The Crybaby Mistress GL - Chapter 59

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Chen Xin put on a smile that carried a hint of surprise, although deep inside, she already knew his unexpected visit likely meant trouble.

Chen Zheng stepped into what used to be his office. Even though the nameplate on the door now read Chen Xin, he strolled around as though he still owned the place. His hands were tucked into his pockets and he exuded the air of authority. After a long moment, he finally asked, “Busy?”

Chen Xin, hoping he would not stay long, replied with a polite smile. “A bit.”

“Good. I came to give you a task,” Chen Zheng nodded as he spoke. His tone made it clear he had no intention of lingering. “Weiguo did a decent job this time. It does not make sense to keep him at the level of team leader. Promote him to vice president.”

Chen Xin stared at him in shock for several seconds, unable to believe what she had just heard. She raised her hand to her forehead, her disbelief plain to see. When had her father become so unreasonable? Vice president? Chen Weiguo was still struggling to perform his current role. He could barely hold the position of team leader, and she even doubted whether he could manage as a regular employee. Now, Chen Zheng was suggesting a promotion with just a few words?

“Dad, you know that’s not possible. Weiguo hasn’t even become familiar with his current responsibilities,” Chen Xin tried to reason with him. “This kind of promotion can’t happen so quickly. He needs at least six months, maybe even a year.”

Chen Zheng frowned deeply. “What difference does it make if he is not familiar yet? You can help guide him. Or do you plan to let the people who will report to him someday get promoted ahead of him?”

His face clearly showed his displeasure at Chen Xin’s refusal to agree immediately. From the way he spoke, it was obvious he had not come to discuss. He was delivering a command. “Chen Xin, I may have left the company’s operations in your hands, but that does not mean you can make every decision alone. This matter is settled.”

“Dad…” Chen Xin still wanted to reason with him.

“Uncle!” Just then, Chen Weiguo came running in, having clearly been notified. When he saw Chen Zheng standing there, he hurried forward. “Uncle, why are you here? I don’t want a promotion. I’m fine as a team leader. Let me take you home.”

Chen Zheng did not move. Chen Weiguo did not dare to force him. Instead, he tried a different tactic. “Chen An went looking for Grandpa. Uncle, can you help watch him for me?”

Chen An, who still walked with an unsteady gait, had now become the apple of Chen Zheng’s eye. Hearing that softened his stance. He allowed Chen Weiguo to escort him out of the office. Whether the issue had truly been resolved remained uncertain. Chen Xin felt a dull ache building in her head. She could already guess why her father was so eager.

Everyone said pillow talk was the most powerful persuasion.

Chen Xin did not follow them out. She chose to treat the earlier episode as a farce. Promoting Chen Weiguo was absolutely out of the question. He had barely been in the company long enough to understand the basics. It was ridiculous.

After finally seeing Chen Zheng off, Chen Weiguo returned covered in sweat. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, his tired expression highlighting the resemblance he shared with his father’s once-handsome features.

The driver brought the car around. Inside the vehicle, a delicate and soft-featured woman waited. As soon as Chen Zheng climbed in, she leaned close to him. Her makeup was more youthful and refined than before, and her long black hair looked freshly styled. “Have some water. It’s hot outside.”

In truth, the weather was not particularly warm. Chen Zheng had been indoors the entire time. Even so, it did not stop Liu Ruoya from twisting open a water bottle and handing it to him with practiced ease.

Chen Zheng took two sips and set the bottle aside. His voice was low and heavy. “This is absolutely outrageous.”

Liu Ruoya looked at him with concern. “Did the conversation not go well? Was it Weiguo who upset you again?”

Chen Zheng curled his lip in irritation. “It was Chen Xin. That girl has grown wings. She no longer listens to her father.”

Chen Xin’s attitude had been unmistakable. She clearly had no intention of following his instructions. That defiance had deeply angered him.

“How can that be? You went all the way there in person. How could Chen Xin not follow your arrangements?” Liu Ruoya looked genuinely shocked. She gently covered her mouth, then continued in a soft tone. “Could it be that she misunderstood something about Weiguo? If not, what reason could she have to refuse something so simple?”

Hearing this only added to Chen Zheng’s frustration. He had ruled over his family and the company for years. Losing control over Chen Xin was unacceptable. “I make the decisions. It is not her place to challenge me.”

Since Chen Xin refused to cooperate, Chen Zheng knew he would have to use other methods.

Liu Ruoya did not press further. She simply placed her delicate hand on the back of his. “Zheng, do you think it’s time for us to talk about our future?”

Her voice was soft and sweet. It carried a hint of shyness and longing. She looked like a young girl asking for a promise, fragile and full of hope.

“Now that your wife has moved out, can we finally be together?”

She understood well that men favored gentle and delicate women. Although she had never argued about their relationship, Liu Ruoya had been waiting for the right moment. Now that Xu Fangting had finally moved out, this was her chance.

The title of Madam Chen sounded like it was made for her.

Once Chen Zheng divorced Xu Fangting, she believed the position would naturally fall to her.

Liu Ruoya was full of confidence. In both appearance and age, she far surpassed Xu Fangting. She believed she could easily fill that high-ranking role. Although her relationship with Chen Zheng was somewhat awkward in terms of social standing, once she became Madam Chen, no one would dare gossip.

Chen Zheng casually offered a few words of comfort. “There is no need to rush.”

Although Liu Ruoya felt dissatisfied with this answer, she hid it well. She pouted slightly, throwing just enough of a tantrum to be charming. Her timing was perfect, and it made Chen Zheng feel a bit soft-hearted. Pleased with her attitude, he took her shopping and bought several handbags, spending nearly a million yuan in one trip.

Seeing how delighted she was with the bags, Chen Zheng smiled outwardly but shook his head internally.

He thought about Xu Fangting. Although she also owned many luxury handbags, she never reacted with such excitement. In the end, she was a woman from a more refined background. A woman like Liu Ruoya might be suitable as a mistress, but she lacked the stature to be a proper wife.

As for Xu Fangting, she had never shown proper judgment. So what if her husband had a few flings outside? Any conflicts should have been settled at home. Instead, she chose to act like some dramatic teenager and move out. She had embarrassed the family. There was no way Chen Zheng would chase after her to make amends.

Still, he firmly believed that Xu Fangting would return one day.

He did not believe she could bring herself to give up everything that came with being part of the Chen family. For years, she had worked so hard to guard the role of Madam Chen. Could she really be willing to hand it over just like that? Middle-aged divorcees did not exactly carry a glamorous reputation.

If not for Chen Xin shielding her, Xu Fangting would never have stayed away from home for so long. It was getting more outrageous by the day.

And Chen Xin? As a daughter, she made no effort to persuade her mother to return. This only deepened Chen Zheng’s displeasure. The daughter he had brought into the family seemed less and less loyal. As he had always suspected, a child who had not been born into the Chen bloodline would never truly belong.