When Yakov heard this, he turned away awkwardly. It seemed nothing could be hidden from his wife.

Enes's face flushed pale and red. His heart raced. He didn't dare respond to his mother for a long time. Finally, with his sister's mediation, he reluctantly said, "Fine, I agree."

"Hmph, wise decision. Meeting adjourned." Yana stood up, bringing with her a wave of fragrant scent.

"Hehe, good night, Mom," Mia said, having enjoyed the drama. She skipped upstairs.

Yakov tried to sneak away, but his wife unexpectedly called out, "Yakov, come back to the room with me. I want the truth about your son's behavior. You dared to cover up and indulge him. Your crime is even worse."

Even as a former dignified CEO, he couldn't muster any resistance against his cold, mature wife. He obediently followed her upstairs.

Only Enes was left alone in the vast, now-messy living room, utterly bewildered.

...

"Ding ding ding..." Jake was awakened by the loud ringing of his phone.

He forced his eyes open, fumbled for his phone, and glanced at it. It was only 5:30—way too early for work. Who could be calling at this hour?

"Hey, Jake, you're finally awake." The voice was both familiar and unfamiliar. Jake racked his brain before finally placing it.

It was Dora.

"What's wrong? Calling me so early in the morning."

"Here's the thing: there's a leadership meeting at Shigella today. Sister Mina isn't feeling well, and you've been handling the clients lately, so she's specially approved you to attend in her place."

"What? A leadership meeting? I'm probably not qualified for that," Jake said, shocked into sitting upright. His mind cleared instantly.

"Don't worry, Sister Mina gave special permission. I'll send you a document later. Just report based on that and your work over the past two weeks." Worried Jake might refuse, Dora added, "This will all count toward your promotion to team leader. Please take it seriously."

"Okay." Jake had no right to refuse. When you're in the system, you have no choice.

Wandar neighborhood.

Mina was on the phone with Dora while watching a movie.

"Yes, that's all. Thanks for your hard work. I'll give you two days off. Rest well."

"Beep, beep..."

After hanging up, Mina wore a playful expression, a smug smile curling her lips. "Let's see how long you can hold out. I'll have you meet Shigella's big boss in advance and get a good scolding."

Just as Dora said, the file was sent via email in less than ten minutes.

Jake made himself two cups of coffee to refresh himself, as a tough battle was coming soon.

By the time Jake finished organizing the documents and memorized them thoroughly, dawn had gradually broken, and the morning sun slowly rose from the east.

Jake no longer felt like resting and drove to the company early.

It was almost 7 o'clock at this time. There were not many people at the "Shigella" company, and it was not yet the morning rush hour. Jake had just missed the previous elevator, so he stood waiting at the elevator door.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The sound of high heels hitting the ground frequently echoed from afar. Since the first floor of the company was paved with marble, the heels and the marble floor played a light and rapid melody, quite similar to the rhythmic rises and falls of international piano master Lang Lang's playing—so fast and compact that it made people feel the owner of the high heels must be a capable woman who acted decisively without procrastination.

Jake was also drawn by the sound. He didn't see clearly at first, until the owner of the high heels walked straight to the leaders' reserved elevator entrance, and then he confirmed it.

"...Aunt... Ms. Tong." Jake almost subconsciously called out "Aunt." He was very surprised why his mother-in-law was interested in taking this elevator today.

Jake knew there was a special elevator at the back door of the "Shigella" building that went directly to the president's office. It required a card to enter. The special elevators here were generally for leaders below the president.

Yana was also very surprised. She always arrived at the company a certain time early whenever there was a meeting. Today, she suddenly wanted to take a look at the "Shigella" lobby, so she took the elevator here. Unexpectedly, she ran into Jake.

The two elevators were very close together, and the faint natural fragrance of the CEO mother-in-law, mixed with high-end perfume, inevitably drifted into Jake's nose. He couldn't help but take a few more sniffs. Then, without waiting for his mother-in-law to react, he respectfully said, "Ms. Tong, good morning."

"Well, good morning." Yana said to Jake, who was standing beside her.

After not seeing her for many days, his mother-in-law seemed to have become more beautiful. She had a standard oval face, beautiful eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a delicate nose, and red lips. Her thick, long hair had changed from its previous wine-red color to jet-black. No wonder Jake didn't recognize her from a distance earlier. It might have been because her hair color had faded over time and wasn't as beautiful as before, so she dyed it back.

Her cascading hair was meticulously combed behind her head, the lines of her cheeks smooth and natural, her eyelashes slightly curled, and her beautiful almond-shaped eyes slightly drooping, contrasting with the upturned corners of her eyes. Her expression was cold, and her gaze was arrogant and conceited. Anyone who saw her would feel a sense of awe. Her cold, beautiful face accentuated her temperament to the extreme. Just standing next to her exuded an inexplicable pressure, as if a thick layer of iceberg separated the two of them. This kind of proximity could easily create a sense of strangeness and distance, which was chilling.

"Ding dong." The leaders' reserved elevator was empty, so it arrived quickly.

Thinking he had missed the opportunity to be alone with his mother-in-law, Jake suddenly felt a sense of depression and disappointment, something he had never experienced before.

Why?

He had always been respectful and afraid of his mother-in-law. They had only met two or three times, so saying they were familiar would be a stretch. The only thing worth reminiscing about was their physical contact on Thanksgiving Night.

However, it was obvious his mother-in-law didn't remember it. But Jake certainly would not forget, because after that, the heroine of the erotic dream he had in the orphanage was also his mother-in-law.

After not seeing his mother-in-law for so long, he naturally felt a sense of longing upon seeing her again.

"Let's go together. This one is faster." Yana had no idea what Jake was thinking and walked into the elevator first.

Jake was flattered but extremely happy inside and immediately followed his mother-in-law.

His mother-in-law took out an exquisite card and swiped it at the elevator entrance, then asked coldly, "Which floor?"

"7th floor." Jake responded.

His mother-in-law was the president of "Shigella" and was very busy. Although she had arranged it, Jake didn't think she knew which floor he was on.

Then, his mother-in-law swiped the card again and pressed 40, and the elevator fell silent once more.

Of course, Jake didn't have the courage to stand in front of his mother-in-law, so he stayed quietly in the corner of the elevator.

The elevator was neither big nor small. The mature natural fragrance of his mother-in-law and the scent of perfume mixed together and filled the entire elevator. The fragrance was more than ten times stronger than outside and extremely intense, making Jake lose control for a moment. If his mother-in-law hadn't been through many business battles and accumulated a fierce aura of authority, the invisible pressure she gave off would have made him feel breathless. Otherwise, his mind would have been full of wild thoughts.

But with such a beauty in front of him, how could he give up?

Jake took advantage of the fact that his mother-in-law was in front and couldn't see his gaze, fixed his eyes on her profile, and then glanced at her unscrupulously.

The fourth time, Jake finally dared to look his mother-in-law in the eye, even though his behavior was a bit obscene.

This mature mother-in-law was truly flawless. Just now, Jake hadn't looked away outside, afraid of being noticed by his mother-in-law. Even though they were now alone in a space, Jake couldn't peek into his mother-in-law's thoughts. Even Sister Mina couldn't compare to her deep and firm heart.

Just one glance at his mother-in-law's curvy and exquisite body made Jake swallow hard, and his whole body felt hot and uncomfortable.