The CEO's Wife Has A Secret

"I didn't expect that you'd come to see me, Xiao Chen. Have a seat." he managed to push the meeting for one more hour because he didn't want to rush Xi Chen.

Lim Yi Sheng immediately brewed a tea for Xi Chen. After doing so, he brought it to him before finally seating down in front of him so that they can talk easily. "What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

Xi Chen suddenly felt terrible for taking up his time, he knows he was not taught to trouble others but this matter is more important to him than the things he needs to do. "I'm sorry for the trouble brother-in-law."

"You can just call me Sheng Ge and don't worry about it." he can clearly tell that there is really something bothering the young man in front of him but he didn't want to rush him. The fact that he went here on his own accord means so much to him already.

Xi Chen sighed before finally started to speak, "Is my sister planning to retire early? Or does she have a serious illness that she needs to stop working?"

Lim Yi Sheng's brows furrowed at the questions, not that he has nay knowledge of but still answered him truthfully to what he knows, "I don't think your sister is planning to retire early, she works as if her life depends on it and I don't see any sign of stopping from her. As for if she has a serious illness, she seems perfectly fine to me in fact I just saw her recent medical report and there is nothing wrong with it."

The young man looked like he wasn't totally convinced at all but still nodded so Lim Yi Sheng asked him, "There must be a reason for you to think like that, what happened recently?"

His face became ashen and worry is very evident in it, "These past few weeks there are times she would say something about dying or something of the sort though she mostly say it as a joke there are still times that she would say it as if it's just a matter of time. I know for a fact that people die, but the way she's casually saying doesn't sit right with me. It feels like she knows exactly when it would be her time and it's quite bothering me."

It is indeed bothering, if it's Xi Ana they are talking about her words could mean so many things.

He paused momentarily and took a deep breathe,"Furthermore, just a while back, my sister told me I should start attending all the meeting that requires her appearance. She wanted to train me properly as the successor as if I would soon take over the empire. If feels like she really know that I would soon take over and that she needs to prepare me as soon as possible."

There's a logic behind his worry, if Xi Ana will bring him to every meetings that she will attend, it would be like indirectly telling the people that her brother will be the next in line her and they should respect him the way they do with her. This way, she can still keep her words that Xi Chen will gather his own contacts but at the same time, she's paving the way for him to know who he can and cannot trust.

"She must have told you not to think too much about it, right? Then do so. You must believe in her." this is the best thing to say to him right now but he knows that there's a reason to Xi Ana's action. He can't possibly act rush towards this issue.

"I know that she will only do what's best for me but I just can't shake the feeling that she might disappear any time soon. This is the same feeling I had when she left when I was nine years old, it was too scary and I don't want to ever experience that again."

This is his first time hearing the story from Xi Chen, the only thing that Grandfather Xi told him was that she studied outside the country.

"What do you mean? Didn't she go to abroad to study?" he was quite confused right now.

"She did study abroad but it doesn't mean that she was actually sent there." he's starting to open a story that has long been buried at the back of his mind. He's casually sharing this to him not because he's completely comfortable around him, it's just that it was actually never a secret to anyone.

"So she went there on her own?" once again, he's seeing a side of Xi Ana that he never knew existed.

"Basically, yes. I can still remember when she suddenly disappeared, there were no traces. The whole family was in chaos, they thought she was kidnapped. They tried everything to find her but they failed. She was gone for about two weeks and no one knew where she went until one day, Grandfather received a phone call from my sister."

"The only thing she said was that she's fine and she doesn't want to have bodyguards or servants. At first she also refused to have money but because of Grandfather's nagging they settled with him paying the school tuition fee. He would occasionally sent money but Grandfather said she never used it."

As he listened, more and more questions were forming inside his head.

"When they traced her call, they found out she was overseas and she only used a payphone to call them. They didn't know how she was able to leave the country without a companion knowing that she was only a teenager back then."

Lim Yi Sheng suddenly remembered his conversation with Xi Ana where she mentioned having a nanny while overseas,, "She said she had a nanny and she became her guardian. Do you have any idea who is it?"

"I also heard that but we never knew who it was, we didn't even know what name she used to conceal her identity. Grandfather tried so hard to investigate but my sister learned of it and she got really mad, so we have no choice but to stop. She's quite scary even before."

There's too much inconsistencies and he knew that only Xi Ana can answer all their questions.

"Didn't she ever came back?" he asked.

"She would come back for how many days and she would also occasionally and bring me to different places." he once again remembered the pictures that was sent to him.

"Does your sister have someone with her whenever she brings you to different places?"

Xi Chen thought for a while and remembered something, "Yeah, Lu Ge, but I never had a vivid image of his face on my mind. Though he was always with us, he never really came too close to me. He's just always beside my sister."

Just who is he really? And what really happened with Xi Ana during that span of eight years?

"I'm just too scared. What if she really disappeared again?" it's gonna be too much to bear.

"I would do everything to prevent that from happening." he will never let her disappear again.

"Uhm.. Sheng Ge.. please don't tell my sister about what we talked about. I know she would eventually learn that I came here but please keep these matters between us." he knows her sister very well and he knows that she would eventually learn about his visit at Lim Corporation. But, he can't help it, he's too worried to even think about what her reactions might be.

"I understand, just do what she told you and if I caught on something that hints your suspicions I would immediately tell you, alright?" at the thought that someone else is also looking out for his sister made him feel a little bit at ease.

"Alright."

- - -

The more time passed, the more he knew of the real Xi Ana and now he's certain of something, his wife is keeping a secret that no one else knew. Xi Chen already left the office a long time ago, he also just finished the meeting but all throughout the meeting he can't help but think about Xi Ana.

There are thousands of questions forming in his head. Why did she disappear? What happened in that span of eight years? Who is this man she was with? How did she manage to go in and out of the country when she was underage? What did she do in order to survive without money and identity?

"Just, who are you Xi Ana?" suspecting the people around him has always been his nature. In order to survive, you must know who's your enemy and who is not but he never expected he would be suspicious of his own wife!

He knows that he deeply cares about her, not that this will change just because of his suspicions but in order for him to fully understand Xi Ana, he needs to know everything there is to know. He can only properly protect her if he understands her perfectly.

Using the office telephone, he called Feng Jinnian to come inside the office. After just a few seconds the person came in.

"Feng Jinnian, I want you to investigate about the time when Xi Ana left the country at the age of 14 until before she entered Xi Corporation. Know everything there is to know, even the tiniest information you can get but do this as discreetly as possible."

It was kind of weird that his boss would ask him to investigate his own wife now, if this was before they got married then he would understand.

"I will, CEO Lim. Is there anything else?"

"Take a look at this." Lim Yi Sheng handed a doc.u.ment to him, which he immediately opened to scan.

He was a bit shocked when he saw that those were pictures of Xi Ana together with a man he doesn't have any idea who. He also noticed that, the Madame is younger in these pictures.

"The time of the pictures coincide with the time that she studied abroad, it could only mean that that man was with her all along. As you can observe, you cannot really recognize the man in the picture so if possible I want you to know who he is."

Is his boss jealous of this man that's why he wanted to know of his identity? "CEO Lim, this might be considered as steeping out of the line, but can I ask you a question?"

For him to be able to do his best, he needs to understand the purpose as to why he would want to know the identity of this man. It's possible that this is not only about jealousy because if it is, knowing the Madame she would immediately answer without hesitation, he only needs to ask.

"What is it?"

"Does this man still has a connection with the Madame?" when he saw that the expression of his boss darkened, his question was already answered.

"Yeah." the look on his face is scarier than all the expressions of him that he already saw. This one looks like he was about to kill yet at the same time there is a tinge of pain behind those eyes.

"Do you think I'm overstepping my boundaries?" he wasn't sure if he's the right person to answer that but he still answered anyway.

"I don't think that's the case CEO Lim. You are, after all, her husband and you have the right to know but on the other hand, it still depends on your current relationship with the Madame." he knows that their relationship didn't start romantically as how it should be normally. If, by any chance, the Madame didn't want him to know about this then investigating this might cause a problem for the both of them.