Chapter 4

Su Tao's wrist was suddenly grabbed, and Xie Jin's voice was dangerously low as he exploded above her head, "Little Peach, you keep threatening to quit, but I don't have that much patience."

Su Tao's eyes regained their innocent deer-like clarity, and she asked him with a seemingly naive expression, "What will happen when you run out of patience?"

Her expression seemed like a challenge.

Xie Jin shook off her hand, his voice repressed with surging anger as he said the most ruthless, heartless words he could think of: "Don't come home tonight!"

Watching Xie Jin's rigid departure disappear into the darkness at the end of the corridor, Su Tao withdrew her gaze and continued with her unfinished work.

The clock struck nine o'clock, Su Tao stood up, straightened her tired waist, stretched out a big yawn, packed up the documents, and shut down the computer.

When she walked out of the Tianjin Building, the outside was brightly lit. The bustling commercial street was crowded with people, and the nightlife was just beginning.

In these four years, Su Tao had never wandered the streets this late by herself. Either Xie Jin would drive her directly to dinner, or they would stay in the villa together.

And she always heard the girls in her dormitory talk about the ocean-themed hotel across from the school, saying that the rooms were beautifully decorated and that sleeping inside made them feel like they were on vacation in the Mediterranean.

Su Tao had always wanted to stay there for a night and experience it, but Xie Jin wouldn't allow it.

Unexpectedly, her dream was realized so suddenly.

She directly booked a room on the app and, just by looking at the photos on the website, she was already eager to go.

She planned to fill her stomach first, then buy some daily necessities, and maybe ask if there were any monthly discounts. Anyway, she was going to move out of Xie Jin's villa, so a month should be enough time to find a new place to live.

On the street, in the black Maybach under the parasol trees, a pair of black eyes like those of an eagle stared at the charming figure.

Seeing her standing at the door, looking around for a long time, Xie Jin glanced at the whole street. The most conspicuous parking spot had already been taken by him.

She had no reason not to see it.

Couldn't she just call him if she couldn't find him? Had these four years made her stupid?

Finally, she took out her phone, and Xie Jin breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze falling on the phone in her hand.

But after waiting for three minutes, his phone screen was still pitch black, and the little girl was still fiddling with her phone at ease.

Did she even remember his number?

Finally, she put away her phone, and a relaxed smile appeared on her face as she bounced and walked toward the commercial street.

Xie Jin's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched her receding figure.

A flash of anger passed through the dark eyes in the shadow of the car.

The Maybach roared out of the street like a graceful dragon and disappeared into the distance.

---

The ocean-themed hotel was indeed well-deserved of its reputation. Su Tao stayed in the Antarctic-themed room, and when she opened her eyes, she was startled, thinking she had traveled to an iceberg.

In the weather at the end of June, she inexplicably felt a chill. Su Tao put aside the penguin pillow and planned to

Su Tao finished getting ready and walked up to the mirror, tying up her long hair which had always been let loose, revealing her slender neck. Xie Jin liked it when she kept her hair down and enjoyed the scent that emanated from it. No matter how hot the weather was, she would bear the heat and sweat, keeping her hair down.

Su Tao wondered if he liked the smell of her shampoo or the scent of her sweat.

She picked up the white shirt and black wide-leg pants she had bought while shopping yesterday, giving her a professional and elegant appearance.

She tucked the pink pencil skirt into her bag and smiled faintly at herself in the mirror, as if she had brushed off the gloom of the past six months and regained her former pride and confidence.

As she stepped out of her room, her colleagues at the CEO's office were discussing Su Tao's change of clothes and her new style, which made her look more mature and capable.

An hour later, the gossip topic shifted from Su Tao to the CEO, who arrived late, looking tired and with a sinister expression on his face, resembling a walking air conditioner.

Su Tao stood up and greeted him with a radiant smile at the dark door of the CEO's office. Xie Jin stood in front of her, staring at her from head to toe with a fierce look for a few seconds before turning into his office.

When Xie Jin saw the resignation letter on his desk, he tore it in half and then into pieces, as if he was releasing his anger.

Su Tao walked in holding a white envelope and said, "The resignation letter from the head of the purchasing department is on your desk, Mr. Xie."

Looking at the pieces of paper all over the floor, Su Tao was momentarily speechless and said calmly, "I'll ask him to write another one later."

At this point, she handed him her resignation letter and said meekly, "Thank you, Mr. Xie."

Xie Jin closed his eyes and tried to suppress his anger, then looked at Su Tao's delicate and beautiful face and said in a low, restrained voice, "Aren't you afraid that I might approve it?"

Su Tao's black and white eyes showed no hesitation, and she placed the letter on his desk, saying obediently, "Thank you, sir."

Then she went out to inform the cleaning staff to come and clean up the paper scraps in his office.

Xie Jin closed his eyes and took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. He then smiled a bloodthirsty smile.

Very good, little peach.

"She even went to the human resources department to inform them that the CEO had agreed and they should start preparing to recruit someone new, as she would be leaving the company after her 30-day notice period, in accordance with company policy.

He Xiao Rui held Su Tao's hand with a look of regret. "Tao Tao, are you really leaving? I don't want to let you go. You helped me deliver files several times and always reminded us of the CEO's mood, saving us from getting scolded. With you here for the past six months, I haven't been scolded even once. What will we do without you?"

Human resources director Jin Chui Wen came out of her office and saw this touching scene between the two sisters, and rolled her eyes.

She knew Su Tao's background as a top media graduate who was parachuted into a position that traditionally only hired management majors, and was handpicked by the CEO.

It was no wonder that the whole company was talking about her.

And she had even seen Su Tao getting into the CEO's car.

She was now guessing whether the CEO had tired of playing with her and dumped her, or whether she was too greedy and wanted to advance, which had disgusted the CEO.

Jin Chui Wen felt the latter was more likely, as a young girl fresh out of school who didn't know her place, it was only natural to want to become the CEO's wife.

Too young, that was all.

Just as Jin Chui Wen was thinking of going out for a smoke, she suddenly received a call from the CEO and her heart skipped a beat.

Before answering the call, she silently prayed three times that he wouldn't scold her, get angry or break things, then answered the phone nervously.

"Jin Chui Wen, come to my office."

Jin Chui Wen put on a brave face, feeling like she was heading to the gallows, and quickly made her way to the top floor, knocking on the mysterious and pitch-black door.

Five minutes later, Jin Chui Wen felt like she had returned to the land of the living, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and breathed a sigh of relief.

As she pondered the CEO's instructions, she realized that he was handing over the budget and expense approval work to Su Tao!

She had been right all along - Su Tao wanted to advance and had used her resignation to threaten the CEO. She was truly a master of gossip!

But what Jin Chui Wen didn't expect was that the CEO actually gave in to her.

Beauty really was a weapon!

--- As soon as the announcement was made, it created a buzz throughout the company. Everyone was talking about Su Tao.

How could someone who had only been here for six months have so much power?

This was clearly the exclusive power of the CEO's wife!

What else could Su Tao do besides follow orders?

"You guys don't know anything. Using beauty to get ahead is also a type of ability." Tian Yingying put down her mirror and adjusted her dress, deliberately buying one size smaller and pulling it up to show off more of her white legs.

She had been with the company for two years and thought she was the best candidate for the next executive assistant after Qin Xuexi left.

The CEO always needed a secretary to accompany him to various events, and required a secretary with good looks.

In terms of looks, there wasn't anyone in the CEO's office who could compete with her.

But this Su Tao, who came out of nowhere, had taken the position that should have been hers.

However, Su Tao's promotion did not make her feel discouraged, but rather more determined.

The CEO had always been a terrifying figure, irritable, cruel, and ruthless, and she had always thought that seducing him was a dead end.

But Su Tao's promotion had opened up a path she thought was impossible.

If the CEO falls for her trap, she'll have a chance, and it won't be for nothing that she gave up the opportunity to debut as an idol trainee and stayed here for two years.

Tian Yingying twisted her graceful waist and walked up to Su Tao with the documents that needed the CEO's signature.

"Taotao," Tian Yingying approached her with a charming smile, "can I borrow a pen?"

Su Tao, who was busy writing, hesitated and looked up, and her pen was snatched away unexpectedly.

A shadow crossed her clear eyes, but it was quickly veiled by her long lashes. She took out a new pen from the drawer and continued writing.

"What are you having for lunch, Taotao?" Tian Yingying asked with feigned concern and returned the pen to her.

"I ordered takeout. You can have this pen."

"No, thanks." Tian Yingying ignored the pen and playfully blinked her eyes. "I don't like the cafeteria food. I should suggest to Jin Chui Wen to replace all the chefs."

After that, she turned around, took a deep breath three times, and knocked on the black door.

Less than half a minute later, Tian Yingying came out with a dejected expression and left.

Su Tao glanced at her departing figure, put the pen she had just used on the corner of the table, and wrote a note and stuck it on the pen holder.

The beautiful font clearly wrote three words: "public use pen."

Something that had been taken away by someone else was no longer solely hers.

If something wasn't entirely hers, she would rather throw it away than continue using it.

---

In the CEO's office, behind the clean and transparent glass walls, Xie Jin furrowed his brow and tapped his fingers on the desk in annoyance.

His narrow eyes were dark and calm with a hint of anger, staring at his prey.

The yellow and white lights shone on Su Tao's delicate cheeks, making them glow. Her long hair was tied up, revealing a slender and white neck, and she was focused on her work.

The clock pointed to six o'clock in the afternoon, but she showed no signs of leaving work.

He didn't move either.

He was waiting for her to come to him, as usual, obediently holding his finger and going home with him.

After a minute of silence, he looked over again and saw that the worktable was dark, and there was no one inside.