My Sister-In-Law Has Impure Intentions (GL) - Chapter 23

After that night, no one ever brought up what happened. For a couple of weeks, they still didn’t see each other. Lin Ruoyan continued her routine of leaving early and coming home late. Xu Jingyi deliberately avoided her, no longer spending much time in the living room at night and moving her yoga practice to a dedicated room. After all, the house had many rooms, so she didn’t have to stay in the living room.

Half a month passed in silence before the two finally had a chance to meet. As the major shareholder and nominal chairperson, Xu Jingyi was required to participate in some shareholder meetings, and she had no choice but to attend.

Lin Ruoyan was already there when she walked in, sitting at the head of the table. A seat was left vacant beside her. Xu Jingyi raised an eyebrow, but didn’t make a fuss and took the empty seat beside her. Although their relationship was incredibly awkward, they still had to maintain a facade of cordiality.

“Sister-in-law.”

“Mhm, have you been waiting long, Ruoyan?” she said, placing her hand on Lin Ruoyan’s arm. It was a habitual gesture. Sometimes, she would be more physically intimate with people to quickly close the distance between them. This method was effective, but not for them. It was a subconscious action that was hard to change. Even though Xu Jingyi regretted it the moment her hand touched Lin Ruoyan’s arm, there was no turning back. The charade had to continue, so she didn’t pull her hand back.

Fortunately, Lin Ruoyan’s acting was also good. She didn’t have a strong reaction, and answered with her usual expressionless demeanor, “No, I just got here too. Since you’re here, sister-in-law, let’s begin.”

Xu Jingyi was still wearing a low-cut, form-fitting dress, revealing a lot of skin. The red marks on her neck from that night were long gone. Lin Ruoyan didn’t know if Xu Jingyi had noticed them, but from her attitude, it seemed she hadn’t. The incident was probably in the past now.

She motioned to her secretary, who cleared his throat and began to distribute documents.

“I believe everyone already knows why you’re here today. I mainly want to hear your thoughts on the acquisition of the Hu Corporation. What I’ve given you are some details about the current situation of the Hu Corporation. Please take a look and then share your opinions.” Her voice was powerful and resolute, completely different from the way she had greeted Xu Jingyi. She was calm and professional, with an even stronger presence than Lin Ruofeng had. “I know many of you have objections. Today, let’s get everything out in the open.”

As soon as she said this, someone immediately spoke up. “The Hu Corporation is a mess right now. I don’t know what you’re thinking, Ms. Lin. Why would you want to take on such a hot potato?”

A large number of people shared this opinion, feeling that the risks of the Lin Group acquiring the Hu Corporation were too great and they were vehemently against it. Lin Ruoyan, however, was adamant about the acquisition, which was why this board meeting was happening.

Acquisitions certainly came with risks, but also with huge profits. That’s how business worked; the greater the risk, the greater the reward. It all depended on whether you had the courage to go for it. Lin Ruoyan was that kind of person.

“I understand your concerns. But the Hu Corporation has research patents that we don’t, as well as those few projects. I believe you all know about them. Everyone was fighting tooth and nail for them back then, and I’m sure you all still want them. The Hu Corporation’s current problem is poor management. As long as we acquire it and manage it properly, making a profit is inevitable.”

“Those very projects are what led to the Hu Corporation’s bankruptcy. How can you be so sure that we can turn a loss into a profit after taking over, Ms. Lin?”

Xu Jingyi watched Lin Ruoyan maintain her strong presence against these stubborn old-timers, accepting their questions calmly and then rebutting each one.

“Heh…” Lin Ruoyan lifted her eyelids slightly. “How do I know? I’m sure you all keep a close eye on the company’s financial reports. If I weren’t capable of sitting in this position,” she tapped the table twice with her index finger, “this seat would have been filled by someone else long ago, wouldn’t it?”

The remark was overly arrogant, but it made Xu Jingyi smile.

Just one sentence couldn’t convince this group. The meeting continued for a long time, not ending until noon.

After the meeting, Lin Ruoyan asked Xu Jingyi to come to her office. Xu Jingyi thought there was more work to discuss and followed her, but to her surprise, Lin Ruoyan didn’t mention any business after putting down her things.

“Sister-in-law, do you want to have lunch together?”

“Huh?” Xu Jingyi was a bit confused. Their private relationship didn’t seem to be at a stage where they would eat together.

“Mhm, for the sake of appearances,” Lin Ruoyan said succinctly.

Xu Jingyi made a sound of understanding, thinking that Lin Ruoyan had a point. It was lunchtime, and if she just left, she didn’t know what people outside would say.

“Okay, let’s go. What do you want to eat?”

“Whatever you want, sister-in-law.”

“How about the Western restaurant across the street? Your brother and I used to go there often.”

She deliberately brought up Lin Ruofeng and observed Lin Ruoyan’s reaction, but there was no special reaction from her. She just gave a faint “mhm” and opened the door to leave.

Xu Jingyi frowned, feeling that something was wrong. If Lin Ruoyan truly harbored those kinds of feelings for her, she shouldn’t have been so nonchalant about the mention of Lin Ruofeng.

After a morning of meetings, she was indeed hungry. It was fine to eat together. Eating alone was boring anyway. She’d just consider it as Lin Ruoyan keeping her company.

Author’s Note:

Asking my wife out for a meal, hehe.