Chapter 24: He's Just a Big Fool

"Enough!"
Lu Ye kept a stern face as he lectured, "Don’t think you can just get away with the bare minimum. I’ll be checking in a bit. If you don’t clean properly, I’ll dock your pay!"
"And another thing—stop trying to show off your charms in front of me. Who are you fluttering your eyelashes at?"
"My wife is a hundred, no, a thousand times more beautiful than you, you know?"
Liu Yiyi was on the verge of breaking down, tears welling up in her beautiful eyes as she pleaded pitifully, "I’m sorry, Director Lu, I know I was wrong!"
"Alright, get back to work!"
Seeing Liu Yiyi indeed grab the toilet brush and head into the restroom, Lu Ye was finally satisfied, swaggering away with a cocky stride.

The male employees who had been watching from the side couldn’t help but curse under their breath.
"Lu Ye really is a beast!"
"Damn, if I had such a gorgeous assistant, I’d be protecting her every minute of the day, and this bastard actually sends her to scrub toilets!"
"Scoundrel, scoundrel, scoundrel!"
…
Back in his office, Lu Ye couldn’t help but chuckle. Liu Yiyi was truly naïve.

An hour later, his office door was suddenly kicked open!
Su Qianqian had finally caught wind and stormed in to demand answers. "You little rascal, you’ve got some nerve! I just heard you secretly hired a beautiful assistant behind my back?"
Without giving him a chance to explain, Su Qianqian started rummaging through the office, confused, "Where is she? Where are you hiding her?"
Just then, Liu Yiyi returned, exhausted, still wearing her apron and gloves, a strange odor clinging to her.
Tears glimmering in her eyes, she bit her lip and reported, "Director Lu, I’ve cleaned all the company’s toilets."
Su Qianqian stared, dumbfounded for a moment. "Lu Ye, this is your new assistant? Why are you treating her so harshly?"
"You’ve gone too far!"
Lu Ye rolled his eyes helplessly, not sure who was the one who’d just barged in, ready to catch him in the act.
Hearing this, Liu Yiyi’s eyes spun with tears as she put on an act so pitiful that even Su Qianqian felt sorry for her…
"Sis, don’t cry. I’ll help you teach him a lesson, okay?"
"President Su, there’s no need. I’m sure Director Lu has his reasons. I know he means well."
"The only reason he has is to bully you!"
Lu Ye truly couldn’t understand how women’s minds worked. His wife was suddenly siding with the ‘enemy’ for no reason at all?
And she was the chairwoman of a corporation!
All it took was someone acting pitiful, and her sympathy was overflowing?

But things got even more ridiculous.
Within five minutes, Su Qianqian actively invited Liu Yiyi to call her ‘sister’.
Lu Ye was so furious he nearly exploded!
Su Qianqian grabbed Liu Yiyi’s hand, then turned to Lu Ye and accused, "You jerk! To keep you from bullying Yiyi again, I’m transferring her to be my assistant!"
Lu Ye shrugged indifferently, "I’ve got no objections. Just ask if she’s willing."
As if she’d refuse!
Su Qianqian smiled confidently, "Yiyi, would you like to be my assistant?"
But Liu Yiyi shook her head. "I’d better not. I’m worried people will say I got the job through connections, and it would reflect badly on both of us. I’ll keep working for Director Lu."
Su Qianqian was incredulous, "He treats you like this and you still want to work for him?"
"Director Lu is just testing me on my first day. I understand."
Su Qianqian shot Lu Ye a strange look, then said sourly, "Fine, if you don’t want to, so be it. But if he ever bullies you again, come straight to me—let’s see how I deal with him!"
Liu Yiyi replied playfully, "Director Lu wouldn’t bully me!"
Now even Su Qianqian began to wonder if this ‘Yiyi’ was a few screws short.
Before leaving, she shot Lu Ye a warning look: If you dare step out of line, you’ll regret it when we get home!
Once Su Qianqian returned to her office, Lu Ye strolled carelessly to the door, closed and locked it, then turned to Liu Yiyi with a mischievous glint in his eye…
Liu Yiyi recoiled like a frightened rabbit, flustered. "Director Lu, what are you doing?"
Lu Ye teasingly pinched her chin, grinning wickedly. "I’ve locked the door. Now it’s just the two of us alone in this office. Take a guess—what do you think I want to do?"
Liu Yiyi’s cheeks flushed red, and she clutched her collar, whispering, "Are you going to take advantage of me?"
Lu Ye’s expression changed instantly, and he snapped, "Me? Take advantage of you? You wish!"
Smack!
He suddenly pulled a board game from under the desk and slammed it down, "Play Ludo with me!"
"Seriously?"
Liu Yiyi immediately concluded inwardly that she had completely misjudged this man!
No wonder he could thwart the Hongying Society’s plans again and again—he was an unpredictable troublemaker!
As for recruiting him into Hongying Society?
She should never have entertained the idea!
When lunchtime finally arrived, Liu Yiyi fled Yiren Group and never returned—unaware that she was now carrying a miniature listening device…
"President, I went to Yiren Group myself this morning. I’m certain Lu Ye isn’t an agent sent against us, nor is he the kind of talent we should recruit. He’s just a fool who doesn’t play by the rules."

"Good. The day after tomorrow is Lu Ye and Su Qianqian’s wedding. Su Shiming will definitely attend, and Lin Zhongze, as Lu Ye’s sworn brother, should be there too. We’ll catch them off guard, take out Su Shiming and Lin Zhongze in one fell swoop, and the economic lifeline of Pearl City will fall into our hands."
"President, after this task is finished, will you keep your promise and release my parents?"
"If the mission is a success, I’ll consider it."
Back at Yiren Group, Lu Ye took off his headphones, pondering everything he’d just eavesdropped on.
The man Liu Yiyi called ‘President’ had a hoarse voice, and even their brief conversation was packed with information.
First, the Hongying Society still harbored doubts about Lu Ye’s story to Zhang Boquan. They suspected he might be an undercover agent sent to investigate them!
Liu Yiyi’s purpose today was to confirm Lu Ye’s identity herself. But Lu Ye’s performance convinced her he was just a harmless nobody.
So the society’s real plan was to assassinate Su Shiming and Lin Zhongze at the wedding, prop up two puppets, and—with the Zhang family—take control of Pearl City’s economic lifeline!
All of this was easy enough to understand, but what truly puzzled Lu Ye was Liu Yiyi’s last statement.
He pondered her words carefully and realized her parents must be held hostage by the President, forcing her to work for the Hongying Society.
But who exactly was Liu Yiyi, that she was worth such measures?
That, he couldn’t yet guess…
After work, Lu Ye dropped Su Qianqian home, then hurried straight to the yacht docks, where Beauty Meng had also rushed over after receiving his urgent message. They met on the "Pilgrim" yacht.
After hearing that the Hongying Society planned to make a move at his wedding, both Chen Xi and Beauty Meng frowned deeply.
Beauty Meng rumbled, "The situation is grave. I suggest all of us in the Walkers mobilize to capture every one of Hongying Society’s operatives at your wedding, Captain Lu!"
Chen Xi nodded in agreement. "Beauty is right. We need everyone on board!"
After Chen Xi’s affirmation, Beauty Meng grinned goofily, "So, how many of us are there in the Walkers now?"
Lu Ye suddenly smirked, "You, me, and her. Right now, we’re all there is!"
"Dammit!"
From the moment the engagement was set until now, Lu Ye had enjoyed two rare days of peace, but he knew this was just the calm before the storm.

The night of the wedding arrived.
At eight o’clock, the dazzling white wedding dress made Su Qianqian even more stunning, as she stood next to the impeccably dressed Lu Ye at the hotel entrance. As the guests arrived one after another, Lu Ye’s nerves were taut, his face calm but his mind alert to every person passing by.
Su Qianqian glanced forward, her brows arching lightly.
"Isn’t that Su Zijun? What is he doing here?"