Chapter 10: A fake diamond ring from your secret lover?

Gu Hanchen pointed upward, "Isn't Michen our child? Yuan Xi, you can't be so shortsighted, caring only about the child you had with that wild man and ignoring our little Michen."

Yuan Xi: "..."

Huo Shiyan: "..."

Gu Hanchen looked at the rice grains on the back seat, "Yuan Xi, what am I supposed to say about you? You made President Huo's car so dirty. President Huo, since you handed the car over to Yuan Xi, let her drive it to a car wash to get it cleaned for you."

Huo Shiyan said, "It's fine."

Yuan Xi no longer had any appetite to eat; fearing morning sickness, she hadn't dared to eat too much anyway. "President Huo, I'm finished. Let's go upstairs to talk."

Once inside the elevator, Gu Hanchen noticed Yuan Xi's large diamond ring. "I was having dinner with Bo Fan yesterday, and Chu Yan said you were wearing a fake diamond ring. I didn't believe it. Is that the fake ring that wild man gave you?"

Yuan Xi frowned. "President Gu, please stop calling him a 'wild man.' I am married to him; he is my legitimate husband."

"Married!?" Gu Hanchen was extremely shocked. "How could you just get married?"

Yuan Xi said, "It's normal to get married when there's a child involved."

Gu Hanchen frowned, "You must invite me to your wedding. I want to see which male fox spirit managed to hook you!"

Yuan Xi said, "We have no plans for a wedding for the time being."

Gu Hanchen sneered, "Can't afford one, right? That male fox spirit gave you a fake diamond ring—can he even afford a wedding?"

Yuan Xi: "President Gu, you'd better worry about whether I can afford a wedding or not. You should hurry up and prepare for the IPO. We've been working on this for over two years; we can't afford any mistakes."

Gu Hanchen looked at Yuan Xi and said, "You know we can't afford mistakes, yet you got pregnant? You'd better not let me find out who that fox spirit is. He is the biggest stumbling block to Michen's IPO! If I run into him, I'll definitely kick him far away."

Yuan Xi glanced at Huo Shiyan beside her.

Huo Shiyan brushed the rice grains that had just landed on his coat.

After arriving at the office, Huo Shiyan and Gu Hanchen went inside.

Yuan Xi asked Huo Shiyan, "What would you like to drink, President Huo?"

Huo Shiyan said, "Nothing."

Gu Hanchen looked at Yuan Xi and said, "I want coffee, and I want it hand-ground by you personally."

After Yuan Xi went out, she asked the new secretary in the secretarial office to grind the coffee for Gu Hanchen. In any case, Gu Hanchen wouldn't be able to tell if she had ground it herself.

Yuan Xi was busy with work and felt incredibly sleepy in the afternoon. After checking online to confirm that pregnant women could drink coffee, she went to the administrative department's pantry upstairs and made a cup of coffee using the machine.

Just as Yuan Xi returned to the office, she ran into Huo Shiyan, who was coming out of Gu Hanchen's office.

Seeing Yuan Xi drinking coffee, Huo Shiyan said, "You're pregnant; you should drink less coffee."

Yuan Xi: "I checked, and it said a small amount of coffee won't cause any problems for the baby."

Huo Shiyan said to Gu Hanchen, "During the pre-IPO period for Michen, you wouldn't want anything to happen to Michen's little brother or sister, would you?"

"Huh?" Gu Hanchen was stunned.

Huo Shiyan pointed at Yuan Xi's lower abdomen. "When Secretary Yuan is tired, let her take a proper nap. What century are we in? Don't be a slave driver."

Gu Hanchen looked at Huo Shiyan, "That doesn't sound like something that would come out of your mouth."

Huo Shiyan looked at Yuan Xi with concern. Yuan Xi smiled faintly, "Don't worry, President Huo, I will take good care of my health. Thank you for your concern."

Gu Hanchen saw Huo Shiyan downstairs, feeling that something was not quite right.

Yuan Xi drank the cup of coffee, her sleepiness vanished, and she received a call from Yang Ying.

"Hello, Mom."

Yang Ying said, "Xin'er, do you have time to come home today? The date for the homecoming banquet has been set for the evening of May 22nd. What do you think?"

Yuan Xi glanced at her schedule, "That works, Mom."

Yang Ying said, "Also, I've prepared a few gowns for you. Do you have time to come over tonight and try them on?"

Yuan Xi said, "I've already prepared a gown."

"Xin'er..."

"Mom, I still have work to do. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."

Yuan Xi hung up the phone. Although she had found her biological parents, there was still a layer of estrangement between them.

Yuan Xi gently stroked her lower abdomen.

"Secretary Yuan?"

Yuan Xi looked up and saw Bo Fan. She stood up and said, "President Bo, what brings you to Michen?"

Bo Fan said, "Our company's artists are participating in the 'Forest Pursuit' game competition, so I'm here to discuss the specific cooperation with Gu Hanchen."

Yuan Xi led Bo Fan into Gu Hanchen's office. "President Gu, President Bo is here."

Seeing Bo Fan, Gu Hanchen looked at him with full guard, "You aren't here to poach my staff, are you? Don't even think about taking Yuan Xi away."

Bo Fan said, "I would like to poach Yuan Xi, actually. But she didn't agree; she said she wanted a job that wasn't too demanding."

Gu Hanchen said, "She's been bewitched by a male fox spirit. She's only twenty-six and is already married and pregnant. It's so foolish; she's wasting her best years on raising a child. It's just stupid!"

Bo Fan looked at Yuan Xi's flat stomach with slight surprise, "Secretary Yuan, you're pregnant? I can't tell."

Yuan Xi smiled faintly, "I'm only about five weeks along; it's not showing yet."

Hearing this, Gu Hanchen calculated the time, "Five weeks? Weren't you at a drinking party with me five weeks ago? You and Huo Shiyan were so drunk that day you slept directly at the hotel. Won't that affect the child?"

Yuan Xi said, "It shouldn't."

Bo Fan asked, "Huo Shiyan? Huo Shiyan from Shixi Finance? He's in Jiangcheng?"

Gu Hanchen nodded, "He's been in Jiangcheng for almost half a year. He's also quite idle, coming to Michen every day to keep an eye on me."

Bo Fan said, "Fanyan is looking for investment from Shixi Finance now. Could you help us set up a meeting?"

Gu Hanchen: "Huo Shiyan doesn't attend drinking parties. Don't even think about inviting him."

Downstairs at the Michen building, Chu Yan saw Bo Fan's car parked in the visitor area, her manicured fingers trembling slightly.

Chu Yan walked into Michen and heard the two receptionists chatting.

"President Bo is so handsome. No wonder his engagement to the Chu family's young lady made headlines a while ago. It's like a novel coming to life."

"It's such a pity for our Secretary Yuan. If she had been recognized as the real daughter of the Chu family earlier, maybe the one engaged to Bo Fan would have been Secretary Yuan!"

"I think Secretary Yuan and President Gu are a better match. Only Secretary Yuan can handle President Gu's temper."

"I think President Bo and Secretary Yuan are the perfect match. A real heiress with a real CEO. President Gu isn't a CEO; he's a madman!"

Listening to the gossip of the two receptionists, Chu Yan clenched her hands.

She saw two people coming down from the private elevator for the president: Bo Fan walking in front, and Yuan Xi following behind.

"President Bo, we will communicate with you regarding the further cooperation process for the 'Forest Pursuit' celebrity tournament once the marketing and public relations departments have finished the plan."

Bo Fan smiled faintly, "Good. I trust you to follow up, Secretary Yuan; you're more reliable than your President Gu."

Yuan Xi smiled faintly.

Watching their smiles, Chu Yan felt her eyes being deeply stung.

Chu Yan stepped forward and familiarly hugged Yuan Xi's arm, saying, "Sister, I happen to be going to Cuijing Pavilion to pick out a necklace for Mom to wear to your homecoming banquet. Could you come help me choose one? Let's make it a gift from both of us sisters to Mom."

Yuan Xi said, "It's still working hours."

Chu Yan said, "Just tell Brother Hanchen. It's not like Michen will stop turning without you."

Bo Fan said to Yuan Xi, "Yan'er is right. Yuan Xi, you should go. It just so happens that Cuijing Pavilion has received some high-end pieces that would be suitable for Aunt Yang."

Seeing Chu Yan clinging to her arm and knowing it was almost time to get off work, Yuan Xi agreed.

After all, it was a gift for Yang Ying, and she had no reason to refuse.

The car stopped outside a quaint, antique-style residence.

As Chu Yan got out of the car, she looked at Yuan Xi and said, "Even though you are the real daughter of the Chu family, there are some things you still shouldn't covet. Today, I will make you understand that you aren't qualified to enter the Bo family's door."

Yuan Xi frowned slightly. She really wanted to find a job for this young heiress so she wouldn't be so idle.

Yuan Xi saw a middle-aged noblewoman, well-maintained and wearing a qipao, come out.

"Auntie," Chu Yan called out sweetly.

Yuan Xi: "Mrs. Bo."

Mrs. Bo looked at Yuan Xi and said, "You must be the secretary by Hanchen's side, right?"

Chu Yan said generously, "Auntie, your memory is so good. She's not just the secretary by Hanchen's side now; she's also the real daughter the Chu family just found.

Originally, it should have been her engaged to Bo Fan. It's all my fault for taking everything from her, leaving her to grow up in the countryside and only being able to work as a secretary. Yuan Xi is right; I really should return the position of Bo Fan's wife to her..."

A young woman wearing a qipao came out from the house, her tone unkind: "Not just anyone can be a daughter-in-law of the Bo family, especially those secretaries who are always trying to climb the social ladder... they aren't qualified!"