Chapter 338 - How would that reflect on your reputation?

...

At the underground carpark of the hotel where the restaurant was located next to...

A figure dressed in black and wearing a mask met with Fan Xiyue next to her car. He had a small backpack hung over one shoulder. 

"Ms. Fan, did you get it?" the man asked respectfully when he saw Fan Xiyue walking toward him in a hurry. 

"Here," Fan Xiyue showed him her hand where she scratched Xiao Lei earlier. She then turned her hand, palm upward, and said, "I accidentally scratched her too hard. So there should be something good you can use there to get her DNA." 

The man nodded, and he took a small packet out from his bag.

"This is a DNA test kit," the man said as he put on a pair of disposable gloves. He then took out a cotton swab and carefully dug out the content on the underside of Fan Xiyue's index finger before putting the cotton swab into a small container. He then placed it into a small bag.

Once he was done, he repeated it with the rest of the fingers.

"There, done."

"How long do you need?" Fan Xiyue asked as she retrieved her hand. She then unlocked her car. 

"Two days, tops." 

"Good." Fan Xiyue nodded as she sat down on the passenger's seat and looked at the glove compartment. Once she found what she wanted, she looked up at the man, and with her eyes narrowed, she warned in a low voice, "Make sure you keep this confidential." 

"Yes, Ms. Fan. You have my word," the man said. 

"You may leave now..." Fan Xiyue waved a hand nonchalantly as she got out of the car. The man bowed politely before jogging off. Once he left, Fan Xiyue locked the car door and went back to the Korean restaurant with the first-aid kit. 

When she sat down, she said, "I'm sorry it took a while. I couldn't find the kit earlier." 

She then asked the waiter to bring a bottle of mineral water and a bowl over. 

"It's fine, Ms. Fan. It's just a scratch," Xiao Lei said when Fan Xiyue took her scratched hand and rinsed the light wound clean. 

"No," Fan Xiyue smiled and said, "You're an actress now. Every part of you is precious, including your hand. We have to be careful with it." 

She then helped Xiao Lei to apply some antiseptic before putting a bandaid over it. 

"Well, I don't think this would scar, but thank you," Xiao Lei said with a smile that did not reach her eyes.

DING!

Xiao Lei received a notification and looked at her phone. She then looked at President Wei with a wry smile as she said, "It's getting quite late, President Wei. Thanks for such a great meal, but I think I should head back soon." 

"Oh," President Wei looked at his watch and nodded. He had such a good time talking to Xiao Lei about the progress of the movie earlier that he had never forgotten about the time. "Let me get the bill, and I will send you back."

"It's alright. You should return back to Madam President Wei before she starts to worry. I can just call for a cab myself," Xiao Lei said graciously as she stood up. 

"It's alright, I can send Ms. Xiao back," Fan Xiyue said with a smile as she also stood up. "After all, I still feel bad for what I did." 

"It's alright, I can take her back myself," a man's voice suddenly appeared from somewhere nearby. 

Xiao Lei looked away from Fan Xiyue's face and looked behind her, while Fan Xiyue and President Wu turned around to see who was that. 

"Mr. Han," President Wei said with a grin. "Why am I not surprised?"

Han Ye smiled and greeted them, "President Wei. Ms. Fan."

"Mr. Han," Fan Xiyue said with a nod.

"I didn't expect that Ms. Fan would be here tonight. If I had known, I would have come and joined as well," Han Ye said before shooting a glare at President Wei. He found out about Fan Xiyue earlier because Assistant Yoon texted him immediately after the woman arrived. The moment he dropped Xiao Zhihao at their apartment building, he immediately drove over. 

"Erm... Surprise?" President Wei smiled innocently. He then patted Han Ye's back and said, "It's just a little networking. Ms. Xiao has to learn to network a bit, for her future in this industry."

Han Ye smiled and leaned forward slightly. Placing a hand on President Wei's shoulder, he whispered to the man's ear while smiling politely, "Keep this kind of stuff up, and she won't be finishing THIS movie." 

President Wei was displeased at being threatened. After all, he was older and ranked higher than Han Ye. So he whispered back, "Her contract has a huge termination clause. Do you want to bear that?" 

"Do you think I can't afford to?" Han Ye said in a cold voice as he patted President Wei's back. 

President Wei went silent for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter. He knew that Han Ye was unable to break the contract himself, but even so, the thigh Han Ye was holding was too thick and was known to protect his employees well, especially this employee who had been with him through the last 12 years. 

President Wei chose his battle and said with a shook of his head, "You, Mr. Han! You're absolutely like President Du nowadays... Are you sure you don't want to consider working for me? I can double whatever he's giving you."

Han Ye smiled. "I'm doing great where I am now." 

He was secretly glad that President Wei took his bluff, because there was no way he could afford paying for the breach of contract without selling everything that he owned. 

He then looked at Fan Xiyue and said, "Ms. Fan, if you ever need to meet with Xiao Lei again, you can always make an appointment with her. You don't have to go through President Wei. I'm sure Xiao Lei will be kind enough to take some time off to meet you."

Fan Xiyue nodded. "I'm just curious about her, that's all. I didn't realize that I need to make a special appointment to see her, Mr. Han."

Han Ye said politely, "As you know, I'm very protective of my employees... Especially my secretary, since we work together all the time. And when someone tried to arrange a meeting with her through another party, I couldn't help but worry about her... I also don't take too kindly if someone tried to do something stupid and hurt her..." 

"Now, what's that supposed to mean, Mr. Han? Are you trying to say that I hurt Ms. Xiao? That was an accident."

"I think we both know what's an accident or not," Han Ye replied coldly. 

"Mr. Han, that was an accident," President Wei said as he tried to calm them down. He did not understand what was wrong with them, and why were they fighting.

"Han... Mr. Han." Xiao Lei frowned slightly and shook her head, hoping that he would stop all this.

"What if someone takes it wrongly and thinks that you are having a relationship with Ms. Xiao?" Fan Xiyue asked with a smirk. "How would take reflect on your reputation? Or hers?"

"So what if I am?" Han Ye asked in a proud tone as he kept his eyes on Xiao Lei. When everyone's eyes were wide open at his blatant admittance, he turned his eyes to Fan Xiyue and added, "She's a widow, so am I. We are both extremely attractive yet unattached people, and now that she's a full-time actress and ONLY part-time assistant, what's wrong with it if we were to decide to be together?"

It took Fan Xiyue a moment to compose herself before saying, "Well, of course there's nothing wrong, but--"

Han Ye interrupted her, "Now, if there's nothing wrong with it, then please excuse us. Ms. Xiao still has some work to do tomorrow morning, and I prefer that my secretary does not come to work late because she was held up at a dinner somewhere the night before. And Ms. Fan, whatever you're planning, I'd suggest you to drop it." 

He then nodded at President Wei, who was shocked to see Han Ye admitting to their relationsh.i.p.s that outrightly. Granted, he "knew" that the babies in Xiao Lei's stomach were Han Ye's, but didn't that man wanted to keep it a secret? 

President Wei and Fan Xiyue watched as Han Ye took the still-dazed Xiao Lei's hand and led her out of the restaurant.