“It’s almost time, Lei. I t-think…”

Gu Lingsha stammered for a bit, intending to say something, but Qi Lei’s indifferent voice interrupted her, “Go on and have your meeting then. Why did you call me?”

Then, without waiting for her to respond, he nonchalantly hung up.

When it came to Gu Lingsha, he felt nothing for her anymore. From liking her at the start to finding her appalling, and finally, this indifference…

Perhaps, he himself was not a good person. At least, it seemed so to Gu Lingsha because he did not protect her till the very end. Thus, sometimes he could not help but lament about how things were always changing, and many things did not go as planned.

“Master Qi…”

Qi Lei had just hung up when Yang Sheng’s voice came through. He held the documents that had just been handed over to him.

Qi Lei straightened up slightly. With his fingers interlocked, he propped his arms on the table before and asked with a lowered voice, “What is it?”

“Manager Liang called earlier. All of the shareholders have reached and are just waiting for you now. They’re asking me if you’re going over. First Master’s gone over especially early today too, and so have a few of the shareholders as well…Right, Secretary Wang Chun called to tell you not to worry and just let them work for it. What’s yours should be yours no matter how much others try to fight for it because it will be useless,” Yang Sheng spoke very softly, afraid that Qi Lei would get unhappy.

Nonetheless, Qi Lei reacted quite calmly and tossed the document before him aside as he picked up his tea and took a nonchalant sip. Then, he turned around in his chair with his back facing Yang Sheng and looked towards the gloomy sky outside.

“Whatever is meant to be is meant to be and cannot be avoided. There’s no such thing as someone being entitled to something.” Qi Lei’s voice was followed by a sigh. “If this were in the past, I might not have understood this. I thought that everything was as it should be. Even though I might not have cared, I was still a little unhappy, but now…”

At this point, Qi Lei suddenly averted his gaze and lowered it slightly to look at his hands. He tossed them about and watched them for quite a while as if his fair hands had been soiled with something. A long while after that, he continued, “It’s only now that I understand how some things aren’t up to us to choose. What should be done has still got to be done, and many things are only meant for the capable ones to be a part of. Meanwhile, I’ve missed that chance.”

“Master Qi, you’re already doing very great. There’s no need to be bothered by those things. You’re bearing too much burden right now, and you will be worn out.”

As Yang Sheng watched Qi Lei, he only felt his heart ache for him. Initially, he should have been a carefree young master of a wealthy family. Sadly, in the end, he was left to take go down this path alone.

“If it’s an exhaustion that’s worth it, I wouldn’t mind. I was afraid of letting myself get worn out in the past, which was why…”

As Qi Lei said this, he took a deep breath and his fingers combed through his dark hair. He lazily brushed his thigh as he leaned to the side and looked out the window calmly before he smiled grimly and said, “If I could fantasize about my future, I wish to continue living peacefully. I don’t want to think too much and invite so much trouble. I’d much rather live more calmly.”

Yang Sheng could not bear to see Qi Lei in his state of loneliness, so he could not help but say, “No, Master, you’re only slightly over 30. You’ll definitely find yourself a good wife and have little princes or princesses, and you’ll lead a happy life.”

“Do you think someone like me still stands a chance?” Qi Lei laughed while his tone sounded like he had given up.

“Of course!” Yang Sheng said certainly.

A cold smile flashed across Qi Lei’s lips. “I’m afraid I won’t have the chance anymore,” he said while not realizing that in time to come, he would be experiencing a profoundly moving love. It was only then that Qi Lei would realize that he too could give it all up, and be madly in love with a woman…

“No, Master Qi, I believe that you will find happiness too, just as Master Mu and Miss Xiaye did,” said Yang Sheng a little anxiously.

Qi Lei did not respond as the curve on his lips only became even more prominent…

Ding ding—

At this moment, Qi Lei’s phone that was set aside on the table suddenly buzzed. Qi Lei breathed in and then picked it up.

“Master Qi, the items you need have been arranged, and I’ve emailed it to you, so please take note,” the person on the other end of the phone was unhesitating as he spoke swiftly.

“Alright, I’ll let you handle the remaining things then,” Qi Lei responded, then hung up and turned around. He moved his laptop to be in front of him then swiftly switched it on…

At this moment, inside Qi Kai Corporation’s high-level meeting room.

The high-level meeting table was surrounded by the shareholders who came to join the meeting, as well as some members of the upper management.

The seat in front that belonged to Qi Qiming was naturally empty, and in the seats next to his were Qi Feng and Gu Lingsha. The husband and wife were sitting together while across them were Yue Hai and Xi Xinyi. Then, further down, it was Qi Lei’s seat as Vice President.

“Since everyone’s here, let’s begin,” Qi Feng’s low and raspy voice broke the meeting room’s heavy atmosphere. He spoke as he coldly looked sideways at Qi Lei’s empty seat although his gaze was hard to read.

The chairperson looked at the calm Qi Feng flatteringly as he announced, “Alright, the shareholders’ meeting officially begins…”

The meeting was actually quite simple. It immediately began to discuss Qi Qiming’s misfortune. Then, of course, it was followed by a recommendation for a new person to take charge of the company. Once this suggestion was brought up, many of the upper management people endorsed Qi Feng.

“I think that Director Qi should take on such an arduous task. In fact, CEO Qi has always been getting Director Qi to familiarize himself with the company’s work. I think everyone can agree that Director Qi has worked hard for the company.”

“But CEO Qi didn’t explicitly mention who was to be his successor. I think we should wait for him to regain consciousness before we discuss this.”

Gu Lingsha was obviously fully in support of Qi Feng. Without waiting for those shareholders to declare their stances, she expressed her thought, “The company still needs to keep operating. We all know how CEO Qi’s situation is like right now, so what do you think, VP Yang, VP Fang, and VP Wang?”