The other members of the party looked at one another. "You think too highly of her, surely. She used some petty tricks and acting to get you in a bind, but we are old people. What situations have we not seen? It's not so easy…" B1 said confidently. "Moreover, she doesn't have all your father's shares."

  MA1 nodded at that. "He looked disoriented. He clearly wanted you to do well but also couldn't turn a blind eye." He licked his lips. "You still have some stake in your father's company. You live under the same roof. Changing his mind is very easy," he said quietly.

  Bai Ye Qing looked at the man without emotion. He knew his father had abandoned him. There was no turning back. The meager amount of shares he had left were still something. They would produce enough money at the end of the year.

  The world seemed to go out of focus as he thought about it. Once more was not a problem, right? Just once more. But first, he needed to know what kind of agreement his father had signed with the slut, Yun Qian Meng.

  He sped home in the blink of an eye. The rush of traffic had died down and it had only taken him fifteen or so minutes to reach the house.

  He swung the door open to enter the front door. The heavy wooden frame banged against the wall, shaking it. Chen Yue came speeding out of the kitchen at the sound, thinking that Bai Yu had come down once again and was now showing off his anger.

  She looked at her son, his tie astray and his pallor grey.

  "Ye Qing, what is wrong?" she asked, nearing him to touch his shoulder. "Why do you look so bad?" she asked. Actually, she knew that nothing good came out from the board meeting, but she was yet to find out the results.

  Though she was the chairman's wife, she had never taken an interest in the business. Neither did Bai Yu show her the ropes or tell her about his problems. Therefore, over the years she hadn't even contacted the other colleagues about the company. Probably, their numbers had been deleted from her phone as well.

  As the kids grew up, they didn't talk about their private matters much either. Wenxi had always been a reserved child, but he had stuck to Chen Yue and accompanied her to all the locality functions, the plays, and movies. He even humored her attempts at setting up blind dates for him. He was tight-lipped but he doted on his mother.

  On the other hand, was Bai Ye Qing, a glib-mouthed child who hugged his mother often. He told her trivial details about his day, missing out on the important treacherous moments he had indulged in. Chen Yue finally felt involved. This son became her outlet to the world.

  What he said was paramount.

  "Where does father keep all his business material?" he barked as he took off his shoes.

  "Papers? They are in his study. Why?" she cried as she jumped after him. Bai Ye Qing sprinted up the stairs. She followed hot on his heels.

  Bai Yu had never felt the need to lock his office space, so Bai Ye Qing threw the door open without much effort. He looked wildly around the room and then turned to face her. "Where?" he barked.

  Chen Yue started. "It's in the locker under his desk." Bai Ye Qing sprinted to the area and sank down to the floor to look at the combination lock. He swore loudly before looking at her desperately. "What's wrong? Just tell me. I'll help you!" she said.

  Bai Ye Qing shook his head. "I need the password to the safe. Father sold the company to Yun Qian Meng. I don't know how much he has sold." He pleaded with her to tell him the password.

  Chen Yue gulped. "Sold everything?" she whispered. "He sold everything to that girl? Why?" she asked.

  "I don't know, mother. Tell me what the password is!" he yelled. Neither noticed the figure at the door, watching their interaction, exhaustion marking his face.

  Chen Yue told him the password. "But how did you know she bought everything? Was she at the meeting? What did she do?" she asked.

  "She ruined everything. I did everything to keep father from voting but because he sold his shares off, I couldn't stop them from expelling me. She showed all these false documents to the shareholders to dupe them!" he explained. He put in the password and the vault opened.

  "What do you think you are doing?" Bai Yu spoke, his tone grave.

  Chen Yue swiveled around. "This is not what it looks like," she said instinctively.

  "What does it look like?" Bai Yu countered. "I think it is exactly as I expected." He stared at Bai Ye Qing. "Have you not learned your lesson yet?" he asked.

  Bai Ye Qing sneered. He looked down at the bunch of files and unceremoniously brought them all out and placed them with a thud on the table.

  "Stop it, Ye Qing," Bai Yu raised his voice. Chen Yue startled.

  "What is going on here? Why did you sell the company to that Yun girl? What kind of spell does she have you under?" Chen Yue sobbed.

  "Spell? What drama are you writing in your head? Your son tells you they were false accusations and you believe him? Do you think the members of the board were born yesterday that they don't know how to discern between false accusations and complaints with real background and proof?" he asked.

  "Of course, I will trust my son over outsiders. But clearly, you don't think the same way. Why are you being like this?" Chen Yue asked. She moved forward to grab his arm and shake it lightly.

  "Your son has already been dismissed from the company. With the number of crimes he has committed within the company, it is impossible for him to get another job anywhere in this country."