Her once smooth, fair face was now covered in patches of red rash. Upon closer inspection, they were all tiny, glistening bumps.
Because her skin was so pale, she looked particularly pitiful and frightening.
She had been perfectly fine just a moment ago. What had happened?
Feeling their gazes, Pei Kexin quickly reached up to touch her face.
As she touched and scratched, she murmured, "What's wrong? My face feels a bit itchy. I scratched it a few times. Did something happen? Did I break out in bumps?"
"And my body feels a bit itchy too."
Saying this, she lifted her arm to look.
Her arm, like her face, was dotted with patches of red rash.
Seeing herself like this, Pei Kexin was also a little stunned.
Could she be having an allergic reaction?
She hadn't had an allergic reaction in years.
"Are you having an allergic reaction?"
The manager's first thought was this.
"Did you eat something wrong just now? What are you allergic to?"
What was she allergic to?
Pei Kexin thought back. When she was twelve, at a New Year's Eve dinner, she’d eaten too many pieces of yam out of greed, and ended up in the hospital.
That was her only history of allergies.
She couldn't help but think of the lunch Zhan Jingchen had helped buy.
"Did the dishes you bought at noon have yam in them? I'm allergic to yam."
Zhan Jingchen had no idea about any of this.
He didn't even know what yam was, let alone that she was allergic to it.
"You never told me, how would I know? If you're allergic, don't just stand there. Come on, I'll take you to the hospital!"
With that, he pulled out his chair, grabbed his car keys, and was about to leave.
Pei Kexin glanced at the time. The meeting was about to start.
"We've already notified everyone about the all-hands meeting this afternoon. How can I go to the hospital now? It's fine, it's just an allergy, I won't die. We can go after the meeting."
"After the meeting? He said it would take several hours. Look at your face, what's happened to it? Can you hold out until then?"
Pei Kexin grabbed her bag, found her cushion compact, and opened the mirror to examine her face.
It was red and blotchy, indeed a bit scary. No wonder it had been itching all along.
But even if it was scary, it had to be this way.
The schedule was already set. She couldn't possibly ditch the entire staff, could she?
"It's fine. I'll say something if I can't bear it."
With that, she picked up her cushion foundation and started touching up her face, trying to cover the red patches. But with such a large area, how could it be covered just like that?
Zhan Jingchen watched her futile attempts to conceal it, his brow furrowing in impatience.
"It's just a meeting. What's the difference between holding it today or tomorrow? Just say there's an emergency and reschedule. Come on, let's go to the hospital."
Pei Kexin remained seated.
"No, it's not about a day or two difference. It's a matter of principle."
"If we cancel on everyone right after the acquisition, what will our leadership team look like? It's fine, I'll just look a bit ugly. This is how it is."
Saying this, she stopped trying to cover it, closed the cushion compact, put it back in her bag, and held out her hand to the manager.
"Quick, let me examine you, you help me take a look."
The manager, being a straightforward guy, didn't know what else to say and simply complied with her request.
Zhan Jingchen looked at the dense red patches on her arm and gritted his teeth in anger.
"Then I'll go buy you some medicine. You hold on for now."
Pei Kexin looked up. "No, you can't leave either. You're the company's vice president, you have to give a speech too. I wrote a draft for you as well."
Zhan Jingchen was extremely agitated.
"What speech? It's all empty, flattering nonsense. Do you think I can say that? With the two of you here, it's enough. I don't care."
With that, he turned and left.
The manager knew his temper and didn't expect him to speak. His leaving was fine. She arranged things with Pei Kexin, and they went down to the first-floor lobby.
All the employees were lined up waiting. They, along with a few senior executives, went up to the stage.
Zhan Jingchen, unsure if she was truly having an allergic reaction, called a doctor he knew, consulted him thoroughly about the symptoms, and then went to the hospital to get the medicine.
It took him over an hour for the round trip. When he returned, Pei Kexin was already speaking.
He stood at the back of the crowd and watched for a while. Pei Kexin's condition had worsened since he left.
Not only was her entire face flushed crimson, but it had also started to swell, making her look like a pig's head from a comedy movie.
He had intended to let her take the medicine after her speech, but Pei Kexin's script was very long. It took several minutes before she finished explaining the original intention behind Zhan Corporation's acquisition of Pei Corporation.
Fearing she might faint on stage as she spoke, Zhan Jingchen couldn't hold back any longer. He rushed back to the office, crushed the medicine, poured it into a teacup, stirred it well, and returned to the venue with the teacup.
As expected, Pei Kexin hadn't finished speaking. He didn't care about anything else, pushed through the crowd, walked up to her, and handed her the teacup.
It was evident that Pei Kexin was momentarily distracted by his actions.
But she reacted quickly. While still speaking, she calmly glanced at the teacup.
Seeing that the tea was a thick, milky color, as if something had been steeped in it, and thinking that Zhan Jingchen wouldn't harm her, she pretended to casually take it.
Then, seizing a pause between sentences, she picked up the cup, took a big gulp, and handed the teacup back to Zhan Jingchen.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Zhan Jingchen took the teacup and left the venue again.
A small commotion arose in the crowd.
The female employees were pleasantly surprised by Zhan Jingchen's sudden appearance, but they hadn't expected him to be there to bring water for Pei Kexin.
It was as if he were her assistant, skillfully handing it to her, watching her drink it, and then leaving…
This was, after all, the young master of the Zhan family!
Pei Kexin actually had such a close relationship with Young Master Zhan!
Everyone couldn't help but start speculating.
"What's going on? Pei Corporation has been acquired, but not only did President Pei not leave, she's also so close to Young Master Zhan. Could there be some shady dealings?"
"It's possible. After all, she's the eldest daughter of the Pei family, and she's beautiful. Perhaps Zhan Corporation's acquisition of Pei Corporation is just a prelude to their arranged marriage."
"Arranged marriage? Don't be ridiculous. You all know she's not the biological daughter of the Pei family. Why would the Zhan family, with their excellent background, agree to an arranged marriage with a fake socialite?"
"But she's capable, young and beautiful, and she navigates the male-dominated world with such skill. Otherwise, how could the sales department have achieved such good results under her leadership all these years? I used to think those men just hadn't seen the world. I never expected that Young Master Zhan, so young and handsome, could also fall for her charms."
"Hey, let me tell you. Yesterday, I saw it in the group chat. A few assistants from the administrative department said they saw the two of them being intimate in the office after work yesterday. President Pei even touched Young Master Zhan's face."
"What? Touched his face? Could it be that they really have something going on?"
"There must be something. It wasn't just one person who saw it, several people did. She's really got something. Could she become our future boss lady?"
"Oh my goodness. If that's the case, I really want to take this woman as my mentor."