Chapter 309 — Fear

Sun Lin's company stood in the prime downtown location, a thirty-six-story tower wholly owned by the Sun Group—a clear sign of just how vast the Sun family's business had grown in Donghai.

Yang Ce had never been here before; he had only visited Sun Jie's branch office in Songjiang, which was already sizable, occupying an entire floor of its building, yet this place was far more imposing and lavish.

As the car entered the underground parking garage, a security guard briefly stopped them, but one look at Sun Jie in the driver's seat and he waved them through at once. These rank-and-file employees knew nothing of what had happened among the higher-ups—the affairs of the Sun and Tian families were entirely beyond their ken. From Tian Long's power grab to Sun Lin's return to control, the guards had heard not a whisper, so at the sight of the company's young heiress, they naturally hurried to let her pass.

Even had they known, they would have waved her through all the same; after all, Sun Lin was once again at the helm of the company.

"Quite the place, isn't it?" Yang Ce said as he stepped out of the car, surveying the Sun Group tower—grand enough that even the parking garage was lavishly decorated.

"Grand, maybe, but not as grand as your private island," Sun Jie teased. "Still, if not for you, all of this would have belonged to someone else."

"And would you have belonged to someone else too?" Yang Ce blinked. "As long as you don't become someone else's, that's all I care about. The rest doesn't interest me."

Yang Ce rarely spoke to Sun Jie in such a tender tone, and it made her go weak all over, filling her with an inexplicable sense of belonging—as though her former reputation as a formidable career woman counted for nothing, and the proper thing was to stay home, look after her husband, and raise their children.

"You're just sweet-talking me. You know I don't like men who are glib and full of empty promises," Sun Jie said, shooting him a feeble glare. Had they not been in public, she would have loved to lean against him.

"I'm not sweet-talking you. When I say something, I mean it," Yang Ce said.

"That's exactly why I agreed to be your girlfriend," Sun Jie said, going along with him.

"Then what did you mean by what you said earlier? It sounded like you were mocking me." Yang Ce was caught between laughter and tears at her words—she had seemed to imply he was all honeyed words, only to take it back afterward.

"Nothing. I was just talking nonsense," Sun Jie said. She had no idea what had gotten into her today, saying such strange things; she had never been like this before. She must have taken some wrong medicine this morning.

Chatting and laughing, they boarded the elevator. When it stopped at the second floor, the doors opened and a man stepped in—one of the company's senior managers who had visited Wang Renping's home the day before. At the sight of Yang Ce he nearly jumped out of his skin and, stumbling, turned to flee: "Sorry, I'll take the next one."

Yang Ce had not expected to be regarded as a big bad wolf among these people, so fearsome that even a glance was enough to terrify them. Rather amused, he said, "Come on in. Ride with us."

Terrified as the man was, he dared not disobey Yang Ce. Trembling, he stepped into the elevator and pressed himself into a corner, flattened against the side wall like a folding rack, without even the courage to look at Yang Ce.

"Why is he so afraid of you?" Sun Jie was astonished at Yang Ce's intimidating presence. Why did the man avoid him as though he were a ghost?

"Afraid of you, more likely. You're the heiress of the group—why would he fear me?" Yang Ce said.

"I don't believe it. Shall I ask him?" Sun Jie knew the man, so she said, "Minister Zhang, what's the matter with you?"

"N-nothing..." Minister Zhang felt every second drag like a year, wishing the elevator would move as fast as a rocket.

"Tell me, are you afraid of me?" Sun Jie was certainly not about to let it go.

"Afraid... I'm afraid..." Minister Zhang was on the verge of tears. How was he supposed to answer a question like that? It was true he feared Yang Ce more, but Sun Jie was Sun Lin's daughter, the heiress of the group—how could he not fear her too?

"You're afraid of me?" Sun Jie was displeased at not getting the answer she wanted.

"I..." Minister Zhang really was about to cry. No matter how he answered, it would not please Sun Jie. If he said he was not afraid, she might not react now, but she would surely settle the score with him later. After racking his brains for ages, wishing he could scoop out his own brain and swap in Einstein's, he marshaled every ounce of his wit and finally hit on a way to bluff his way through: "Because Mr. Yang is your boyfriend, so..."

Minister Zhang did not finish, but his meaning was plain enough: I fear you because of your connection to Yang Ce. This pleased Sun Jie without offending her.

Having said it, Minister Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.

"See? How's that?" Sun Jie was quite satisfied and looked at Yang Ce smugly.

"You certainly know how to offend neither side!" Yang Ce gave a cold snort, which made Minister Zhang tremble again! He had been thinking only of Sun Jie and had overlooked this formidable figure—the one he truly could not afford to offend was Yang Ce!

At that thought, Minister Zhang nearly dropped to his knees: "Mr. Yang, I really am afraid of you. I beg you, please don't make things hard for me..." With that, Minister Zhang actually knelt down on the floor!

Yang Ce had only been speaking casually and had not expected the man to be so terrified and timid. He truly did not know what to say.

Just then the elevator came to a stop and someone entered. Seeing Minister Zhang kneeling at the elevator door, the newcomer was startled: "Minister Zhang, what are you doing?"

The man entering was also a department head. Yang Ce had seen him the day before, but the moment he stepped in, his attention was wholly captured by Minister Zhang, and he did not notice Yang Ce.

Minister Zhang did not dare reply; he simply knelt there begging Yang Ce's forgiveness. The newcomer, Manager Liu, was rather puzzled: "Minister Zhang, what are you doing? What could possibly be worth kneeling for? You're a veteran of this group—your word is law, you can summon wind and rain!"

Minister Zhang could have leapt up and slapped him. How was that praise? It was pushing him straight into the fire pit! If Yang Ce misunderstood and thought he wielded such arbitrary power, he would be truly finished.

"Say no more!" Minister Zhang still dared not stand, and could only turn his head and roar at Manager Liu: "If you want to get yourself killed, go die on your own—just don't drag me down with you!"

Manager Liu was utterly baffled by Minister Zhang, but when he looked up and saw Yang Ce and Sun Jie standing to one side, he understood at once and nearly jumped out of his skin. The memory of Yang Ce's awe-inspiring display the day before was still vivid in Manager Liu's mind, and today he had not only overlooked him first but had run off at the mouth in front of him. No wonder Minister Zhang had said if he wanted to die, he should not drag others down with him!

At that thought, Manager Liu's legs went weak and he too knelt down alongside Minister Zhang: "Mr. Yang, I was talking nonsense. Please don't take it seriously..."

Yang Ce nudged Sun Jie. This was the moment for her to establish her authority; he would not speak—let her do the talking.

Quick-witted as she was, Sun Jie understood at once and said to the two kneeling men: "Get up, both of you. What is this? You make our company look like a feudal society!"