Chapter 41: LIU CORPORATION CEO LIU LIUXIAN MYSTERIOUS PARTNER IDENTIFIED AS MARRIED SPOUSE

He had been at the gala for one evening. He had spoken to Bai Feng for approximately twenty minutes.

He thought about it for a moment and then decided that being associated with Liu Liuxian clearly had its uses.

He scrolled up to read from the beginning.

The conversation had been going on since early this morning and it was about a person. He looked at the name tags as he scrolled.

Shen Mingzhu, Lin Rouyi, Cao Jingwen, and several names he did not recognize from the gala but who were clearly established members. Bai Feng was not online yet.

The subject of the conversation was Quinn.

Shen Mingzhu: I am going to say what everyone is thinking. What exactly is Quinn doing in this organisation?

Lin Rouyi: Mingzhu.

Shen Mingzhu:No, I mean it. Name one contribution. One campaign. One meeting he has shown up to. One time he has stood on the right side of an argument.

Cao Jingwen:He came to the gala last year.

Shen Mingzhu:He came to the gala to follow Liu Liuxian around. That is not a contribution, that is a hobby.

Unknown — Liang Xueyi: The issue is not just the absence. It is the active damage. Every time there is a public conversation about Omega rights he finds a way to frame it from the Alpha perspective. Like we are the unreasonable ones for wanting basic dignity.

Unknown — He Mingshan: He called Bai Feng’s employment protection case aggressive last month. In a public interview.

Shen Mingzhu:AGGRESSIVE???

Cao Jingwen: I saw that. I chose not to speak on it because I was worried about what I would say.

Lin Rouyi: The problem is he genuinely believes that aligning himself with Alphas gives him status. He has built his entire identity around being the acceptable Omega. The one that does not make them uncomfortable. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Liang Xueyi: And in doing so he makes the rest of us look like we are the problem for not doing the same.

He Mingshan: We have fought too hard for too long for someone to stand in the middle of it and smile for the cameras while undoing what we built.

Shen Mingzhu: Being on an Alpha’s arm does not add value to who you are. You do not need an Alpha to feel complete. We are not weak. We are not delicate. We are not accessories. How many times do we have to say this before it becomes the default?

Cao Jingwen: Apparently many more times.

Liang Xueyi: Quinn is not going to change. People like that do not change until something forces them to.

Shen Mingzhu: Then something should force him to.

The chat went quiet for a moment.

Then a new message appeared.

Bai Feng: Good morning. Lower your voices.

The chat went noticeably quieter.

Bai Feng: Quinn will get his karma one way or the other. That is not our immediate concern. What is our immediate concern is Thursday.

Bai Feng: Mr. Huo Liangwei has finally found the courage to report his abusive husband. It has taken him two years and considerable personal cost to get to this point. Thursday we show up. We handle the legal side, we handle the support side, and we make sure he knows he is not doing this alone. I want everyone present who can be present. This is what we are here for.

The chat filled immediately with confirmations and assignments.

Liang Xueyi: I will handle housing. I already have two units available in the foundation’s residential program.

He Mingshan: Healthcare is covered. I will arrange a full assessment for Thursday and ongoing support after.

Cao Jingwen: I will handle schooling if there are children. Enrollment, fees, transport, all of it.

Unknown — Wen Ruohai: Employment support is on my end. I will have options ready by Thursday depending on his background and what he wants to do going forward.

Lin Rouyi: I will coordinate with healthcare and make sure the psychological support is in place. This kind of transition needs more than just the physical side covered.

Bai Feng: Good. Legal support will be handled by myself, Shen Mingzhu, and—

He paused.

Then Guiying’s name appeared in the chat with a tag.

Bai Feng: @TangXiaoYu Legal support. You are with Mingzhu and me on Thursday.

Guiying stared at his name on the screen.

Shen Mingzhu: @TangXiaoYu Welcome to the chaos. Don’t be late.

Bai Feng: The goal is simple. By the time we leave on Thursday, Mr. Huo Liangwei should have a place to live, healthcare arranged, legal proceedings initiated, employment options on the table, and the absolute certainty that he is not facing any of this alone. Every person in this chat is responsible for one part of that. Together it is the whole picture.

Bai Feng: Thursday. Ten in the morning. I will send the location privately.

Guiying looked at the screen for a long moment.

Legal support. With Bai Feng.

He had confirmed his attendance on impulse. He had not stopped to think about what Tang XiaoYu, lover of art, was going to contribute to a legal support team. He knew the law, he had taught himself enough of it over five years of surviving Shen Zihao to have a working understanding of what could be done and how. But that was not the same as what Bai Feng brought to a room.

He looked at the chat.

Then he looked at the confirmation he had already sent.

He was going on Thursday.

He would figure out the rest before then.

He put the phone down and went to find breakfast.

Breakfast was waiting on the dining table when Guiying came downstairs.

Old Li had outdone himself again.

A bowl of silken tofu with century egg and spring onion, a plate of pan fried scallion pancakes still warm from the pan, a small dish of pickled vegetables, and a cup of warm soy milk. Simple, unhurried, exactly the kind of breakfast that made a person feel like the day was manageable.

Guiying sat down, picked up his chopsticks, and turned on the television.

The morning news was halfway through its second segment. He ate his scallion pancake and watched a report about infrastructure development in the southern provinces without particular interest, and then the segment changed.

He stopped chewing.

The headline read: Liu Corporation CEO Liu Liuxian’s Mystery Partner Identified as Married Spouse — Wedding Rings Confirmed.