CHAPTER 1

The New Owner

The winter morning in Beijing was cold and gray.

A thin layer of frost covered the glass walls of Aroma Essence Perfume Company, reflecting the busy city streets outside. Employees hurried inside the building, their breath forming small clouds in the freezing air.

Inside the office, however, the atmosphere was even more tense.

Everyone was whispering.

“Did you hear? The company has really been sold.”

“I heard the buyer is a huge corporation.”

“Someone said the new owner is extremely strict…”

The voices spread across the office floor like quiet waves.

At the far end of the department, sitting behind a clean desk near the large window, Shi Yan remained calm.

Unlike the others, he wasn’t gossiping.

His sharp eyes were focused on a small glass perfume vial in his hand.

He gently opened the cap and waved his hand above the bottle, letting the scent reach his nose.

A faint fragrance of jasmine mixed with sandalwood filled the air.

Shi Yan closed his eyes for a moment.

“…Jasmine top note… sandalwood base… but the citrus middle note is too strong.”

He murmured softly, writing something on a paper beside him.

For two years he had worked here at Aroma Essence. In that time, everyone in the company had come to know one thing very clearly—

Shi Yan had a terrifyingly accurate sense of smell.

He could identify almost any perfume after smelling it once.

Because of that talent, he had quickly become the personal secretary of the CEO, the old founder of the company.

“Shi Yan!”

A colleague suddenly rushed toward his desk.

“You’re still working? Didn’t you hear the announcement?”

Shi Yan looked up calmly.

“What announcement?”

“The company has been sold!” the colleague whispered dramatically. “President Shen just finished the meeting upstairs.”

Shi Yan blinked slightly.

Sold?

Before he could ask more, the office speakers suddenly turned on.

A familiar old voice echoed throughout the floor.

“Attention everyone, please gather in the main conference hall.”

It was President Shen.

Within minutes, employees from every department gathered in the large conference room.

At the front of the room stood the elderly CEO, Shen Ming.

Time had bent his back and whitened his hair, but his voice was still steady.

“I’m sure many of you have already heard the rumors,” Shen Ming began slowly.

The room immediately fell silent.

“Our company has faced financial difficulties for the past year. After careful discussion, I have decided to sell Aroma Essence.”

A wave of shock moved through the employees.

“But don’t worry,” Shen Ming continued.

“The new owner has promised that all current employees will remain. In fact, he plans to invest in new products and expand the company.”

People started whispering again.

“Who is the new owner?”

“I heard he’s from a powerful business family.”

“Someone told me he’s extremely cold…”

“Yes! My cousin works in another company he bought before. He said the CEO fired three managers in one day!”

Shi Yan stood quietly in the back row, listening without much reaction.

A new owner.

A new CEO.

For him, it didn’t matter much.

As long as he could continue working with perfumes, everything else was irrelevant.

Shen Ming raised his hand for silence again.

“The new CEO will arrive tomorrow morning,” he announced.

“Please prepare yourselves.”

The next day.

The entire company seemed restless.

Employees kept glancing at the entrance doors and the large glass windows overlooking the street.

Even the usually calm departments were buzzing with nervous excitement.

“What kind of person do you think he is?”

“Maybe an old businessman?”

“No, I heard he’s actually very young.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but also extremely ruthless.”

Shi Yan sat at his desk, organizing documents for the new CEO’s arrival.

Compared to the others, he looked completely indifferent.

A boss was just a boss.

Nothing more.

Then suddenly—

A black luxury car slowly stopped outside the company building.

Someone near the window gasped.

“He’s here!”

Instantly everyone rushed toward the windows.

Even some managers stepped out of their offices.

The car door opened.

A tall man stepped out.

He wore a perfectly tailored black suit. His posture was straight, his movements calm and confident.

His face was handsome to the point of being intimidating.

Sharp eyebrows.

Cold dark eyes.

A powerful aura surrounded him like invisible pressure.

The noisy office instantly became silent.

“…Wow.”

Someone whispered.

“So handsome…”

“But he looks terrifying…”

The man walked toward the building entrance without looking at anyone.

His expression remained completely indifferent.

Inside the office, Shi Yan finally lifted his head slightly, curious about the commotion.

He turned his eyes toward the entrance.

And then—

The moment he saw the man walking through the glass doors…

Shi Yan froze.

His pupils suddenly shrank.

The documents in his hand slipped slightly.

His heartbeat stopped for a moment.

That face.

That cold expression.

Even after so many years—

He would never forget it.

The new CEO of the company…

The man everyone was nervously waiting for…

Was none other than

Lu Se Cheng.

The same person who had once made his high school life a nightmare.

Shi Yan’s fingers slowly tightened around the papers.

A cold chill ran down his spine.

After all these years…

Why was he here?

And more importantly—

Why had fate brought his old bully back into his life again… as his boss?

LU SE CHENG

SHI YAN

© Original work by [Aera Moon ] 💖

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