!" The crowd started to break into their conversations while being mesmerised by her beauty.
Mia Xue, who is walking beside Stephanie Ruan, is already very used to this scene. Such an outstanding woman, it is no wonder that her boss would gain so much attention.
She really could not understand why Stephanie Ruan would not accept any of the suitors who have been actively pursuing her. To be honest, each of them is not lacking a single bit at all!
Mia Xue could not help but sigh silently in her heart. She really did not dare to imagine how great Stephanie Ruan's future husband would be...
As they exited the arrival hall, Mia Xue wasted no time and immediately reported their schedule for today.
"Director Ruan, you have a virtual internal department meeting at 11 am... Lunch would be at 1 pm and after which, you would prepare to head for an interview with a local media company... There would be an external stakeholders' meeting at 4 pm..."
In the past 6 years, Stephanie Ruan has single-handedly established a company of her own. At the young age of 26, she now owns Helix Publishing - a successful international publishing firm. They are known to always be the first to release the latest business news in the industry!
But of course, she wouldn't be where she is today without her best friend, Daniel Yan.
When Stephanie Ruan had fled from Country C, she was fortunate enough to have met Daniel Yan in Country A. His family is also very welcoming and has treated her as their own.
Though Daniel Yan comes from a very wealthy family, he hasn't been able to invest in her publishing firm as she refused to take a single cent from him. As such, he could only stay by her side and offer her the emotional support that she needed.
Stephanie Ruan's phone rang as soon as she entered the car. She instantly accepted the video call but before she could even say a word, a cheerful voice interrupted her.
"Miss Ruan! You have already reached the country and you didn't even give me a call! Have you forgotten about your best friend so quickly?"
She immediately rolled her eyes at Daniel Yan and teased him as well. "Mr Yan, if I knew earlier that I wouldn't even get a breather after my flight, I'd definitely choose to forget about this best friend of mine..."
"Wait wait... Hold up!! Why does it sound like it's my fault again??"
Looking at his wronged look, Stephanie Ruan could not help but let out a soft chuckle. "Alright alright... It's my fault, okay??"
"..."
Seeing that he is just staring quietly at her, she lifted her hand to touch her face. "What's wrong?? Is there something on my face?"
Daniel Yan shook his head and simply gave her a doting smile, "Take care of yourself alright? If you need anything, just call me. I'll even fly over to meet you if you want me to."
His words made her break into a smile, "Stop being ridiculous! You're way busier than I am, so just focus on your work!"
Though Stephanie Ruan is one of the most highly sought-after women, she is also known to have mercilessly rejected and stayed away from every single man who had confessed their heart to her.
She is simply not interested to be in a relationship at the moment and no one could change her strong mindset.
In fact, the only guy who could successfully stay by her side is none other than Daniel Yan.
Yes, he loves her. But he also loves her differently from the other men. If she is not ready to be in a relationship yet, then he would wait patiently for her to be ready.
He has already decided to wait for her no matter how much time it would take. To him, it would all be worth it!
...
Their light-hearted conversation quickly ended and soon, the car arrived in front of the grand hotel.
"Director Ruan, we are here." Mia Xue turned to face the back seat and succinctly reported.
"Mmm okay." Stephanie Ruan casually took the designer bag that is seated beside her and alighted from the car.
As soon as they had settled into their presidential suite, Mia Xue received an important phone call.
"Got it... Send the file to me. I'll let Director Ruan know."
Hearing her name, Stephanie Ruan who is busy reading through a document, looked up at Mia. "What's the matter?"
Mia Xue quickly opened the newly received file on her tablet and brought it over to her boss.
"The investigator said that these are all the information he has and he is unable to help you investigate any further. His cover has already been blown."
Stephanie Ruan read through the file and a cold glint flashed past her eyes. "Zhong Family?"
After so many years of investigation, she has finally managed to obtain some information about the people who were behind her family's car accident.
It is truly a pity that the investigation had to stop here. She still has not gotten hold of any concrete evidence to take legal actions against them.
And she is definitely not going to give up just like that!
She scrolled down towards the end of the file and saw a familiar face.
As the boss of a renowned publishing firm that is constantly producing the latest business updates, she definitely could recognise this man with just one glance!
Javier Zhong - the only grandchild of the prestigious Zhong Family. His family is so powerful in the country that even the government officials could not afford to offend them.
He has officially taken over his family's business - Zhong Holdings, which is actively involved in most of the industries around the world. Though he is just 2 years older than her, he has already accomplished ten times what she has done thus far.
Just within a year of him taking over, Zhong Holdings has grown to become the top three companies in the world and their profits are still steadily increasing every single month.
It is said that 'anything that he touches would become gold'. Indeed, he holds an unshakable position in the business field and is feared by many!
Furthermore, he is already listed as the richest billionaire in the country.
Would anyone refuse to bow down to him?
Well, perhaps, there could only be one person who dares to plot against him.
"Mia, ask the investigator to do me one last favour. Give me the current location of Javier Zhong."
What?? Is she intending to throw herself into the lion's den and investigate this incident on her own?! To be up against the other members of the Zhong family is already a huge challenge. But... it is entirely another matter on its own to deal with Javier Zhong directly! With perfect facial features and a muscular build, he is known to be the most powerful and ruthless person in the Zhong Family. If people are already so afraid of his family members, it is almost unimaginable how much more fear they would carry for him!Furthermore, he has a very low tolerance for women and all of them are advised to stay at least three meters away from him. Mia Xue widened her eyes and looked at her boss in shock. She really did not dare to imagine the consequences of her boss' decision. If Javier Zhong knows about what she is planning to do, she would definitely be skinned alive!!"Director Ruan... It
Over on the other side, there is a strange silence in the room. Without having to look at Javier Zhong's cold and unfriendly expression, Isaac Wen could already feel the low pressure from him. In fact, he closed his eyes and prepared to embrace what is to come as his body started to break into a cold sweat! Clearly, Isaac Wen knows that if the young master were to throw a temper right now, no one could control him at all! And at the end of the day, the person who would have the toughest time could only be him... "..." It did not take very long for everyone in the room to realise that the temperature has already dropped to its freezing point! Even Mr Robertson could not help but question himself if he had made the right decision to bring both parties together. However, from a business standpoint, he had no choice as this is the most effective way to negotiate for the best terms in the contract. Of course, as a ru
Judging by their closeness, Mr Robertson is satisfied that he has 'accurately' guessed their relationship.However, as soon as Javier Zhong heard what she said, he gritted his teeth in anger!He did not know Stephanie Ruan's motive for coming close to him but yet at the same time, it is not ideal to create a big scene in front of his new business partner."Certainly, we will be there."Well, isn't it just attending an event? How difficult could it be??In the worst-case scenario, if she refuses to come, he would just get Isaac Wen to tie her up and drag her to the event with him.After all, a promise has already been made and he is one who never breaks his promises.When Stephanie Ruan heard his quick and decisive reply, she could not help but let out a light smirk.To be able to reach this stage of development with Javier Zhong could already be considered as 'mission accomplished' for her."That's great, I will see you
Snapping out of his thoughts, he squinted his eyes at Stephanie Ruan.In Javier Zhong's opinion, this woman in front of him is obviously not trustable at all!Who knows what's the real reason for her coming so close to him?But if she could be trusted to handle this difficult business deal and yet at the same time be able to help him please his grandmother for the time being, then he does not see why he shouldn't make full use of her?After all, she is the one who came knocking on his door first!"State your terms and conditions." Javier Zhong threw out these few cold words.He had learned since young that the number one business rule is to wait for the other party to state their conditions first so that he would not lose out unnecessarily.However, Stephanie Ruan is also well-educated on this rule. But someone has to start first, right?So with this thought, she decided to play the game differently. "Relax, I'm not after any o
To be more accurate, it was just a peck on their lips that lasted for about one second.But this is more than enough to send Stephanie Ruan flying into a rage!Horrified by his actions, Stephanie Ruan raised her voice at him in disbelief. "Javier Zhong!! How dare you!!""!!!..."The minute she finished her sentence, the car became dangerously silent, with both Isaac Wen and the driver drowning in fear.Though they did not manage to witness the incident, they could vaguely guess what had happened just by looking at their body language.And this is the first time they have encountered someone calling their young master by his full name and also looking to start a fight with him!Such a bold lady! But does she know that she is playing with fire?!"..."Frankly speaking, it is indirectly the driver's fault for unintentionally causing the 'kiss' to happen. But their boss is actually getting scolded for it instead!What
It's no wonder why the boy would have such a huge reaction especially after seeing Javier Zhong's ferocious eyes staring straight at him.Is he even a human at all?! Who treats such a young child like this??With a frightened child in front of her, she could not be bothered with Javier Zhong any longer and gave her full attention to the young boy instead.She cuddled him in her arms and soothe him, "It's okay, Ethan. Don't be afraid... Auntie is here..."Stephanie Ruan then shifted his attention to a fancy ice cream truck nearby. "Wow, what is that, Ethan?? Take a look at it!""Do you want to have some ice cream?""Let's go get one for you, alright?"With that, she ignored Javier Zhong and brought the boy over to the ice-cream truck."..."Meanwhile, Javier Zhong stood at the same spot and watched Stephanie Ruan from afar with a complicated gaze.He had deliberately ordered the driver to make a u-turn just t
Grandma Zhong looked into Stephanie Ruan's pure eyes and nodded her head with satisfaction. "Stephanie... That's a nice name.""I am Javier's grandmother. You can call me Grandma Zhong.""!!..."Startled, Stephanie Ruan briefly glanced at Javier Zhong before meeting Grandma Zhong's eyes again.Never would she have imagined herself to be meeting his grandmother so quickly... And what's more, in such an unexpected situation!At the same time, Javier Zhong wore his usual indifferent look on the outside but is actually very surprised to hear his grandmother's words.People have to know that she does not just let anyone call her by the name of 'Grandma Zhong'.She must have taken a liking to Stephanie Ruan!"Grandma Zhong, it's nice to meet you." With a sincere smile and a slight nod, Stephanie Ruan greeted her politely.Having been in the business industry long enough, Grandma Zhong has already met all kinds of people. As su
With that, she gave him a slight smirk and returned to her original position."!!..."Stalking her?! Missing her??!!Did she seriously say that??!!..."Crazy woman." Javier Zhong muttered under his breath in disbelief.This lady is truly capable of making his heart boil each time she speaks!Although he refused to entertain her right now, he has already made a mental note to count these 'debts' with her in the near future!Amidst their conversation, Isaac Wen, who almost burst out laughing, quickly regained his composure after noticing Javier Zhong's piercing gaze through the rear-view mirror.To be fair, nobody could blame Isaac Wen for having such a huge reaction!I mean, throughout his many years of working closely with Javier Zhong, no one has ever dared to speak to his boss in such a manner before!Indeed, it was truly an eye-opening scene!And of course, Stephanie Ruan did not pursue the matter any fu