Chapter 66: Decentralization of Power

He picked up his phone and quickly dialed Mo Xiaoxue's number.

"Xiaoxue, once you're done with things over there, bring some seafood porridge over."

Duan Yubai glanced down at Su Nuo again, who kept her head lowered.

She seemed much more well-behaved now; even the crown of her head looked somewhat cute.

"And bring a strawberry mousse, just a small slice."

He still remembered that Su Nuo loved strawberry flavor, previously eating several slices of strawberry mousse every single week.

"All right, back to work. We'll eat in a moment. Don't eat too much at night, it upsets your stomach."

Duan Yubai waved his hand, and Su Nuo sat back down amidst the piles of documents.

He smiled and shook his head, guessing that she must be overjoyed on the inside right now.

In the past, whenever he bought her something she liked to eat, she would call him "brother" endlessly.

She wasn't calling him brother anymore, but this quiet demeanor of hers made Duan Yubai feel considerably warmed and at ease.

Wouldn't it be quite nice if she just stayed quietly by his side like this?

If she had been this obedient earlier, he wouldn't have needed to speak to her so harshly.

The two of them worked in the office in silence.

Duan Yubai would ask for a document, and Su Nuo would organize and hand it over.

With advance preparation, Su Nuo made no mistakes.

Until Duan Yubai noticed that Su Nuo was starting to look a little restless.

"What is it?"

Su Nuo looked at him with embarrassment. "I... I need to go to the restroom."

Duan Yubai gritted his teeth as he looked at her. "Su Nuo, did I say you aren't allowed to go to the restroom?"

He really had a terrible headache.

He wanted her to be obedient, but did she have to be *this* obedient?

Did she take him for some heinous villain or some grotesque monster who imprisoned young girls?

Yet, seeing Su Nuo's tear-rimmed eyes, he still waved his hand.

"Go ahead."

Su Nuo hurriedly stood up and trotted toward the restroom.

Seeing her run off so quickly and recalling the sight of her vomiting earlier, Duan Yubai stood up, poured a cup of warm water, and hurried out after her.

"President Duan, where are you going?"

Just as Mo Xiaoxue stepped out of the elevator, she saw Duan Yubai rushing out with a water glass in hand.

"Su Nuo might throw up!"

Leaving behind only those words, Duan Yubai continued jogging toward the direction of the washrooms.

Mo Xiaoxue stood frozen in place for three seconds, and then a cold sneer escaped her lips.

Su Nuo was going to throw up?

Since when did Duan Yubai care about her so much?

In the past, whenever Su Nuo pulled little stunts like this, didn't he always scoff at them with disdain?

Having not seen each other for just a few months, had he really changed?

Mo Xiaoxue gripped the takeout bag tightly.

That explained why Duan Yubai, who supposedly disliked sweets, had insisted on buying a strawberry mousse.

It turned out it was bought for Su Nuo!

And here she had gone out of her way to make a special reservation at a five-star restaurant, only to find out it was all for that Su Nuo!

Mo Xiaoxue turned around and strode back toward the office.

Seeing the utter mess scattered across the floor, a cruel smirk curved her lips.

This was simply wonderful.

When Su Nuo emerged from the washroom, she found Duan Yubai standing at the doorway holding a water cup.

"President Duan?"

She looked at the cup in Duan Yubai's hand with some apprehension.

Was he here to fetch water from the washroom? What for?

Seeing that she hadn't vomited, Duan Yubai finally let out a sigh of relief.

However, noticing her gaze fixed on the cup in his hand, he felt a sudden awkwardness.

"To water the plants."

He casually poured the warm water from the cup into a potted plant nearby.

Without a clue, Su Nuo watched him turn and leave, then quickly hurried to follow.

Upon returning to the office, Su Nuo's eyes widened in horror.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to bring some late-night snacks over, and I honestly didn't expect..."

Mo Xiaoxue spoke words of apology, but her tone carried not a single ounce of remorse.

"I truly didn't know there were documents all over the floor, and there are so many receipts here too. What are we going to do now?"

She acted as though she were frantic with worry, yet her eyes remained fixed squarely on Su Nuo.

The sight of Duan Yubai rushing out earlier had planted a thorn deep inside Mo Xiaoxue's heart.

Duan Yubai's hurried steps, the fact that he didn't even spare her another word—all because he was afraid Su Nuo might vomit?

If she didn't pull this little thorn out, Mo Xiaoxue felt she would keep hurting indefinitely.

Su Nuo was that irritating little thorn in her heart.

It wasn't intensely painful, but it would pop out and prick her from time to time, driving her crazy with annoyance.

So she had simply dumped the purchased porridge all over the floor just to see how Su Nuo was going to clean up this mess.

Without a second thought, Su Nuo dropped to her knees and began frantically cleaning up.

She still remembered what Li Jingze had said: these were documents from various departments in the company.

If something went wrong, she could never bear the responsibility.

Yet in her rush, several documents stuck together, and she accidentally tore one of them.

Mo Xiaoxue let out a gasp of dismay.

"The company's annual financial report! Su Nuo, you are far too careless. We're about to sign the contract with Wenxin Technology—did you do this on purpose?"

Leaning against the doorway, she cast a cold, mocking gaze at Su Nuo.

"Organizing documents across all departments is such troublesome work, Miss Su. How can you still be so dismissive of everyone else's hard work?"

Just as Duan Yubai was about to speak, Su Nuo already clutched the documents and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I'll sort them out right away."

She could hear that Mo Xiaoxue was angry—furious, even.

Yet she couldn't understand why.

She had already been trying her hardest to work; why did they still have to torture her?

Su Nuo fought hard to hold back her tears, terrified that they would drop onto the documents.

As her gaze shifted, she noticed Mo Xiaoxue's high heel treading directly upon a vital document.

She wanted to reach out and retrieve it, but she didn't dare.

Seemingly noticing her gaze, Mo Xiaoxue ground her heel down even harder.

"Miss Su, could it be that you heard President Wen specifically requested you to be in charge of this project, and therefore you're deliberately making things difficult for us?"

"President Wen wouldn't even give Duan Yubai the time of day, yet he's willing to cooperate exclusively with you. Miss Su, you certainly have your ways."

Thinking of today's failed contract signing, Duan Yubai's expression turned glacial as well.

"Su Nuo, you've known President Wen for a long time, so why didn't you say anything today?"

The Wenxin Technology project was one they simply had to secure.

The company's transition and expansion both relied heavily on Wenxin Technology.

Yet today, Wen Zheng had deliberately dealt him a humiliating blow right from the start, leaving him with no choice but to suspect that someone had been sabotaging things behind the scenes.

Su Nuo shuddered, then shook her head frantically.

She had never remembered any "President Wen"; ever since she arrived at the Duan household, many of her prior memories seemed completely erased.

Mo Xiaoxue clicked her tongue twice. "Miss Su, you are a member of the Duan family now. If you have a way to help the company, you should share it."

"Or perhaps, are you plotting to carve up the Duan family's assets? An adopted daughter is still entitled to a share of the assets, isn't she?"

Prompted by these words, Duan Yubai recalled what Wen Zheng had said earlier.

The assets left to Su Nuo by the Su family?

Were they truly assets left to Su Nuo, or were they part of the Duan family's property?

"Su Nuo, what else are you hiding? Speak."

His voice carried a chilling indifference, coupled with a simmering rage.

The Duan family had never treated Su Nuo poorly over the years; she was always provided with the finest food and clothing.

Even when Su Nuo wanted to travel abroad or buy a sports car, Mr. and Mrs. Duan would hand over the money without a second thought.

What more could she possibly be dissatisfied with?

He stepped forward and forcefully yanked Su Nuo's wrist. "Su Nuo, what on earth are you keeping from me?"

"By staging this accidental disappearance this time, were you trying to come back to the company just to seize power?"