MWMM Chapter 96: Laozi’s One Billion!
by justmistyYan Yuzhou dawdled in the bathroom for quite a while. By the time he came out, Shen Ci was no longer in the room. He got dressed, opened the door, and walked out.
As he expected, Shen Ci was in the dining room. Sure enough, he was already seated there with his usual elegance. Hearing Yan Yuzhou’s approaching footsteps, he looked up, his eyes filled with displeasure.
Amused, Yan Yuzhou pretended not to notice and sat down across from him.
Sister Song greeted Yan Yuzhou warmly and served them each a bowl of chicken soup. She glanced teasingly at the expressionless Shen Ci, then said sweetly to Yan Yuzhou, “Sir instructed me last night before bed to make chicken soup for you today. He said you’ve been working too hard lately and needed a bit of nourishment. Madam, just look how much Sir cares about you!”
Yan Yuzhou smiled contentedly, raising his eyebrows as he glanced at Shen Ci. A flicker of doubt passed through Shen Ci’s eyes, as if he wasn’t quite on board with Sister Song’s version of events, his expression visibly darkening.
Yan Yuzhou found it even funnier, took a spoonful of soup, and ignored the utterly baffled man across from him.
Breakfast passed in silence. As per usual, Shen Ci and Yan Yuzhou got into Shen Ci’s car together.
The driver, Xiao Wang, respectfully greeted them, “Good morning, Sir. Good morning, Madam.” Then, with practiced familiarity, he began raising the divider between the front and back seats.
Just as the partition was about to close, Shen Ci’s sharp voice rang out, “Xiao Wang, what are you doing?”
Driver Xiao Wang, clearly puzzled, stopped mid-motion and turned to Shen Ci with a respectful explanation, “Sir, didn’t you instruct me that if you and Madam are being affectionate in the car, I should just raise the divider and not disturb you?”
As the words left his mouth, Yan Yuzhou noticed the corner of Shen Ci’s mouth twitch violently, his expression a mix of shock and disbelief. He looked like he was questioning his own sanity—“Am I out of my mind? The hell would I ever say something like that?”
Yan Yuzhou struggled to hold back his laughter, turning his gaze away and putting on an indifferent expression. He didn’t say a word in response to Shen Ci’s confusion, leaving him alone in a muddled mess inside the car.
The car stopped at the main gate of Wenjing Arts University. Yan Yuzhou gave Shen Ci a perfunctory farewell and got out without so much as a backward glance. He knew Shen Ci would keep watching him for a while, so he mustn’t look back—doing so would ruin the act.
As he walked, he subconsciously touched his lower abdomen. A thought stirred in his mind, and he changed direction, heading toward the campus infirmary.
Just as expected, Shen Ci didn’t look away until Yan Yuzhou disappeared from view. Then, in silence, he instructed Xiao Wang to head to the Shenhai Building. Shoving aside the strange emotions he couldn’t name, Shen Ci, now in a suit and tie, strode into his office. His assistant, Liang Xin, as usual, began briefing him on the day’s schedule.
“President Shen, the shareholders’ meeting is at ten this morning. The agenda includes a vote on a resolution regarding a new investor. Here’s the list of shareholder changes.” As he spoke, he handed a document to Shen Ci’s desk.
Shen Ci nodded and took the document, flipping through the list of those leaving and joining the board. When he saw the name “Chang Fa,” he frowned. “Why is President Chang pulling out?”
Liang Xin was momentarily stunned and didn’t know how to answer.
Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Shen Ci repeated, “Chang Fa’s doing perfectly fine—why is he withdrawing?”
After a pause, Shen Ci heard Liang Xin take a sharp breath and, in a confused tone, countered, “President Shen… wasn’t this decision made personally by you?”
Shen Ci looked up, his expression perplexed. He pressed a hand to his temple. “Was it? I don’t really remember.”
Then he asked, “Why would I make that decision?”
Liang Xin hesitated, clearly baffled by Shen Ci’s question, but still answered respectfully, out of duty:
“Because he harbored improper intentions toward Madam.”
Shen Ci: …… Somehow, it felt like a lot of bizarre things had happened while he was asleep.
Liang Xin remained respectfully silent beside him. Shen Ci let out a sigh. “What else is on today’s schedule? Go on.”
Liang Xin nodded and opened his notebook to continue, “Since it’s Friday, don’t forget to order flowers for Madam—”
“Wait a minute.” Shen Ci’s expression had begun to visibly crack. The usually composed and aloof exterior finally showed signs of fracture. He asked coldly, “Why would I order flowers for him?”
As the question left his mouth, Liang Xin froze, his face filled with suspicion and uncertainty. Cautiously, he replied, “Didn’t you say… every Friday, a bouquet of roses must be ordered for Madam? And the rose on your desk—you also instructed that it be replaced daily.”
Following Liang Xin’s gaze, Shen Ci looked at his desk. Sure enough, a fresh, delicate rose sat in a transparent vase, dewdrops still clinging to its petals. It was almost excessively beautiful. In that instant, Shen Ci recalled the sweet scent that had wafted into his nose when that omega had thrown himself into his arms that morning.
His expression darkened. Irritated, he muttered, “Got it. You handle the flower thing.” He had no interest in sending flowers to any omega.
Then, remembering it was Friday, he casually asked, “Did you schedule the follow-up with Lao Fan for this afternoon?” His omega rejection condition required monthly checkups on the last Friday.
Liang Xin swallowed hard, blinked, and replied with a dramatic expression, “President Shen, your condition has been cured. You stopped going for checkups months ago.”
Shen Ci’s brows furrowed as waves of disbelief surged in his heart. A chronic condition he had suffered for over a decade—just cured like that? He no longer rejected omegas?
Suppressing the strange feeling growing inside him, he looked at Liang Xin, who was watching him curiously, and asked impatiently, “Anything else?”
Liang Xin glanced at his notebook, clearly torn over whether he should continue with the next item. After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke, “Um… there’s the Maldives three-day trip in the romantic suite you booked for you and Madam—”
He hadn’t even finished when the pen in Shen Ci’s hand snapped with a sharp crack.
The pen broke cleanly in two, and Liang Xin flinched, instantly falling silent.
Shen Ci’s face darkened completely. His expression finally collapsed, his voice tinged with baffling emotion, as if his very expression was screaming: Am I insane? A three-day trip with that omega? In a… romantic suite?!
And yet Liang Xin had worked by his side for years—there was no reason for him to joke about something like this.
Reining in his emotions, Shen Ci’s gaze flickered. Through gritted teeth, he spat out two words: “Cancel it.”
Liang Xin, utterly confused, silently mourned for his boss’s “Madam” for three seconds, then respectfully jotted it down.
“President Shen, just one last thing,” Liang Xin said as he looked down at the final item on his agenda. “The documents have come through.”
“What documents?” Shen Ci asked casually.
Liang Xin straightened up, answering cautiously, “The notarized property transfer documents.”
With a sudden whoosh, Shen Ci shot up from his seat, his expression dark and dangerous, eyes sharp enough to pierce through steel. His voice was like ice shards, cutting and cold. “What did you just say?”
Looking at his wildly out-of-character boss, Liang Xin swallowed hard, baffled, and replied in a small voice, “The notarized property transfer documents… from a while ago, when you transferred all your assets to Madam’s name…”
Shen Ci’s mind buzzed like a struck gong. Fuck. Laozi’s one billion!