Chapter 43: Excuse

Mo Zheng Yuan is going through the documents when Shi Lian enters inside. He looks up and his eyes let out a sigh of relief. He got the message from Ruxi that the meeting was a success and that Fu Zichen is glad to collaborate with them. He cannot help but feel a little guilt to make her daughter work this hard when she should be enjoying her youth. He gave her a huge responsibility to handle the company which is difficult, really difficult and she doesn't even have any experience regarding this. He always treated her like his sweet little princess but these days, seeing her working like this, had him realize that she has grown up. She is now a mature, smart woman who is not afraid to face any challenges. The scandal issue got suppressed and the collaboration with Fu International is only because of Shi Lian and he cannot thank her enough, he is so proud of her as a father.

"Father" she calls when he says nothing but stares at her with glistening eyes.

"Ah, where were you? Ruxi said Fu Zichen stopped you?" he asks, drying his eyes from a handkerchief.

"He um… he wanted to discuss something about our collaboration" she answers but shifts a little when talking about him.

Mo Zheng Yuan nods and tells her to sit on the leather chair placed in front of his desk to let her legs relax a little.

The company is not in a stable position yet and he does not know when it will be but the only thing he knows that Shi Lian is here to help him and to save the company.

He is well aware of the fact that since the day she arrived home, she spent very less time with her mother or at home or went out to enjoy. He hates himself for letting her daughter work so hard for this when he should be the one doing it but he knows he cannot. He tried doing it all alone by himself but in conclusion, his health came into force.

When he first asked Shi Lian questions about company management and fashion, he was impressed by her answers; although her answers about company management were not up to mark, and it's reasonable since she is foreign to this.

These 3 months he has seen so many different versions of her, it's like she is made for this, and she is. Isn't she?

"About the meeting, we will be holding it in our company. I know this is too early but darling, we don't have any choice. I feel so guilty to make you work so hard but I hope you will understand and hate me less than you should" he smiles, a faded smile as he says, "But I know you are ready, ready to face the challenges and save the company. After you become the official Chairman, then you can do whatever or however to uplift the company."

"Father, I will never hate you. How can you even think like that? Indeed, I never wished to work in the company but I don't think that's what I wanted. Working here has made me realize so many things, I didn't know if I was capable of handling a company or the working of it but I am liking what I am doing. So father, thank you for giving me this opportunity and having faith in me" she gives him a wide smile that made his heart clench.

That's his daughter, he thinks and smiles. Her optimistic thinking and positive vibes are really charming and can brighten a dull person's will in a second. She is no a pushover, if she was she won't be standing here till now. She is a warrior and she proved him.

They talked about the arrangements and other things about the meeting which will be held tomorrow. He then dismisses her and puts his focus into his work again. She leaves the office, closing the door, and walks out. She feels more confident than before after talking with her father. She is now excited about the meeting and looking forward to it.

"Miss Vice President, can I go home early?" she asks. She finished her work for today and also did some preparations for tomorrow. She wished to forget about the dinner but it won't get out of her head, it's stuck inside her brain. She kept glancing at her watch to see how much time was left for dinner. She can't understand why she is nervous about this dinner when she should feel nothing at all.

"You can if you are done with your work," Ruxi says sitting on her chair and typing maniacally on the laptop. Ruxi didn't bother Shi Lian about any information about Zichen and her and she was glad she didn't.

"My work is done," she tells her, passing her the documents and copies of sales.

"Where are you going by the way? Is it something urgent?" she asks curiously, looking up at her with tired eyes.

"Not urgent, just had an appointment with a friend," she says and smiles to hide her anger. What an excuse! Friends? Seriously? Since when they became friends? But what other excuse she could have told her other than this? it is the most believable one and it worked.

"Oh, okay. You can go. Go safely" she shoos her and starts typing again like a maniac.

Shi Lian glances at her watch for the 20th time since she started working two hours before. Her heart rests at ease when she sees that she have enough time left with her. She packs her things, takes her phone, and exits through the door.

She stops when she realizes that she hasn't told her father about it yet. Ruxi will surely tell him when he will ask her and it's not the going early thing she is scared of. She frets about her excuse. Her father will ask her thousands of questions regarding her friend or will send someone to investigate it. Why does everyone investigate her?

Should she inform her father about it or not? She cannot figure it out and is confused as hell. She debates about the options when an idea pops into her brilliant mind. She can go to her house, can make an excuse to her mother and her mother can handle her father.

She hates lying but that brat Zichen didn't leave her with any choices. She is getting the feeling that she is secretly meeting her boyfriend and to sneak away she needs to lie from her parents. The thought makes her laugh out loud. She shook her head, still laughing, and presses the floor number in the elevator car.

She reaches Mo Mansion within thirty minutes or less and again glances at her time to see if she have enough time left with her or not. Fortunately, she has forty-five minutes left with her, enough time to get ready. She already thought about what excuse she will bluff in front of her mother. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves down, she opens the door with a light force as the doors are too big for her. As she enters the living room or better known to be their main hall, she smiles when she sees her mother and Nanny Zhang there.

"Mother, I am home" her voice echoes in the entire room. Her mother looks up from the magazine and her face warms.

"Darling!" she exclaims with joy and keeps the magazine aside on the sofa and gets up to greet her. Mo Sha Sha always scolds her husband that he made her Shi Lian work too hard and that she always returns home tired. Her coming home early than usual is somewhat surprising for her but at the same time, she is glad to see her daughter.

"What were you doing?" she asks entangling herself from her mother's embrace.

Mo Sha Sha tells her that she was going through some random magazines with Nanny Zhang. "Didn't think to see you early. Is something special today?" Sha Sha asks and gestures her to sit on the couch.

"Well, I had an appointment with a friend so I left the company early" she lies, looking down at her mother's warm hands on hers.

She is not good at lying and if she lies looking directly into her mother's eyes, Sha Sha will know that she is lying within a second. As Atian said before she is not at all good at lying and she doesn't think she ever will be.

"Oh? That's great! Finally, your father allowed you to have some time of your own" she expresses and Shi Lian chuckles seeing her mother rolling her eyes while complaining about her father.

"I'll go change," Shi Lian tells her mother. Having a good talk with delicious pastries and coffee, she gets up and moves to her room.

Reaching her room, she goes to take a quick shower and shed out the stress of a long day. What a day it was! She groans when she ponders that she will experience it every day from now.

She steps inside the shower and clicks on the hot shower icon. Warm water floods from the shower and she let her immerse herself in it. She can spend all her day in the shower but Zichen's face pops in front of her eyes and she comes o the real world. "Shit" she curses under her breath and closes the shower.