I excitedly ran upstairs with the gift, eagerly tearing open the packaging. It was the latest iPhone! I'd wanted it for so long! I was about to go downstairs to thank them when I noticed that Xia Ling and Aunt Shang Yan had already moved to the back garden.
In the garden sat an exquisite white wrought-iron round table, where two elegant mature women sat facing each other. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting a hazy, beautiful glow on them. I went around to the second-floor garden balcony and quietly hid in the shade, observing this rare scene.
Xia Ling, with the air of a CEO, leaned back elegantly in her chair. Her long, slender legs, encased in flesh-colored stockings, were crossed, her right leg lightly resting on her left. Her shapely feet, peeking out from under her trousers, swayed casually, exuding grace and nobility with every movement. Aunt Shang Yan, as her subordinate, sat upright opposite her, her legs, encased in black stockings, together and slightly turned to the side, maintaining a perfectly measured posture that showed respect for her superior while maintaining her elegant demeanor.
"Your former assistant, Xiaolin...it's truly a pity." Mom stirred her black tea gently with a silver teaspoon, a hint of regret in her voice. "Being poached by the Hera Group is a loss for us."
"Yes, Sister Ling." Aunt Shang Yan bowed slightly, her posture respectful but not subservient. "Last time at the company, you mentioned having a suitable candidate?"
Upon hearing Aunt Shang Yan's words, a subtle shift appeared in Mom's expression.
"Yes, I do have someone in mind." Mom elegantly picked up her teacup, her shapely legs in stockings swaying slightly beneath her trousers. She took a sip of black tea with feigned composure before slowly speaking, "I think Wang Xiong...we could consider him."
As soon as she finished speaking, Aunt Shang Yan's previously dignified posture noticeably stiffened, her legs, encased in black stockings, involuntarily straightening.
"Sister Ling, what did you say?" Shang Yan put down her teacup, leaning forward slightly to maintain the proper etiquette of a subordinate. "Wang Xiong? That sleazy high school student who likes to look at women's stockings and high heels?"
Xia Ling had anticipated this reaction.
Her face maintained the cool indifference typical of a CEO, but her slender fingers unconsciously tightened around the rim of the teacup. Thinking about her experiences with Wang Xiong these past few days, those unspeakable secrets, and more importantly, those subtle psychological changes that made her feel ashamed…
"How… has he been behaving these past few days?" Xia Ling asked deliberately in a businesslike tone, while elegantly shifting her right leg over her left, a glimpse of flesh-colored stockings peeking out from under her trousers in the sunlight.
"What else could he be..." Shang Yan smiled dismissively, her legs slightly apart, black high heels lightly tapping the ground. "He's good at moving boxes, but that's all he can do. You don't know the look in his eyes when he looked at me last night at dinner..." She paused, looking at Xia Ling meaningfully, "...someone like that who doesn't know anything, is he really suitable to be my assistant?"
Xia Ling remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, a ripple of emotion stirred.
She shifted her posture, her trousers rustling softly. "Although he's young, he's very smart, learns quickly, and..." She paused, "yesterday backstage at the press conference, as you know, he did a great job, many company executives witnessed it."
"Did a great job? I suspect he staged it himself..." Shang Yan suddenly lowered her voice, her black-stockinged legs leaning slightly forward, "Sister Ling, does Wang Xiong know something he shouldn't know?"
Shang Yan's words were tactful, but the meaning was clear.
After all, she was a seasoned businesswoman who had fought her way up in the business world; she could easily sense whether he had any leverage over her.
Shang Yan's words struck Xia Ling like a hammer blow, hitting the most vulnerable part of her heart. But as a seasoned and sophisticated female CEO, her expression remained perfectly composed, though her beautiful feet, encased in flesh-colored stockings, involuntarily twitched slightly in her high heels.
"You're overthinking it," Xia Ling said, picking up her teacup, using the act of drinking to mask her inner turmoil. "I just think he has potential, that's all."
Shang Yan's gaze lingered on Xia Ling's face for a long time.
As a subordinate and friend of many years, she seemed to have sensed something.
"Sister Ling," Shang Yan said softly, her voice filled with obvious worry, "Over the years, we've worked together, from the hardships of the early days of our business to its current scale. We've walked every step of the way side by side. If there are any difficulties…"
"Shang Yan," Xia Ling suddenly interrupted, "Do you remember the crisis five years ago?"
"The conflict with the Hera Group, of course I remember." Shang Yan nodded, her legs, encased in black stockings, elegantly crossed. "If it weren't for your decisive action, we might have already…"
"So," Xia Ling stood up, walked to the garden railing, her back to Shang Yan, her high heels in flesh-colored stockings clicking crisply on the stone slabs, "this decision was also made after careful consideration."
Shang Yan also rose gracefully, her slender figure outlining alluring curves in the sunlight, and walked over to stand beside Xia Ling.
The afternoon sun cast long shadows of the two beautiful women in the garden.
One was dignified and elegant, the other capable and intellectual, like two graceful poplars swaying gently in the breeze.
Over a decade of weathering storms together had long transcended their superior-subordinate relationship.
"Sister Ling, I know your decisions are always accurate," Shang Yan's voice trembled slightly, "but that Wang Xiong, I always felt he had ill intentions." She paused, "You don't know the way he looked at me, it was like…"
"He wouldn't dare," Xia Ling's voice suddenly turned icy, "If he dared to disrespect you, I would be the first to not let him off."
Shang Yan turned to look at Xia Ling, their eyes meeting.
In the sunlight, I saw a complex look flash in Shang Yan's eyes: "Sister Ling, you've changed. The old you would never have spoken like this."
Xia Ling turned her face away, her body visibly stiffening for a moment, but quickly regained her composure: "Tomorrow is Monday, I will personally attend your department's weekly meeting and announce this appointment in front of everyone." Her voice regained its usual authority.