Chapter 181 Secretary-General

Upon hearing this, Sang Zheng felt it actually made a lot of sense, and he turned to look at Mother Sang. "Wife, what do you think?"

"Do you think we can have whatever we want?" Mother Sang retorted.

Sang Zheng and Sang Qiwu froze for a moment. Father and son exchanged glances, realizing they had misspoken, and shook their heads frantically in denial.

"No, we don't," Sang Qiwu replied.

Mother Sang looked at Sang Zheng, who hastily followed suit by shaking his head. "Of course I don't have the power to do whatever I want."

"Naturally, it all depends on what Jiajia wants."

Hearing this, Sang Qiwu scratched his cheek. "Little Sister seems quite satisfied with Lu Wenchuan, otherwise she wouldn't have agreed to his pursuit."

Sang Zheng felt a pang in his heart.

"The children are grown up; we can't control that much anymore," Mother Sang said, much more calmly. "Besides, isn't this better than..."

Better than what, again? Mother Sang suddenly drew a blank. Didn't Sang宜嘉 (Sang Yijia) pursue someone else before?

Mother Sang couldn't remember. It seemed like something like that had happened, yet nothing of the sort had ever occurred.

"Strange, what was I about to say just now?" Mother Sang wondered aloud.

Sang Qiwu let out an "ah." "That's completely normal. If you can't remember now, it'll come back to you later."

"Dad, Mom, what are we having for lunch?" Sang Qiwu changed the subject, then remembered something and added, "Third Brother said he's coming back today."

"That's perfect, a family reunion," Sang Zheng said happily. "This afternoon I'll ask Old Liu next door to go fishing with me, and we'll make fish soup tonight."

"Third Brother loves that."

Sang Qiwu touched the tip of his nose. "Third Brother doesn't like it at all."

"Both Little Sister and Third Brother hate the smell of fish."

Unfortunately, Sang Qiwu didn't dare to speak loudly; he only dared to mutter under his breath.

Mother Sang heard him and glared at him. "Your father only has this one hobby, why do you fuss so much?"

"There's fish soup tonight, and you will finish every drop," Mother Sang issued a strict, merciless order.

Sang Qiwu froze, wanting to rebel, but not daring to.

***

At eleven-thirty in the morning, Sang Yijia woke up and reached out to grope for her phone on the bedside table. There were two missed calls, both from Lu Wenchuan.

Sang Yijia checked the time; they had been called an hour ago.

"Shouldn't he be working at this hour?" Sang Yijia rubbed her eyes, called back, sat up, and used her hand to smooth down her messy sleep-tousled hair.

The ringtone played for quite a while before someone answered.

"Good afternoon," Sang Yijia spoke first to explain. "I was sleeping earlier, and my phone was on silent."

"Mn, I know." Worried that something might have happened to Sang Yijia, Lu Wenchuan had even called Sang Qiwu. Learning that she was resting, he hadn't called again to disturb her.

"Are you awake now?" Lu Wenchuan asked.

Sang Yijia smoothed her long hair, looked at herself in the mirror, and then picked up a mug to take a sip of the cold water. "Mn, I'm awake."

"Woke up because I was hungry." Sang Yijia stretched her back. "Is your work finished?"

"It will still take two days." Lu Wenchuan paused as his chief assistant, Guan Zijin, entered to announce that time was up.

"Jiajia, I need to go abroad these next two days and will be back the day after tomorrow." Lu Wenchuan called Sang Yijia specifically to mention this, sounding almost like a boyfriend reporting his itinerary.

"I'll be getting in the car for the airport shortly. My flight is at two this afternoon."

"Alright, I understand," Sang Yijia acknowledged. "Take care of yourself over there, and don't work too hard."

"Mn." Lu Wenchuan's tone softened.

The two chatted a little longer before ending the call.

"President Lu, Li Siyi is resigning." Guan Zijin had previously thought she wouldn't leave so soon, but now, for reasons unknown, she had actually submitted her resignation—something completely unexpected.

Lu Wenchuan nodded, took the documents handed over by Guan Zijin, scanned them briefly, and signed his name.

"How is the handover coming along?"

"Let Zuo Fei take over." Lu Wenchuan thought for a moment. "Also, since there will be a vacancy in the secretary pool, arrange for someone else to step up."

The Lu Group was too massive to ever falter just because of a single missing person; there was always someone standing by to fill the gap.

Guan Zijin understood. "A one-month handover period."

"Good," Lu Wenchuan indicated he understood.

Outside the office, the assistant team and the secretary team were all shocked upon learning that Li Siyi was resigning.

"Chief Secretary, are you really resigning?" The Lu Group wasn't the kind of place just anyone could walk into, and Li Siyi had worked her way up to Chief Secretary. Who knew how many years of grueling work it had taken her to reach this position?

To say she was resigning just like that? Cheng Shuang disagreed; she still hoped Li Siyi would reconsider.

"No need," Li Siyi shook her head. "President Lu has already approved it."

Less than half an hour after sending the resignation email, Lu Wenchuan had approved it.

Li Siyi didn't even have the chance to take it back. She bit her lower lip, recalling the scene she had witnessed at the seaside, only then realizing that Lu Wenchuan also possessed such a gentle side. The look in his eyes when he gazed at Sang Yijia was filled with an undeniable love.

Li Siyi had always thought it was because of the reality show, so wherever the two of them went, she followed, but the result left her bitterly disappointed.

Lu Wenchuan wasn't acting; Sang Yijia was truly the woman cherished in the depths of his heart.

Li Siyi desperately longed to replace Sang Yijia and stand by Lu Wenchuan's side, but she couldn't, nor did she wish to stay by his side any longer.

She had contemplated resigning for a long time, finally finishing the draft this morning. On her first day back at work, she had edited it, though she hadn't dared to send it.

Li Siyi had stared at the send button for a very long time, unable to make up her mind, only to be startled by the sight of Lu Wenchuan returning, which accidentally caused her to hit send.

"I suppose this was destined," Li Siyi smiled bitterly. "I will handle the handover work properly, so you don't need to worry."

However, among the other three, she had no idea who would take over her position.

Still, since Cheng Shuang had handled things last time, it would likely be her.

Chief Assistant Guan Zijin emerged from the office. He glanced at Li Siyi and then turned to Zuo Fei. "Zuo Fei will take charge of the upcoming handover."

As soon as these words were spoken, many people froze in astonishment.

Even Cheng Shuang had assumed she would be the one to succeed Li Siyi, never expecting it to be Zuo Fei in the end.

Instantly, astonishment rippled through the entire office.

Zuo Fei looked at Guan Zijin in disbelief as well. "Chief Assistant, is this true?"

"It's President Lu's instruction." As for the reason, Guan Zijin could roughly guess: among the three remaining female secretaries, Zuo Fei was the only one who was married.

President Lu intended to avoid any suspicion going forward. To give Sang Yijia peace of mind, all female colleagues around him had to be married.

Zuo Fei stood stunned for a moment, then looked over at Cheng Shuang, since everyone had previously assumed Cheng Shuang would naturally step into Li Siyi's shoes.