Novel Bin Chapter 195 – Meeting Five Years Later
Chapter 195 – Meeting Five Years Later
The meeting room was abuzz with discussion.
It was one minute to ten, and the other contender for the position of An Group’s Chairman, the only daughter from the An family and internationally renowned jewelry designer, Anne, had yet to appear.
There was slight disgruntlement in the air as everyone began speculating, with the exception of Leng Haoyun, who still had his eyes shut as he pretended to rest, as if he was not involved in whatever was happening at all.
Just when they were about to decide to begin voting in the absence of the other candidate, the door to the meeting room burst open!
Everyone instantly fell silent as they looked towards the door.
What they saw was a woman dressed in the newest Chanel suit and three-inch black heels calmly walking in, unruffled as she carried a simple and elegant Hermes briefcase.
She had light makeup on, and coupled with her head of smooth, black hair which looked like it would billow beautifully in the wind; her elegance was unparalleled.
Not sparing anyone in the room a single glance, she entered the meeting room with steady steps, finally taking her place in the main seat!
No one realized how shocked Leng Haoyun was when he saw her walk in. He continued staring in wide-eyed disbelief, his gaze locked onto the person who just entered.
Leng Haoyun did not dare blink. He refused to believe that Leng Xiyao could still be alive.
In five years, she had changed greatly. Her bob haircut was replaced with long, silky hair that reached her waist, and her facial features looked less girlish and more womanly now.
She had matured, and there was a charming aura about her. It was extremely different from how she had been in the past. That unruly, reckless girl had grown up.
No one would understand how Leng Haoyun felt at this very moment.
It had been five years, and he had been living in the sorrow and pain of losing her every single day.
To him, it felt as if the heavens were merciful and allowed her to live. Leng Haoyun could only be grateful for the heavens taking favor on the girl, and the joy in his eyes could not be concealed.
He never would have thought that the girl the An family found five years ago and the granddaughter that An Zhenguo had lost was the very same girl who grew up beside him.
Utter joy replaced the initial shock and disbelief he felt. It was akin to getting a second chance at life.
He felt his heart come alive again after five years.
Leng Haoyun’s happiness was a stark contrast to Leng Xiyao’s dispassionate visage.
No one understood why Leng Haoyun seemed to become so emotional after Anne walked in.
Leng Haoyun did not care what others thought as he kept his eyes on her. He did not wish to look away, nor did he dare to, afraid that he would lose her again.
He never wanted to feel the crushing pain of losing her ever again.
He suddenly recalled something. If she was the Young Miss of the An family, then wouldn’t she be Ceng Hanyu’s fiancee?
He was jealous of how Ceng Hanyu treated Yao as he witnessed Ceng Hanyu getting angry on her behalf and caring so much for her. He now knew why Ceng Hanyu acted the way he did five years ago.
It was because he already knew who Yao was at that time.
When Yao had been in an accident, he was also the one who provided the blood.
Leng Haoyun knew that he probably had Ceng Hanyu to thank for Leng Xiyao being here today, and even though he knew Leng Xiyao was supposed to be Ceng Hanyu’s fiancee, he was morose.
Ceng Hanyu was also the person who separated them for the past five years.
Leng Haoyun’s emotions went through a roller coaster ride as he looked at Leng Xiyao.
Shock turned into joy before it turned into guilt… He could only stare at Leng Xiyao as complex emotions assailed him, rendering him speechless.
Leng Haoyun’s fiery gaze seemed to bore through Leng Xiyao, and she could definitely tell that he had been staring at her from the moment she walked in.
She was nervous, even resorting to pinching her own thighs to get herself to calm down. I have to be calm and steady here, I have to face the storm.
Although she knew Leng Haoyun was not an easy opponent, she was no easy target either.
She met Leng Haoyun’s eyes confidently as she spoke, her voice crisp and clear.
“President Leng!” She maintained eye contact with Leng Haoyun as she addressed him.
“I heard you want to compete with me over the position of Chairman...” She then shifted her gaze to look at the shareholders sitting around the table.
“My grandfather spent his whole life building up An Group, and this is the fruit of his labor. If President Leng wants to compete, I’ll gladly take up the challenge! Everyone, listen to me before you decide on your vote!”
“I’m sure everyone already knows that I studied jewelry design. But what you don’t know is that I did a double major, and I’ve also studied economics and financial management. Grandpa left this for me. Why would I even be here if I don’t have the skills?”
“All of you might not know me well before this, but now that I’m here, you can see that I’m not afraid of being criticized or looked down upon, because I’m here for the company, I’m here to take it to greater heights. Whether I’m really just a mere jewelry designer who doesn’t know a thing, I believe everyone has already begun forming their own opinions after what I’ve just said.”
“Also, please note that for the past two years, almost all major decisions in the An Group had had to go through me. This includes the retrenchment exercise last year, which I had personally overseen and was very involved in. Even if I’m not in the country, I’m kept abreast of everything that’s happening here!”
After hearing Leng Xiyao, some of the shareholders looked surprised. She was totally different from how they had imagined her to be!
She was not merely an ornamental plant, beautiful but non-functional!
Someone then posed a question.
“After hearing what Miss An said, it seems you have some knowledge regarding business management. But you’d still need to clear our doubts in order to prove that you have the ability. You said you were the one in-charge of approving the retrenchment name list, so why did you retrench the jewelry design director, Yang Wen, when both her design and management skills are rather outstanding?”
Leng Xiyao smirked.
“Dear shareholder, you asked a very good question. You’re right that Yang Wen had superb skills, so why did I lay her off? Did I do it randomly because we were in an economic crisis? Obviously not. Do you know that Yang Wen earned extra income on the side by selling the designs that weren’t approved to others? Do you think we should keep an employee like her in the An Group? She’d only adversely affect the jewelry design team!”
The shareholders looked at one another after Leng Xiyao spoke.
They knew what Yang Wen was doing, but all of them deliberately closed their eyes to it as it would create some turmoil in the company if a director of the jewelry design team was suddenly laid off, and the morale of the design team would definitely be greatly affected.
How would this Miss An know about this if she was overseas?
It seemed that they had really underestimated her.
Within an hour, some of those who had pledged allegiance to Leng Haoyun earlier seemed to have their faith shaken.
Everyone in the room was engaged in quiet discussion, and there were two shareholders who even stood up to ask Leng Xiyao some questions directly.
Leng Xiyao did not fail to answer every single one of their questions.
The shareholders began to view Leng Xiyao in a new light. That confident aura of hers was no sham!
With her brilliant performance, they now had to carefully consider if they really wanted to have the second largest shareholder take up the position of Chairman in the An Group.
Furthermore, everyone who had been in that position was someone from the An family, and that had yet to change. If someone not from the An family ends up taking the position, it would create major upheaval in the business world for sure.
Leng Xiyao sat in her seat calmly, her anxiety and nerves long gone.
Leng Haoyun remained silent throughout. To be accurate, he was silently observing Leng Xiyao and the minute changes in her, to see what had changed in these past five years.
She had changed too much. Not only did she look like an entirely different person, it was a different air that she emanated.
Leng Haoyun looked at her, deep in thought.
Except for the first time she addressed him, Leng Xiyao did not spare him a second look.
One look was enough to leave an impression on her.
He looked imposing, and time did not seem to leave a single trace on him. He still looked dashing, with an authoritative air about him.
Leng Xiyao mocked at herself inwardly. Seems the heavens had treated him well.
She had to admit that she was attracted by that handsome face of his in the beginning, and even though five years had passed, she felt that his imposing aura and that familiar face could still draw her to him in a way that she could not resist. She might as well just try her best to ignore him!
Leng Haoyun kept staring at her, while she was practically ignoring him. No matter how confident he was, slight disappointment still showed on his face.
Did I make a mistake at the time? Did she still hate me?
Right! The child! Having been so gravely wounded, it was unlikely that she could keep the baby at the time. If so, it was absolutely right for her to hate me.
Leng Xiyao stood up slowly.
“I believe everyone here has decided, so let’s start voting. Those who agree for me to take over the position of Chairman, please cast your votes!”
Everyone started scribbling on their voting slips.