Chapter 9 — The Mighty, All-Powerful Genie

One year after Vĩnh Bảo's death, amid countless challenges and pressures from both within the board of directors and underground competition whose origins she still did not fully understand, Đường Nhã Kỳ was officially appointed as CEO of Đường Gia Group, becoming the youngest CEO in the group's history of more than thirty years of existence, at the age of twenty-six.

The inauguration ceremony was solemnly held in the large hall of the headquarters, gathering almost the entire senior management team, important strategic partners, and many financial reporters to cover the event, which is considered a major turning point for one of the leading logistics corporations in the South. Nhã Kỳ stood on the podium wearing a luxurious navy blue suit, her confident and radiant face, completely different from the panicked and angry girl on the first day she learned about the arranged marriage more than a year ago.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the entire board of directors for entrusting me with this responsibility," she spoke, her voice calm and confident. "I understand the doubts that many people have for a young person like me when taking over a large corporation like Đường Gia. But I believe that, with my own ability and unremitting efforts, I have and will continue to prove myself worthy of that trust."

Warm applause rang out throughout the hall. Sitting in the guest row below, Cảnh Bách Nguyên quietly clapped along with everyone, his eyes following Nhã Kỳ's figure on the podium with a silent pride that he could not share with anyone. He knew better than anyone that behind each achievement she had just listed, there were many times his hand had silently intervened to help her overcome the sophisticated traps set by her opponents, but he never intended to reveal that, because he understood that the confidence she was gaining, even though it was partly built on the foundation he silently cultivated, was still the true result of her own tireless efforts.

In her speech, Nhã Kỳ also dedicated a short paragraph to commemorate her grandfather. Her voice choked for a moment before regaining her composure. "My grandfather always believed that a sustainable business is not only measured by profits, but also by how it treats the people associated with it. I promise to continue that legacy, not only because of family responsibility, but because I truly believe in the values he left behind."

Many senior leaders, those who were most skeptical of her on the first day she stepped into the corporation, now nodded in approval, their eyes no longer having any reservations like before. Đường Bảo Long, sitting in the front row, smiled slightly with satisfaction, feeling relieved when he realized that the decision to hand over the reins to this young niece was ultimately the right choice.

After the official speech, a small reception was held right in the large lobby, where guests had the opportunity to chat more intimately with the young CEO. A young financial reporter, somewhat more curious about Nhã Kỳ's personal life than her work, approached her with a not-so-subtle question.

"Congratulations to Ms. Nhã Kỳ on her new position. May I ask a somewhat personal question? Is your husband here? He must be very proud of your achievements."

Nhã Kỳ, perhaps because she was in the excitement of her newly achieved success, or perhaps because of her ingrained habit over the past year of always trying to deny Bách Nguyên's role in her life, gave an answer that she did not expect would make many people around her, including the person involved, speechless.

"He's present, but I don't think people need to pay much attention to his role in this achievement." She laughed lightly, her tone somewhat joking but unintentionally carrying clear contempt. "To be honest, he is only good at planting trees and fixing faucets in the house, but has never contributed any ideas to my business. Sometimes I wonder what I married him for, other than satisfying a condition in my grandfather's will." That sentence, even though it was said in a light joking manner, still made the surrounding atmosphere calm down for a moment. Several nearby guests glanced at Bách Nguyên, who was standing not far away, able to hear every word clearly. His face still maintained its usual calm expression, but his eyes, in that short moment, flashed with a deep pain that only Lâm Đắc Tường, standing nearby, could recognize.

"She didn't mean it that way, master," Đắc Tường spoke softly, walking closer to Bách Nguyên after the reporter left to continue interviewing other guests. "Maybe she's just trying to maintain an image of independence from the media."

"I get it," Bách Nguyên replied, his voice still calm, even though inside he was having to suppress a pain that he had never experienced with such intensity, a feeling completely different from the previous small hurts. "She told part of the truth. In front of the public, I'm really only good at planting trees and fixing faucets. My true role was originally not allowed to be made public."

Lâm Đắc Tường stood next to him, wanting to say something more to comfort him, but in the end he just put a hand on his shoulder, a silent gesture whose meaning they both clearly understood. Sometimes, there are no words enough to ease the pain coming from the person you love.

But even though he tried to comfort himself with that argument, Bách Nguyên still couldn't deny the painful feeling creeping in his chest. This is not the first time Nhã Kỳ openly despised him in front of others, but this time, in the atmosphere of an important ceremony marking the greatest success of her career - a success that in no small part came from his own silent support - that sentence carried a completely different weight.

That evening, when the party ended and everyone gradually left, Bách Nguyên quietly left the hall before Nhã Kỳ noticed, taking a taxi back to the villa himself instead of waiting for her car as usual. He wanted some time alone to sort out the confusing emotions in his heart.

He sat alone in his private room in the annex, looking out the window where the late moonlight shone down on the quiet garden, wondering if he was making a mistake by continuing to patiently wait for someone who seemed to never see him as a real person, let alone love him. But as soon as that thought appeared, he remembered the rare moments when Nhã Kỳ revealed her fatigue and deep loneliness behind her proud exterior - moments when he believed that, behind that solid wall of defense, there still existed a girl who once longed to be truly loved before life taught her to be suspicious of everyone.

Near midnight, Nhã Kỳ returned to the villa and was somewhat surprised to see that the light in Bách Nguyên's room was still on. She stood in front of his door for a long time, her hand raised to knock on the door and then lowered it again. A vague feeling of guilt arose in her heart that she didn't want to admit, remembering the joke she said that afternoon and the hurtful look in his eyes that she deliberately ignored at that moment.

Finally, she turned around and left without knocking, telling herself that she didn't need to worry about the feelings of someone who only existed in her life as a condition in her will.

But when she got back to her room, she still couldn't sleep. She sat in front of the dressing table, took off each piece of jewelry, her eyes accidentally stopped at the mirror reflecting herself, and in that moment, she wondered if the woman in the mirror - the one who had just taken office as the youngest CEO in the history of the corporation, the one who had just let out a harsh statement in front of dozens of camera lenses - was really the person she wanted to become.

That night, her sleep was not as peaceful as the other victories she had, and the fleeting image of Bách Nguyên's hurt eyes kept creeping into her mind, no matter how hard she tried to deny, that her words had caused a significant wound to the man who had always silently stood behind her for the past year.