Song Li Sheng sat at the walnut wood desk, recalling the scenes from earlier, the corners of his mouth still involuntarily turned upward.
But…
The moment he thought of the ring that had been removed, his heart couldn’t help but feel stifled again.
As for the matching ring on his own finger, he couldn’t decide whether to keep it there or not.
Song Li Sheng traced the metal ridge on his ring finger. Even as the cool sensation gradually warmed under his touch, he couldn’t bring himself to remove it.
Forget it. What Li Jiao did had nothing to do with him anyway.
Wasn’t the purpose of agreeing to this arranged marriage to avoid complications?
Her words, actions, and thoughts were irrelevant.
None of it mattered.
Nothing mattered at all…
Song Li Sheng tried to convince himself not to pay too much attention to Li Jiao’s every move.
He couldn’t let her affect him.
Finally, he moved his hand away from the poor ring, no longer dwelling on it.
What should be worn on his finger would remain on his finger.
What was rightfully his would always be his; what he wanted, even if it shouldn’t be his, he would seize by force if necessary.
This had always been Song Li Sheng’s way.
Li Jiao had pulled another all-nighter.
With no one reliable to delegate to, she had to handle everything herself – such was her miserable situation.
“Li Yichen is truly a vicious man,” she muttered under her breath while yawning and organizing the documents in her hands.
He hadn’t even bothered to properly hand over the company materials during the transition.
Even Li Jiao, who came from ancient times, could figure out the process through Baidu – how could a modern businessman like him not know?
He was definitely making things difficult for her on purpose.
But Li Jiao, whose backbone was harder than anything, would never bow down and beg Li Yichen for the materials.
Just some documents – couldn’t she simply retrieve them from the company’s electronic archives with a few clicks?
Holding onto this belief, Li Jiao worked with fierce determination and ended up pulling an honorable all-nighter.
Fortunately, she had managed to grasp the basic information about “Gardenia Star.”
Although “Gardenia Star” was established relatively early and was considered a veteran, large-scale company under the Li Group, the nature of entertainment agencies requiring them to adapt to current market trends meant the company didn’t have many “old guards.”
Most employees were talents around thirty years old.
Using the original host’s memories and materials provided by Li’s Mother, Li Jiao sorted through “Gardenia Star’s” interpersonal relationships and discovered that only the deputy general manager of finance could be considered Li Yichen’s lackey.
The two deputy general managers in charge of artists and marketing were relatively young, having risen through the ranks not through connections but through outstanding personal abilities.
Li Jiao set a small goal for herself.
The deputy general manager of finance, Li Kunming, was the first stumbling block on her path to success.
He had to be removed quickly.
Even with the original body’s good skin condition and mental state, it couldn’t withstand a full week of mental exhaustion.
Through her continuous efforts, Li Jiao finally descended the stairs with dark circles under her eyes.
As she reached the second floor and turned around, she saw Song Li Sheng emerging from his room.
He had clearly just washed his face – the ends of his hair were still damp and clinging to his fragile, snow-white neck, with droplets from his hair trickling down his neck and into his shirt.
Since he had business meetings today, Song Li Sheng wore shirt garters under his trousers, neatly tucking his fitted shirt into his suit pants.
Without his coat as a disguise, his slender waist was completely exposed to Li Jiao’s view.
Li Jiao halted her steps, her gaze involuntarily drifting to his waistline.
So slender—it felt like it could snap with just a gentle squeeze.
This thought lingered in her mind for only a second before Li Jiao quickly averted her eyes, silently reciting “Amitabha” in her heart.
It was still morning—she couldn’t let her thoughts wander!
Yet Song Li Sheng himself remained completely unaware, striding briskly toward her.
“Why are you up so early today?” he asked.
“There’s still work at the company,” she replied immediately.
In the brief exchange of question and answer, Song Li Sheng had already come to a stop right in front of Li Jiao.
The close proximity made him notice the subtle shift in Li Jiao’s gaze.
Did she… just glance at his waist?
Was his shirt not properly arranged?
Puzzled, Song Li Sheng lowered his head and placed both hands on his waist to check.
Following his movement, Li Jiao lightly licked her lips.
She wanted to touch it too.
But she couldn’t—she mustn’t be so indecent.
Li Jiao would never covet someone’s body without the young gentleman’s consent.
“How come you have dark circles under your eyes too?”
After confirming his attire was tidy, Song Li Sheng was about to look up when he caught sight of the bluish tint beneath Li Jiao’s eyes. “Such heavy dark circles—did you not sleep well either?”
“Mm… I stayed up late organizing the ‘Gardenia Star’ materials,” Li Jiao replied, composing herself upon hearing his voice from above.
“You’re personally sorting through materials?” Song Li Sheng frowned. “Did Li Yichen not even assign you an assistant?”
“No, and I wouldn’t want anyone from his side anyway,” Li Jiao pouted. “He’s so petty and malicious—who knows what kind of person he’d send over if he really arranged one.”
Hearing this, Song Li Sheng recalled the documents he’d reviewed before their marriage.
Li Jiao used to be an utterly spoiled young lady who only knew how to spend money and enjoy life, completely clueless about earning it.
She likely had no trusted people to help her.
He had once been the same, so he understood all too well how difficult it was to gradually consolidate company power entirely on one’s own, without any support, starting from scratch.
Even now, his body still bore many lingering effects from those years of excessive overexertion.
“If you don’t mind, I can lend you some of my people.” The words almost slipped out of Song Li Sheng’s mouth as he thought of his own recurring stomach issues.
He didn’t want Li Jiao to suffer the same hardships he had.
“Ah?” Overwhelmed by this sudden good fortune, Li Jiao stared blankly.
“Of course, you can have them sign confidentiality agreements,” Song Li Sheng added hastily, worried she might misinterpret his earlier statement as an attempt to plant spies in her company.
“No need, no need! It would be wonderful if you could send people to help me!” Li Jiao’s eyes widened instantly. Had she married some celestial being? How could he be so considerate?
“Ah, wait—have they signed confidentiality agreements with you?”
She still needed to confirm.
“Naturally, they have.”
To prevent any potential issues, every subordinate—no matter how trusted—had to sign one with Song Li Sheng. Even Jiang Chen was no exception.
After all, the human heart was the most unpredictable thing in the world.
“Then that’s fine. No need to sign with me—that would be redundant,” Li Jiao stated matter-of-factly. “We’re family anyway.”
Family?
Song Li Sheng silently repeated the words in his heart, then chuckled lightly: “Alright, I’ll have them go over as soon as possible.”
Human hearts are hard to fathom, but clearly Li Jiao didn’t understand this.
He thought with sarcasm, yet his eyes still carried a naturally soft tenderness.
Never mind. Before sending people over, he’d just have her sign another contract here.