Intimate Trial Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A few days later, in the afternoon, the sun shone slantingly into the office, coating the cold air with a layer of illusory warmth.

Shen Shenlin was compiling the final investigation report on the Madrid incident, and the red light on the internal phone came on.She picked up and Ye Chang’s calm voice came:

“Si Lin, come to my office.”

“Yes, Mr. Ye.”

Shen Shenlin put down her work and quickly checked her appearance. After confirming that it was correct, she walked to the president’s office.The door was ajar and she knocked.

“Come in.”

Pushing the door open, Ye Chang was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, with his back to the door, looking out the window.She wore a charcoal gray suit today. The cut was extremely neat, making her tall and straight, and her aura awe-inspiring.Hearing the footsteps, she turned around with her usual emotionless expression on her face.

“Mr. Ye.” Shen Shenlin stood in front of her desk.

“Yes.” Ye Chang walked back to his seat and sat down, tapping his fingers on the smooth tabletop, “There is an event tonight, you go with me.”

It’s not a question, it’s a notification.

Shen Silin’s thoughts moved slightly.In the past few days, she has gradually taken over more core tasks, but this is the first time she has accompanied Ye Chang to attend evening social events, especially on occasions that are not regular work meetings.This usually means a deeper level of trust and maybe… an opportunity.

“Yes.” She agreed directly without asking any further questions, “What information do I need to know?”

Ye Chang handed over a concise folder.”The location is at the ‘Yunding Club’, in a private room. The other party is Zhao Qiming, a partner of Qiming Capital, and the two guests he brought. The background is temporarily unknown. The name is to exchange industry trends, but the actual purpose may involve potential investment or resource replacement.” She paused, “Zhao Qiming is a smooth and sophisticated person who likes to talk at the wine table. He has a good drinker and also likes to persuade people to drink. The guests he brings need you to observe and deal with them.”

Shen Shenlin quickly glanced at the basic information about Zhao Qiming and the introduction of “Yunding Club” in the folder – the latter is one of the top private clubs in the city, known for its secrecy and high threshold.

“Understood. I’ll pay attention.” Silin closed the folder, “What’s the dress code?”

“It’s just the standard for a business dinner.” Ye Chang glanced at her, “You don’t have to be too deliberate, but you can’t be rude. In addition,” her eyes stayed on Shen Silin’s face for a moment, and she added in a calm tone, “You can drink appropriately when necessary, but you must be measured and stay sober. Your main task is to observe people’s behavior, supplement information, and help me block some unnecessary entanglements when the time is right.”

This last sentence has a profound meaning.”Unnecessary entanglement” may refer to excessive persuasion to drink, or it may refer to other more obscure things.In that kind of situation, female managers, especially those who are young, beautiful and in a high position like Ye Chang, will inevitably encounter some temptations and even offenses.

“I understand, Mr. Ye.” Shen Shenlin nodded with a calm expression.

“Meet you in the underground garage at seven o’clock in the evening.” After Ye Chang finished speaking, he returned his attention to the documents on the table, indicating that the conversation was over.

“Okay.”

Shen Silin exited the office and gently closed the door.She shook the folder in her hand with a slight pressure on her fingertips.

Genting Club, Zhao Qiming, unidentified guests, wine table culture, and “unnecessary entanglements”… Tonight’s seemingly ordinary entertainment may have an undercurrent underneath.

At 6:50 in the evening, Shen Shenlin appeared in the underground garage early.With decent makeup and clear eyes, she stood quietly by the car and waited.

At seven o’clock sharp, Ye Chang showed up on time.She put on a dark green satin dress and a long suit jacket of the same color. Her long hair was pulled up, revealing her graceful neck line. Her ears were decorated with diamond tassel earrings, which reflected a cold light under the garage lights.Compared to her rigorous appearance during the day, she now had a more noble and distant aura, and was so beautiful that she was extremely aggressive.

She glanced at Shen Shenlin, her eyes seemed to pause for a tenth of a second at the chest half-covered by the collar, and then returned to normal.

“Get in the car.” Ye Chang signaled.

Shen Shenlin got into the passenger seat.The car slowly drove out of the garage, merged into the evening traffic, and drove towards the brightly lit “Cloud Top” at the other end of the city, which also symbolized the intertwining of power and desire.

At the wine table, the atmosphere has changed from the initial polite greetings to a stage that seems to be warm, but in fact everyone has their own thoughts.Under the crystal chandelier, glasses and glasses were intertwined, and the aroma of expensive dishes mixed with the smell of tobacco and alcohol filled the closed box.

Zhao Qiming’s face glowed red, and he raised a small glass full of white wine again, aiming directly at Ye Chang: “Mr. Ye, we really had a great conversation today! You are young, but your courage and insight make me admire you! Come, let’s do another one for our future cooperation!”

There were several empty glasses placed in front of Ye Chang, his cheeks were abnormally flushed, and although his eyes tried hard to stay clear, they were already a little distracted when he looked closely.She had rejected him twice before, and now Zhao Qiming was approaching again, with a warm tone but pressure.

Shen Shenlin had always maintained a proper sense of presence, and at this time she keenly captured the almost imperceptible trembling of Ye Chang’s fingertips and the subtle changes in breathing frequency.She knew that Ye Chang’s drinking capacity might be close to the limit.

Just when Ye Chang’s finger touched the wall of the cup and was about to pick it up again, Shen Shenlin took the lead, stood up with a smile, reached out and gently pressed Ye Chang’s hand, and at the same time picked up the untouched cup of wine in front of her and faced Zhao Qiming:

“Mr. Zhao, we, Mr. Ye, are really happy today. We drank a lot with you. You see, her face is red. Let me toast you with this drink on behalf of Mr. Ye. Thank you Mr. Zhao for your hospitality and guidance tonight!” Her tone was respectful but hearty, her posture was low, and she gave enough reasons.

After saying that, without waiting for Zhao Qiming’s reaction, Shen Shenlin raised her head and drank nearly a tael of high-strength liquor in the glass in one gulp.His movements were crisp and clear, his expression unchanging.

The smile on Zhao Qiming’s face froze, and a trace of displeasure flashed across his eyes.He put down his wine glass, tapped his fingers on the table, and looked at Shen Shenlin with scrutiny and some hidden contempt.

“Assistant Shen, right? You have a good capacity for drinking, and you are also very courageous.” He smiled but said, “However, Assistant Shen may not understand the rules of substituting wine. At our table, holding the wine for the host is a sign of affection, but this affection… must have weight. One cup for another, that is called ignorance.”

He winked at the assistant behind him.The assistant immediately stepped forward, picked up the wine dispenser, and poured two full glasses of white wine, three or four taels, into a red wine glass with a significantly larger capacity.

Zhao Qiming personally took the heavy glass of wine and pushed it in front of Shen Shenlin. His smile deepened, but his eyes held an oppression that could not be refused: “Two for one, this is sincerity. Assistant Shen, please?”

The atmosphere in the box suddenly froze.The other two guests who had been accompanying him also stopped talking and focused their attention.Ye Chang’s brows furrowed tightly. He seemed to have sobered up a bit from the drunkenness, and his eyes suddenly turned cold.

Shen Shenlin looked at the glass of transparent liquid in front of her that was almost overflowing, her stomach already beginning to churn due to the rush of wine just now.She knew that this was not only wine, but also a show of intimidation. It was Zhao Qiming’s test of Ye Chang’s authority, and it was also a humiliation and test for her as a “newcomer”.

Refusal would be tantamount to breaking up on the spot and the cooperation would fall through, making it more difficult for both Ye Chang and her to step down.Drink it…the consequences are unpredictable.

In a flash, she had made her decision.There was still a decent smile on his face, and his eyes didn’t even change.

“Mr. Zhao is right, I really should learn the rules.” She said in a steady voice, reaching out and steadily taking the heavy wine glass, “Since I am drinking for Mr. Ye, I must be sincere.”

Under the gaze of everyone who was either surprised, amused or worried, Shen Shenlin held the cup in both hands, raised her head, tightened her throat and neck, and drank the spicy liquid in the cup, one sip after another, with difficulty but without hesitation.Every time she swallowed, there was a burning sensation, but she didn’t let a drop spill out, nor did she show any pain.

The empty cup fell and made a crisp impact with the table.

Silin felt like a fire was lit in her stomach, reaching the top of her head, and her cheeks instantly became hot.She suppressed her discomfort, put down the cup, and nodded slightly to Zhao Qiming: “Mr. Zhao, is your sincerity enough?”

Zhao Qiming stared at her for a few seconds, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and then laughed loudly and clapped his hands: “That’s enough! You’re so brave! There are really hidden dragons and crouching tigers around Mr. Ye! Okay, drink this wine happily! Come on, eat food, eat food!”

As expected, he did not continue to persuade me to drink, and he took the initiative to change the topic.But Shen Silin could feel that there was an elusive meaning in Zhao Qiming’s eyes when he looked at her.

The drinking party seemed to have regained some semblance of harmony, and the changing of glasses continued.However, it didn’t take long for Shen Shelin to feel a strong and unusual heat rising from deep inside her body, accompanied by dizziness and accelerated heartbeat, which was far more rapid and strange than simply being drunk.She held onto the edge of the table, her fingertips were cold, but thin beads of cold sweat broke out on her forehead.

Ye Chang, who had been paying attention to her with his peripheral vision, immediately noticed something strange about her.Seeing Shen Shenlin’s abnormally blushing cheeks, distracted eyes, and slightly trembling fingers, and then thinking of Zhao Qiming’s specially filled glass of wine just now and his unexplained smile, Ye Chang’s face instantly darkened, and ice formed in his eyes.

She knew all too well some of the dirty tricks in this situation.

“Mr. Zhao,” Ye Chang’s voice was low, but like a sharpened blade, it instantly cut off the false excitement in the box, “It seems that the wine tonight was not very clean.”

Zhao Qiming pretended to be surprised: “Mr. Ye, what do you mean? The wine is all good wine…”

“Mr. Zhao knows whether the wine is good.” Ye Chang stood up, and the chair made a harsh sound as it rubbed against the ground.She stopped looking at Zhao Qiming and turned to Shen Shenlin, who was struggling to stay awake but was already crumbling.

“Since Mr. Zhao is not sincere, let’s stop the cooperation.” Ye Chang’s tone was decisive, with an unquestionable coldness, “We will not accompany you anymore.”

Under the sudden change of color in Zhao Qiming’s eyes and the astonished gazes of others, Ye Chang walked to Shen Shen Lin in a few steps. Without any hesitation, he put one hand around her back and the other through the crook of her knees. With a little force, he steadily hugged Shen Shen Lin, who was already a little weak.

“Mr. Ye…” Shen Shenlin felt the familiar cool breath and solid embrace in her hazy state, and murmured subconsciously, her tense nerves finally relaxing a bit.

“Don’t talk.” Ye Chang ordered in a low voice, hugged her, turned and walked towards the door of the box.Her steps were steady and fast, her back straight, and she ignored Zhao Qiming’s angrily attempts to stay and explain behind her.

The elevator goes down.In the closed space, Shen Shenlin leaned unconsciously on her shoulder, breathing fast and hot.

The car has already been ordered to wait at the door of the club.Ye Chang hugged Shen Shen Lin and sat in the back seat, and quickly reported an address to the driver – not a company, nor Shen Shen Lin’s residence, but another of her tightly secured private apartments in the city center.

“Drive faster,” she added, taking out her phone and dialing her family doctor.

In the night, the car sped away, leaving the splendid but filthy gate of the “Yunding Club” far behind.There was a lot of light outside the car window, but the atmosphere inside the car was as solemn as iron.