The taxi stopped in front of Niansi Company. Shen Nianyi gazed up at the towering building, her thoughts a tangled mess.
After explaining the reason for her visit to the receptionist, she was quickly escorted to Cheng Qianpeng’s office, since she had contacted him in advance.
Cheng Qianpeng had been her father’s close friend and was now Niansi Company’s legal counsel.
Shen Nianyi had met him several times as a child, but in recent years, they had almost completely lost touch.
After exchanging brief greetings, she steadied herself and took out the share transfer agreement Grandmother had given her.
“Cheng Qianpeng, I’d like to ask whether I’m allowed to attend the shareholders’ meeting.”
Cheng Qianpeng did his best to suppress his excitement. He accepted the agreement and examined it closely, then adjusted the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. “There’s no problem with that. You can attend.”
Shen Nianyi breathed a sigh of relief. “When is the next shareholders’ meeting?”
“This afternoon. Are you planning to attend?” Cheng Qianpeng returned the agreement to Shen Nianyi.
It was clear that there were many doubts in his eyes, but Shen Nianyi had no time to explain. She simply told him what she intended to do. “Cheng Qianpeng, I want to come back and work here.”
A flash of shock crossed Cheng Qianpeng’s eyes. He quickly saw that the resolve in her gaze was no joke and nodded. “All right. I’ll help you with this, but you need to be prepared as well. The shareholders at Niansi are not easy to deal with. Your arrival will make them wary of you.”
“I know.” Shen Nianyi had prepared herself mentally before even stepping into Niansi. Besides, it appeared that Cheng Qianpeng still stood on the side of the Shen family. At least she would not be completely without support.
As for the rest, she could only proceed step by step.
That afternoon, after the shareholders had finished discussing the scheduled matters, Su Mingzhe was just about to announce the end of the meeting when someone pushed open the conference-room door from outside.
A familiar face appeared before him. Su Mingzhe’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here?”
“Why are you so hostile toward me?”
“We’re holding a shareholders’ meeting. Everything discussed here is confidential. What are you, a child, doing here to cause trouble?” Su Mingzhe glared at her irritably, then signaled to an assistant nearby to get her out.
Shen Nianyi tugged lightly at the corner of her mouth. The lipstick she had just reapplied lent her presence an added hint of forcefulness. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Cheng Qianpeng rose from the right side of the conference table. “Ms. Shen Nianyi holds five percent of the company’s shares. Under the regulations, she is entitled to attend the shareholders’ meeting and participate in its deliberations.”
Cheng Qianpeng was Niansi’s legal counsel, so everyone present trusted his words completely.
Nianyi swept her gaze across the room and parted her red lips. “You heard him. I’m here to take a position, not to cause trouble. Aren’t you going to arrange a job for me?”
Su Mingzhe’s face turned black with anger. He had taken every precaution, yet he still had not managed to stop her from entering the company!
“In my opinion, she should start from the grassroots—”
Before he could finish, Cheng Qianpeng cut him off. “I believe Ms. Shen Nianyi is qualified to serve as head of the Sales Department.”
Su Mingzhe objected at once. “Although Shen Nianyi holds shares, she has never been involved in running a clothing-design company. How can she join the Sales Department and become its head immediately? How is that supposed to convince anyone?”
Once he spoke, several others echoed him, saying that Shen Nianyi lacked sufficient experience and qualifications. If they agreed to let her become a department head, it would leave the veteran employees in the Sales Department bitterly disappointed.
Shen Nianyi looked at Su Mingzhe, her cool features concealing a trace of restrained anger.
For Qin Jiming’s sake, she had given up her father’s inheritance. She had not known that it included shares in Niansi as well, and Su Mingxin had deceived her into giving everything away.
Now Niansi, the company her father had founded with his own hands, was being managed entirely by Su Mingxin’s younger brother, Su Mingzhe! How could she possibly swallow her anger?
Fortunately, she had prepared for this. She took out a stack of documents and tossed them onto the table in front of Su Mingzhe.
“I’ve worked at Qin Group for the past few years. These are my performance records and details of the various projects I managed.”
“If you’re still not convinced, I can promise you that within three months of taking office, I’ll raise sales by five percent.”
Niansi was far from a small company. Every one-percent increase in sales was extremely difficult to achieve, and the other shareholders began to waver.
Su Mingzhe’s eyes fixed fiercely on Shen Nianyi. In the end, he gave a cold snort and suddenly reminded her, “We can give you a chance to prove yourself, but we don’t show favoritism here. Even if you are my niece, that won’t make a difference.”
At those words, Shen Nianyi felt as disgusted as if she had swallowed a fly.
She had not returned to rely on the Su family’s influence. Su Mingzhe truly seemed to think this place belonged to his family!
When she left, Shen Nianyi could still feel Su Mingzhe’s sinister gaze following her.
After arriving at the Sales Department, Shen Nianyi had just finished organizing her new office and taken a glass of water when Su Mingxin shoved open the door.
“Nianyi!”
“What gives you the right to sit here?”
Shen Nianyi leaned back in her chair without moving. She lifted her eyes leisurely to look at Su Mingxin. “A five-percent shareholding isn’t enough to give me the right to sit here?”
Even if she had not returned to the company as a department head, no one would have dared provoke her if she merely came to attend every shareholders’ meeting!
Su Mingxin’s chest heaved violently with anger. “You—”
“How did you cheat me out of my father’s shares and houses? Don’t you know perfectly well? Do you really want me to make a scene and let everyone see exactly what kind of people you and your brother are?”
Su Mingxin glared at her and pointed a threatening finger. “You wouldn’t dare!”
Shen Nianyi shrugged. “I’ll say it again: the houses and shares are mine. If you return them, I can choose not to pursue the matter. Otherwise, you can find out for yourself whether I dare.”
Su Mingxin froze for a moment and stared at her in disbelief. Then, as if she had thought of something, she laughed. “I knew it. Things haven’t worked out with that boy from the Qin family, so you’ve decided to come crawling back and live off your parents, haven’t you? But Shen Nianyi, you didn’t listen to me and go on a blind date. Why should I honor the conditions we discussed?”
Shen Nianyi’s icy gaze fell on the large gold bracelet around Su Mingxin’s wrist. She sneered, “A woman living off her dead husband’s money shouldn’t accuse me of living off my parents.”
“You unfilial daughter! No matter what, I’m still your Mother!” Su Mingxin was furious. “I’ll say it again today: I’ll return those things to you only after you go on a blind date!”
The next moment, Shen Nianyi raised a ring and said lazily, “But I’m already married. What blind date would I go on?”
The ring left Su Mingxin speechless, and she did not say a word for quite some time.
The girl had actually gotten married? Impossible. The news Su Mingxin had heard was that Qin Jiming had clearly left the wedding that day!
A moment later, Su Mingxin’s eyes shifted. She suddenly put on the expression of a kindly mother. “Nianyi, it’s not that your mother is trying to argue with you. The things that belong to you were only being held in safekeeping for you. I was always going to give them back.”
“But I need a little time to take care of the formalities. You should wait a while longer.”
Nianyi’s beautiful eyes were clear and bright as she stared straight at her. “Then please do it as quickly as possible, Ms. Su Mingxin.”
She had stopped calling Su Mingxin her mother long ago, yet this woman still had the nerve to refer to herself as one!
Su Mingxin walked out of the Niansi building, a vicious light bursting from her eyes.
Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on her face, and she dialed a number.