‘Breaking news: Huayuan Investment Centre, a subsidiary of the Han Group, plans to reduce its stake in Leader Express. It is reported that several major investment institutions are already in contact with the person in charge.”
In the living room of the Tang family, Tang Shikai proudly boasted to his father, ’Dad, you see, I was right. Qiuzi gave me absolutely first-hand news. Fortunately, I have already negotiated with her to give us priority in transferring these shares to us.’
Tang Jie laughed helplessly, ‘This is the first decent thing you’ve done, but 500 million is no small sum. Dad needs to think about it.’
‘Dad, you usually don’t bat an eyelid at investments of billions of dollars, so what’s there to think about?’ Tang Shikai was only thinking about pleasing the beauty. ‘Besides, the annual turnover of Lida Express is already the leader in the express delivery industry, so there’s no need to worry about losing money.’
Tang Jie’s liquidity was not abundant recently, but he didn’t want to dampen his son’s enthusiasm, so he nodded and said, ‘Then you complete this investment with the person in charge and learn from them.’
‘Thanks, Dad, I’ll definitely do well!’ Tang Shikai couldn’t wait to pick up his phone and go back inside to arrange a meeting with Han Qiuzi.
After Han Qiuzi finished talking with Tang Shikai, he looked intently at the not-very-expensive bracelet on his wrist and murmured, ‘Even if I have to wait until I’m seventy or eighty, I’m going to keep on tangling with you.’
***
Social skills are a compulsory course for every businessman. Industry leaders, industry elites, and second-generation celebrities are also very keen on social occasions such as cocktail parties, parties, and birthday parties.
At the birthday party of Long Wanli, the daughter of a real estate tycoon, almost all the business celebrities in Hucheng gathered.
Ye Xinuo, dressed in a sapphire blue evening dress, held a glass of champagne and maintained a fixed smile. After a while of acting, she found an inconspicuous corner to sit in, patted her stiff face, and began to rub her feet.
Qin Moyan, who always preferred quiet places, also liked this spot. As he walked over, he saw Ye Xinuo frowning.
‘Are you okay?’ Qin Moyan asked politely.
‘These shoes are a bit uncomfortable, and I forgot to put a band-aid on. I’ll probably be bloody when I get home,’ Ye Xinuo let out a breath. ‘It’s fine, I’m used to it.’
On hearing this, Qin Moyan took out a few invisible band-aids from her handbag, squatted down, and placed the hem of her skirt on her lap. She simply said, ‘Stretch your leg.’
Ye Xinuo froze for two seconds, and then said, ‘This is so embarrassing, I’ll do it myself.’
‘If you don’t mind showing your underwear, I don’t mind.’
Ye Xinuo looked down at her low-cut dress and stammered, ‘Then…then please do it.’
‘Well, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come here.”
Listening to Qin Moyan’s words, which didn’t change in tone, Ye Xinuo couldn’t tell if it was a joke or if the other person really felt that way. If it was the latter…then did she still have to say “I’m sorry”?
Qin Moyan moved quickly, and in less than two minutes, he had placed the band-aid on the places Ye Xinuo had worn through and the places that might be worn through. He stood up neatly and said, ’Actually, with your height, there’s no need to wear such high shoes.’
‘But then I’ll be taller than you.’ Ye Xinuo didn’t know what had suddenly come over him, and he had to argue about height. With a “sang” sound, he stood up from the stool almost touching Qin Moyan’s body.
For a moment, both of them were a little stunned.
Ye Xinuo suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and said to himself, “This is a bit awkward, but I can’t back down!” Then he said with a stiff face, ’Do you think so?’
Qin Moyan nodded with a strange expression on her face, her eyes betraying a hint of confusion. She was increasingly suspicious that Ye Xinuo’s brain was not quite right.
Yu Qing had just finished a conversation with a business partner when she saw Han Qiuzi walking towards her.
‘Hi,’ Han Qiuzi greeted her as usual, as if nothing unpleasant had happened between them.
‘Hi,’ Yu Qing wanted to say something to avoid the awkwardness, but she couldn’t think of any topic to discuss.
‘You don’t have to be so uncomfortable when you see me. We’ve all been hanging out in the business world for so many years, we all understand the difference between public and private.‘ Han Qiuzi raised the wine in her hand and said, “Let’s have a toast.”
Yu Qing gave a smile and clinked glasses with Han Qiuzi.
’Hey, isn’t this the Han Group’s daughter?”
A voice pierced her ear.
Han Qiuzi remembered this person, the daughter of a coal boss, who had previously found fault with her.
The reason was nothing more than that the girl had a crush on a playboy, but the playboy liked Han Qiuzi instead.
Yu Qing frowned slightly, her intuition telling her that the person had a great deal of hostility towards Han Qiuzi.
Chapter 8
Wang Jing saw that Han Qiuzi was not paying attention to her and sneered, ‘I thought Miss Han was beautiful and tasteful, but here you are at someone’s birthday party wearing such a shabby chain that the paint is chipping off.’
‘It’s easy to find priceless treasures, but it’s hard to find a loving boyfriend.’ Han Qiuzi was speaking to Wang Jing, but her eyes were on Yu Qing. ‘As long as it’s from someone I love, no matter how cheap it is, I’ll wear it every day like a treasure.’
Wang Jing was annoyed and said, ‘I’m talking to you, but you’re looking at someone else. Do you look down on me?’
Han Qiuzi glanced at Wang Jing impatiently and said, ‘What I mean is that I have someone I like, and I’m not interested in anyone else. Don’t bother me anymore.’
‘You!’
Before Wang Jing could react, Han Qiuzi grabbed Yu Qing’s wrist and pulled her more than ten metres away.
After walking for a while, Yu Qing said coldly, ‘Let go.’
‘Miss Yu’s attitude towards me is terrible, I don’t like it.‘ Han Qiuzi tilted his head, and his tongue twirled around his teeth, just like a local thug and bully. “A husband and wife owe each other a hundred nights of kindness after just one night together. How can you say that? We’ve slept together more than just one night, and at least we can sit down and have a cup of tea every now and then, right?”
’Why are you wearing this bracelet today?’ Yu Qing lowered her eyes.
‘Do I need to report to you what I want to wear? Who are you to me?‘ Han Qiuzi took a step forward and looked straight into Yu Qing’s eyes.
Yu Qing’s eyelashes trembled slightly as she coldly said, “This bracelet doesn’t match your identity, so throw it away.”
’You have no say in what has already been given to me. Whether I keep it or throw it away is my own business, and even if I wear it every day to remind myself of a stupid past, it has nothing to do with you.’
Han Qiuzi finished speaking, walked past Yu Qing, and then turned back a few metres away. She said, ‘Also, the reason I haven’t had a new relationship for so many years is not because you are so special, but because no one is better in bed than you.’
Yu Qing stared at Han Qiuzi’s back, not realising that her fingernails were digging into her flesh. Hearing the other person compare herself to others in this matter, it felt like a stone had been stuck in her heart.
But she had given up first, so how could she blame her?
Han Qiuzi went straight to the bathroom and hid in the cubicle to calm her nerves.
She fanned her face with her hand, ‘That was close, I almost couldn’t hold back anymore. But it seems like I’ve dug myself a hole. What if I have to explain what happened to someone else in the future, can I wash it off even if I jump into the Yellow River?’
‘The Yellow River is full of sand, I don’t think you can wash it off.’
Han Qiuzi subconsciously shrunk back a little, ‘This toilet is so high-end, does it have a chat function?’
Ye Xinuo, who was standing outside the door, fell silent. He thought to himself that the person inside must be joking.
Han Qiuzi opened the cubicle door and looked Ye Xinuo up and down. ‘You’re a bit of a pervert, following me to the toilet.’
‘If we’re talking about following, it should be Miss Han who followed me in here.’
Han Qiuzi shrugged. ‘Fate has brought us together. Shall we go out for a drink later?’
‘No, it’s not good for people to see us getting along too well.‘ Ye Xinuo straightened her hair in the mirror.
’That’s right. If Yu Qing knew she was being sold, her reaction would probably be wonderful.‘
Ye Xinuo laughed lightly, “If she doesn’t like you, no amount of money can make me sell you.”
’Do you still like her… Why can’t I feel it?’ Han Qiuzi let out a heavy sigh, “I think it’s always been unrequited love on my part.”
Ye Xinuo just laughed.
Han Qiuzi said helplessly, ‘I’ve met with Miss Ye twice, and the expression I’ve seen the most is a smile. At least give me some words of comfort and confidence.’
Ye Xinuo’s expression did not change, and she said, ‘There are many kinds of smiles: a happy smile, a polite smile, an embarrassed smile, and the smile I’m giving now is the smile that wants to end the conversation. If I have to say something, I can only wish Miss Han a great start and immediate success.’
‘Haha,’ Han Qiuzi’s mouth twitched a few times, ‘Miss Ye is really honest.’
Ye Xinru put away her smile and said sincerely, ‘I really want to be friends with you, Miss Han, so let’s skip the mutual business flattery, okay?’
Han Qiuzi smiled knowingly and nodded. It is difficult to find a true friend in life. Although she has not known Ye Xinru for long, she knows that their relationship will not end as just business partners.
After leaving the bathroom, Ye Xinru perked up and searched for prey in the venue. Her main purpose for coming here today was to meet Lu Mingqi, the young master of Tiansheng Investment, one of the four major investment institutions in Hucheng.
When her father was alive, he would regularly communicate with Lu Haotian, the head of Tiansheng Investment, via a dedicated line. Naturally, as a junior, she was not qualified to do so, and had to establish a good relationship with her peers first.
Ye Xinuo muttered, ‘They say that Lu Mingqi likes to appear in the middle of the game. After waiting for so long, no one has shown up yet. What a big shot!’
Speak of the devil and he doth appear. The man really couldn’t stand being mentioned, and as soon as Ye Xinuo had finished muttering, she spotted her target.
Unfortunately, Qin Moyan had beaten her to it and was already saying hello to Lu Mingqi, looking very familiar.
Upholding the principle that there is no match for shameless people, Ye Xinuo didn’t feel self-conscious at all as she went up and took Qin Moyan’s arm, cooing, ‘Ah Mo, there you are! I’ve been looking for you for ages.’
Qin Moyan turned his head, his eyes full of intrigue.
‘This is Tiancheng’s young master Lu Mingqi, right?’ Ye Xinuo’s mouth curved into an appropriate arc, ‘I’m Ye Sheng Group’s Ye Xinuo. I met you before when I went to a reception with my father.’
‘Hello,’ Lu Mingqi nodded in return, ‘I know Miss Ye, the youngest chairman of the board in Hucheng at the moment.’
Ye Xinuo shyly lowered her head and smiled.
After a while, she said excitedly to Qin Moyan, ‘Mo, I’ve hit the jackpot. Didn’t I tell you before that I’ve been looking for a painting for a long time? I found it in France a while ago.’
She didn’t blush or fluster.
Qin Moyan didn’t expose Ye Xinuo, but she didn’t get what she wanted, either. She spoke in a tone like she was talking to a three-year-old, ‘Then keep it well and don’t tell anyone, or else it will be taken away from you.’
‘…‘ Ye Xinuo cursed in her heart, and the old fox really is an old fox.
Luckily, Lu Mingqi chimed in, asking with great interest, “Ms Ye also likes collecting paintings?”
’Yes, when it comes to other things, I may not know much, but when it comes to paintings, I can go on for days and nights.‘ Ye Xinuo’s eyes burst with an unusual radiance.
’Just now Ms Ye mentioned a painting, I wonder which master’s work it is?’ Lu Mingqi added, ‘But I don’t really know much about Chinese painting.’
‘Modigliani’s “Sister Alfonsina” has been copied many times, and I had to ask around for a long time before I found the real thing.’
Lu Mingqi’s eyes lit up instantly, ‘Miss Ye actually found this painting! I’ve been to many art exhibitions, but I’ve never had the chance to see Modigliani’s “Sister Alfonsina”. It’s said to have been bought by a private buyer, and I regretted that for a long time.’
Ye Xinuo laughed and said, ‘Many people don’t know the value of Modiga, and I didn’t expect that Mr. Lu is a fellow enthusiast. If Mr. Lu is willing to come, you can invite a few friends to my place to appreciate it together some other time.’
Lu Mingqi said, ‘I would be honoured. In fact, I like Modiga because of Mo Yan.’ He looked at Qin Mo Yan with a slightly puzzled expression and said, ‘Mo Yan, you’ve been looking for this painting for so long, could it be that you’re looking for it for Miss Ye? I have asked many friends, but none of them have found it. It seems that I won’t have the chance to win the beauty’s smile.”
What’s going on? Ye Xinru’s head was a little big. She had heard that Lu Mingqi was looking for this painting, so she reluctantly used her own painting as bait, and was prepared to give it to Lu Mingqi if he liked it. But it turned out that the other person was also preparing to give it away, and it was still Qin Moyan who was going to give it away?
Qin Moyan shook his head, ’I really want this painting. Xinru just likes to surprise me.’
Ye Xinuo’s face froze for a moment, and he turned his head to look at Qin Moyan. He quickly pulled a smile and said, ‘Hahaha, since you have already invited Mr. Lu to come and see the painting, then Mo can only come back to get the painting after a while.’
‘No rush,’ Qin Moyan paused, ‘after Mingqi has finished looking at it, I can just pick it up on my way home.’
Tears really welled up in Ye Xinuo’s eyes, ‘As long as you like it, it wasn’t a waste of my efforts.’
Lu Mingqi didn’t notice the undercurrents between the two, and sighed, ‘Ms Ye must be an extraordinary person. Mo Yan and I have known each other for almost ten years since school, and I’ve never seen her get on so well with anyone else.’
Ye Xinuo politely replied, ‘That’s really an honour for me.’ She thought to herself, ‘Get on well? A few words were all it took to trick me into giving up a painting that money can’t buy. It was nothing more than an organised and premeditated scam!’
Lu Mingqi took out his phone and said, ‘Would Miss Ye please leave me your contact details? I forgot to bring my business card today, but I’ve recently been using your company’s social media app Xmate, and I’ve had a very good experience. We can add each other as friends.’
‘Sure,’ Ye Xinuo added Lu Mingqi as a friend, and the stone in her heart fell a little, so she didn’t feel like she’d made a wasted trip today.
After Lu Mingqi left, Ye Xinuo felt drained of energy. He hung his head listlessly and said to Qin Moyan, ‘Director Qin didn’t go into acting, which is really a loss to the Chinese entertainment industry. Otherwise, he would have won many more Oscars.’
‘Xinuo changes his face quickly. Didn’t you just call him affectionately?’ Qin Moyan looked down and reminisced, ‘Mo, the way you called him is a bit rustic, but it sounds sincere.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ When Qin Moyan talks too much… it’s actually quite annoying.
‘Ms Ye, don’t make a face like you’re being bullied. It’s not a bad idea to take advantage of me and pay me a little compensation. Tomorrow’s board meeting is very important for both you and me, and Ms Ye should go back early and get some rest.’ Qin Moyan raised the glass in his hand and said, ‘A toast before we go?’
Ye Xinru is also a person who has experienced many ups and downs, and has long since adjusted her mentality. At this moment, she is just putting on an act.
After clinking glasses, she glares at Qin Moyan in exasperation, ‘You got off easy! If I had known, I would never have listened to Uncle Tang and met Lu Mingqi this way. That painting was very expensive!’
After she finished speaking, Ye Xinru herself was disgusted and her skin was crawling.
Chapter 9
Ye Sheng Group Board of Directors:
Ye Xinuo proposed that Ye Sheng Group invest 70% of the capital to invest in Qiran Technology and develop an artificial intelligence chip, but this was unanimously rejected by the other directors.
Wei Gang, a director who has always liked to show off his verbal skills, sneered: ‘The founder of Qiran Technology is Ding Qi, right? I know him. I think that chip is just a scam to fool young people. It’s not reliable at all.’
‘Yes, everyone is scrambling for the app market right now, so why invest in artificial intelligence, which is unlikely to pay off in the short term? The idea is good, but I don’t support this project at this stage of development,’ a director who had always been neutral added.
The other directors agreed: “Yes, it’s more reassuring to work on something tangible that you can see and touch in the short term.”
Tang Jie pretended to be kind and said, ’Xinuo, for such a big project, why didn’t you tell Uncle Tang in advance so that he could help you vet it?’
Ye Xinuo forced a forced smile after a moment of frustration and said, ‘But Ding Qi is currently being looked at favourably by many people in the investment community—’
Wei Gang interrupted, ‘Xinuo, although I have watched you grow up and would like to support you, you are still inexperienced and don’t understand the market. This is the way the investment community in China works. As long as a few people say it’s good, everyone will follow suit. If you invest in ten projects and are lucky enough to get one, then it can be considered a successful investment. After all, we are not an investment institution, so let’s not waste money on some unfounded projects.”
Ye Xinuo hesitated, then after a few seconds of silence, he gave in, ’Okay, since all the directors have expressed their opinions, I will give up on this plan first. There is one more important thing. At the last meeting, we mentioned mobile payments. To seize the market in the early stages, we will inevitably have to increase subsidies. Compared to this amount of money, the investment in Qiran Technology is almost nothing.’
As soon as they heard that they would have to invest more money, the lay directors looked impatient.
Tang Jie said in a timely manner, ‘This money is definitely not to be saved, but there is no need to be in such a hurry. For now, our main focus can still be on iterating Xmate. Once we have made our social software the best in the industry, we will have laid a solid foundation for the mobile payment sector.’
‘Director Tang is mistaken,’ said Qin Moyan, who had not spoken up until now. ‘Competition is so fierce right now that no one can guarantee that their product will not be surpassed. There is no time to lose in seizing the market. If the directors do not agree to put up the money to do this, then Hessen can invest more.
Tang Jie and Qin Moyan’s gazes met, and he tried hard to suppress his displeasure. He was a businessman, and naturally knew that the moment could not be missed. Ye Sheng was currently unable to come up with such a large sum of money, and would inevitably have to raise funds through share placement.
However, because he had long since drifted apart from Ye Qisheng, he had been focusing on his own company outside for the past two years. He also secretly held a portion of Ye Sheng’s shares, and his financial resources were not abundant. Coupled with the recent takeover of Lida Express, he simply did not have the money to increase his shareholding.
‘In fact, I don’t have any objections to increasing the subsidy, but we cannot let Hessen benefit. I propose adding a new director,’ said the neutral Director Lu.
‘Old Lu has always had a good eye for things, I’ll listen to him,‘ the other director chimed in.
Most of the directors were also fickle, and in no time at all, they all supported Director Lu’s proposal.
’Then…’ Ye Xinuo looked a bit embarrassed, “since everyone thinks that way, let’s do it that way.”
Tang Jie straightened his collar, ’So do the directors have any suggestions for candidates?’
Director Lu said, ‘This is a big matter, and we can’t make a hasty decision. Let’s all go home and think about suitable candidates. Although there have been some changes in our group, there are still many people who want a piece of the pie.’
Ye Xinuo saw the situation and concluded, ‘Then today’s meeting will end here, and Yu Qing will make another appointment with everyone.’
After the meeting, Qin Moyan looked at the backs of Ye Xinuo and Yu Qing and sighed, turning and leaving.
After the meeting, Ye Xinuo hurried to Qiyue Game Studio, a subsidiary of Ye Sheng. For some reason, one of the teams, Y1 Studio, had left en masse without warning. They were developing a competitive mobile game, a very important project, and if it was not handled properly, it would cause great losses.
Although Qiyue is only a few floors away from Ye Xinuo’s office, Ye Xinuo still feels very heavy-hearted.
Even though she has been through this once, there is no guarantee that she can handle it properly this time. In the last life, the Y1 team jumped ship to a competitor’s company, dealing a heavy blow to Ye Xinuo’s gaming business. In this life, she must not repeat the same mistake no matter what.
It is not easy to retain these people just by relying on the seniority and authority of a 22-year-old president.
Ye Xinru was led to the Y1 office by the general manager of Qiyue. It was already empty. After sending the general manager out, she sat down helplessly in a swivel chair and let her toes tap as she rotated with the chair.
She had to come up with a solution by tomorrow, otherwise the losses would multiply every day. The worst-case scenario was to suspend the project and rebuild a team.
‘Don’t stress yourself out too much. Everything will work out in the end,’ Yu Qing reassured her.
She still remembered Ye Xinuo from more than a month ago, carefree and innocent like an elf. Now, she was always frowning, and there was a calmness in her eyes. The person who was so keen to find good food had started to eat bread and coffee for three meals a day.
Yu Qing had long since regarded Ye Xinuo as her younger sister, and it was not true to say that she did not care.
‘Yu Qing, I don’t have that right,’ Ye Xinuo said with a bitter smile. “Every decision I make affects hundreds or thousands of employees and their families. I can’t afford to rest even for a moment.”
In her previous life, when she first took over Ye Sheng, she knew nothing about business, and she watched helplessly as the group’s business gradually declined. Company layoffs caused many families to suddenly lose their source of income. She couldn’t allow something like that to happen again.
Yu Qing rubbed Ye Xinuo’s head and said, ‘Don’t worry, no matter what you do, I will fully support you.’
Ye Xinuo coughed twice and said, ‘Yu Qing, I’m not a child anymore, so please don’t keep rubbing my head, it’s not good.’
The reason she said this was mainly because Han Qiuzi looked like a small-minded person, and she didn’t want to get involved in the love and hatred between the two women.
Yu Qing pursed her lips, ‘I’m not a child just because I’ve just graduated from university, so doesn’t that make me an old auntie?’
‘So, old auntie, what do you think we should do now?’ Ye Xinuo was once again overcome by worry. Her qualifications and connections were her current Achilles heel.
At that moment, a phone rang, and it was Yu Qing’s phone.
She glanced at the caller ID, picked up the phone, and her face showed surprise.
After the other party hung up, Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow and asked, ‘What’s wrong?’
Yu Qing still looked incredulous. ‘The headhunter just called to say he’d found Woody Woodpecker.’
‘…’ Ye Xinuo paused for a few seconds. ‘The cartoon I watched when I was a kid?’
‘Of course not!’ Yu Qing explained. ‘Although the name is a bit funny, this person is a real god, on the same level as Lin Qingxia in the entertainment industry. A hacker by trade, he’s a low-key person, and according to rumours, he’s very good-looking…’
Ye Xinuo interrupted her. ‘You don’t need to go on about the nonsense.’
‘In short, 90% of programmers would want to work with her. Female programmers are already rare, let alone a great programmer who can outshine the rest. Once she arrives, she will definitely be able to put the Y1 gang in their place.’ Yu Qing excitedly rubbed her hands together, “Nono, you really are a lucky fish!”
Ye Xinuo never believed in good things falling from the sky, and immediately fell into deep thought. In her previous life, she had never heard of this person, so why did she suddenly appear out of nowhere?
Chapter 10
In the meeting room of Qiran Technology, Ding Qi, Qin Moyan, and Yu Qing signed their names on a contract respectively.
After leaving Qiran Technology, Qin Moyan whispered, ‘Ms. Yu just left Ye Xinuo and cooperated with me. Aren’t you afraid that she will blame you when she finds out?’
Yu Qing said frankly, ‘My grandfather’s will left me the industry and capital. Nuo Nuo knows this. Since she was unable to convince the other directors to invest in Qiran, there is nothing wrong with me stepping in. People always have to think for themselves, don’t you think so?’
Qin Moyan said no more, said goodbye to Yu Qing, and drove away.
Yu Qing couldn’t help but frown. After these few encounters with Qin Moyan, she always felt that she was different from the way she was rumoured to act.
In the billiards room:
‘Xiao Yan, what exactly are you up to by asking me to return to China and join Ye Sheng’s game studio?‘ Ning Han sat on the table with a lollipop in his mouth, his brownish-grey hair making his face look particularly pale.
Qin Moyan narrowed one eye and aimed, sinking the ball in one shot. “Do I need a reason other than making money?”
’We grew up almost together, so don’t give me that kind of reason. Although I don’t know why you’re helping Ye Sheng this time, since you’ve offered me such good terms, I won’t refuse for the sake of the money.’ Ning Han jumped off the table and stretched, “Why isn’t Ding Qi here yet? It’s boring for someone who can’t play pool to just watch.”
Qin Moyan: “He’ll just be watching anyway when he gets here.”
Ning Han: ’Has anyone ever told you that you have no shame?’
Qin Moyan cleared the last ball and straightened up, saying, ‘That’s the truth. It’s lonely at the top.’
‘It’s really cold outside.’ Ding Qi came in with his arms folded, and when he saw Qin Moyan, he said unceremoniously, ‘I don’t even have money for instant noodles anymore. Can the local tyrant spare some money?’
‘Well, here comes someone even more shameless.’ Ning Han took out the lollipop in his hand and waved it in Ding Qi’s face, saying, ‘Pretty boy, smile, I’ll give you a bite of candy.’
‘Why did you come back?’ Ding Qi was a little surprised at first, then he grinned, “Did that Internet police officer let you off?”
Ning Han’s face fell. “Of course she doesn’t know I’m back, but I can’t keep hiding out, and I really don’t want to eat British fish and chips anymore.”
Ding Qi said, ’If you ask me, just offer yourself up, and you might just go from being a hacker to becoming a cop’s family.’
Ning Han gave Ding Qi a hard slap on the head: ‘Shut up!’
‘Are you two idle?’ Qin Moyan glanced at the two of them.
‘No, we’re not idle. Our company is fully complying with the leadership’s instructions and is working intensively on the development of the next generation of chips.’ Ding Qi saluted and started to report on the progress of the project in a serious manner.
Ning Han squatted down to the side, bored, and started playing a mobile game.
***
Ye Xinuo spread many A4 sheets of paper on the table and asked, ‘What do you think?’ while looking at them.
Yu Qing replied, ‘It is true that Tang Jie was involved in the departure of Team Y1. Director Tang seems to have a stake in Qin Han’s game and has been seen several times entering and leaving private clubs with Qin Han’s CEO.’
Ye Xinuo put down the documents in his hands, closed his eyes, and rubbed the end of his eyebrows counterclockwise with two fingers. ‘It’s sick to hold on to Ye Sheng’s shares while trying to empty the company.’
Yu Qing asked doubtfully, ‘How did you think of following Director Tang’s investigation? I think he put on a good show, and I never thought he would betray the company before.’
Ye Xinuo smiled lightly, ‘Just think of it as a woman’s sixth sense.’
Yu Qing didn’t pursue the matter, but said, ‘Yunfeng Investment has already signed a contract with Ding Qi, but I don’t understand why I was asked to step in.’
‘Qin Moyan is always more tolerant of people who are not qualified to be her rivals.‘ Ye Xinuo leaned back in her chair and opened her eyes, staring at the lights.
’Why do you seem to know a lot about Qin Moyan?’ Yu Qing muttered.
Ye Xinuo smiled and didn’t say anything.
Thinking about it, in her previous life, Qin Moyan had always been lenient with her, but the reason behind it, she could never guess. Anyway, there was no harm in hiding her strength for the time being.
A moment later, Ye Xinuo suddenly stood up from the chair, ‘Let’s go.’
‘Huh?’ Yu Qing looked confused, ‘Where are we going?’
‘Let’s go have dinner with an old friend.’
***
Ye Xinuo and Yu Qing arrived at a private detective agency. The interior was very luxurious. The receptionist directed them to the reception room, and a while later, a beautiful woman with square glasses came in. ‘Hey, what brings our teacher Ye here?’
Ye Xinuo gave her a cold stare, ‘I’m here as a client today.’
The bespectacled woman immediately straightened her collar, coughed lightly, and sat down, nodding slightly in a rather formal manner, ‘May I ask how I can help you?’
Ye Xinuo: ‘I want you to help me find three people, especially their relationship or where they intersect.’
The bespectacled woman said in a formulaic tone, ‘Then Miss Ye, please pay a 10% deposit first. Would you like to pay by cheque, cash or bank transfer?’
Ye Xinuo took out her cheque book, wrote down a number, and slid it from the table to the boxy glasses in front of her.
The boxy glasses picked it up and glanced at it before putting it in their pocket with satisfaction.
Ye Xinuo shook her head with a smile, ‘Having played the role, let me introduce you two?’
The boxy glasses looked at Yu Qing with sparkling eyes, ‘This good-looking young lady, my name is Ni Anxin, I am an excellent private detective, if there are cases such as a husband cheating, a relative being murdered, a child being lost, etc., you are welcome to come to me.’
Yu Qing’s eyebrows twitched. ‘My name is Yu Qing, and I’m the special assistant to the president of Ye Sheng Group.’ She thought to herself, ‘That name, “Ni Anxin,” you are at ease, it sounds quite auspicious. But probably no one wants to encounter these cases.’
Ye Xinuo took the bag on the table in his hands, ‘Detective, it’s also time for dinner, let’s go eat together?’
Ni Anxin shook his head, ‘It’s working time, I can’t leave my post.’
Ye Xinuo laughed dryly, ‘Have you had any other clients this month apart from me?’
‘Of course I have!’ Ni Anxin stood up excitedly and put her hands on her hips, ‘You really look down on people! There are so many cases waiting for me to solve, like Ah Huang, who disappeared unexpectedly, the young girl whose heart changed for no reason, and the autumn trousers that mysteriously disappeared after being hung on the balcony!’
‘You really are very busy! Hehehehehe.’ Ye Xinuo’s smile did not match his words. ‘May I ask how old the young girl is?’
‘Six years old! That’s old enough to get married!”
Yu Qing gritted her teeth, trying hard not to laugh. What a treasure.
‘Okay, okay, I know you’re very busy at work.‘ Ye Xinuo nodded, “I won’t bother you then, I’ll go eat spicy crayfish with Yu Qing.”
’Come to think of it, people are made of iron and steel, no matter how busy you are at work, you can’t skip meals. Let’s go.”
Yu Qing blinked, exclaiming that this “great detective” must have a flash skill. The person who was just in front of her has now opened the door a few metres away.
Chapter 11
On the way home, Ye Xinu saw Yu Qing’s shocked face and explained, ‘Ni Anxin is my college classmate, the second Miss Ni who is good at both black and white, and her personality is a little different from everyone else. After graduating from college, she suddenly had the idea to open a detective agency. Don’t look at her carefree appearance, while playing role-playing, she can also help her sister keep the family business in order. She just doesn’t show her face very often.’
Yu Qing: ‘I’m just surprised that a girl can eat so many crayfish.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’
Although Ye Xinuo has the dual identity of chairman of the board of directors and CEO, in the eyes of others, she is after all a twenty-something year old girl, and many senior executives don’t take her seriously, which adds a lot of resistance to her work.
At eleven o’clock at night, the lights in Ye Xinuo’s office were still on.
Yu Qing was fast asleep on the sofa under a blanket, while Ye Xinuo rubbed his eyes, patted himself on the face, and continued to look through the company’s old accounts with a renewed sense of purpose.
There were two knocks on the office door.
Ye Xinuo got up to open the door himself, afraid of waking Yu Qing. Unexpectedly, she saw Qin Moyan standing in the doorway. ‘Director Qin, why are you still at the office so late?’
“I saw the lights on when I passed downstairs,’ Qin Moyan pointed to the bag in his hand and said, ‘The only place open was the convenience store. Do you mind if I heat up the congee in the microwave?’
Ye Xinuo didn’t expect Qin Moyan to come up especially to bring her food, and she was momentarily stunned.
Qin Moyan walked over to the table and put the bag down.
Ye Xinuo came back to her senses, closed the door and followed him.
“Miss Ye is working too hard. But in my eyes, working more than ten hours a day is just stupid.’
Qin Moyan left these words and left in style, without even waving his sleeve.
Ye Xinuo: ‘??? Is this person coming up here in the middle of the night just to mock her? Sick!
Yu Qing opened her eyes dazedly and sniffed, “Is that the smell of preserved egg and lean pork congee?”
Ye Xinuo said helplessly, ’Sister Yu Qing fell asleep but her nose is quite sensitive.’
‘I only had a piece of bread for dinner so that I could share your hardships,’ Yu Qing yawned. “If you can’t find a suitable secretary, I might die suddenly one day.”
Ye Xinuo sighed. ’My previous secretary number one had a secret crush on me, and as soon as my father died, she cut herself off from the world and became a recluse, living with the ancient Buddha. Secretary number two met her true love and got married. How could my father find such unreliable secretaries in such a big company?’
‘Isn’t there still Secretary 3, Julie? Although her brain is a bit lacking sometimes, her work ability is still okay.’ Yu Qing had already taken out all the instant food in the plastic bag and placed it on the table.
Ye Xinuo picked up a bowl of congee, scooped up a spoonful and blew on it. “By the way, have you paid attention to the movements on Han Qiuzi’s side recently?”
An unnatural look flashed across Yu Qing’s face. ’Well, she is very close to Tang Shikai.’
‘You think they won’t really get married?‘ Ye Xinuo looked curious. “I’ve met Han Qiuzi a few times before, and I have a good impression of her. It would be quite a pity if she really marries Tang Shikai.”
Yu Qing licked her lips, buried her head to hide her emotions, and joked, “This is all other people’s business. When did Xinuo become so gossipy?”
’I just can’t stand to see the Tang family do well.’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was slightly defiant.
‘Don’t worry, since Han Qiuzi has done as I said and given the Tang family the shares in Lida, that means they will cooperate with us. I believe in her character.”
Ye Xinuo did not reveal the familiarity between Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi, and just nodded, continuing to eat her congee.
***
At another board meeting held in the near future, each director proposed a candidate for new shareholder, and Tang Jie proposed Han Qiuzi.
When they heard the name ‘Han Qiuzi’, the other directors all started to calculate in their hearts. The Han family had a great influence in the real estate and logistics industries. If they could make the eldest Miss Han one of Ye Sheng’s shareholders, it would be a good choice, and it might even expand their social connections.
Tang Jie laughed and said, ‘From the looks on everyone’s faces, I guess they are satisfied with the candidate I proposed.’
“Compared to the Han family, I think the Ni family is a better choice.’ Qin Moyan crossed his arms and said lightly, ‘I am old friends with the Ni family’s eldest daughter, Ni Anqi, and she is very interested.’
Ye Xinuo’s head ‘exploded’ when he heard the words ‘Ni Anqi’. Ni Anqi is the sister of Ni Anxin. She asked Anxin to investigate Qin Moyan. If the power of the Ni family is used, and Ni Anqi finds out, how can Qin Moyan, an old friend, not find out?
Several other directors hesitated. It was also very tempting to be able to climb up the Ni family.
Ye Xinuo put on a very difficult look on his face, but in his heart he was thinking of a response.
Qin Moyan continued, ‘I’m sure that all the directors have heard the gossip about Mr. Tang and Miss Han. Director Tang’s proposal is likely to be seen as nepotism. Maybe one day Miss Han will enter the Tang family, and then this Ye…’
She didn’t continue, but the other directors had already started weighing up the situation. After the addition of a new shareholder, everyone’s shareholding would be diluted. If the Han and Tang families became in-laws in the future, wouldn’t Ye Sheng become Tang Jie’s world?
Ye Xinuo cursed Qin Moyan Tong in her heart, and simply decided to go for broke, ‘I know the Ni family well! I was on good terms with the second young lady of the family when we were at university. It would indeed be good if the Ni family could invest. Why don’t we just make a decision like this!’
Tang Jie laughed and said, ‘Xinuo, don’t be in such a hurry. This is a big deal, how can we make a hasty decision after just one meeting? Let’s let the directors go back and think about it, and we can decide at the next meeting.’
Ye Xinuo was at a loss for words, ‘But…’
Tang Jie said imperiously, ‘Xinuo, you are young and impetuous after all. Just listen to Uncle Tang on this matter and decide later.’
‘Okay then,’ Ye Xinuo nodded, “I appreciate everyone’s hard work today. I hope everyone can go back and deliberate on this matter and we can discuss it again at a later date.”
Ye Xinuo knew that Tang Jie had the ambition to swallow Ye Sheng, and would definitely not allow someone who was related to both her and Qin Moyan to enter the board of directors.
After everyone else left, Qin Moyan blocked Ye Xinuo in her seat, resting one hand on the back of the chair, her eyes calm as she said nothing.
Ye Xinuo subconsciously took a step back, her throat rolling as she thought, ‘Qin Moyan won’t know that I’m investigating her, trying to silence me, will she?’
‘Why are you against me?’ Qin Moyan said.
‘Huh?’ Ye Xinuo opened her big eyes wide, looking confused and innocent.
‘Just now in the meeting you said that you were very familiar with the second Miss Ni family, and that you were trying to force Director Tang to stop my proposal, right?’
Is this a fairy’s brain? But the point is that this proves that Qin Moyan still doesn’t know that she’s been investigated. Ye Xinuo still looked confused, ‘What are you talking about? I’m supporting your proposal, aren’t I?’
‘The Ni Family Express needs to introduce an intelligent system. If you know what that means, don’t be so clever and play some tricks.’
Ye Xinuo’s heart skipped a beat. In the last life, the Ni Family had always been in traditional industries and had never set foot in the intelligent field. Could it be that the butterfly effect had already begun?
After Qin Moyan finished speaking, he straightened up and walked out.
‘Wait a minute.’ Ye Xinuo grabbed Qin Moyan’s wrist in desperation, ‘Can I ask you a question?’
A trace of stiffness flashed across Qin Moyan’s face, and then he said nonchalantly, ‘Well.’
‘What did you and my father talk about that day? Why did he have a heart attack after you left?’ Ye Xinuo bit her lip lightly, ‘Can you tell me?’
In her previous life, Ye Xinuo had also asked this question, and all she got was Qin Moyan’s silence. Because of this, she had taken her father’s death out on Qin Moyan.
But after she had come to her senses and looked back on the past, she realised that Qin Moyan had actually been helping her a lot.
Qin Moyan’s tone was cold, ‘That was between your father and me, and it has nothing to do with you.’
After saying this, she broke free of Ye Xinuo’s hand, leaving behind a cold, stern back.
Chapter 12
‘It’s got nothing to do with me, nothing to do with me? If it really had nothing to do with me, how wonderful.’ Ye Xinuo tilted her neck slightly, leaned back in her chair, and closed her eyes.
‘Xinuo!’
Ye Xinuo suddenly opened her eyes, gasped, and patted her heart lightly, ‘Yu Qing, do you want to scare me to death and inherit the company?’
Yu Qing shrugged, ‘You’re not my mother, and scaring you to death won’t get you any inheritance. Otherwise, I would have done it already.’
Ye Xinuo scolded, ‘You were busy, so why did you suddenly come back to scare people?’
“Just now, Miss Ni Er called and said that there has been progress on the matter she entrusted to her, and she wants to meet with you.’
Ye Xinuo’s hand rested casually on his chin. ‘Why didn’t she just call me directly?’
Yu Qing said, ‘She said it would seem more professional to communicate with her assistant.’
Ye Xinuo’s mouth twitched twice. This was indeed something that Ni Anxin would do.
‘So is there any gaps in my schedule?’
Yu Qing answered directly without even opening her phone: ‘Yes, there are a lot of them. After all, not many clients have responded to the invitations we have sent out.’
Ye Xinruo waved his hands, ‘Okay, okay, it’s good that you said there is, just swallow the rest of your words.’
‘It is my duty to constantly remind the boss of the current predicament he is facing,’ Yu Qing straightened his back.
Ye Xinruo lifted the corners of his mouth with two fingers and said, ‘Your cold jokes are really funny.’
Yu Qing frowned and said disdainfully, ‘Are you childish or not? I don’t have time to talk to you about things unrelated to work. You just go ahead and slack off here, I’m going to contact Miss Ni.’
Ye Xinuo looked at Yu Qing’s back, and she couldn’t wait for the next second to tilt her head and pop three question marks out of her head.
The meeting place with Ni Anxin was a club where dandies gathered, and at this delicate moment, if the two of them were photographed together, it wouldn’t be too conspicuous.
Ni Anxin was wearing a brown plaid cape and a deer hunting hat of the same model as Sherlock Holmes, sitting upright on a comfortable leisure sofa.
Ye Xinuo felt a headache as soon as she pushed the door open.
She and Yu Qing each found a comfortable place to sit and said casually, ‘Is today cosplay day?’
Ni Anxin frowned and said sternly, ‘Although you are a client, you cannot flirt with me casually. Please be serious about your case.’
Ye Xinuo straightened up helplessly and also said solemnly, ‘Miss Holmes, how is the investigation into the matter I entrusted to you?’
Ni Anxin took out a stack of papers from a file, and Ye Xinuo took them and read a few pages. He listened to the other person say, ‘This is all the information on Qin Moyan and Ding Qi, but my sixth sense tells me that a lot of this information is fabricated and definitely not what it seems. It’s just that after getting someone to verify it, there’s no problem.’
‘Ning Han’s information only includes his date of birth and place of origin, and there is no other information at all.’ Ni Anxin felt a little frustrated. ’Ding Qi is an orphan who has never been adopted. Fortunately, he is a hard worker and went to a good university. Qin Moyan was born into a working-class family. Her father had an accident at work when she was in high school and died instantly. Her mother died of illness soon after. She took a year off from school, and then passed the entrance exam for Harvard University and enrolled in the world’s number one finance department. So far, there seems to be no intersection between the three.”
Ye Xinuo continued to flip through the pages in her hands, quickly sorting through the information she had just received in her mind.
It was understandable that there was no information on Ning Han, as he was a hacker. She also knew that Ding Qi was an orphan. But the fact that Qin Moyan went to Harvard to study was very strange. Even if she was smart, for a child who had lost both parents, studying abroad would be difficult.
Ni Anxin continued, ‘After taking a year off from school, Qin Moyan was sponsored to study abroad, but I haven’t been able to find out who this person is. I need more time.’
‘Thank you,’ Ye Xinuo said sincerely.
‘You’re too kind, this is my job,’ Ni Anxin was still in character.
Ye Xinuo shook hands with Ni Anxin seriously, ‘Then please continue to work hard in the future.’
Ni Anxin bowed slightly, then took off her hat and threw it aside, collapsing on the sofa like a limp noodle. ‘I’m exhausted today, having followed my snake-like queen around to a dozen express delivery points.’
‘Snake-like queen?’ Ye Xinuo looked puzzled.
Ni Anxin said with a sad face, ‘It’s my sister. I gave her a new nickname. I don’t know who provoked her, but she’s been acting like a lunatic lately. She’s a workaholic with no sex life. It’s fine for her to work so hard, but she’s also pressuring me.’
Yu Qing saw that the two of them had almost finished their formal conversation, and said with a smile, ‘Speaking of Miss Ni, if Miss Ni also helped with the people search, then I’d be very grateful if Miss Anxin could help me say thank you.’
Ni Anxin shook her head, ‘There’s no need to bother her with such trivial matters. If I didn’t have any skills, how could I be a famous detective known far and wide?’
Ye Xinru knew that Yu Qing had asked this on her behalf, and her heart warmed.
Fortunately, she still had Yu Qing as a family member by her side.
Because of Qin Moyan’s earlier remark, Ye Xinru was particularly sensitive to the Ni family’s courier service. ‘Are you and your sister going to so many courier service locations to do something big?’
Ni Anxin laughed lightly, ‘Why have you become so cautious? In the past, you would have just spoken your mind.’
Ye Xinuo smiled bitterly, ‘I don’t want to lose our simple friendship, but the burden on my shoulders makes me have to ask sensitive questions.’
‘Xinuo, when I was at school, I admired your talent and considered you a true friend. Now, even though your role has changed, if you need my help in business, I won’t refuse.’ Ni Anxin’s eyes were clear.
For a moment, Ye Xinuo felt like crying. In the previous life, because she had to bear so much at once, her relationships with many of her college friends gradually faded, and the same was true with Ni Anxin. Now that she thought about it, it was really stupid.
‘Don’t give me that disgusting look!’ Ni Anxin said disdainfully.
‘Okay, okay,’ Ye Xinuo said relieved, “then Anxin, let me ask you, is Dingfeng Express really going to develop in the direction of intelligence?”
Dingfeng Express is the brand name of the Ni family’s express delivery industry, meaning “with a ding, the express delivery will arrive like the wind.” The person who came up with this was Ni Anxin’s grandfather, which makes it easy to understand why Ni Anxin acts in this style, following the family tradition.
‘My sister is probably having dinner with Qin Moyan and Han Qiuqi, the eldest daughter of the Han family. Qin Moyan proposed a collaboration between Qiran Technology and Dingfeng Express, and he also brought Han Qiuqi into the picture.’ Ni Anxin made a gesture, “A powerful alliance, with three corners enough to weave a net.”
Ye Xinru didn’t say anything for a long time. It seemed that she could see a brand new era from just a few words.
While she was using Qin Moyan, the other party was also using her.
The Ni and Han families were the two giants of the express delivery industry. If they joined forces, it would mean an ambition to monopolise the market. From what Ni Anxin had just said, Qin Moyan and Han Qiuzi might have known each other for a long time. In that case, she really didn’t know who it was that the Han family had transferred their shares of Lida Express to.
After parting with Ni Anxin, Ye Xinuo sent Yu Qing home as well and called Han Qiuzi.
There were some things that had to be confirmed in person.
Chapter 13
The two met in a private room at the Mu Xin Club.
When she met Han Qiuzi, Ye Xinuo was much more straightforward, and as soon as she started, she asked the other person what relationship she had with Qin Moyan.
Ye Xinuo had met Han Qiuzi in her previous life, and she was a lady from a family with good character and good breeding. What’s more, she trusted Yu Qing’s judgment, so she wasn’t on her guard.
‘Qin Moyan, she helped my father with a few investments in the past, but I didn’t have much contact with her. She asked Ni Anqi to set up a dinner date for me today, but I know I won’t go if Ni Anqi is there.’ Han Qiuzi’s tone was a little stuffy, and it was obvious that she was also unhappy.
Ye Xinuo was curious: “You have a grudge against Ni Anqi? I thought you didn’t know each other.”
Han Qiuzi let out a breath of air, ’You know that Yu Qing and I went to the same high school and university, right?’
‘I don’t know,‘ Ye Xinuo shook his head.
’…’ Han Qiuzi was silent for a moment, “So now you know.”
Ye Xinuo casually joked, “Don’t tell me you three have some kind of melodramatic love triangle.”
Han Qiuzi nodded heavily, ’The three of us do have a melodramatic love triangle. No, it’s not a love triangle. Ni Anqi is clearly the unwanted third party!’
Ye Xinru picked up the fruit bowl on the table, her eyes shining as she listened with interest. She had never heard Yu Qing’s romantic stories before.
‘Anyway, it’s just Qing and I who love each other, while Ni Anqi is in unrequited love with Qing and won’t give up! She’s followed Qing from high school to university, it’s annoying.’ Han Qiuzi didn’t give a long speech, but simply and concisely explained the central idea, which made Ye Xinru a little disappointed.
Han Qiuzi saw Ye Xinru’s lacklustre expression and snapped, ‘Did you ask me out today to listen to gossip? Is the meeting over? Have you paid the wages owed to the migrant workers? Have you caught the boss and his sister-in-law? Why are you so idle?’
Ye Xinru: ‘…’ Sister Yu Qing is not afraid of falling for a fool, I guess.
Han Qiuzi got back to the topic, ‘In short, Ni Anqi wants to cooperate with me to set up a courier alliance, establish a comprehensive system for self-service sending and self-service picking up, same-city same-day delivery, and different-city next-day delivery.’
Ye Xinuo rested his hand on the side of his chin and looked askance, ‘Did she mention Ye Sheng’s shares?’
Han Qiuzi said, ‘She didn’t, but Qin Moyan did show me an interesting video.’
‘Oh.‘ Ye Xinuo was thinking about other things in his head and answered a little absent-mindedly.
’Don’t you want to know what interesting video it is?’ Han Qiuzi had wanted to sell a secret, but the other person was unruffled.
Ye Xinuo perfunctorily said, “What video?”
Han Qiuzi gave her a glare, ’The video of Tang Shikai biting off the breasts and head of the human feast model.’
Ye Xinuo felt physically sick at the moment, her facial features wrinkling together. She picked up the pillow next to her and smashed it in Han Qiuzi’s face, ‘You could have just not told me! Now do you want to make someone else feel sick with you?’
Han Qiuzi nodded, ‘Yes, the scene is still vivid and fresh in my memory.’
Ye Xinuo crossed his arms, and his fingertips rhythmically tapped his arms subconsciously. ‘So, it’s possible that Qin Moyan deliberately revealed to An Xin that she had set you up with Ni Anqi to create the illusion that she and you had known each other for a long time. She probably felt that I would sing the opposite tune because of this and obstruct you from entering the board of directors. At the same time, she showed you Tang Shikai’s perverted video to sabotage your relationship with the Tang family.’
‘You’ve been talking about Ye Sheng shares a lot. What’s going on?’ Han Qiuzi asked.
Ye Xinuo answered truthfully, ’Tang Jie proposed that you enter the Ye Sheng board of directors, and Qin Moyan proposed Ni Anqi. The two of them are in love.’
Han Qiuzi understood and said, ‘In fact, there is an additional layer of insurance. If they want to dominate the express delivery industry, the Han Group will not be able to spare so much capital to enter Yesson. Under normal circumstances, I might temporarily put aside Yesson. After all, my family has made its fortune in traditional industries, and there are great risks in developing the internet market. It is better to take control of the smart express delivery network.’
“It’s just that Qin Moyan had calculated everything, but she didn’t expect that you had had such a complicated relationship with Ni Anqi and Yu Qing.’ Ye Xinuo frowned again, ‘But she said she knew Ni Anqi very well, so why didn’t she know about this?’
Han Qiuzi raised the corners of his mouth, ‘You were quite clever just now, but now you’re stupid. She can make you think I know her well, so why can’t she make you think she knows Ni Anqi well?’
‘Right!’ Ye Xinuo patted his head, ‘But why? What good will it do Ni Anqi to get on the board of directors?’
‘It’s not good for her, but it’s good for Hessen,‘ Han Qiuzi reminded her, “Everyone knows that the Ni family controls both the black and the white markets. If Hessen wants to enter the Chinese market, before it merges with Ye Sheng, wouldn’t it pave the way for itself?”
’You’re so annoying! Why answer so quickly? This makes me look so stupid!‘ Ye Xinuo was full of grievances. Had her IQ been eaten by a dog? She had lived five more years, but her reactions were not as quick as others’.
Han Qiuzi shook his head, ‘It’s not that you can’t think of it, it’s that you don’t fundamentally consider Qin Moyan to be someone who would pose a threat to you.’
‘Huh?’ Ye Xinuo was stunned.
Han Qiuzi said with a smug smile, ‘Don’t underestimate my ability to read people’s expressions. Logically, you should be very wary of Qin Moyan because she has the backing of Hessen, but just now, when I mentioned Tang Shikai, your reaction was much stronger than when you heard Qin Moyan’s name.’
Ye Xinruo was suddenly awakened by a single word. Since when had she forgotten that Qin Moyan was the helmsman of Heisen? In her previous life, Qin Moyan had helped her, but in this life, many things had changed. What right did she have to assume that Qin Moyan would still help her? Only then did she realise that the things she couldn’t figure out before were all stuck on this one point.
“Don’t worry, I’m determined to get Ye Sheng’s shares,’ Han Qiuzi’s eyes were firm, ‘Developing the family business is important, but I want something more than that.’
Ye Xinru put away his thoughts and said, ‘What’s going on with you and Tang Shikai? Although I support you in getting Yu Qing back, if you really get involved with someone else before then, I might change my mind.’
Han Qiuzi was annoyed and said, ‘I’m a rare seed of infatuation, okay? After I separated from Qing, I was like a monk. Tang Shikai is a bit dim-witted. I promised to have dinner with him a few times, and he thinks I will definitely marry him in the future.‘
Ye Xinruo cautioned, “Anyway, you better be careful. Tang Shikai is not a good guy. He may not be as dumb as he seems.”
’Mm,’ Han Qiuzi nodded, “I know. I will only go out with trusted people and always bring a bodyguard with me.”
A bitter smile appeared at the corner of her mouth, ’Speaking of which, this bodyguard was originally chosen by Yu Qing.’
Ye Xinuo raised the bottle of red wine that had been sitting on the table for a while, ‘Don’t be so pessimistic. Yu Qing is just stubborn and arrogant. I wish you will win the beauty back soon.’
‘Thank you.’ Han Qiuzi also raised her glass, ‘Then I wish you all the best and that Ye Sheng will get back on the right track soon.’
As Ye Xinuo walked out of the Muxin Club, a man wearing a black mask and a cap passed her.
Chapter 14
In the dark environment of the cleaning room at the Muxin Club, a person with a lollipop in his mouth was tapping away on the keyboard of a laptop. After about ten minutes, he let out a long sigh and closed the computer.
This person was the hacker who had bribed the cleaning lady, Ning Han.
She had just pretended to be a cleaning staff member and, while the people in the club’s private room were not paying attention, planted a miniature WiFi jammer.
This was Ding Qi’s invention, which could steal information through superb computer technology, even if it was on a private network with a high degree of security.
Although Ning Han is now employed by Qiyue Games, which is owned by Ye Sheng, being a programmer is her side job. Her main job is to obtain evidence of other people’s underground transactions and sell it to the police investigating economic crimes, who are eager to make a name for themselves.
This kind of behaviour is not legal, but it is very fast and effective, so the police leaders also tacitly approve of it.
Ning Han was overjoyed at the hundreds of thousands of yuan that was about to come his way when the door to the cleaning room suddenly opened and a man in a full face mask appeared in the light.
The man at the door looked at Ning Han with fierce eyes and didn’t move for a long time.
Ning Han tilted his head downwards at a 45-degree angle and let out a ‘ahh’ sound.
‘So you finally decided to come back?’
Ning Han said with tears in his eyes, ‘Are you a dog? You can find me just by smelling?’
The person at the door took off his mask and looked sad. ‘Do you hate me that much?’
‘There are plenty of other flowers out there, why do you have to be in love with me?’ Ning Han rubbed his eyes in pain. ‘Hackers and Internet police are mortal enemies, okay?’
‘Then you don’t have to avoid me like this, not even giving me a chance.’
The person who suddenly appeared was Qi Jing, the Internet police officer Ning Han had gotten into trouble with two years ago.
‘What chance? The chance of getting arrested?‘ Ning Han scratches his hair, “What do you like about me? Can’t I change?”
’I can give up being an internet police officer for you,’ Qi Jing said without hesitation.
Ning Han sighed helplessly, ’Miss Policewoman, you are a genuine successor to socialism, and I am just a hacker struggling to survive in the grey area. Can’t we just leave each other alone? Don’t be so reckless for love, I really can’t take it.”
Qi Jing closed in step by step, scaring Ning Han back two steps, with his back against the shelf where cleaning utensils were kept.
Qi Jing pinched Ning Han’s chin with his hand, and after a moment of confrontation, without doing anything more extreme, he just said, ’You have the right not to accept me, and I also have the right to pursue you. We’ll see.’
After saying this, he turned around and left.
Ning Han muttered, ‘With such a domineering entrance and exit, isn’t she a real shrew? I’m crazy to have given in to you. It’s even more terrifying than being arrested.’
After tidying up the scene, Ning Han also packed her bag, put on her hat and mask, and left the Muxin Club.
After she returned home, she carefully checked her computer, and there were signs of intrusion. She was suddenly depressed. Qi Jing’s presence was simply a blow to her self-esteem. She had only been at the Mu Xin Club for half an hour, and the other party was able to find out and rush over. If Qi Jing really wanted to catch her, she doesn’t know how many times she has been to the police station.
Two weeks had passed since Ye Xinru had inspired Lu Mingqi at the birthday party to make an invitation, and Lu Mingqi finally found time to ask Qin Moyan to visit Ye Xinru’s house.
Ye Xinuo had originally wanted to invite Lu Mingqi to visit her art collection, and if she could forge a relationship with the Lu family, she wouldn’t mind losing a few paintings. However, the appearance of Qin Moyan made her change her mind, and she only had the previously mentioned ‘Sister Aphrodite’ hung in the reception room. Otherwise, if that old fox remembered her again, she was afraid that her years of hard work would be emptied.
Lu Mingqi and Qin Moyan stood in front of the one-meter-seven-high frame, their eyes filled with awe.
The painting was made to scale, and the woman beneath the black nun’s habit had a dignified face. At first glance, her eyes appeared calm, but the more you looked, the more you could feel the unyielding strength in her pupils. The triangular composition of the entire painting was perfect.
Ye Xinuo had spotted this painting at a painting exhibition abroad many years ago. At that time, Modiga, the artist who painted this painting, was even more of a niche artist than she is now, so it was effortless for Ye Xinuo to acquire the painting.
Qin Moyan’s breath at this time was much softer than in the past, which made Ye Xinuo can’t help but glance sideways. The other person looked at the painting intently with a peaceful and gentle expression, which made people unable to take their eyes off it.
Ye Xinuo did not forget the main purpose of the day. Apart from the painting, he also talked a lot about art with Lu Mingqi. Sometimes the big shots in the industry are actually very capricious. If they strike up a conversation with someone, the whole market trend may change three times.
When it was time to part, Qin Moyan was really not at all polite, and he let the hired help, who had been waiting at the door, come in and install the painting.
Lu Mingqi laughed and said, ‘Mo Yan has finally got what she wanted. I wonder if there is any other work that she likes besides this painting, and if she can give me a chance to show off?’
Ye Xinruo thought to herself, ‘It seems that Lu Mingqi has a special relationship with Qin Mo Yan. If they really get together, with their twisted relationship, I really won’t have anywhere to cry.’
“Xinruo can find me whatever I want, so I’m sorry to trouble you.’
Lu Mingqi heard Qin Moyan say this and knew that the other person was rejecting him again. He could only silently bitter in his heart and smile past it as if nothing had happened.
But Ye Xinuo couldn’t get past it. What kind of words were those from Qin Moyan? If he just used himself as a shield, it would be fine, but how did it feel? Just now, that look seemed to really want to empty her out!
The entrance to the villa area where Ye Xinuo lives is a tennis court. Someone didn’t close the door when they went in, and a tennis ball flew out, smashing ‘bang’ against Yu Qing’s car window.
Yu Qing braked urgently, and a girl with pigtails in a tennis uniform ran over, checked the window first, and then knocked on it twice.
“I’m sorry, I hit your car! I looked at it and there’s a small scratch. Why don’t you give me your account details and I’ll pay for the damage?’
Yu Qing shook her head, ‘Forget it, I can see you didn’t do it on purpose.’
‘That’s not good enough, wait here for a moment,’ the girl with the ponytail said, and then trotted back to the tennis court.
Yu Qing looked at the girl’s back and became lost in thought.
‘Ah!’
A scream came from the Lake University tennis court, from a girl with a doll face and a ponytail.
‘I’m sorry, are you okay?’ Yu Qing put down the racket in her hand and ran over to the girl she had hit.
Han Qiuzi covered her head, her eyes blackened, and she squatted on the ground with her head buzzing.
‘I’ll take you to the infirmary,’ Yu Qing said softly as she supported Han Qiuzi from behind, ‘Can you stand up by yourself?’
Han Qiuzi leaned into Yu Qing’s arms, ‘My legs are weak, so why don’t you carry me on your back?’
In Yu Qing’s impression, younger schoolmates are all soft, cute and shy. This younger schoolmate looks soft, cute and shy, but it’s too rude to ask her to carry you on her back right away.
After all, it’s her own fault, and feeling guilty, Yu Qing had no choice but to half squat in front of her and carry Han Qiuzi on her back.
Yu Qing never imagined that ever since then, the cute little freshman had been hanging onto her. She would block Yu Qing’s way downstairs from the dormitory, and eat and drink at Yu Qing’s expense, like a tail that could not be shaken off. She also kept bringing up the incident of being hit by the ball, saying that she had suffered a concussion and needed to supplement her nutrition.
‘Hello.’
Yu Qing’s thoughts were brought back to reality, and she said softly, ‘Hm?’
‘I only have a thousand yuan in my wallet, so I’ll give it all to you. If it’s not enough, you can call me again.‘ The girl with the ponytail reached into the car window and grabbed ten 10-yuan bills and a business card.
Yu Qing refused, saying, “It was just a minor mishap, I can fix it myself.”
’No,’ the girl with the ponytail said firmly, ’My father told me that I must apologise if I cause someone trouble. I won’t leave until you take it.’
Yu Qing still had to go find Ye Xinuo, and she couldn’t afford to be delayed for too long, so she had to take the money and business card.
The girl with the ponytail said goodbye with a smile and ran back to the tennis court.
This girl looked a bit like Han Qiuzi, and there was a natural air of charm about her.
If Han Qiuzi hadn’t met her, she would have probably lived a little more charmingly.
Yu Qing thought to herself.
Chapter 15
The maid at home opened the door for Yu Qing, and then went to the kitchen to prepare tea.
Yu Qing pushed open the door to the study and let out a sigh. ‘Nono, you’re so sick, don’t try to be brave, just rest.’
Ye Xinuo shook his head and said with pale lips, ‘This is a critical period, a small cold doesn’t matter.’
‘Here, the documents you asked for.’ Yu Qing took out an archive bag from her bag and placed it on the table in front of Ye Xinuo.
‘Thank you.‘
After three knocks, the voice of the maid came: “Miss, the tea you asked for.”
’Enter,‘ Yu Qing answered for her.
***
Qin Moyan took a sip of the mineral water at hand, narrowed one eye, and made another hole-in-one.
Ding Qi looked aggrieved, “You should at least let me hit twice!”
’You started the game,’ Qin Moyan ignored his protests and slightly leaned to find an angle.
Ding Qi had no choice but to gossip: ‘You’re not really falling for that Ye family’s young lady, are you? Why else would you go out of your way to help Ye Sheng?’
As usual, Qin Moyan’s tone was indifferent: ‘You’re thinking too much. My helping Ye Sheng has nothing to do with her.’
Ding Qi said, ‘Let me count on my fingers for you. Getting Ning Han back to stabilise Qiyue’s game was one thing; deliberately acting close to Ni Anqi so that Ye Xinuo would discover it and resist Ni Anqi was another; and sabotaging the relationship between Han Qiuzi and Tang Shikai to help Ye Xinuo win Han Qiuzi over was yet another. Not counting other minor things, that’s already three times. If you’re not interested in Ye Xinuo, do you still want to be a philanthropist?’
Qin Moyan glanced at Ding Qi and said lightly, ‘When you can raise your sights and broaden your horizons, you might be able to hit more balls.’
‘Hey! No personal attacks!’ Ding Qi complained.
In no time at all, Qin Moyan had three more balls in the hole.
She explained with rare patience, ‘Ni Anqi’s style of work is too paranoid. Putting her in charge of Ye Sheng is just asking for trouble. I only work for Hesson, why should I get myself into trouble for Hesson’s ambitions? As for Han Qiuzi, she has the backing of huge real estate and express delivery capital, which has made her and Tang Jie work together. It is only a matter of time before Ye Sheng changes hands, and I am afraid that I will be the first one to be kicked out of the board of directors.”
Ding Qi digested this for a while, then waved his hands, ’Forget it, I don’t understand or care about what you’re saying. I just need money to do research.’
‘You’ve lost again.’ Qin Moyan straightened up and said, “Give me a progress report two days in advance.”
After saying that, he walked out of the billiard room.
Ding Qi frantically covered his head and watched Qin Moyan leave.
This billiard room was their regular meeting place, private and hidden, and there were no cameras in the room or within a one-kilometre radius.
After all, ordinary people can never imagine what it’s like to be in a battlefield, and sometimes even spy movies dare not show it like that.
I don’t know what methods Tang Jie used, but when the board of directors met again, most of the shareholders firmly supported Han Qiuzi entering the board of directors.
Ye Xinru was at a loss for words, ‘But the Ni family is really a very good choice.’
Tang Jie smiled kindly, ‘Ru Ru, you are still young, and you naturally cannot weigh the pros and cons thoroughly. The directors selected by Uncle Tang with decades of experience in the business world are no worse than those recruited by an outsider, right?’
Ye Xinuo shook her head apologetically, ‘Uncle Tang, that’s not what I meant. Since you and the directors all think that Han Qiuzi is more suitable, then that’s the decision.’
That evening, Tang Shikai invited Han Qiuzi to dinner to personally tell her the good news.
After they finished eating, Tang Shikai invited Han Qiuzi to go for a drink, which she did not refuse.
The next day, the front page of every newspaper in the city carried the news of Tang Shikai and Han Qiuzi entering a hotel together, with a blurred back view.
Ye Xinuo also saw the news and shared it with Yu Qing.
When Yu Qing saw the photo, her mind went blank, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably. It took her a long time to come to her senses, and she hastily left Ye Xinuo’s office, saying, ‘I need to go to the finance office.’
Ye Xinuo didn’t believe that Han Qiuzi really had something with Tang Shikai, so he called directly.
‘You saw the news, did Yu Qing see it? What was her reaction?’
Han Qiuzi was having breakfast, and there were sounds of chewing on the phone.
‘There was no reaction,’ Ye Xinuo lied, ‘no emotion at all, and I even felt like laughing?’
‘Why? !’ Han Qiuzi slammed the table, ‘I don’t believe it.’
‘Believe it or not, she hummed a little tune and went to work,‘ Ye Xinuo said, “So you and Tang Shikai really went to a hotel room? You were hugging so tightly, weren’t you afraid of running out of breath!”
’How could that be!’ Han Qiuzi had no desire to eat anymore, and threw the remaining half piece of bread on the plate, ’Yesterday Tang Shikai asked me to dinner, and after dinner, he asked me to go drinking. I am a person who pays great attention to etiquette, and it would be rude to refuse. But this lecher actually dared to drug my drink while I was in the bathroom!’
Ye Xinuo listened quietly without saying a word.
‘I’m the Han family’s eldest daughter, and I’m protected by bodyguards when I go out! What can this despicable trick do to me!’ Han Qiuzi was disgusted, ‘So I had to treat him the same way he treated me, and I also put some strong medicine in him. By the way, I found a prostitute for him, and to match his status when he was photographed by the paparazzi, I also lent that girl my clothes. Wasn’t I very considerate?’
Ye Xinuo laughed twice, ‘You basically wanted people to think it was you on purpose.’
‘There was no one else, just Yu Qing,’ Han Qiuzi said angrily, ‘To shut the media up, I even went to a party when they took that photo yesterday, and I happened to run into a psycho!’
“What happened to Tang Shikai later?’
Han Qiuzi was indifferent, ‘I don’t know, bodyguards handle these trivial matters, so why would I care what happened to him?’
Knowing the whole story, Ye Xinuo said slowly, ‘Just now, Yu Qing went out with a very bad expression on her face. I don’t think she will ever forgive you.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me about such an important matter earlier!’ Han Qiuzi stood up from the stool with a “slam” and didn’t even bother to put on her clothes. She just grabbed two clothes from the cloakroom and ran out.
Yu Qing returned to the office with a light step, locked the door, and then slid heavily to the ground.
Her eyes were very dry, not a single tear, her whole body was like being drained, her eyes unfocused, as if she was just an empty shell.
The phone that had been lying on the floor rang for a long time, but she ignored it, as if she couldn’t hear it at all.
After sitting there listlessly for half an hour, Yu Qing stood up like a marionette, walked towards her desk with vacant eyes, sat down, took out a stack of documents, approved and checked them, and mechanically began her work for the day.
Han Qiuzi rushed into the Yuesheng Building out of breath. When she saw that the elevator was full of people, she gritted her teeth and turned into the stairwell.
After climbing 23 floors, she felt like the sky above her was swaying.
Han Qiuzi easily found Yu Qing’s office because she had secretly come up here a few times before, and sometimes parked in the parking lot downstairs and stared at the 23rd floor window.
When she opened the door, the person inside was methodically carrying out their work, without the slightest hint of anything unusual.
Hearing a noise, Yu Qing looked up, ‘Why are you here, Miss Han?’
Chapter 16
Han Qiuzi didn’t know if the other person was pretending to be unconcerned or if she really was, but in any case, she felt a strange mixture of emotions. She felt like a fool for coming here.
Han Qiuzi said with a sneer, ‘I’m almost a company director after all, so I came to see if I needed to get Miss Yu Qing’s approval?’
‘Of course not,’ Yu Qing replied formulaically, ‘Do you need me to give you a tour?’
Han Qiuzi gritted her teeth for a moment before she managed to control her emotions. She looked up and said, ‘Then I’ll trouble you, Miss Yu Qing.’
Yu Qing tidied up the things on the table and left the house with Han Qiuzi.
***
Ten minutes earlier.
Yu Qing’s mind went blank for a long time, and she suddenly stopped what she was doing and called Ada, Han Qiuzi’s personal bodyguard.
The bodyguard was carefully selected by Miss Han for Yu Qing in the past, and she had followed Yu Qing for a period of time. She was not gossipy or meddlesome, and the two got along quite well.
Over the years, Yu Qing would occasionally ask Ada about Han Qiuzi’s latest situation and ask her to keep it a secret. As a bodyguard, Ada would not disclose too much to Yu Qing, but she was not stingy about sharing news like ‘Han Qiuzi has a cold’ and ‘Han Qiuzi has a stomachache.’
After the call was connected, Yu Qing paused for a moment before speaking: ‘Han Qiuzi… and Tang Shikai…’ She couldn’t bring herself to say the rest.
‘The young lady left in a hurry, ran two red lights, and was speeding. If she doesn’t get caught by the traffic police, she should arrive at Ye Sheng in about ten minutes,’ Ada said, steering the car while keeping her eyes on Han Qiuzi’s car. She was very calm, ‘You should know her better than anyone, so you shouldn’t be asking me this kind of question.’
Ada knew that Han Qiuzi had deliberately let Yu Qing misunderstand, but she had spent time with Yu Qing every day and knew her character. Pressing too hard might backfire.
She hoped that she had not made a mistake taking matters into her own hands.
Yu Qing hung up the phone and muttered, ‘Yes, I should know her better than anyone.’
A gentle smile gradually appeared at the corner of her mouth. She got up and left the office door open.
***
Han Qiuzi listened to Yu Qing’s explanation of what department they were passing all the way, and was a little distracted. Her eyes glanced at the other person’s face from time to time, trying to see through Yu Qing’s true thoughts, but she got nothing.
‘Do I look good?’ Yu Qing tilted her head.
‘Yes,’ Han Qiuzi blurted out without thinking, and immediately regretted it.
He thought to himself, ‘Do you have any backbone!’
Yu Qing laughed and said, ‘I feel the same way.’
Hey hey! That’s a bit narcissistic!
Han Qiuzi thought to herself.
‘Don’t do that again. Tang Shikai is not a good person, and I will worry about you.’ Yu Qing turned around and lightly embraced Han Qiuzi, ‘We can still be friends after breaking up, can’t we?’
Han Qiuzi’s heart contracted, and her eyes welled up with tears. How long has it been since Yu Qing hugged her like this? Five years, that’s a long time.
But the words ‘still friends after breaking up’ hurt a little.
‘You have your responsibilities, and I have mine. Whether we are together or not, let’s not act like children, okay?’ Yu Qing looked Han Qiuzi in the eye and said seriously, “I won’t fall in love with anyone else.”
Han Qiuzi’s heart was very sour. She knew that this was the biggest concession Yu Qing had made. She forced a smile and nodded, saying, ’Okay.’
In order to hide her vulnerability, Han Qiuzi turned her head and looked around, ‘What department is this? Why is there no one here?’
‘When you first came in, didn’t you see the sign that said “under renovation”?’
Yu Qing suddenly realized, ‘You were looking at me the whole time, so you probably didn’t see it.’
‘Yes, I was looking at you the whole time, from before until now.’ Han Qiuzi did not avoid it, and there was an unbreakable, thick love in her eyes.
Yu Qing’s body stiffened for a moment, and she quickly averted her eyes, ‘Let me show you somewhere else.’
After leaving the Ye Sheng Building, Han Qiuzi suddenly realised that she had been chasing the wrong direction. She should not be worrying about whether Yu Qing loved her or not, but rather how she could make Yu Qing dare to love her without reservation.
‘I will definitely grow my own wings as soon as possible and marry you home as soon as possible. I swear,’ Han Qiuzi looked up at the clouds in the sky and murmured.
Ye Xinuo became more and more angry as she looked at the report. In her previous life, she couldn’t understand it, so she let these people fool her. After listening to the quarterly report these few days and comparing it with the reports from each department, the problems were not trivial.
She called Yu Qing to her office on the private line, and the two of them went to the finance office of the Xmate Research Center together.
Ye Xinuo slammed the financial report onto the CFO’s desk, her tone stern: ‘Fifty percent of the invoices for the user research funding are from five-star hotels. Fine, our researchers can eat well and stay in nice hotels, and karaoke and spas are also part of the research? Do you want our social software to develop a function to find escorts?
‘President, calm down, don’t get angry and harm your health,’ the CFO acted as if he didn’t take Ye Xinuo seriously, ‘You don’t understand. In order to improve team cohesion, each team has to organise regular team building activities. After all, Ye Xinuo is a leader in the internet industry, and we can’t save money in this area.’
Ye Xinuo laughed out loud, ‘So you are very considerate of the company’s image.’
‘Young Ye always, even when the old man was alive, never said there was a problem with our accounts,’ the CFO said with a smile.
‘I see,’ Ye Xinuo nodded knowingly, ‘since you, the CFO, say there is no problem, then there is no problem.’
The CFO asked, ‘Then what are your instructions, Young Ye?’
‘Well, I have a good friend whose brother recently couldn’t find a job and asked me for help. I saw that the atmosphere here is good, so I let him come here to work as a handyman.‘
The financial director saw that he was here to place a family member, and he felt more confident.
’But our department is a very core department, and we can’t just keep idle people.”
Ye Xinuo gave a smile, ’You can just let him deliver documents, shred paper, and buy coffee. He probably can’t do more complicated work.’
The CFO: ‘I’ll ask Mr Wang for his opinion then.’
Ye Xinuo folded her hands and begged, ‘Just let him stay in the finance office. Don’t let Mr Wang know. If I just took the job and then went through the back door, he’ll definitely be resentful. Please.’
The CFO had never seen such a pretty woman acting coquettishly towards him, let alone the president of the group. He swallowed, ‘Well…let me think about it.’
‘Then I’ll ask Yu Qing to bring you the resume of that person tomorrow.’ Ye Xinru looked at the CFO expectantly, “Don’t make me unable to explain to my friends.”
The CFO swallowed again and said, “Okay.”
After leaving, Ye Xinru sneered, “A sex-crazed loser.”
Yu Qing’s eyes were full of surprise, and she couldn’t even believe that the person in front of her was Ye Xinru.
‘Yu Qing, I want to take a walk alone, you go back first,‘ Ye Xinruo said.
’Okay,‘ Yu Qing nodded and left with a stack of reports.
Ye Xinruo walked towards the rooftop with her head down, thinking about something, and suddenly bumped into someone.
’I’m sorry,’ she looked up, and in front of her was Qin Moyan’s enlarged face.
Chapter 17
‘How have you been, Miss Ye?’
Qin Moyan had never called Ye Xinuo ‘President Ye’ or ‘Chairman Ye’ like everyone else.
‘Yes,’ Ye Xinuo snapped back, ‘I was cheated out of a painting by Director Qin, and I’m still heartbroken.’
Qin Moyan’s voice was cold: ‘Miss Ye, you stole my man, and it also made me heartbroken.’
‘What person?’ Ye Xinuo blinked, “Director Qin, don’t falsely accuse me, I don’t have the habit of being a mistress.”
Qin Moyan took a step forward, pressed his left cheek against her, and whispered in her ear, “I thought you were just a spoiled little girl, but now it seems that you are a rich treasure.”
Ye Xinuo smiled, ’Director Qin’s words are really unfathomable, I don’t understand them at all. When you say I’m a treasure, do you mean you like me?’
For the first time, Qin Moyan raised the corners of his mouth in front of Ye Xinuo, and without saying another word, he passed by her.
Ye Xinuo’s face slowly cooled down. It was true that she had stolen Qin Moyan’s man. But why did the other party know that it was her who did it?
She had clearly not shown her face at any point.
Qin Moyan’s subordinate named Judy in Hessen was famous in the industry as an investment machine.
She is called ‘the machine’ not only because her error rate is low, but also because she is emotionally single, has no loyalty but also will not betray. As long as the conditions are high enough, she will completely sever her ties with her former employer and devote herself to her new work.
Since her rebirth, Ye Xinuo has taken out almost all of her savings in a series of actions. She is more cautious with every step, for fear of making a mistake.
Before leaving work, Ye Xinuo went to Qiyue Game Studio, where the Y1 team had just finished a meeting.
‘Woody.’
This is how the rest of the company’s colleagues called Ning Han, and Ye Xinuo also called him this.
‘Are you looking for me, President Ye?’ Ning Han raised an eyebrow.
Ye Xinuo gave a warm smile, ‘You’ve been here for a few days, and the company hasn’t held a welcome party for you yet.’ He glanced at the people next to him, ‘I wonder when everyone is free?’
‘I have to catch up on work these days, so maybe later.‘ Ning Han answered politely. If it had been anyone else, she would have left when she heard the words “welcome party”.
’Okay,‘ Ye Xinuo nodded, “then I won’t bother you, you guys go ahead.”
Then she turned and left.
’Is our new president so gentle?”
A man with a face full of acne looked at Ye Xinuo’s back in surprise.
‘What’s the use of being gentle? With this kind of yellow-haired girl as the president, I don’t think Ye Sheng is far from going bankrupt. If it weren’t for working with Woody, I would have left a long time ago.”
The other man, with his head full of curls, was full of contempt.
Ning Han ignored their comments, took out a lollipop and put it in her mouth, put on her headphones and started playing a mobile game.
After a while, she felt a gaze fall on her, and she looked up, frowning. ’Is there something wrong?’
‘Nothing, I just think you’re pretty and wanted to take a second look.‘
The person speaking was called Health, and anyone who had known him since childhood would call him “Big Health” and also jokingly refer to him as “Big Teacher”.
’Your stare is affecting me. If you want your eyes to see the sun tomorrow, stay away from me.’ Ning Han lowered her head and continued to stare at the screen.
‘As the saying goes, a beating shows affection, and a scolding shows love. If you want to gouge out my eyes, I’ll stick my face out for you to do it, so that you can be my eyes in the future.’ Bao Jian flashed eight white teeth.
Ning Han snorted, and directly stuck two fingers of his left hand out at Bao Jian’s eyes.
Bao Jian reflexively closed his eyes, and clearly felt a force through his eyelids.
‘Shit!‘ Health covered his eyes, “You really went all out!”
After a while, no one answered, and Health said, “I can’t even open my eyes, you have to take me to the hospital!”
’Brother Bao, the person has already left,’ an intern reminded, trying not to laugh but unable to hold back.
***
‘Hucheng Finance Channel, a sneak peek at stock market information. Ms Ye Xinuo, the current chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Yesheng Group, was recently photographed drunk at a bar and taken back to the mansion by a company director. I don’t know if this kind of scandal will cause the stock price of Yesheng to fall, but it will definitely hit the confidence of investors in Yesheng. Anyway, I hope that Mr Ye can pull himself together and restore the glory of Yesheng’s stock.’
The day before:
Ye Xinuo walked into the Night Bar, sat in a booth, ordered a bottle of whisky, poured himself two glasses, and walked towards the bar with the bottle in his hands.
‘Oops, sorry!’ Ye Xinuo stumbled and mumbled.
‘Can you watch where you’re going!’ The man sitting at the bar was very unhappy when Ye Xinuo poured a shirtful of wine over him.
‘Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to.‘ Ye Xinuo didn’t wave his hand, but when he shook his hand, the entire bottle fell to the ground, and the spilled wine splashed the man’s shoes as the bottle broke.
’Did you do that on purpose!‘ the man yelled angrily.
’Zhou, you’re being very ungentlemanly to the lady,‘ the foreign man said.
’Sorry, Mr. Laika, I was a bit anxious just now,’ the man smiled awkwardly.
‘Burp,‘ Ye Xinuo burped, “how much is your shirt, I’ll pay you for it.”
’It’s fine, no need,‘ the man let out a heavy breath, waved his hand at Ye Xinuo, “go.”
’No, no, I must pay you for it,’ Ye Xinuo took out a pack of tissues from his pocket, as if he was going to wipe the man’s shirt.
The man glared at Ye Xinuo and said to the foreigner, ‘Mr. Lycra, I’m sorry, I need to go to the bathroom.’
Ye Xinuo lowered her head and left silently. A smile just rose at the corner of her mouth, but the next moment she entered a state of petrification.
A man in a casual suit started chatting with Lycra, but it wasn’t her man.
At that moment, the person she had arranged to meet was surrounded by a group of female university students. The reason was that the man, who had been pushed by someone, accidentally touched one of the girls‘ buttocks.
Ye Xinuo closed her eyes for a moment, and angrily turned around and went back. However, she was stopped by Qin Moyan after only a few steps.
’Miss Ye, what a coincidence.‘
’Haha, it is indeed a coincidence. Director Qin and I really have a connection.’ Ye Xinuo held back her anger and forced a smile.
‘Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t we sit down and have a drink?‘ Qin Moyan made a “please” gesture.
’Drink? I love drinking!‘ Ye Xinuo glanced at the foreigner being led away by the man in the suit, and laughed twice in a sinister manner, “I like to get drunk until I drop, and Director Qin will have to keep up.”
’Naturally,’ Qin Moyan took the lead and found a booth to sit down in.
Victory or defeat is a common occurrence in the military, and Ye Xinru did not dwell on it, and sat down with Qin Moyan.
‘Thank you, Miss Ye, for today.’ Qin Moyan floated a shallow smile.
‘So you can smile.’ Ye Xinru crossed her arms in front of her, ‘It is my honour to be able to win a smile from a beauty.’
Chapter 18
In the morning, Ye Xinuo sat up in bed, covering her head from the hangover. Her head ached and swelled, and she felt terrible. She couldn’t help dry retching twice.
Last night, her intention was to get Qin Moyan drunk, but she never expected that she would become a pool of mud. That guy’s alcohol tolerance was too good.
‘You’re awake.’
Ye Xinuo looked at the person who pushed the door in with horror, ‘You, you, why are you here!’
Qin Moyan: ‘This is my home.’
‘Eh?’ Ye Xinuo looked around, and indeed it was not a familiar place.
After a while, she spoke again with ‘righteousness’: ‘Why did you bring me back to your home? You don’t have any improper thoughts about me, do you?’
‘I’m not interested in women.’ Qin Moyan’s gaze fell on Ye Xinuo’s open neckline, ‘If you want to seduce me, you can forget about it.’
‘Why would I seduce you? You’re such a strange person,‘ Ye Xinruo snorted.
Then she felt a chill in her chest, looked down, then looked up calmly, “We’re both women, so what if I’m standing in front of you naked?”
’Then Miss Ye, since you’ve woken up, can you go back to your own home?’ Qin Moyan didn’t continue the conversation and gave the order to leave.
‘Goo~’ Ye Xinuo’s stomach growled at the right moment.
Qin Moyan turned around as he left, saying, “I didn’t prepare breakfast for you, Miss Ye.”
Ye Xinuo got up and got dressed…wait…why does she have a change of clothes in Qin Moyan’s house!
Pieces of last night’s scene slowly pieced together in Ye Xinuo’s mind.
After drinking a lot, Qin Moyan seemed to have brought her home, but she seemed to be hugging Qin Moyan to death! No! Let go!
It was only then that the aunt took out her own change of clothes.
Ye Xinuo covered her eyes, unable to face the memories of last night.
When she gets drunk, she will activate her defence mechanism and hold on to someone relatively safe. But was there something wrong with her recognition system that she held on to that fox Qin Mo Yan?
When she finished washing up and went out of the guest room, Qin Mo Yan had just finished the last bite of his sandwich.
Ye Xinru swallowed reflexively, met Qin Moyan’s gaze, and her face flushed with heat.
Even if she tried to hide it, these embarrassing incidents were real, and she felt immense remorse for each one of them.
Qin Moyan wiped the corner of his mouth with a tissue and said, ‘Have a good day, Ms. Ye,’ before getting up.
Ye Xinru smiled with her lips but not her heart and said, ‘Thank you, Director Qin, for last night. I’ll buy you dinner sometime.’
‘Mm.’ Qin Moyan walked over and politely saw Ye Xinuo out the door.
Ye Xinuo stood in the elevator, lightly hammering her chest, and vowed never to drink like that again, especially in front of Qin Moyan. But fortunately, Qin Moyan was a woman, and if it had been someone else, it would have been a bit dangerous.
To save time, she took a taxi straight home, and on the way, she called Yu Qing.
As soon as the call connected, Ye Xinru asked, ‘Did it go well?’
‘With me on the case, what’s not to be confident about!’ Yu Qing said, ‘But I heard from Su Ma that you wouldn’t let go of Qin Moyan last night?’
‘Cough cough cough.’ Ye Xinru coughed for a while as her saliva choked her, ‘I came up with this expedient measure to ensure that you weren’t disturbed!’
‘You can’t do that anymore,‘ Yu Qing said reproachfully. “Luckily, Qin Moyan is a gentleman, otherwise what if something happens when I’m not around?”
’Okay, I got it,’ Ye Xinuo replied softly. “I’ll go home and pack up before going to the office. See you later.”
Yu Qing knew that it was futile to persuade Ye Xinuo to stay home and rest, so she said, ’Okay, bye.’
Ye Xinuo felt better when she learned that Yu Qing had successfully ‘sneaked in behind the scenes’. She comforted herself that the process didn’t matter, as long as the result was good.
After sending Ye Xinuo off, Qin Moyan sat properly on the sofa, browsing the stock market and financial news. After a while, a phone call came in, so she put on her headset and pressed the answer button.
‘Boss, Inston has reached a cooperation with Ye Sheng,’ the voice on the other end of the phone said with annoyance, ‘a big fish just ran away.’
Qin Moyan didn’t stop what she was doing before, and said, ‘It’s just a business deal, don’t dwell on it.’
‘Boss, I don’t quite understand. If you had been there last night, this deal would definitely be ours. But you knew that Ye was deliberately stalling you, so why did you go along with her? Do you have some bigger plan?’
‘She was drunk.’
‘Just because of that?’ The person on the other end of the line couldn’t believe it, ‘When did you become so tenderhearted, boss?’
‘Are you idle at work?‘ Qin Moyan’s tone of voice rose slightly at the end.
’Then I’ll get back to work, Boss.’ The other end hung up quickly.
She had thought about leaving Ye Xinuo behind last night, but the vulnerability she had shown made her hesitate.
The drunk Ye Xinuo was saying a bunch of nonsense, and her sad and frightened expression made it impossible to ignore.
Qin Moyan was momentarily lost in thought.
Ye Sheng Building.
Ye Xinuo leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyebrows counterclockwise. Whenever he was tired for a long time, it would ache unbearably.
‘Knock, knock, knock,’ the sound of knocking came from outside.
‘Come in,’
Yu Qing said as she walked in with a few folders in her arms. ‘Lu Qiang has already reported to the finance department of the Xmate R&D department.’
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo opened his eyes again, ‘then let’s go to other departments today.’
‘Nono, you don’t look well, are you okay?‘ Yu Qing worriedly asked.
’I’m not—‘ Ye Xinuo got up while talking, but just as he said two words, he collapsed to the ground.
’Nono!”
Yu Qing patted Ye Xinuo a few times, and seeing that the other person showed no signs of waking up, she immediately called for emergency assistance.
Ye Xinuo woke up on the way to the hospital and insisted on going back to the company.
Yu Qing grabbed Ye Xinuo by the collar and said angrily, ‘Can’t you love your body a little! You’ve been working like crazy lately, not eating properly, not resting well, do you want to go down and find the boss now!’
Ye Xinuo glanced away, biting her lips and not saying a word.
She was afraid, afraid that she had wasted another chance at a heavy task. She was even more afraid that this was a dream, and she might wake up at any time.
She wanted to do her best to protect what her father had left her, to race against time, and to make Tang Jie pay for what he had done.
‘Nono, I can see that you are working hard. You are doing a great job, really. In such a short time, you have already impressed a lot of people, so there is no need to push yourself like this.’ Yu Qing stroked Ye Xinuo’s hair gently, ‘You are like a real sister to me. My mother is no longer with me, and I hope that you can be healthy and worry-free.’
‘Yu Qing…‘ Ye Xinuo had a thousand words stuck in her throat.
’Okay, now you rest well and go to the hospital obediently to get some nutrient solution.’ Yu Qing forcibly covered Ye Xinuo’s eyes with her hands.
Ye Xinuo was very tired and fell asleep after a few seconds, and had a very real dream.
It was as if it were a memory she had forgotten.
Chapter 19
‘What’s wrong with you, sister?’ The young Ye Xinuo stood in front of the thin young girl curled up in a ball, her eyes full of curiosity.
The young girl looked up, her face covered in tears, but her eyes had lost their timidity. She ignored Ye Xinuo and tried to get up and leave.
‘Are you mute, sister?’ Ye Xinuo’s tone did not carry any sympathy or mockery, just the simple question of a child.
The young girl froze for a moment when she saw Ye Xinuo’s clear eyes.
‘This is for you,’ Ye Xinuo took something out of her small backpack and held it up in front of the young girl, ‘Mum always says that there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome, so don’t be sad, it’s fine if you can’t speak. The boys in my class keep coming up to me to talk, it’s so annoying.’
The young girl, as if possessed, accepted Ye Xinuo’s gift and patted her little head. She raised the corners of her mouth and said, ‘Thank you.’
Ye Xinuo’s face turned red in an instant. It turned out that this sister could speak.
Ye Xinuo woke up from her dream, and she was alone in the hospital room.
She couldn’t remember what she had given the little girl in her dream, nor could she remember the appearance of the person in her dream.
So she took out her phone and started searching: ‘What does it mean to dream of giving someone a gift?’
After looking at a bunch of explanations, Ye Xinuo muttered to herself, ‘Why am I looking this up? What’s wrong with me?’
Then she threw the phone aside.
‘Xinuo, you’re awake.’ Yu Qing pushed the door open, carrying a thermos in her hand, ‘You poor thing, how long have you been awake? You slept for almost a day before you woke up.’
‘I slept for so long!‘ Ye Xinuo was a little incredulous, having wasted an entire day sleeping.
’What’s with that face? You look miserable just for sleeping. Why don’t you just die?’ Yu Qing slammed the thermos on the bedside table, ’I asked Su Ma to make some soup. You have to drink at least two bowls. From now on, I’ll make sure you eat properly every day.’
‘I’m already so weak, and you’re still making me drink soup. You’re practically pushing me into the arms of death!‘ Ye Xinuo’s facial features crumpled together. She hated soup the most, always finding it to have an indescribable strange taste.
’Who told you not to take care of your body? All you eat is bread and sandwiches, and I think you’re going to turn into bread yourself.’ Yu Qing quickly set up the table on the hospital bed, opened the thermos, and ladled a bowl of old duck soup for Ye Xinuo.
Ye Xinru rolled his throat, looked at the bowl in front of him like a blank, and hesitated to reach out to take it.
‘Nono is so big, and you still want someone to feed you?’ Yu Qing’s voice rarely revealed the authority of an elderly person.
Ye Xinru reluctantly held the bowl of old duck soup, licked his lips, and before Yu Qing could react, he gulped it down, leaving a few pieces of duck liver and blood.
‘I won’t eat a single bite of that!”
The tone of her voice made Yu Qing recall the scenes from her childhood when she tried to get Ye Xinuo to eat his soup and he always put up this kind of resistance.
Yu Qing served Ye Xinuo another bowl of soup. “If you don’t want to eat, then drink another bowl of soup.”
Ye Xinuo muttered under his breath, ’Unhuman, fascist!’
‘Are you childish? Only children use such language,‘ Yu Qing said, giving Ye Xinuo a disgusted look.
’I’m happy to be a child in front of an old aunt like you, Yu Qing,‘ Ye Xinuo said, making a face.
’They say a woman’s age is a taboo!’ Yu Qing pinched Ye Xinuo’s face and tugged it hard.
The two were arguing when there were two clear coughs at the door.
‘I didn’t say I was coming, am I interrupting?’ Han Qiuzi was carrying a fruit basket and a bouquet of flowers.
Yu Qing glanced back, and with lightning speed, rushed up to take the bouquet and threw it in a perfect parabola into the trash can in the hallway.
Han Qiuzi’s mouth opened slightly, and after a moment of daze, she angrily said, ’What are you doing? It’s not for you, so why are you so excited?’
Yu Qing, as if she was impressed by her own posture, swung her hair around elegantly and returned to the bedside, ‘Nu Nu is allergic to pollen.’
‘Oh.’ Han Qiuzi gave Ye Xinuo a forlorn look, the subtext being, ‘No one else treats me like this.’
Ye Xinuo wanted to laugh but didn’t dare, her face turning red. After all, Yu Qing still didn’t know that she and Han Qiuzi had met so many times in private.
‘Why is Miss Han here?‘ Yu Qing’s attitude towards Han Qiuzi was still distant, but it was less prickly than before.
’I heard that Chairman Ye is ill, and as a director, I naturally want to express my concern.‘ Han Qiuzi placed the fruit basket in her hands on a table in the ward.
’How did you know?’ Yu Qing’s eyes revealed surprise; no one else in the company knew about this except her.
‘Sister Yu, you need to pay more attention to real-time news!‘ Han Qiuzi took out her mobile phone, fiddled with it for a while, and then held it out in front of Yu Qing. “A ”well-meaning person’ broke the news that the chairman of the board of directors of Yesheng Group was taken to the hospital by ambulance and is suspected to be in danger of life.‘
’What kind of bullshit news is this? !’ Yu Qing snatched the phone away and read the news word by word, not even bothering to get angry at Han Qiuzi for calling her ’Sister Yu.’
‘I’m so miserable,‘ Han Qiuzi said in a pitiful tone. “Tomorrow, Yip Seng’s stock price will definitely plummet again. I have just become a director of Yip Seng for a few days, and I am about to suffer such harm. It’s hard for a baby to bear!”
’Shut up,’ Yu Qing frowned, thinking quickly about a response.
Ye Xinru couldn’t help but feel amused. Yu Qing was usually very polite to outsiders, but now she was able to treat Han Qiuzi in such a manner. It seemed that the relationship between the two had eased up a lot.
She was more at ease than Yu Qing, because something like this had happened in the previous life, just not as early as this time.
This time and the last time they were secretly photographed, it was probably Tang Jie’s doing. His goal was to make Ye Sheng waver in the storm, so that he could come out and be the hero.
In the previous life, Ye Xinuo was ignorant of the ways of the world and did not know Tang Jie’s ambition, and was even grateful to the other party for it. Now that she thinks about it, it is clear that he was the one behind all the tricks.
This kind of despicable tactic of killing the minority shareholders is really detestable.
In the twinkling of an eye, Yu Qing had already constructed a response strategy in her mind and immediately went out to call the PR manager.
‘Alas, I really envy you,’ Han Qiuzi moved a stool and sat down, ‘it would be so good to have someone like that to help me.’
Ye Xinuo poured a bucket of cold water on the fire, ‘You should just be envious. Even if Yu Qing and you get back together, she won’t leave Ye Sheng. I’m afraid I can’t get rid of her.’
‘Is it really okay for you to show off like this? Be careful, I might kill someone in a fit of rage!‘ Han Qiuzi made a show of choking Ye Xinuo with his bare hands.
’Knock, knock, knock…’ The door to the ward was suddenly knocked on.
The two men’s gazes fell on the door at the same time. Ye Xinuo’s brows furrowed slightly, wondering which nosy person was there.
Chapter 20
‘Come in,’ Ye Xinuo answered.
Seeing the person who pushed the door in was Qin Moyan, Ye Xinuo felt both surprised and unsurprised.
Qin Moyan nodded to the two people in the room, closed the door, and walked over to the bed.
Ye Xinuo smiled wryly, ‘Director Qin also heard that I was about to die, so you came to confirm?’
‘The chairman made such a big news, and as a director, it is only right for me to come and pay a visit.’ Qin Moyan did not avoid the issue, and in front of Han Qiuzi’s face, he handed Ye Xinuo an exquisitely packaged box, “This is a small gift from me to Miss Ye, wishing you a speedy recovery.”
Before Ye Xinuo could open her mouth, Qin Moyan nodded his head, said goodbye, pushed open the door and left in one go.
Han Qiuzi is a discerning person, and quickly followed up, ‘Since you’re fine, I’ll go back first. Say hello to Yu Qing for me.’
‘Okay.’
Ye Xinuo was also very curious about the contents of the gift box, so as soon as Han Qiuzi left, she started to unwrap the packaging.
Inside the box was a USB flash drive.
She picked up the phone at hand and asked her secretary to bring her laptop.
It wasn’t long before Yu Qing came back from her phone call, and saw that Ye Xinuo seemed to be in deep thought.
Ye Xinru stared at the ceiling in a daze.
The contents of the USB drive were evidence of insider trading by Chen Rui, the current president of the Zheshang Bank, and it was definitely a big bombshell.
In her previous life, Tang Jie had used Chen Rui’s guarantee loans to inject a large amount of capital into the stock market, which had raised Ye Sheng’s stock price again.
Did Qin Moyan give her this so that she could use it to threaten Chen Rui and cut off Tang Jie’s path? Or perhaps she should make good use of it and meet President Chen in person.
In the past, Ye Xinru would have directly exposed Chen Rui’s crimes and insisted on what she considered justice. But Ye Xinru, who has experienced many ups and downs, will not make that decision again. Letting Ye Sheng’s stock price fall will cause tens of thousands of shareholders to lose their life savings, and it may even destroy many happy families.
The most pressing task is to stabilise Ye Sheng’s stock price.
But what was the intention behind Qin Moyan’s gift?
Ye Xinuo didn’t believe that the other party simply wanted to help her. Qin Moyan must have had an ulterior motive, but what was it and what was he plotting?
After about a quarter of an hour, Yu Qing saw Ye Xinuo come out of her thoughts and asked, ‘Han Qiuzi left?’
“Yes, she told me to tell you.’
‘Oh.‘
Ye Xinru smirked, “Yu Qing looks a little lost. Could it be because she didn’t personally say goodbye to you?”
’What’s going on in that young mind of yours?‘ Yu Qing looked away, “I don’t know her well.”
’I was just joking, why are you so agitated?’ Ye Xinru looked puzzled and aggrieved, as if he really meant it.
‘I need to go back to the office for a while, so you should get some rest.’ Yu Qing chose to ignore Ye Xinuo.
In the end, Ye Xinuo succumbed to Yu Qing’s bullying and spent three days hooked up to an IV drip in the hospital, but he was not idle.
Before Ye Xinuo was discharged from the hospital, Yu Qing had already released Ye Sheng’s current operating status, hoping to boost the confidence of shareholders and stabilise their emotions. However, at the same time, there were constant reports of Ye Sheng’s financial difficulties, and within just three days, the stock market began to sell off Ye Sheng’s stocks in large quantities.
Ye Xinuo had a phone call with President Chen the day she received the USB drive. By the time she was discharged from the hospital, President Chen had also given a clear response and asked Ye Xinuo to meet with him.
‘President Chen has been working with Ye Sheng for more than ten years, and I heard that he and my father used to be quite close friends. I got the sudden urge to look through the company’s loan records the other day, and I found that President Chen is indeed selfless.‘
Ye Xinuo sat opposite Chen Rui, her eyebrows and eyes smiling, but her words were chilling.
’Why has my father been unable to get any money from you since last year? Is it because President Chen deliberately only cooperated with Uncle Tang to avoid suspicion?’
Before they met, Chen Rui thought that Ye Xinuo was just a little girl, and that he could coax her into giving him back what he had taken from her. But the aura emanating from the other person at this moment was so strong that it made even a man in his forties feel intimidated.
He took a sip of water and pretended to be composed, saying, ‘After all, President Ye has never been involved in the running of the company in the past, and there are many twists and turns in it that a child wouldn’t understand. I have always been on good terms with your father, but there is a fine line between public and private matters…’
‘Yes, yes, when it comes to running a company, how could I possibly teach you anything?‘ Ye Xinuo nodded, “Young people nowadays just like to sit around gossiping and showing off. I heard that President Chen’s son just bought a sports car the other day. I’d say President Chen is a role model for parents. That sports car must be two years” worth of your income.’
President Chen’s face remained unchanged, ‘Haha, I don’t need to worry about that kid. He likes to speculate in stocks. Boys, they make some money and then spend it all on cars.’
‘Then I should learn more from your son. I always lose money when I speculate in stocks. Which securities company does he work for?‘ Ye Xinru touched his forehead and suddenly remembered, “Ah, it’s Jinfeng Securities. I just didn’t know that this securities company would also transfer money to clients through offshore companies.”
Chen Rui’s face changed. He didn’t expect Ye Xinru to have found out about his son.
’It would be a bit lonely for President Chen to go to prison alone. Wouldn’t it be nice for father and son to be reunited?’
Ye Xinru tapped his fingertips on the table, and a few drops of sweat appeared on Chen Rui’s forehead.
Ye Xinru stopped short of saying anything, ‘Husband and wife are birds in the same forest, and when disaster strikes, they fly away on their own. As long as President Chen withdraws in time, he will still be a good president of Zheshang Bank.’
Chen Rui wiped the sweat from his forehead and said knowingly, ‘I will approve the loan for Tang Jie entirely on Ye’s behalf. As the saying goes, it’s nice to have a big tree to take shelter under. Ye Xinnuo got a satisfactory answer, and re-arranged a time to sign the loan documents with President Chen, giving the other party a note with the safe deposit box number and password written on it.
She wasn’t worried that Chen Rui would go back on his word, as no one in his position was stupid.
In fact, Ye Xinuo had never sent anyone to investigate Chen Rui’s son. She only knew that Chen Rui’s son loved gambling and happened to have heard his heroic words at a party a while ago.
The words just now were just gambling. If you bet right, you win the jackpot; if you bet wrong, you still have the contents of the USB drive as a fallback.
This test has really been very rewarding. Following up on this line of investigation and getting hold of Chen Rui again is just a matter of time.
She not only wanted to block Tang Jie’s path this time, but also to block his path in the future. Although there was more than just one Zheshang Bank, not every bank had such an understanding with him. Naturally, other banks had other competitors to restrain him.
Ye Xinru was also covered in cold sweat after leaving the room. No matter what Chen Rui said, he was an old hand 20 years her senior, and if he showed even the slightest slip-up, it could be the end of everything.
Yu Qing saw Ye Xinuo come out and immediately anxiously went up to him, her face serious. ‘Xinuo, suddenly a few directors of the company have jointly proposed to hold an emergency board meeting, which starts in 20 minutes. They don’t seem to be friendly, and if you’re late, I’m afraid things won’t be good.’
Ye Xinuo glanced at his watch and saw that it was the evening rush hour. As he walked out, he said, ‘Let’s take the subway.’
Chapter 21
Ye Xinru knew that setting such a tight schedule was directed at her. She was afraid that she, as the chairman, would be the last to know about the meeting today. Even if she arrived on time, it would be a tough battle, but she still didn’t want to give others a reason to gossip.
When she arrived panting at the bottom of Yesen Building, ten minutes had already passed since the meeting was scheduled to begin. Ye Xinuo calmed down a little in the same place, and only after her breathing had stabilised a little did she walk into Yesen Building with her head held high and an elegant gait.
Yu Qing opened the door to the meeting room for Ye Xinuo, and the other directors were already in their seats.
‘Our little miss is really quite arrogant, even being late for the board meeting,’ said Director Wei Gang sarcastically.
Ye Xinruo gave a smile, “Of course I don’t have as much time as Director Wei, with the Group’s busy affairs, I can’t be absent from my position as Chairman, or… Director Wei, would you like to take over as Chairman?”
Wei Gang followed up, ’Since Miss Ye is too busy to handle everything, it would be best to hand it over to someone with more experience. Of course, I’m not saying this for myself, and I have no intention of taking over the title. Everyone knows that Ye Sheng’s stock price has fallen a lot recently. If no one else comes forward to take the lead, we shareholders will suffer huge losses!‘
Ye Xinuo sneered inwardly. The reason why she had become the chairman of the board of directors in the first place was because her father had signed a document that if anything happened to him, his daughter would temporarily inherit all his duties, and a new election could only be held after three months. Now that the time was up, everyone was impatient.
’So, Director Wei, who do you think is most suitable to take over Ye Sheng from me?’
Wei Gang: ‘Director Tang co-founded Yesheng with Chairman Ye, and I believe no one is more familiar with the company’s operations than he is.’
Tang Jie waved his hand, ‘Director Wei is flattering me. I’ll just be a minister assisting in governance. After all, Xi Nuo is at least Brother Sheng’s only bloodline, and I should take care of her no matter what.’
Qin Moyan, who had been silent, trembled her eyelashes slightly, and her gaze towards Ye Xinuo carried a hint of complexity.
Ye Xinuo nodded, ‘Since Uncle Tang himself has no interest in the position of chairman, Director Wei should not force the issue. Uncle Tang has been Dad’s assistant for so many years, and there is no reason for him to still be working hard for the company at his age.’
At this point, another director spoke up: ‘We are a listed company, not some small workshop. Whoever is capable and can bring high profits to the company and convince others should be the chairman. Director Ye is still a child. He has caused a lot of trouble since taking over the company. Everyone here is dissatisfied, even if they don’t say so. How can we risk the future of the group because of Brother Sheng?‘
Ye Xinuo thought for a moment, “In that case, Director Qin is also a good candidate.”
After he finished speaking, he looked at all the directors’ faces, and their expressions were all wonderful.
Tang Jie adjusted his glasses and raised the corners of his mouth, ‘Xinuo really knows how to joke.’
Ye Xinuo looked at Qin Moyan with a smile, ‘I wonder if Director Qin would like to be Chairman of Ye Sheng?’
Upon hearing this, Qin Moyan’s eyes remained as still as a lake, without a ripple. ‘If any director is willing to support me, why not?’
‘I admire Director Qin’s beautiful quality of “if you want it, just say so”.’ Ye Xinuo applauded, ‘Then Director Qin is a candidate. Who else wants this position? I can see that this meeting is about changing the chairman. If that’s the case, why don’t we be decisive and solve things that can be solved this time, rather than putting them off until next time?
After listening to Ye Xinuo’s speech, a few directors were very tempted. In the end, one of them put himself forward.
Tang Jie was in a difficult position, so he had to feign sincerity and say, ‘Since there are still two directors standing for election, I can only join in the fun.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Anyone else?’
After a long while, no one responded, so Ye Xinuo said, ‘Before the voting begins, I would like to apologise for being late. But you directors didn’t wait in vain. An hour ago, I negotiated a loan of 20 billion yuan, and it is only a matter of time before the stock price recovers. Specific documents will be sent to you all in a couple of days.’
After that, without giving the other directors a chance to speak, he went straight to the point, ‘I hope you directors don’t mind voting by show of hands, like schoolchildren.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘According to seniority, directors who support Uncle Tang, please raise your hands.’
One-third of the directors raised their hands.
‘And those who support Director Zhao?’
This time only Director Zhao himself and the person next to him raised their hands. He had already been persuaded by Tang Jie, but he took a chance and participated in the election.
Ye Xinuo smiled, ‘Those who support Director Qin?’
There were none at all, not even her.
Ye Xinuo sat up straight, resting her elbows on the table. ‘How many of you support me as the successor?’
Three directors raised their hands. One of them was too calculating and had seen through Ye Xinuo’s abilities early on, while the other two had been forced to support her because Ye Xinuo had something on them.
Han Qiuzi slowly raised her hand as well.
Tang Jie’s expression froze for a moment, and he reminded her, ‘Miss Han, a director can only raise their hand once.’
‘Really? But I can’t bear to see Chairman Ye lose.’ Han Qiuzi scratched his head, ‘Oh dear, I just can’t help feeling pity for others. Uncle Tang, don’t you know? My first love was a woman.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘It seems that there is already a result without me having to make a decision. Congratulations to Chairman Ye.’
Ye Xinru’s heart, which had been hanging in the air for a long time, finally settled back down to the ground. She had thought that she would only be able to defeat Tang Jie by winning over Qin Moyan’s vote, and Director Lu’s support was something she had not expected.
However, it had all happened so quickly that she had not even had time to help her own people up before she had revealed herself to all the directors. She was afraid that there would be many more obstacles in the future, after all, no one would allow one company to dominate.
Tang Jie also smiled and congratulated her, saying, ‘It is true that since ancient times, talented people have come from a young age.’
After the loan incident, Ye Xinru knew that she could no longer pretend to be a little white rabbit in front of Tang Jie, so she simply dropped her pretences.
‘Ye is Ye’s surname. I advise some people to best put aside their superfluous thoughts. If I’m good, the group will be good, and you will be able to make money too. If I’m not good, then how can the directors just lie there and make money? You shouldn’t be difficult with money, should you?’
All the directors left the meeting room with their own thoughts, and Qin Moyan walked up to Ye Xinru.
‘Ye Lao really has raised a surprising daughter.”
For some reason, Ye Xinru always felt that Qin Moyan’s tone was very strange when he said this, which made her very uncomfortable.
Qin Moyan patted Ye Xinru on the shoulder and breathed hot air in the other person’s ear, “I look forward to your next performance.”
***
After Ye Xinru returned to the office, she opened the email sent by Ni Anxin.
Chapter 22
The email contained photos of Qin Moyan, Ning Han and Ding Qi alone. Interestingly, judging from the background, they were taken secretly in the same scene, and not long apart.
Sure enough, these three had known each other since early on.
Ye Xinuo confirmed her suspicions.
Ning Han, one of the protagonists, was at this time overwhelmed by the harassment, and wished he could put up a wall in front of him to block the eyes of the health care workers.
At the end of his patience, he angrily said, ‘Brother, is your face made of city walls? You can still act as if nothing happened after I hit you three or four times. If you have this kind of willpower, why don’t you go do something great?’
‘It’s also a blessing to be hit by a woman who appreciates you,’ said Bao Jian with a sullen look on his face. ‘I like it when you care about how I look.’
‘Good, good, as long as you’re happy.’ Ning Han let out a long breath, put on his headphones, turned his back to Bao Jian, and started typing on his computer.
Bao Jian realised that something was wrong, and immediately started typing on his own keyboard, but after a few seconds, the computer screen flashed a few times, then went completely black. When he tried to start it again, a lock warning screen popped up.
Judging from the situation, a little more operation would erase the computer data.
‘Fuck!’ Bao cursed, then ran up to Ning Han with a smile on his face and said apologetically, “Wudy! Big guy! I was wrong! I have to hand in my work tomorrow, so can you unlock my computer?”
But Ning Han just pretended not to hear him, got up and walked away with a lollipop in his mouth.
A programmer at the next workstation patted Bao’s shoulder and said, ‘Haha, Bao, you’ve made a contribution to the team. Just watching Wudy deal with you, no one else would dare to go against her. She is really pretty, but she also has a really bad temper. You’d better watch out!’
‘I like a challenge,’ Bao said, with a smile on his lips, his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair.
‘Fine, then you keep challenging, I’m going to make a cup of coffee and stay up all night. You really don’t seem to be in a hurry, you’re so calm even though your computer is locked. If you can’t hand in your work tomorrow, you’ll cry!”
Hau Keung stood up, smiling and speaking foul language, “I’m so clever, I can go and leave a note and come back to continue the fight.”
In the dimly lit security corridor, a man’s face was half in the blue light and half in the dark, his fingers flying over the phone as he edited something.
After a few success notifications, he looks around, pulls open the corridor door, and returns to the light.
***
Ye Xinuo’s office.
“President Ye, the Xmate product department is now divided into two factions: the product king faction and the financial director faction. It is said that the product king is very dissatisfied with the financial director’s practice of cutting expenses and giving the user research team a lot of funding, but always holding back the reimbursement of the product development team. However, this problem seems to have never been properly resolved.’
The speaker was Ye Xinuo, who had just delivered Chen Chen, the ‘waste’ to the CFO a while ago. This person was actually a senior financial director who had been poached from abroad by virtue of his father’s close friend. It was only because he had a baby face that he appeared immature.
‘Is there a female staff member with curly hair and big breasts in the user research department, with a beauty mole at the corner of her mouth?’ Ye Xinuo asked while recalling.
“There is such a person. I have met him a few times in the pantry.’
Chen Chen was surprised, but she didn’t ask any more.
Ye Xinuo nodded.
She remembered that in her previous life, an office scandal broke out. That female employee was the wife of a heavyweight executive in the pro-Tang faction. Many people in the group tacitly understood this, so they took special care of that female employee. Later, because the executive’s wife filed for divorce and brought it to the company, the impact was really bad. The female employee was fired, but the executive was only temporarily transferred.
Tang Jie handled all of this, and she didn’t ask too many questions at the time.
Ye Xinuo lightly tapped her fingers on the table, and after a moment of thought, she said, ‘Then Director Chen will have to continue to “familiarise” herself with the Xmate Product Department.’
‘Director Ye, you can just call me Chen Chen,’ the man across the desk said with a light smile, ‘I believe that the title of Director Chen will not come too late.’
Ye Xinuo smiled but said nothing, watching as Chen Chen turned and walked out of the office.
In her previous life, the thing she regretted most was stepping into the trap that Tang Jie had carefully planned. Thinking that her father’s friends had conspired against Ye Sheng, she gradually distanced herself from them, so that in the end she was left to fight alone.
Now, although she knows that those old gentlemen will help her, it’s not as if they’re doing it for nothing, but she is still very grateful that they are willing to help her, a junior, out of consideration for their past friendship with her father.
Having capable subordinates is like having a sharp sword in battle. Having a capable person to give you a sharp sword will make the battle go more smoothly.
Ye Xinuo picked up the dedicated phone line and called Yu Qing into his office.
‘Hello, President Wang, yes, yes, no problem, thank you very much.’ When Yu Qing pushed the door open, there was a phone call in her ear and she was holding a stack of documents.
Seeing the pile of stuff, Ye Xinruo rubbed his wrists reflexively.
Yu Qing hung up the phone and slammed the stuff in her hand on the desktop, ‘Just in time, the documents that need your signature.’
Ye Xinruo covered his mouth and sniffed, picked up the pen and began to flip through the contents of the documents page by page.
Yu Qing took advantage of this gap in time to go to the corner and make a few more phone calls.
After a while, the secretary Vivian knocked on the door and entered, placing a delicate pink and white invitation in Ye Xinuo’s hands.
‘President Ye, the Han Group has sent an invitation. Miss Han Qiuzi will hold an engagement ceremony with the Ni family’s young master, Ni Mingxuan, on the 20th of next month. We hope you can attend,’
Yu Qing’s body shook slightly upon hearing this. Although her face remained calm, her fingertips kept trembling.
‘I know,’ Ye Xinuo replied indifferently, and then continued to look down at the documents in her hands.
Yu Qing took a deep breath, forced herself to speak, and said, ’I don’t have any plans tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll help you make an appointment with Candy to order a dress. Do you want to pick out your own gift for the engagement ceremony, or would you like me to decide for you?’
Ye Xinuo looked up and saw Yu Qing’s reddened eyes. Sighing in her heart, she said, ‘I have other arrangements tomorrow afternoon, so let’s put off the dress for now.’
Yu Qing pulled a smile, but it was even more unsightly than crying. ‘Okay, then I’ll go get busy.’
When she left, she completely forgot about the folder she had just carried in.
‘Women, you obviously can’t live without someone, so what’s the point of pretending to let go for love?’ Ye Xinuo shook her head and pulled up a mobile phone number from her address book.
The office echoed with Ye Xinuo’s voice alone.
‘Hello, Director Qin, do you have time tomorrow afternoon?’
‘I’d like to invite you out for dinner.’
‘If I’m free, can’t I invite you? Then you can consider it my way of thanking you for letting me stay at your place last time.’
“Okay, I’ll book a table and send you a message. See you then.’
Chapter 23
Ye Xinuo saw Tang Jie approaching her with a smile on his face as soon as she stepped out of the office. In fact, it had been two weeks since the last board meeting and she hadn’t seen Tang Jie since.
‘Good morning, Ye Zi,’ Tang Jie’s tone was very kind, and there was no trace of the unpleasantness between the two of them.
‘Good morning, Uncle Tang,’ Ye Xinuo also smiled affably, as if she had never had a falling out with Tang Jie.
‘If there’s nothing else, would you do me the honour of chatting with Uncle Tang?‘
’Of course, Uncle Tang, please.’ Ye Xinuo turned and opened the office door.
When secretary Vivian saw Tang Jie enter, she immediately put down her work and got up to prepare green tea for the person inside. She remembered the preferences of all the senior management of the company.
Tang Jie sipped the cup in his hands, pondering before he spoke: ’Is Nuo Nuo interested in doing business with me?’
Ye Xinuo laughed and said, ‘As long as it’s profitable and not illegal, why not?’
Tang Jie unspokenly gave a similar smile.
‘Brother Sheng once invested in a small company called Novan Power, which has never made any money. Why don’t you transfer the shares to me? I know you’re in need of money.’
Ye Xinuo’s smile became even wider, and he said, ‘Uncle Tang, what you just said is incorrect. You’re talking to me about a business deal, not a business.’
‘Hahaha, Uncle Tang is getting old, and I’m not as fond of quibbling over words as you young people.‘
’Although Novan Power has been suffering heavy losses for several quarters, it is after all something that Dad left me, so how could I bear to sell it?’ Ye Xinuo’s expression was full of nostalgia for his father.
Tang Jie: ’Nono, you have to think long-term. A loss-making company is a burden for you, so why hold on to it?’
‘Uncle Tang’s advice is very reasonable. You have to think long-term,’ Ye Xinuo nodded in agreement. “Since we’re talking business, there has to be give and take and cooperation to call it business. How about being fair and Uncle Tang putting up the electric vehicle production license he has, and we can mutually benefit and win, how about it?”
Tang Jie’s expression froze for a moment.
In his impression, Ye Xinuo had always been well protected by Ye Qisheng, and could control the young sprout without much effort. Now it seems that this is not the case.
Ye Xinruo proposed cooperation not to let Tang Jie fail. The government is now vigorously supporting new energy electric vehicle projects, and Ye Sheng has been committed to the Internet industry, so naturally he is unable to do both. Tang Jie’s company outside has already obtained the first batch of production qualifications.
There are not many power supply manufacturers that can currently manufacture power supplies that can power cars, and Novan is one of them. It is also because this company strives for perfection that it is also suffering heavy losses. If it can get a foothold in the field of new energy vehicles, it can turn the situation around.
Although she hated Tang Jie, she had learned to endure her suffering.
The silence in the room didn’t last long. Tang Jie pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose.
‘It seems we should choose a more formal setting next time.’
‘Xinuo is still young, and I will need Uncle Tang’s support in the future,’ Ye Xinuo said with a smile.
After Tang Jie left, Ye Xinuo hid her smile and went to the Xmate product development department.
When he arrived, the product department had just finished a meeting and were walking out of the conference room one after the other. They greeted Ye Xinuo respectfully when they saw him. The higher-ups might look down on Ye Xinuo, but the people at the bottom of the hierarchy dared not be disrespectful to the boss.
When Ye Xinuo walked into the office, the product director Wang Ze was taking off his glasses and rubbing his face with his hands.
‘I have long admired your name, Mr Wang, and today I finally have the honour of meeting you.”
Wang Ze put on his glasses and frowned as he surveyed Ye Xinuo. “What brings you here unannounced, Mr Ye?”
Ye Xinuo paid no heed to Wang Ze’s impatient attitude and remained beaming. ’Since you called me Mr Ye, I naturally feel responsible for keeping abreast of all the company’s projects.’
Wang Ze’s face darkened. ‘I don’t see eye to eye with Ye Sheng. I will be submitting my resignation later. This product has reached this stage, and no matter how badly it is treated in the future, it will have nothing to do with me. I hope that President Ye will find someone else.’
‘Many media outlets praised President Wang for his excellent product thinking. I thought President Wang was very capable, but now it seems that he is not.’
Ye Xinuo snorted. ‘Even if President Hao has cut the funding for the product development department, the remaining funds are still enough to support the project. The mobile payment subsidy has been waiting outside the door for a week, and you haven’t made the slightest progress on this project in your core department. The product logic doesn’t even make sense. Who is incompetent?”
Wang Ze was a little stunned. Everyone at the company said that the new president was a little girl who knew nothing, but now it’s not quite the same as imagined.
Ye Xinuo continued, ’When Xmate was first released, it was Ye Sheng’s proudest product, and President Wang was largely responsible. But President Wang should also know that the internet industry is all about speed. Now that other companies have started rushing to develop internet communication software, how long will President Wang’s pride last? It’s really disappointing that President Wang would abandon his own product because of factional disputes.‘
’President Ye is making it sound easy. I’m just a product developer, and there’s no way I can thrive in Ye Sheng’s treacherous environment. If these words are meant to provoke me, then you can save your breath.’
‘Google in Silicon Valley is famous for being unplanned and doing whatever it wants. If I remember correctly, President Wang came from there. I wonder if he misses that feeling?’ Ye Xinuo paused for a moment, ’How far a product can go depends on its genes at birth. How far Xmate can go depends on your genes, not Ye Sheng’s. President Wang is a smart person and should know what I’m talking about. Is this the result you want?’
‘I admire you.’ After listening to Ye Xinuo’s words, Wang Ze’s expression changed, and he very heroically clenched his fists. “I believe that you yourself know that many people in the company say that you are a vase with a golden spoon in your mouth, and that your luck is about to run out. Today, I have learned a lot.”
Ye Xinuo raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. ’Everyone understands that opportunities and risks go hand in hand. What I need is a team that charges forward regardless in the field of the Internet. Ye Sheng only wants a social software that can replace text messages and wallets. Budget and user feedback are not in Wang’s considerations. I hope Xmate can complete the iteration in a week.”
Wang Ze also showed a long-lost smile, “Mr. Ye, don’t worry, with your commitment and my brainpower, this product is destined to be extraordinary.”
Ye Xinuo got up and left Wang Ze with a final word: ’Those who achieve great things should not place too much importance on immediate gains and losses. I hope Mr. Wang will not forget his initial aspirations.’
Wang Ze leaned back in his chair, his gaze lingering on the door to the meeting room for a long time.
A young girl with such insight and courage, even he was far behind her, truly not simple.
***
Yu Qing parked the car and walked into the coffee shop where Ye Xinuo had agreed to meet, but unexpectedly, she was greeted by a familiar sight.
She suppressed the restlessness in her heart, and without lingering her gaze, she walked straight to the table at the back and sat across from Ye Xinuo.
Ye Xinuo finished the last bite of his sandwich, took a paper towel to wipe his mouth, and said, ‘This is still my first meal today, I’m starving.’
Yu Qing withdrew her gaze that had unconsciously drifted elsewhere, and said angrily, ‘You, it’s already 3 pm, and you’re solving it with a sandwich again, I really can’t be bothered to say anything to you.’
Chapter 24
‘You, it’s already 3 pm, and you’re solving lunch with a sandwich again. I really don’t have the energy to say anything to you.’
‘Then don’t talk about me,’ Ye Xinuo climbed the ladder, ‘did you see Han Qiuzi and Ni Mingxuan when you came in just now? What a coincidence.’
‘Hm,’ Yu Qing answered unnaturally.
Ye Xinuo gossiped, ‘I heard that Tang Shikai is particularly miserable. Han Qiuzi entered Ye Sheng and helped me set Tang Jie up, causing Tang Shikai to be driven out of his own home by his father, and now he is looking everywhere for friends to borrow money from. Now Ni Mingxuan is engaged to Han Qiuzi, do you think he will be so angry that he will die?’
‘I’m not interested in other people’s business.’
“Are you sick, Sister Yu Qing?’ Ye Xinuo reached out and felt Yu Qing’s forehead. ‘You used to be a lot more nosy than I am, but now you have no desire to know anything, just like an old nun.’
Yu Qing absentmindedly let out a ‘hmm,’ and her eyes drifted a few metres behind Ye Xinuo.
When Yu Qing had entered the room just now, their eyes met for a brief moment, and Han Qiuzi saw the dark circles under her eyes. Was it because of the news of her engagement? Or was it just because she was tired from work?
‘Miss Han?‘ Ni Mingxuan called out.
’Huh?‘ Han Qiuzi came back to her senses, her face full of apologies, “I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit tired lately.”
’It’s fine,’ Ni Mingxuan gave a gentlemanly smile, ’I can see that Miss Han has no interest in me. But being born into a wealthy family, you can’t escape the fate of an arranged marriage, and I’ve long since accepted my fate. Don’t worry, I’ll fulfil my duties as a husband properly, and we’ll just live together as two people. Many couples in arranged marriages respect each other and raise children together for the rest of their lives. It’s actually not that bad.‘
Han Qiuzi squeezed out a smile, “Mr. Ni is very open-minded. I wonder if you have ever loved seriously?”
If she had never met Yu Qing, she might have accepted her fate, but the deepest love she had ever felt had already been planted in her heart. The rest of her life without Yu Qing would be meaningless.
’Love…’ Ni Mingxuan lowered his head, ’Love is a very luxurious thing.’
Han Qiuzi said softly, ‘Mr. Ni, I will try to convince my family to cancel the engagement. I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can come to an agreement. Even if love is a luxury, I must have it.’
Ni Mingxuan laughed lightly, ‘No, I promised someone that I would marry you. I’m afraid I have to sacrifice Miss Han.’
With that, he stood up abruptly and cupped Han Qiuzi’s face in his hands, pressing his lips to hers.
Han Qiuzi instinctively blocked with her hand, and the other person’s cold lips landed in the palm of her hand.
‘You’re crazy!’ Han Qiuzi pushed Ni Mingxuan away.
‘I said, I must marry you.’ Ni Mingxuan’s mouth curled up into a complex smile.
“Is Master Ni embarrassing the Ni family or the Han family by behaving like this in public?’
Yu Qing had by now walked over to Han Qiuzi and picked up a tissue to wipe her palms.
Ni Mingxuan laughed and said, ‘What I do with my fiancée is none of your business.’
‘You also said fiancée, Master Ni,’ Yu Qing’s face showed no expression, ‘Even if she is your legal wife, you should respect her wishes, shouldn’t you?’
Ni Mingxuan bent down and took the menu on the table in his hands, ‘Don’t worry, soon, I will make Qiuzi marry me willingly.’ He then paid the bill and left.
For some reason, Yu Qing always felt that when Ni Mingxuan saw her, there was a strong sense of hostility in his eyes.
With her beloved’s hand in hers, Han Qiuzi felt a sense of sourness in her heart that almost overflowed from her throat.
But she still said in a spoiling manner, ‘You’ve mistaken hands, the one you were kissed on is the other one.’
‘It’s just a kiss, not like you’ve lost a limb. There’s nothing to wipe.’ Yu Qing let go of Han Qiuzi’s hand and threw the tissue into the wastepaper basket. “I just saw some passers-by filming, and I wanted to help Master Ni get some attention.”
If it had been before, Han Qiuzi might have been fooled. But since Ye Xinru had approached her, scenes from the past had resurfaced, and she had gained courage and confidence. What’s more, she had clearly felt Yu Qing’s hand tremble just now.
At that moment, Ye Xinuo walked slowly over. ‘Director Han,’
Han Qiuzi gave a polite smile, ‘Chairman Ye.’
‘In the future, call me Xinuo, these formalities are a bit too formal,’ Ye Xinuo said, glancing at Yu Qing’s reaction.
‘Sure, Xinuo, you can call me by my first name in the future,’ Han Qiuzi turned her gaze to Yu Qing, ‘then can I call you Miss Yu Qing?’
‘Miss Han is a company director, and I am the assistant to the chairman. Calling each other by our first names would lead to speculation. Just call me by my name. Or you can call me Amanda, my English name. But no one usually calls me that.‘
’What a formal tone, it’s heartbreaking!‘ Han Qiuzi pursed her lips.
’Does Qiuzi have time now?’ Ye Xinuo asked. ’Since you’re in the vicinity of the company, you can ask Yu Qing to give you a brief introduction to the current situation of the board of directors.’
Han Qiuzi naturally didn’t refuse, and promptly said, ‘Sure.’
Yu Qing didn’t say anything, and swung the keys in her hand as she went out to get the car.
‘You didn’t drive?’
After Yu Qing left, Ye Xinuo’s tone became familiar.
Han Qiuzi smiled and said, ‘I did. I left it here to pick it up some other day, otherwise how would I have an excuse to let Qing drive me home.’
Ye Xinuo shook his head in disgust and said, ‘Do you smell it?’
‘What?’
‘The pretentious sour stench.’
***
Ni Anqi’s car was parked in the parking lot outside the coffee shop, and the person in the driver’s seat saw the figures of Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi through the floor-to-ceiling glass.
‘Sister, I’m sorry, just give me some more time, I will definitely make you happy.’ Ni Mingxuan’s face was different from the self-assured look he had in the coffee shop, and he became very panicked.
‘Don’t call me sister, I never admitted you as my brother.‘ Ni Anqi’s fingers tightened around the steering wheel, her tone cold, but a flame gathered in her eyes.
’Sister, I swear, I will definitely marry Han Qiuzi and bring her home, I won’t let her get in the way.”
Ni Mingxuan’s tone was almost pleading.
He was an illegitimate child, and it wasn’t until his mother died in an accident when he was ten that he was taken home by his so-called biological father.
In that home, he cared about nothing except gaining the approval of Ni Anqi, which had been his obsession for all these years.
Ni Anqi didn’t say a word. Seeing Yu Qing walk out of the coffee shop, she slammed on the accelerator and sped off.
***
Ye Xinuo returned to the office and was just about to push open the office door when secretary Vivian came running, almost crashing into her.
Ye Xinuo said with a serious tone like an elder: ‘We are a large enterprise. As the face of the company, you should behave more elegantly and not be so flustered.’
‘Okay, I’ll pay attention next time,’ Vivian straightened up, ‘but it’s urgent. Mr. Luo’s wife came to the company and got into a fight with a female employee from Xmate.’
Ye Xinru took her little finger and poked her ear, wishing that she was hearing things. In her memory, General Manager Luo’s wife filed for divorce much later, and at the time, there was no public fight in the company. This was really troublesome.
She let out a breath, and let Vivian lead the way to the scene of the incident.
If Ye Xinru had just opened the door, she would have seen Qin Moyan in her office, looking down at the notebook on the table with a surge of light in her eyes.
Chapter 25
Ye Xinuo muttered as she moved her neck, ‘Women are really scary. They are all educated and cultured, but they can still fight so fiercely. Over a man? Is that really necessary?’
She opened the office door and let out a startled cry.
‘You scared me! Why are you in my office?’
Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo and said, ‘Didn’t Miss Ye know I was waiting for you here? Your secretary brought me in.’
‘This careless person,‘ Ye Xinuo muttered, “what if I had confidential documents stolen?”
’I didn’t see any confidential documents, but I did see an interesting drawing,‘ Qin Moyan’s face showed no emotion.
’Are these rabbit ears?’ Ye Xinuo muttered.
Then she walked over to the desk and leaned against it, “What drawing is so interesting to Miss Qin?”
Qin Moyan: ’Is that me in the drawing on Miss Ye’s desk?’
Ye Xinuo glanced at the sketchbook on the table and answered very frankly, ‘It is indeed Director Qin. One time, I felt that the scene outside the cafe was very beautiful, so I took a picture of it. If Director Qin doesn’t mind, I’ll give it to you when I’m done.’
Director Qin had checked up on Ye Xinuo and found that she had won an international oil painting award while in university, so she wasn’t too surprised.
She was even thinking that if Ye Xinuo hadn’t encountered a change of fortune, she might have become highly accomplished in this area.
Qin Moyan curled the corners of his mouth: ‘Sketching from a photograph is a bit of a slapdash job. When will you sketch a portrait of me on the spot, and I’ll gladly accept it.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘… I didn’t notice before, but Qin Moyan is quite shameless. But did she just smile?
A smile that can conquer a city, as bright as the stars. It couldn’t be more appropriate at this moment.
’Miss Ye?’ Qin Moyan called softly, noticing that Ye Xinuo had wandered off a little.
‘Hm?‘ Ye Xinuo came back to her senses and said, “Why is Director Qin here today?”
She was a little annoyed, as she had been spacing out a lot recently.
’I have taken care of the matter you asked me to do last time, so I have come to collect my payment.”
Ye Xinuo’s mouth twitched a few times, ’Director Qin is really straightforward.’
‘We’re both businessmen, why do we need to talk about nonsense?‘ Qin Moyan took out two documents from his briefcase, “I’ve brought the contract with me, do you need to get a lawyer to take a look, Miss Ye?”
’No need.‘ Ye Xinuo was very impressed by Qin Moyan’s efficiency, and it was no wonder that the other party had managed to get to his current position in Hesson before the age of 30.
Before Ye Xinuo signed, Qin Moyan asked, “Miss Ye, are you not going to regret this?”
’There’s nothing to regret, it’s just material things.’
Ye Xinuo signed her name on the blank sheet of paper, as if it were a receipt for a shopping trip.
Only they themselves knew what it meant.
***
In the same building, Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi walked shoulder to shoulder on the rooftop, neither speaking first.
After a long silence, Han Qiuzi finally couldn’t hold back and said, ‘I’m getting engaged. Don’t you have anything to say to me?’
Yu Qing remained as calm as ever, quietly saying, ‘We broke up five years ago.’
‘But you haven’t been in a relationship for all these years, have you?’ Han Qiuzi grabbed Yu Qing’s wrist, ‘You still love me, don’t you?’
‘I’m busy at work, I don’t have time for a relationship,’ Yu Qing laughed lightly, ‘When Nuo Nuo doesn’t need me anymore, I’ll take some time off to relax, fall in love, get married, and have children.’
‘Yu Qing, you don’t have to embarrass me in this way. You always think you know what’s best for me, but you never knew what I wanted from the beginning!‘ Han Qiuzi’s tears could not be held back as they slipped from her eyes. She didn’t want to cry either, but when she looked at Yu Qing, the thoughts and grievances that had filled her mind every day and night for the past five years came flooding back.
’Qiuzi,’ Yu Qing turned around and put her hands on Han Qiuzi’s shoulders. ’I…’
She saw Han Qiuzi’s tears, and her heart ached, but in the end she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
It wasn’t that she didn’t have confidence in Han Qiuzi, but rather that she had no confidence in the vagaries of the world.
Yu Qing didn’t want the day to come when the two of them would argue, and Han Qiuzi would say things like, ‘I’ve disregarded my family and my family ties in order to be with you, and I’ve made sacrifices.’ Rather than that, she would rather just remember the two of them at their happiest.
‘So, even if I marry Ni Mingxuan, it’s fine with you, right?‘ Han Qiuzi swept Yu Qing’s hand off his body and his face was cold as ice, “Fine, I’m from a so-called wealthy and prestigious family anyway, I don’t deserve love, so it doesn’t matter who I marry. Please come and enjoy my wedding banquet.”
***
’That’s how it happened!”
Han Qiuzi pouted, as if the words “bitter” and “depressed” were written all over his face.
‘Isn’t that normal?‘ Ye Xinuo took a toothpick, stuck it into a small tomato and put it in his mouth, “If Yu Qing didn’t have such a temperament, she wouldn’t have broken up with you in the first place.”
’That’s true, but she’s not worried about me getting engaged to someone else, I really have no confidence.’ Han Qiuzi’s eyes were full of small, broken loneliness.
Ye Xinuo straightened up and said seriously, ‘Yu Qing is the child of my nanny. She grew up without a father. As far as I can remember, Yu Qing has always been a person with low self-esteem. Although she has always tried hard to prove herself, the indelible scars from her childhood have always followed her. Yu Qing may seem strong, but she is actually really fragile.’
This was the first time Han Qiuzi had heard about Yu Qing’s childhood from someone else’s mouth. Just a few words were enough to make her feel heartbroken.
‘Even if she wants something, Yu Qing will never say it out loud. Call her brave or weak, but to me, it’s just a layer of armour she wears to protect herself. The fact that I’ve been with you for four years is proof that she’s already wrapped you in her armour.’ Ye Xinuo’s dark, sparkling eyes were sincere and gentle, ’So please, give her a little more time, okay?’
Han Qiuzi was stunned for a while before he laughed and said, ‘I’m the one chasing after my wife, so why are you more anxious than I am?’
Ye Xinuo simply said, ‘Because she’s the only family member I have left.’
She was the only one who knew the real reason. After experiencing death, one will cherish the people around them even more. Knowing the regrets in the future, she always wants to change and make up for them as much as possible.
Han Qiuzi took a deep breath and re-energised himself: ‘I will work hard. When I first chased after her, I just stuck to her like glue. It’s not like it’s a second time! Besides, I now have the charm of a more mature woman, and I’m even more attractive. I don’t believe I won’t be able to get her.’
Ye Xinu couldn’t help but laugh. ‘For your narcissism, you’ll pay the bill today.’
‘Huh? Boss Ye has come all this way, aren’t you going to look after my business?‘ Han Qiuzi’s expression was very exaggerated.
’Sister-in-law?’ Ye Xinuo shook Han Qiuzi’s clothing corner.
Han Qiuzi heard this title for the first time, and even the usual cheeky person blushed and stuttered, ’Yi… In the future, if you come to the Muxin Club, the bill… will be on my account.’
Ye Xinuo burst out laughing, covering his stomach and falling back on the sofa. ‘Han Qiuzi, you’re so easy to please! I can imagine Yu Qing sister crossing her fingers, and you running over obediently like a little dog, wagging your tail.’
‘Get out!’ Han Qiuzi picked up a pillow and threw it at Ye Xinuo.
***
An egg smashed onto Qin Moyan’s shoulder. The old woman in front of him was hoarse with shouting, attracting many passers-by to stop and watch.
‘You lackeys of the foreigners! You help the foreigners against the Chinese, and your conscience has been eaten by dogs!‘
’My son has an old mother and young children, and suddenly he lost his job. It’s all because of you lackeys of capitalism!‘
’Say something! Are you at a loss for words or are you feeling guilty?!”
…
The old woman was not satisfied after scolding for a while, and walked a few steps forward, about to grab Qin Moyan’s hair. Just as she was about to touch a single strand of hair, her wrist was grabbed.
‘This is a society ruled by law. Just because you think you’re old, do you think you can get away with attacking someone in public on the street without being legally responsible? If you have something to say, say it, and stop acting like a shrew! If you insist on attacking, I won’t stop you. After you’re done, I’ll take you both to the hospital to get your injuries checked, and you won’t get off paying for any medical expenses.”
Qin Moyan looked at the frail figure in front of him with surprise, unable to name the feeling that swept through his heart.
Chapter 26
‘Who are you?‘ the old woman said crossly, “I’m seeking justice with her, what’s it got to do with you?!”
’Did she owe your family money or set your house on fire? If you have a problem, call the police, what’s the point of picking on an unarmed woman in the street?’ Ye Xinuo took out her phone and said, “I’ll dial 110 for you.”
The old woman slammed Ye Xinuo’s phone onto the ground, spat on it, and turned away.
Because there were so many people watching, Ye Xinuo didn’t lose her temper. She just picked up her phone silently, shook her hair, and in an elegant and charming posture, grabbed Qin Moyan’s sleeve and left the scene.
It wasn’t until she had walked a few dozen metres and turned onto another street that she yelled at the air, ‘So what if I’m old? Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you can bully people and smash my phone? ! Can you afford to replace the hundreds of precious contacts in my phone? ! This really pisses me off!’
After venting her anger at the air, Ye Xinuo saw Qin Moyan looking unconcerned, which made her even more angry.
“And you, you didn’t even know to duck when someone threw an egg at you. She didn’t know, and you didn’t know to call the police when you were in trouble? Even if you didn’t want to call the police, you should have known that you shouldn’t let the fox guard the henhouse. Why did you just stand there waiting for someone to come up and beat you up? You think you’re too good-looking, so you want to get in touch with the common people, and you’re pulling someone’s hair in the middle of the street?’
Qin Moyan then said calmly, ‘The old lady is not entirely wrong. Many people will be laid off, and Hessen is indeed to blame. I am the representative of Hessen in China, so it’s fine to let the old lady vent a little. From her perspective, I really am a piece of shit.’
“I never thought Director Qin would have such a realization,’ Ye Xinuo let out a derisive laugh, ‘The suffering of the poor is suffering, but the suffering of the rich is not suffering? Without Hessen, there may be Huasen or Johnson. Without you, Hessen will have someone else. If everyone vents their anger on the strong, then society doesn’t need to progress, just compare who is worse off.
After saying this, Ye Xinuo waved his hand impatiently, ’Forget it, what do I care about you so much? I shouldn’t have taken this road today, what bad luck.’
Qin Moyan’s cold voice softened a lot: ‘Anyway, I still want to thank you, Miss Ye, today. Miss Ye didn’t drive here? Where are you going, I—’
‘No, I’ll take a taxi.’ Ye Xinuo thought about it and couldn’t help but add, ‘I just don’t like driving, so what do you care!’
Qin Moyan didn’t know what he had done to offend Ye Xinuo, so he had to ask again, ‘So do you need me to take your phone to get it fixed? After all—’
‘What if you use the phone repair as an excuse to steal my important information?’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was not good. “Don’t think that just because I helped you once, I’ll treat you like a good person. You Hessens are still eyeing Ye Sheng, and I’m keeping an eye on you!”
Qin Moyan saw that no matter what he said, it was wrong, so he simply said goodbye politely and walked towards the parking lot.
Ye Xinruo scratched his head in frustration, not knowing what had gotten into him just then. It wasn’t as if he had just seen Qin Moyan being bullied, so why was he so angry? Besides, how could anyone bully that old fox? He had been completely meddling in other people’s business.
Finally, he muttered, ‘People don’t care, so what does it have to do with you, Ye Xinruo? ! What’s the point of living five more years if you’re just going to die? Where did this little princess temper suddenly come from?’
On the way to the parking lot, Qin Moyan saw a huge display on the towering Han Building’s exterior wall, broadcasting the news.
“The engagement ceremony between Miss Han Qiuzi, the only daughter of the Han Group, and Mr. Ni Mingxuan, the young master of the Ni Group, which was scheduled for August 20th, has been cancelled. However, this does not affect the close exchanges and cooperation between the two companies. As the successor of the Han Group, Han Qiuzi has always strived to be a role model for independent women in the new era and realise the value of women. In the future, she will also lead the Han Group to continue moving forward and continue its glory.”
Qin Moyan’s mouth twitched slightly. This is going to be difficult for the Han family’s public relations team. They cancelled the engagement and still managed to be subliminal, appealing to feminism.
Upon thinking about it, Ye Xinru does like to meddle in other people’s business, taking into account the actions she just took.
***
One week ago.
Qin Moyan arrived at the agreed restaurant and sat down. Ye Xinru personally pulled the chair out for her.
She thanked him and was a little on her guard. ‘Ms Ye, you didn’t just ask me out for dinner, did you? If you have something to say, just say it.’
Ye Xinuo put on a hurt expression. ‘In Director Qin’s mind, is this the image of a utilitarian person I am?’
‘What does Ms Ye think?’ Qin Moyan asked in return.
Ye Xinuo shrugged and admitted, ‘Okay, I did ask Director Qin out today because I do have something to ask him.’
Rarely had Qin Moyan shown any expression on her face, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly. ‘Oh? I’m a little curious to hear you say the words “please”.’
‘I hope that Director Qin will step in and dissuade Grandpa Han from marrying into the Ni family.’ Ye Xinuo bit her lower lip. ‘In return, I will do whatever Director Qin wants, and I will satisfy whatever his needs are. You can pick any asset in my name.’
‘Regardless of whether I will help you or not, I would like to know how you are so sure that I can help you.‘
’Let’s be frank. If the Ni and Han families really want to cooperate, they don’t need to wait for Director Qin to act as a go-between. Therefore, the most important link that ties them together is Director Qin, or perhaps more accurately, the intelligent system in Director Qin’s hands. And…’ Ye Xinuo paused for a moment, ’one of the factories in Hessen is a very important supplier to the Han Group.’
‘I’m increasingly finding you an interesting person,‘ Qin Moyan’s dark eyes rippled with light, “I heard that you’ve been talking to Director Tang about a collaboration project on electric vehicles.”
’Director Qin has a really keen sense of smell,’ Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but marvel. It was only yesterday that she proposed collaborating with Tang Jie, and Qin Moyan already knew about it today. This could only mean that she had someone on her side who was passing on information. It was as if the other party had no intention of hiding anything, as if they were certain that she could do nothing about it.
Qin Moyan did not say anything, just waiting quietly for Ye Xinuo’s answer.
Ye Xinuo did not hesitate for long and said, ‘Fine, if Director Qin helps me, then I should prepare a generous gift.’
She did not believe she could say she was not concerned, but since the other party had an ulterior motive, it was better than not being willing to help.
Qin Moyan sighed from the bottom of his heart, ‘It is a pleasant experience doing business with Miss Ye.’
‘Director Qin is truly extraordinary,’ Ye Xinuo’s mouth curved into an arc, convinced, “You didn’t even ask the reason why I came to you for help. Perhaps it’s because Director Qin already knew about the relationship between Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi.”
Qin Moyan: ’Or perhaps it’s because I’m not as talkative as you, Miss Ye.’
‘Looking back, I’m afraid you knew from the beginning that I had instructed you to cooperate with Yu Qing, and that I would cooperate with Han Qiuzi.’ Ye Xinuo shook her head with a smile, ’Everything has never escaped your control, and I was so clever.’
‘Miss Ye, you don’t need to belittle yourself. You are indeed very clever, beyond my expectations. But I also have a question. Can you answer it for me?’ Qin Moyan lifted his eyelids slightly and looked directly into Ye Xinuo’s eyes. ’Miss Ye has schemed to create the illusion of a rift between you and Miss Yu in front of me, biding your time. Now you have taken the initiative to expose yourself. Don’t you feel a pity for having wasted all your efforts?’
‘I have been obsessed with something before.’ A flash of memory from her previous life flashed through Ye Xinuo’s mind, and a trace of unwillingness and sadness appeared in her eyes. “But people should live in the present. As long as that person is worth it, there is nothing to be sorry about.”
***
How many more sides of Ye Xinuo has Qin Moyan not seen? This is the first time Qin Moyan has felt such curiosity.
Other news continued to be broadcast on the big screen, and people of all kinds hurried along the road to go about their business.
Qin Moyan pulled back from his thoughts, opened the car door, and drove onto the hot, steamy asphalt road under the scorching sun.
The protagonist of the news, Han Qiuzi, was sitting face-to-face with Ni Anqi, ‘enjoying tea’.
‘Ni is very angry about the cancellation of the engagement and losing me as his sister-in-law, isn’t he?’ Han Qiuzi’s mouth curled up, showing her good mood.
‘Although I don’t know why Grandpa Han suddenly cancelled the engagement, it seems that Qing wasn’t too keen on the engagement either.’ Ni Anqi raised her eyelids slightly and said, “Don’t worry, there’s still a long time to go, Mingxuan really likes you.”
Han Qiuzi took a sip of the Guanyin King in the cup and praised, “Good tea.”
Ignored by the other party, Ni Anqi didn’t react much either and changed the topic to the cooperation between the two families.
‘A large part of the express delivery outlets of the Ni and Han families overlap. In order to improve efficiency, integration is required. Our Ni family’s express delivery has always been known for its speed. Although the Han family’s speed is not as good as the Ni family’s, their service attitude is first-class. Therefore, I plan to lay off some of my own employees and use this part of the funds to continue optimizing the routes and configure intelligent terminals, with your employees complementing the manual part.”
Han Qiuzi waved his fingers, ’With this arrangement by President Ni, the Han family is a bit at a disadvantage.’
Ni Anqi made a ‘please’ gesture and politely asked, ‘Please feel free to share any thoughts you may have. Our superiors have reached a consensus, so it will be easy for those below to do their jobs.’
In the business world, even if two people have a poor personal relationship, when it comes to interests, they can still talk and cooperate seamlessly.
This is probably something that rarely happens between ordinary people.
The two talked back and forth for nearly two hours, and finally reached a consensus before leaving. No more mention was made of emotional entanglements.
Meanwhile, in a similar teahouse, Yu Qing was serving a cup of tea to the Ni family patriarch, Angel Ni’s grandfather.
‘Although the Han family took the lead in withdrawing the engagement, Yu Qing still wants to thank her mentor.’
The Ni patriarch lifted his teacup and said, ‘You know very well that I was already planning to call off the engagement, so there was no need for me to do this as a favour. Ni Mingxuan has never been considered a member of the Ni family.’
‘Even if this doesn’t count as fulfilling my request, I should still properly show my filial piety, shouldn’t I?‘ Yu Qing smiled, “Back then, Master Ye sent me to you to be trained, and I can still vividly remember that scene.”
’Hahahaha,’ Grandpa Ni let out a hearty and deep laugh, ’At that time, all three of my subordinates were suffering terribly, and the other two both gave up halfway through, but you persevered until the end. No wonder Qisheng values you so highly.’
‘You’re too kind, Master. Learning from you is like standing on the shoulders of a giant and seeing the world. Opportunities like this don’t come often, so you should cherish it.‘
’You’re just trying to flatter me,”
Yu Qing laughed and shook her head. “No, it’s not true, and you don’t need someone like me, a nobody, to flatter you.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Master Ni’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’I heard that An Xin has been getting close to that girl Xi Nuo recently?’
Yu Qing said truthfully, ‘They were university classmates, and their relationship is a little closer than average.’
‘Qing, you have worked under me before, so you should know my style of work. To make the Ni family’s business to the scale it is today, there is no lack of unsavoury things, but it won’t go too far.’ The old master Ni sighed, ‘To be honest, it is An Xin that child who most resembles me. On the surface she pretends to be crazy and stupid, but in fact she cares about family ties and doesn’t want to compete with her sister. But…’
Grandpa Ni didn’t say any more, but Yu Qing understood what he meant.
‘My teacher can rest assured that if Miss Anqi chooses to cooperate with the Han family, the Ye family definitely won’t let Miss An Xin suffer.’
‘Good, let’s not talk about that,’ Grandpa Ni beamed with satisfaction, ‘tea tasting, tea tasting.’
Yu Qing smiled on the surface, but in fact, she had already started to calculate in her heart what the reason was for Grandpa Ni to so eagerly offer to send Ni An Xin out on her own.
She was grateful to Mr. Ni, but in the business world, there were no relationships that could be completely separated from self-interest. Especially when dealing with big shots, it was like asking a tiger for its hide. One wrong move and you would only suffer and admit defeat.
At the same time, she felt a little sorry for Han Qiuzi. What a glorious life for the members of a wealthy and powerful family. But who could see the bloody infighting going on behind the scenes. Even the father and grandson were fighting for power, and there were even more siblings who had fought until they were bloody. Even if Han Qiuzi is an only child, I’m afraid she lives in fear.
If only Qiuzi had an ordinary identity, how wonderful it would be.
After parting with Mr. Ni, Yu Qing told Ye Xinuo about their meeting, but only left out the part about Han Qiuzi. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ye Xinuo, but she didn’t want the other person to know about the relationship and worry for her.
Ye Xinuo was not surprised, and guessed, ‘The most likely reason for Grandpa Han to rush to promote another granddaughter is that Ni Anqi has started to push for the throne. I used to think that An Xin got along well with her sister, but all signs indicate that their relationship is very delicate.’
Yu Qing sighed from the bottom of her heart, ‘Sometimes I think that the young masters and ladies of these families are also quite miserable.’
‘Yes, even if you want to fall in love, you have to think about whether the person wants your money or your status,’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was a bit deliberate, “to find true love, that would be considered a miracle.”
Yu Qing: “Are you talking about yourself?”
Ye Xinuo gave her a blank stare, ’I have no parents, no grandparents, no milk, no boyfriend, do you think I have such worries?’
‘It sounds like you’re having a hard time.‘ Yu Qing ran her fingers along her chin. “Why don’t I help you get in touch with some business people at a singles mixer?”
Ye Xinuo’s face fell, and he waved his hand away in disgust. “Forget it, go ahead and get busy. By the way, ask Vivian to order me a sandwich and coffee.”
’Every day is a sandwich, you’re not tired of it! Let’s go out and eat.’ Yu Qing grabbed Ye Xinuo by the collar and dragged him out of the office.
After much persuasion, Ye Xinru finally ate a bowl of rice noodles at a restaurant within 100 metres of the office, for 25.5 yuan.
No one would believe it if they heard it: the chairman and president of a publicly listed company with a net worth of billions of dollars eats only simple meals that even the working class would get tired of eating.
Qin Moyan came here today to discuss some matters and happened to drop by Ye Sheng to take a look.
When he reached the entrance of the building, he saw Ye Xinru walking towards him. He was about to politely say hello when he saw Ye Xinru’s expression suddenly change and she quickly ran towards him.
Before she could ask what had happened, the other person had already passed her and started talking to someone else, without even glancing in her direction.
Ye Xinru grabbed the man’s sleeve, her whole body trembling uncontrollably, her eyes suddenly turning red.
‘This, this lady, do you have something on your mind?”
The man who had been suddenly attacked by Ye Xinuo was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with a neatly tied tie on his chest. At this moment, the cuff of his shirt had been crumpled by a woman, and he felt indescribably depressed.
Ye Xinuo also knew that her behaviour had been too alarming, and she awkwardly withdrew her hand, apologising, ’I’m sorry, I mistook you for an old friend, and I got a little emotional.’
‘No, it’s fine.‘ The man in the white shirt lifted his hand and scratched the back of his head, “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going first.”
’Okay, goodbye.‘ Ye Xinuo gave a smile, this guy is still the same, he stutters whenever he gets nervous.
I wonder how Xu Xiao will react when he sees her again, it’ll be interesting.
’It’s only been a few days, and you don’t recognize me, Miss Ye?’ Qin Moyan’s tone was a little more prickly than usual.
Normally, she would never say another word. Today, for some reason, she felt very uncomfortable being ignored.
Ye Xinru was so excited when she saw Xu Xiao just now that she really didn’t notice Qin Moyan. At this time, she also felt that she was very rude, so she had to soften her tone and say, ‘I’m sorry, Director Qin. I just lost my temper.’
‘Could it be that the gentleman just now looked like Miss Ye’s first love?’ Qin Moyan made a joke that was not really a joke, ‘like a hungry wolf.’
Is this Qin Moyan?
Could it be that she has been possessed by something strange?
Or has some kind of time traveller taken control of her body?
Ye Xinru’s mind instantly popped up a bunch of question marks. In her previous life, she had known Qin Moyan for five years, and she had never heard her say such down-to-earth things.
In Ye Xinru’s heart, Qin Moyan was like the old immortal goddess, the Queen Mother, who was aloof from worldly affairs and deeply experienced.
Ye Xinru didn’t know what to say, and Qin Moyan just stood there quietly, not moving or speaking.
In the end, Ye Xinru could only laugh nervously, ‘Director Qin has never been in love at such an old age, so how could I have a first love?’
As soon as these words came out, Ye Xinru wished she could bite her tongue off. What kind of strange conversation was this? If a third person spread this out, I’m afraid the stock prices of Ye Sheng and He Sen will fall together.
As the third person to witness this awkward conversation, Yu Qing even thought that there had been a time and space crack.
Qin Moyan’s face froze for a moment, and then returned to its usual coldness. As she walked in the door, she said, ‘It seems that neither Miss Ye nor I have a sense of humour. Let’s not joke around in the future.’
Ye Xinuo’s facial muscles twitched a few times, and a dry voice sounded, ‘What Director Qin said is true, hehehe.’
Yu Qing subconsciously rubbed her eyes with her hands. She must have been tired recently, because she was hallucinating and hearing things.
Back in the office, Ye Xinuo’s bottom had not even warmed up when Vivian came in with three resumes, asking her to personally interview the finalists for the secretary position.
Ye Xinuo briefly scanned the resumes handed over by Vivian and pulled out Xu Xiao’s resume, saying, ‘Let’s interview this one first.’
and then got up and left.
‘Okay,’ said Vivian, following Ye Xinuo, and briefly introduced Xu Xiao’s school, work experience and major achievements.
Ye Xinuo sat down in the interviewer’s seat, and a charming arc formed at the corner of her mouth, ‘What a coincidence, we meet again.’
‘Hello, boss!’ Xu Xiao was so shocked that he bounced up from his stool.
‘Boss? I haven’t decided to hire you yet,‘ Ye Xinuo teased wickedly, “if you can get past me, your business skills must be fine. I wonder if Mr Xu can throw anything at me that will impress me.”
’I have a master’s degree in economics and management from Hucheng University. Although my qualifications are not as good as those of someone who has studied abroad, I speak seven foreign languages – English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish – and four dialects – Northeastern Chinese, Sichuanese, Shanghainese and Cantonese.’
Xu Xiao immediately performed.
‘Laotie, I’m not going to bother with foreign languages. You listened to my local dialect and still considered what to say, praising you.’
Ye Xinruo couldn’t help but laugh almost to the point of falling over because of the seamless segue from Northeastern Chinese, Sichuanese, Cantonese, and Shanghainese in the stand-up comedy.
In fact, her sense of humour wasn’t that low; she was just releasing her emotions uncontrollably because Xu Xiao’s departure in the previous life had been so sudden, and she was really happy to see each other again.
Although Xu Xiao’s cause of death was the most common traffic accident, she knew that it was by no means a simple accident.
What concerned Ye Xinuo even more was the fact that Xu Xiao appeared a year earlier than in the previous life.
Every single thing that was different from the past reminded her that many things had changed quietly because of her rebirth.
‘Boss, are you going to stay with me because you’re smiling so happily?’
At this moment, Xu Xiao was full of confidence, completely different from the person who had been so nervous that she had stuttered.
Ye Xinuo held out her hand, ‘Mr Xu, welcome to Ye Sheng.’
Xu Xiao shook her hand briefly and then withdrew it, bowing respectfully, ‘I hope I can learn from you in the future.’
Ye Xinuo gave a relaxed smile. In her previous life, she had regarded Xu Xiao as her right-hand man, not just because of his outstanding abilities, but also because of his sense of propriety in knowing when to advance and when to retreat.
With Xu Xiao helping her, Yu Qing would be able to focus on more important things.
‘Vivian, arrange for Mr Xu to start work tomorrow and quickly familiarise him with the work at hand,’ Ye Xinuo instructed, adding, ‘It’s fine to print the English name on the work badge, I remember it as Joe on the resume.’
‘Okay.’
A trace of doubt flashed in Xu Xiao’s eyes.
Ye Xinuo didn’t explain much, nodded at the two of them, and then stepped out in her high heels.
***
‘Hey, I’ve checked it out. Mr Luo’s wife received some anonymous photos of him cheating a while ago, and that’s why she’s so confident. Not only is she suing for divorce, she’s also venting her anger at the company.”
Yu Qing and Ye Xinuo now talk on video call almost every night.
Ye Xinuo muttered, ’Who would do such a thing? After all, Mr Luo is just a small fry, and yet someone is specifically collecting evidence of his infidelity. If it was revenge from a rival, they wouldn’t just send it to his wife.’
After muttering, she quickly smoothed the facial mask on her face.
‘Do you think it could be one of our company directors?’
Yu Qing on the other end of the video was also multi-tasking, filing her fingernails, or rather toenails, with a file.
“As everyone knows, President Luo is always on Director Tang’s side. Ever since you successfully succeeded him as chairman at the last board meeting, Director Tang has been making moves left and right, taking advantage of his position to poach Ye Sheng’s clients. President Luo has a lot of resources at his disposal, so it’s only natural that he’d be the first to be targeted.’
When it comes to the company’s directors, Ye Xinuo’s first thought is Qin Moyan, and the second is Director Lu, who unexpectedly supported her last time.
‘We’ll reap the benefits anyway, so we won’t go out of our way to thank people. Don’t rack your brains guessing,’ Ye Xinuo has never liked to dwell on things, and changed the subject, ‘Yu Qing, you should pay more attention to Qiran Technology recently. You can’t go wrong by being more careful when working with Qin Moyan.’
Yu Qing was helpless. ‘I know. You’re like a little monk now. And you keep talking about Qin Moyan. I think you dream about her even in your sleep, don’t you?’
‘Don’t tell me, I really did dream about her,’ Ye Xinuo recalled, ‘I dreamt that I ascended the throne of the king. Qin Moyan was originally a cleaner, but suddenly she turned into the queen, saying that half of the country belonged to her. When I heard that someone was competing with me for territory, how could I bear it? I was so angry that I gave her a blow with my cane on the spot. But I didn’t get my fill of it, so I woke up.‘
’What a mess! I’m very precious about my time, so let’s just end it here. I’m hanging up,’ Yu Qing said without any hesitation, hanging up the phone as soon as she finished speaking, without giving Ye Xinuo any time to react.
Ye Xinuo looked at the phone and said with grievance, ’What kind of person is that! How is sharing a dream, which is such a private thing, a mess?’
Just as she raised her eyebrows a little, Ye Xinuo immediately ironed out the creases in her mask with her fingertips.
Since Xu Xiao had handed over his work, Yu Qing had appeared much less often next to Ye Xinuo.
Because of this change, there were also more rumours in the company.
As a result, Xu Xiao always looks as if he is about to say something, which makes Ye Xinuo pay extra attention to his movements, trying to figure out what he is unable to say.
It so happens that Ye Xinuo is taking Xu Xiao to another floor for a meeting. As soon as they get into the elevator, she suddenly remembers this and turns around to ask directly.
Suddenly, the elevator swayed violently, and Ye Xinruo lost her footing and fell towards Xu Xiao. Fortunately, she reacted quickly and, in a flash of lightning, used her hand to hold against the elevator wall, so she did not come into contact with the person in front of her.
Xu Xiao suddenly looked like a young wife, with a few drops of sweat on her forehead. ‘Boss, I already have a girlfriend. We’re talking about getting married!’
Ye Xinuo was stunned, not knowing what to say, and felt that in the eyes of others, he was a beast in clothing who coveted the beauty of his subordinates. He thought to himself, ‘The probability of me falling in love with Qin Moyan is higher than the probability of me falling in love with you, okay?’ No, what does Guan Qin Moyan have to do with it?
Coincidentally, ‘ding~’ the elevator door slowly opened.
Everyone waiting for the elevator outside the door saw the picture of the male secretary huddled in the corner, with the female boss leaning against the wall, ready to wallop him at any moment.
‘I’m in a hurry, so please take the other elevator.’ Qin Moyan, who also happened to be going upstairs to attend a board meeting, said this, got into this elevator, swiped his high-level work ID, and pressed the exclusive button. The elevator went all the way to the top floor and never stopped again.
What does it mean to have a narrow path?
Ye Xinuo suspected that every time Qin Moyan deliberately appeared to provoke her, calculating the timing to make her feel embarrassed.
Chapter 27
Before the elevator doors opened again, the air in the small space seemed to have solidified.
It wasn’t until they stepped out of the elevator that Qin Moyan said leisurely, ‘The chairman of a group should set an example, and encouraging office romances can easily lead to an acceleration of talent loss.’
‘When did I encourage office romances?’ Ye Xinuo chased after him and stood shoulder to shoulder with Qin Moyan, ‘I just lost my footing, not taking the opportunity to plot against my subordinates!’
Qin Moyan didn’t even spare a glance at Ye Xinuo, ‘Chairman Ye doesn’t need to explain so much to me, I’m only concerned about the company’s business situation.’
‘Who explained it to you? What do I care what you think?’ Ye Xinuo’s attitude changed quickly, and with a cold snort, he walked quickly in front of Qin Moyan.
Xu Xiao let out a sigh of relief, as long as he didn’t fancy him, he was just selling his skills, not his body.
At the board meeting, Wang Ze, the head of product development at Xmate, gave a comprehensive report to the board of directors. He proposed that this iteration would add the red envelope function, so that people who add each other as friends in the software could send each other red envelopes.
This function was nothing special five years later, but at the present time, after Wang Ze had finished his report, he was questioned by many directors.
Ye Xinuo remained silent, with his hands folded against his chin, listening to their verbal sparring.
‘As far as I know, the target demographic for this social media app is users aged 18-35. In our Chinese tradition, only during the New Year and other holidays do the elders give the juniors red envelopes. What’s the point of adding this feature?’ Wei Gang, as usual, was the first to attack.
Wang Ze replied calmly, ’Precisely because we are targeting young people, we need to give them a sense of novelty and introduce new features. What’s more, after market research, this function is also very practical in young people’s social lives. For example, if I ask Li to lend me ten yuan today, it’s not a lot of money, but if Li is a generous person, he might not want to. But I don’t like to owe people money, so I can give Li a red envelope, which will also avoid any embarrassment for him.‘
’Okay, here’s the problem: You’ve been in the West, so that’s the way you think. If Li is a traditional Chinese person, he might think that this is an insult, and it could cause a sharp deterioration in your relationship.’
Ye Xinuo’s eyebrows twitched slightly, and Wei’s thoughts finally began to clear a little. He was able to ask questions that got straight to the point.
Wang Ze gave a faint smile, ‘So you think that people who use our Xmate must be people with deeply-rooted traditional thinking, right? If that’s the case, then the launch of this function will become even more epoch-making.’
Most of the directors in the audience looked puzzled.
‘Since the word ‘red envelope’ is easily associated with traditional Chinese culture, why don’t we use this feature to expand our target users? Must our product development be based on existing users?”
Another director questioned, ’From what you’re saying, are you trying to expand the user base to older users? You should know that this mobile social software is based on Ye Sheng’s PC chat software. Our chat software has collected a wealth of user data, and there are very few older users. The elderly’s ability to accept technological things is very slow.’
Xeno Ye smiled. The director probably didn’t know that in five years’ time, almost all elderly people will be able to send voice messages and emoticons, use chat apps to arrange square dancing sessions, and participate in social activities just as much as young people.
Wang Ze remained confident: ‘Our PC-based chat software is powerful and the operating interface is complex, so it is true that only young people use it frequently. However, the mobile version of Xmate has removed many fancy functions, and the interface is very simple, almost no different from making phone calls and sending text messages. What’s more, it saves phone charges, which is attractive to people who are careful with their money.’
“So according to you, developing a red envelope function will make the elderly use your software? This idea is a bit naive,’ One of the directors snorted.
‘This point…’ Wang Ze looked at Ye Xinuo, ‘Can Ye Zong help me out?’
Ye Xinuo stood up from the leather seat, walked over to Wang Ze, and said to the directors, ‘Big data shows that more and more people are gradually replacing cash and checks with electronic transactions. We at Ye Sheng have long had plans to take the lead in seizing the mobile payment market, and Xmate is our breakthrough.’
Someone else in the audience wanted to speak, but Ye Xinuo preempted them: ‘All of you are Xmate users now. Imagine you go out to buy something. Is it more convenient to pay with a chat app that is open, or to reach for your cash, or to open a payment app developed by another company? The answer is self-evident.’
While the directors in the audience pondered, she continued: ‘As long as the initial subsidy is generous enough, and a special subsidy for red envelopes is set up, users will be attracted to experience the service if they can randomly reduce or waive the amount when sending red envelopes. With disposable change in the Xmate wallet, users will naturally want to spend it. What we need to do is help them gradually develop a spending habit. Other departments will cooperate and provide businesses with QR codes and corresponding preferential policies, forming a network that will reap even greater rewards in the future than imagined.’
‘I still don’t think this is a good idea.”
Ye Xinru’s voice was full of intransigence: ’As the chairman of the group, I have the power to make this decision and will be responsible for it. However, in order to appear fair, just and democratic to the board of directors, if more than half of the directors object, the decision can be discussed again another day.’
Although quite a few directors had just raised questions, the only ones who actually objected were Wei Gang and a director who usually had no presence. Anyone with a brain knew that this was indeed a good opportunity.
Ye Xinuo said this to give the directors who had stirred up trouble a warning, so that they would clearly realise that her decision was beneficial to the company.
Tang Jie was exceptionally quiet today, as if the board of directors did not include him.
This made Ye Xinuo feel vaguely uneasy, always feeling that the other party was plotting something.
After the meeting, Ye Xinuo asked the secretary to serve the directors some new tea before slowly saying, ‘There is another urgent matter to be resolved at today’s board meeting.’
“I believe that the directors have also heard that the wife of Executive Vice President Luo Kang recently caused a disturbance at the company, which had a very bad impact. Our Ye Sheng is a large enterprise, and the fact that the lifestyle of a senior executive is not discreet will directly affect the stock price if it becomes known. I wonder what the directors think about this?’
Wei Gang was very positive, ‘It’s not easy for a company to cultivate an executive. In my opinion, just fire the third party and give Luo Kang a punishment, and everything will be fine.’
‘Director Wei, you are wrong. If we handle it this way, what will other employees think of our management?’ Director Lu said, ‘It’s better to treat everyone equally.’
Ye Xinuo looked at Tang Jie with a faint smile, ‘What does Uncle Tang think?’
‘Luo Kang is certainly at fault, but he has done a lot for the company over the years. It would be too disheartening to deal with it in this way. How about transferring him to a subsidiary? As for the female employee, it is said that she does not have any outstanding business skills, so just fire her.’
This is no different from the way it was handled in the previous life.
Ye Xinuo gave it some thought and then looked at Qin Moyan again, ‘So, Director Qin, which approach do you support?’
Qin Moyan said in an indifferent tone, ‘This is such a trivial matter, the chairman can just decide it privately, there’s no need to bring it up at the board meeting.’
Upon hearing this answer, Ye Xinuo became eight parts suspicious. Luo Kang’s wife suddenly filing for divorce, Qin Moyan was behind it, after all, this person is used to acting like a big shot.
‘In my opinion, President Luo can be transferred to a subsidiary under the management of Uncle Tang, so that he can continue to contribute to Ye Sheng. It’s not a pity to let that female employee go.’ Ye Xinuo drew a smile, ’In addition, the CFO of Xmate has been fawning on the boss by taking advantage of his position, which has seriously affected the speed of product development. I plan to let him go as well.’
Tang Jie’s face froze for a moment.
‘As for his position, it will be taken over by Director Chen, who was poached from outside at a high price.’
‘Let Chairman Ye decide on trivial matters such as personnel appointments. Can we end the meeting?’ Once the topic moved away from money, some directors became impatient.
‘Since no one has any objections, today’s board meeting will end here. The meeting is adjourned.’ After Ye Xinuo finished speaking, several directors left the meeting room impatiently.
‘Hahahaha, Nono has really surpassed his teacher. His manner is not inferior to Brother Sheng’s in the least.‘ Tang Jie’s smile contained many unknown emotions.
’Uncle Tang is too kind. I still have a long way to go compared to you.’ Ye Xinuo’s face still had a smile on it. ’If Uncle Tang doesn’t want Director Hao to leave, I can also give him to you.’
‘No need to be polite, just one gift is enough. I will take your kindness and look after you in the future.’ Tang Jie left with these words and turned around to leave.
Ye Xinru stared at the receding back and thought to himself, pulling out such an important person, Tang Jie was much calmer than expected. Perhaps it wasn’t that he was a good pretender, but because he had more important chess pieces.
In his previous life, Ye Sheng had been destroyed by Tang Jie as soon as Ye Sheng discovered Tang Jie’s dirty dealings behind closed doors, so there was no way to know the extent of his control over Ye Sheng. In this life, no matter what, he must first get Tang Jie out of Ye Sheng, otherwise if he kept such a madman around, he would not know when he would get stabbed in the back.
‘Miss Ye?’ Qin Moyan called Ye Xinuo several times, but the other party didn’t respond at all.
‘Boss! Director Qin is calling you!”
Xu Xiaozhong’s angry voice suddenly sounded, startling Ye Xinuo and making her jump.
Ye Xinuo was so startled that she, somehow, blurted out what she had been thinking in the elevator: “I’d rather like Qin Moyan than do anything to you, so just relax!”
Qin Moyan: …
Xu Xiaozhong: Boss, are you trying to be obvious? Could it be that she really has feelings for me…
Chapter 28
Why hasn’t Qin Moyan left yet!
Ye Xinru felt a little pain in her heart and added, ‘What I mean is, I’m not interested in women, let alone you.’
Xu Xiao thought to herself, ‘Is the boss not very emotionally intelligent? It seems I have a long way to go.’
Qin Moyan handed Ye Xinru an envelope, ‘These are two concert tickets. The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra is Lu Mingqi’s favourite orchestra.’
Ye Xinuo said suspiciously, ‘You’re so kind, giving me tickets and inviting Lu Mingqi to the concert?’
Since the last time she and Lu Mingqi from Tiansheng Investment looked at the oil painting, Ye Xinuo has not found another opportunity to ask someone out. Building connections is a long-term battle, and Lu Mingqi is just a springboard. The ultimate goal is to impress Lu Laoji.
‘I didn’t realise that I was a philanthropist in Miss Ye’s heart,’ Qin Moyan said, “Lu Mingqi invited me to the concert, and you can go and meet him there. These two tickets are a thank you for your painting.”
Learning that she had been imagining things, Ye Xinru coughed lightly twice and took the envelope from Qin Moyan’s hand, ’Thank you then.’
‘Mm.’ Qin Moyan nodded to Ye Xinuo as a goodbye, then gradually faded away with the sound of high heels clicking.
Xu Xiao habitually wanted to take what Ye Xinuo was holding, and heard the boss say in a mocking tone, ’Don’t be nervous that I’m not going to the concert with you. The reason I gave you the tickets is so that you can help me free up this time and help me coordinate Yu Qing’s schedule.’
‘Okay, boss.‘ Xu Xiao didn’t react outwardly, but inside she was beating her heart. The boss really does treat me differently and has to explain it specifically.
Ye Xinuo had just returned to the office when she received an intercom from Vivian, saying that the general manager of Qiyue Game Studio, Li, wanted to see her.
’Let him in,‘ Ye Xinuo said, putting down the phone and straightening her collar and cuffs.
’General Manager Ye,’ Li Bin said, bowing slightly.
‘Hm.‘ Ye Xinuo got up, went over to the sofa where the guests were received, and gestured, “Please sit, Mr Li.”
’Thank you.‘ Li Bin sat up straight and said, “One of my people discovered a spy sent by Yunteng Games. For the time being, the danger is not great, but I still wanted to consult you, Mr Ye.”
’Since the danger is not great, just keep him for now. I guess Yunteng also has spies you sent out, right?’
Li Bin smiled and held up three fingers. ‘That’s right, three.’
‘You just take care of it,’ Ye Xinuo said, turning to him. ‘Has the launch date for the mobile game of “Tomb” been set?’
Li Bin: ‘Tentatively, the 25th of next month.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Have you coordinated with the public relations department? I heard that you and President Han don’t get along.’
‘Don’t worry, Mr Ye, we can keep our personal issues separate from work,’ Li Bin replied.
Ye Xinuo: ‘Well, is there anything else?’
Li Bin: ‘I will handle other trivial matters as appropriate.’
‘Good,’ Ye Xinuo nodded, ‘then you go ahead.’
‘Okay,’ Li Bin stood up and left with a bow.
Li Bin is a very perceptive person. He may not be outstanding in the game major, but he is a natural tactician, just the person to balance the situation where the studio’s IQ and EQ are not equal.
Ye Xinuo rubbed the corner of his eye. Apart from the previous incident of the team leaving, Qiyue really hadn’t caused any other trouble, unlike other departments, where there was one messy incident after another. One after the other, these industry elites would fight over who sat in the middle of the table. If you put it five years in the future, it would be exactly like a group of celebrities fighting over the centre position.
However, the holding group of Yunteng Games is Qisheng, and the group chairman, Qi Ming, is still related to the Ni family by marriage. In just two years, it has rapidly risen in the gaming industry, and its strength cannot be underestimated. I hope that the opposing family doesn’t do anything before the launch of the ‘Tomb of the Ancients’ mobile game.
In the familiar billiard room.
Ning Han jumped onto the pool table with a lollipop in his mouth, ‘Yunteng should send a smarter spy. My virus has been in the health computer for so long and it hasn’t been discovered, it’s so boring.’
‘What’s Yunteng Games doing?’ Qin Moyan didn’t play pool today, and was sitting on the sofa next to it, holding a tablet in his hands.
Ning Han spat out the lollipop in his mouth, ‘They want to preemptively release an online competitive game that is very similar to “Tomb of the Ancients”. Only a few core managers know the launch time.’
‘Deliberately letting Qiyue find their spy to lower the other party’s guard, and then taking them by surprise, Cloud and Dragon’s methods are much more sophisticated than before.’
‘I always feel like there is an extra computer expert over at Cloud and Dragon. Recently, it has been particularly difficult to crack their firewall, and I’m beginning to doubt my life,’ Ning Han complained.
Qin Moyan said, ‘Don’t force yourself. Li Bin is not a pushover.’
Ning Han was roused to action, however. ‘No way. I have faith!’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Suit yourself.’
Ning Han said, ‘Why don’t you ask what my faith is?’
‘Not interested.’
‘My faith is to get first-hand information and get you to promote me and give me a pay rise—’
‘Did the cyber police let you off?’ Qin Moyan interrupted Ning Han’s chatter.
‘Who knows?‘ Ning Han shrugged, “It hasn’t appeared recently anyway.”
’No, what was I just telling you? I need to—‘
’I have to go now.’ Qin Moyan walked to the door and turned back to give an order, “When you see Ding Qi, tell him to contact me as soon as possible, or else…”
Although the latter sentence was not finished, Ning Han knew that Ding Qi was on the verge of provoking Qin Moyan, so he sent a message to Ding Qi gloatingly.
In the distant suburbs, on the green hills, the wild flowers bloomed all over the hillside. The bright sunshine hit the grass, full of greenery and vitality. If it weren’t for the rows of tombstones standing there, this would be a great place for a spring outing.
A straight figure stood in front of a joint tombstone, with long, dark hair swaying in the breeze.
“Dad, today is your birthday. When you were alive, you never celebrated your birthday, saying that you were too old for it. But there are 365 days in a year, and so many festivals, and only your birthday is your own. If I could, I would like to have a birthday too.‘ A bitter smile appeared on Qin Moyan’s face.
Only in front of her parents’ graves could she truly let her guard down.
The tombstone depicted a middle-aged couple whose faces were not outstanding, but they were smiling infectiously, as if a glance at them could make you forget your troubles.
Qin Moyan touched the tombstone with her fingertips and muttered, ‘If our family had been rich, Dad wouldn’t have worked day and night, and Mum wouldn’t have let her illness get so bad that there was no cure. Now that I’m rich, you’re gone.‘
After speaking to the tombstone for a while, Qin Moyan lowered her eyes, and when she looked up again, she had returned to her usual calm and unruffled appearance.
At that moment, her phone vibrated. Qin Moyan answered the call with a frown, “Which hospital?”
’Okay, I’ll be right there.’
Chapter 29
Outside the VIP ward:
‘Is it a serious injury?’
As soon as Ye Xinuo heard that Han Qiuzi had been injured and was in hospital, she immediately asked Yu Qing to go to the hospital with her.
Han Qiuzi’s special assistant Li Qing replied, ‘A mild concussion, he hasn’t woken up yet. The wrist bone is dislocated, and it has been fixed with a splint.’
‘What happened?‘ Ye Xinru frowned.
’President Han went to the express delivery point to inspect, but he encountered some employees causing trouble. I don’t know who drew everyone’s attention to President Han, and a few employees came up and shoved him. Although the bodyguards came forward in time to stop them, in the melee, President Han lost his footing and fell down the stairs.”
It was not Ye Xinru’s place to ask too many questions about what happened at other companies, so she had to ask, ’Can we go in and see Qiuzi now?’
Li Qing hesitated for a moment, and while answering ‘yes’ opened the ward door.
Yu Qing’s thoughts had long since flown inside, but out of politeness, she could only slowly walk inside after Ye Xinuo as if nothing had happened.
Han Qiuzi on the hospital bed frowned slightly, with a splint and bandage on his right arm. He kept mumbling something, but if you didn’t put your ear close to his mouth, you couldn’t hear anything.
Ye Xinuo knew that at that moment, Yu Qing must have wanted to see Han Qiuzi alone, so he made an excuse and asked Li Qing to go outside and talk.
Yu Qing had no time to care about anything else. As soon as she heard the door open, she quickly walked up. Her fingertips carefully touched Han Qiuzi’s shoulder, which was trembling uncontrollably.
Han Qiuzi’s mouth was still opening and closing, and Yu Qing leaned over, pressing her ear against the other person’s lips.
‘Qing, I’m hungry, is dinner ready yet?’
‘I want some water, it’s so cold outside, get up and get some!’
‘Qing, look, it’s snowing!’
‘You said you’d come home after the first snowfall, why have you suddenly stopped wanting me?’
‘Qing, I’m hungry…’
Han Qiuzi’s mouth kept repeating these words.
Without warning, tears ‘swished’ out of Yu Qing’s eyes and dripped onto Han Qiuzi’s face, sliding down the curve.
Yu Qing immediately and helplessly wiped away the tears on Han Qiuzi’s face, but the beads that had slipped out of her own eyes were only increasing.
She quickly turned her back, wiped away the tears that kept coming out with her hand, and tried hard to control her emotions.
Fortunately, no one came in during this time. Five minutes later, Yu Qing finally sniffed, let out a breath, and turned back to face Han Qiuzi.
The pain and longing in her eyes could no longer be concealed, falling like raindrops on Han Qiuzi’s face. She forgot about time and space, and saw only the figure of one person in her eyes.
Suddenly, Yu Qing bent down, closed her eyes and placed a kiss on Han Qiuzi’s slightly parted lips. When she opened her eyes again and tried to back away, the person beneath her opened their eyes as well, their pupils filled with surprise and joy.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds without any obstruction. Yu Qing tried hard to hide the panic in her eyes, straightened up as if nothing had happened, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, ‘Nono needs to talk to your assistant about something, so I’ll be right back.’
‘Qing, did you just kiss me?‘ Han Qiuzi licked his lips, his face full of reminiscence, without the slightest sense of embarrassment.
’The doctor said you had a concussion, I’m afraid you’re hallucinating, I didn’t kiss you,’ Yu Qing’s face was very calm, not a trace of lying could be seen.
Han Qiuzi: ’…What kind of image do I have in Yu Qing’s heart? Does she seem so gullible?
‘I followed Nuo Nuo here. Since you’ve woken up, I’ll go out and tell her to come in and say hello. She has other arrangements after this.‘ Yu Qing pretended to be fine, but her speech was still a bit incoherent. “You rest well and don’t move your hand around. I’ll go first, I have things to do later.”
’Oops!”
Yu Qing had just reached the door when she heard Han Qiuzi exclaim, and when she looked back, the person in the bed was gasping in pain, his facial features twisted together.
‘What’s wrong?‘ Yu Qing nervously ran back to the bed.
’I just lifted my hand in a hurry.‘
Han Qiuzi bit her lower lip and took a while to whine in a weak voice, “It hurts.”
’I told you not to move around!’ Yu Qing scolded, ’Where does it hurt? I’ll call the doctor to take a look.’
‘Don’t go, if you stay with me for a while, it won’t hurt.’ Han Qiuzi grabbed Yu Qing with the other hand and cast a hopeful look, “Will you blow on it for me?”
Hearing this, Yu Qing knew that Han Qiuzi was deliberately hurting himself on purpose. She was angry and sour in her heart, but in the end she sat on the stool next to her, carefully leaned over, and blew a few breaths on Han Qiuzi’s right arm.
Then she looked up and said, ’Does it still hurt?’
‘It hurts.’ Han Qiuzi’s eyes were filled with unshakable sadness, “I just had a dream about you, and it hurt so much.”
***
The same hospital.
Qin Moyan walked into an ordinary ward. The peculiar smell of the hospital was not unpleasant, but it made her feel very uncomfortable.
The person in the hospital bed was named Gao Wei, and he was a supervisor at Litong Express, a subsidiary of the Han Group.
Qin Moyan’s gaze fell on Gao Wei, and she expressed her concern, ’Where did you get hurt?’
‘It’s not a big deal, just a broken leg.‘ Gao Wei gave a bashful smile, “You look pretty strong, but the bone is so weak, it’s a joke.”
Qin Moyan said with a sigh, “Then you have to be more careful with your recovery, otherwise you’ll get an illness and that will be even funnier.”
’You, either don’t say anything, or you’ll choke someone to death when you do.’ Gao Wei laughed and shook his head.
Qin Moyan remembered something and looked around, ’Where’s your wife?’
‘My wife is cooking for the baby at home, so I just need to find a carer. Gao Wei’s eyes were full of tenderness, ‘The girl has an exam coming up, I don’t want to distract her.’
Qin Moyan nodded, ‘That’s good, carers are more professional at taking care of people.’
‘Everyone who heard what I just said has to praise me for being a “mountain of fatherly love”, but when it comes to you, you’re not moved at all!’
Gao Wei understood Qin Moyan’s character, and this was just a joke.
‘This is called optimal allocation of resources,‘ Qin Moyan replied very seriously. “The profession of a caregiver is to take care of patients. It can save a lot of trouble for both you and your sister-in-law, while also reducing external interference with Xiaohui. It can only be described as a correct decision. What’s so touching about it?”
’Yes, yes, yes, Moyan is right,’ Gao Wei nodded in complete agreement.
Qin Moyan then asked, ’What happened at Litong?’
‘We are going to cooperate with Dingfeng Express, and the company is going to undergo reforms. In fact, it’s not a bad thing in my opinion, but some couriers, for some reason, have become agitated and are boycotting the reforms. They have even gone on strike and demonstrated. Gao Wei took a sip of water before continuing, ‘Today, President Han happened to come for an inspection, and a few troublemaking employees caused a violent conflict. Not only was I injured, but a few junior supervisors were also injured by the employees. It seems that President Han also fell down the stairs.’
Upon hearing this, Qin Moyan’s eyes took on a deep expression that was unique to when she was thinking.
Chapter 30
‘I just had a dream about you, and my heart aches.’
Seeing the hurt expression on Han Qiuzi’s face, Yu Qing’s heart ached. She really wanted to ignore everything and hug the person, but the words Han Jingjin had said five years ago still seemed to be echoing in her ears, clear and audible.
She reached out and touched the hair on the top of Han Qiuzi’s head. ‘I’m still your friend, no matter what happens to you—’
The door to the ward suddenly opened, and the person who came in happened to be Han Qiuzi’s father.
Yu Qing reflexively withdrew her hand the moment she heard the sound, so all the person saw at the moment was Yu Qing standing by the bed with her hands hanging down at her sides.
‘Mr. Han,’ Yu Qing spoke first to say hello, her face showing no trace of unease.
As soon as he saw Yu Qing, Han Jingjin’s movements slowed for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal, unnoticed by anyone.
‘Are you okay, my dear daughter?‘ He nodded perfunctorily at Yu Qing and then cast a concerned glance at Han Qiuzi.
’I’m fine, Daddy,‘ Han Qiuzi said, pulling a weak smile on his pale face.
’Still saying you’re fine? Your face is white like that and your arm is so badly injured,’ Han Jingjin frowned, ’After you’re discharged from the hospital, you’ll come home to live, so that Mrs. Chen can take care of you.’
‘It’s just a small injury, Daddy, don’t be nervous.‘ Han Qiuzi arched her eyes, “I fell many times when I was little.”
’Yes, you were always a little monkey!‘ Han Jingjin tapped his daughter’s head with his finger.
’Daddy, this is Miss Yu, she came with Ye Sheng’s CEO Ye to visit.’ Han Qiuzi’s face showed no signs of weakness, as if she wasn’t the one who had just shown her vulnerability in front of Yu Qing.
‘Hello,‘ Han Jingjin smiled naturally.
’Hello, Chairman Han,‘ Yu Qing also smiled appropriately.
At this time, there was a knock on the door, and Ye Xinuo and special assistant Li Qing returned to the ward.
’Uncle Han,’ Ye Xinuo had met Han Jingjin a few times in social situations. Although the two families were not on familiar terms, they were after all partners, and this form of address naturally made them feel closer.
‘Xinuo is here,‘ Han Jingjin smiled kindly, “I haven’t seen you for a while, and you’re getting more and more beautiful.”
’Thank you, Uncle,‘ Ye Xinuo covered her lips and nose with one hand and put on a standard social smile.
’Xinuo took time out of her busy schedule to come and see Xiaozi, and Uncle thanks her for that.’
‘You’re too kind, Uncle. Qiuzi is now one of Ye Sheng’s directors, so it’s only right.‘ Ye Xinuo turned to Han Qiuzi, “Then Qiuzi, take good care of yourself. I have some things to do later, so I’ll come see you again some other day.”
’Okay, Xinuo, take care.’ Han Qiuzi said as he tilted his head to say goodbye while lying in bed.
Ye Xinuo and Yu Qing politely said hello to the people in the ward before leaving together.
Whether it was a narrow escape or fate, Ye Xinuo’s elevator stopped at the floor where Qin Moyan was on the way down. The hospital was crowded, and Qin Moyan was pushed into the elevator.
‘Ah!’ Ye Xinuo was caught off guard by the sudden flow of people. She didn’t stand firm, and when she thought she was going to fall, she was caught by an arm.
As they exited the elevator, Ye Xinu blurted out, ‘Are you following me? How come I always run into you?’
Qin Moyan smoothed out the creases in his clothes and said, ‘Miss Ye, don’t you know that when you accept help from someone, you should say thank you first?’
‘Thank… thank you.’
Ye Xinu said unwillingly, with a slightly gloating tone, ‘Director Qin is sick?’
“I’ve come to visit a friend.’
After answering, Qin Moyan had no intention of continuing the conversation and said goodbye, ‘I have to go now, Ms Ye. Goodbye.’
Before Ye Xinuo could say goodbye, the person in front of her walked away quickly, leaving her standing there with her mouth open, swallowing the words that had been on the tip of her tongue.
‘What kind of person is that!’ Ye Xinuo exclaimed angrily, ‘Yu Qing, don’t you think she’s being rude!’
The awkward thing was that Yu Qing was staring blankly at her own thoughts and was oblivious to her words.
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ I should have checked the almanac before going out today.
She waited patiently for Yu Qing to come back from her daydream before speaking again: ‘Yu Qing, you don’t need to come with me on this errand. I’ll ask Xu Xiao to come. You should go home and rest. You don’t look well, are you feeling unwell?’
‘No, I’m not,’ Yu Qing shook her head, ‘I don’t need to rest.’
‘Don’t be stubborn. Your face is so pale, and your lips are purple. Are you anemic? You can’t concentrate either. Could it be that your brain nerves are damaged? It’s a good thing we’re at the hospital, otherwise I’ll cancel the afternoon’s appointments and accompany you to get your health checked up.‘ Ye Xinru spoke in an exaggerated manner, trying desperately to make Yu Qing think that she had a terminal illness.
’I really am fine. I probably just didn’t sleep well the past two days. I just need to go home and rest.’ Yu Qing didn’t realize that she had been forced to take a step back for no reason.
‘Okay then,‘ Ye Xinuo frowned, looking like he was making a compromise. “Then Xu Xiao can accompany me to the business dinner at 7 o’clock, and you should just rest at home today.”
Yu Qing sighed. She knew Ye Xinuo’s unyielding character, and she had no choice but to reluctantly say, “Okay.”
’Speaking of which, Uncle Han should also go to the dinner. I just forgot about it earlier, and it’s only polite to say that I’ll see him tonight.’ Ye Xinuo looked very annoyed.
Yu Qing comforted her, ‘I’m sure Chairman Han is not such a narrow-minded person, so don’t worry too much.’
‘Sigh, it’s too late to regret it now,’ Ye Xinuo let out a breath, ‘then I’ll go first.’
‘Okay, bye.’ Yu Qing watched Ye Xinuo get into the car.
After the driver closed the door, he returned to the driver’s seat and drove away from the hospital.
Ye Xinuo got into the car and dialed the phone.
‘Brother Sen, please find out for me who Qin Moyan met at the city hospital this afternoon.‘
’Yes, the other party’s information, and the time of the meeting.‘
’Okay.”
Han Qiuzi entered the hospital, and Qin Moyan also happened to appear there. Ye Xinuo didn’t think it was a coincidence. Her intuition told her that there was a connection between the two events.
Ye Xinuo took Xu Xiao to Siqin Education, a company under Ye Sheng that provides online courses.
The receptionist was sitting lazily there painting her nails, the smell of nail polish was very pungent.
When Ye Xinuo walked over, the receptionist didn’t react at all, still minding her own business.
‘Knock, knock, knock,’ Ye Xinuo knocked on the receptionist’s desk with her knuckles.
The receptionist looked up at Ye Xinuo and slowly closed the nail polish bottle before standing up, ‘Who are you looking for?’
‘I’m here to see your manager, Mr Qin,‘ Ye Xinuo replied without batting an eyelid.
’Do you have an appointment?‘ The receptionist’s tone was a little impatient.
Xu Xiao covered his eyes and turned his head away, already able to predict the young girl’s miserable end.
’Yes,’ Ye Xinuo glanced at his watch, ’2:45 p.m., Ye Xinuo.’
The receptionist pretended to type something on the computer and threw a visitor record sheet at Ye Xinuo, ‘Fill this out first.’
Ye Xinuo was not annoyed and picked up the pen at hand to fill in the items one by one.
It had been fifteen minutes since she got out of the elevator.
Handing the A4 paper to the receptionist, Ye Xinuo smiled with patience, ‘May I please go see President Qin now?’
The receptionist glanced at the visitor record sheet and handed it back to Ye Xinuo, saying, ‘You didn’t fill in your place of work.’
Ye Xinuo didn’t say anything, just made up a company name and handed it to the receptionist.
‘Follow me.’ This time, the receptionist didn’t even look at the paper before sticking it in a folder.
On the way to the general manager’s office, they passed through an office area where everyone was staring intently at their computers, looking like they were working hard. But on closer inspection, many of them had small games such as Minesweeper, Freecell Solitaire, Spider Solitaire and Pinball Windows open on their desktops.
Xu Xiaowei was worried for these people, as they would have a worrying future if they were caught by the boss of the group.
Ye Xinru’s expression remained unchanged, with a smile at the corner of her mouth.
Several male employees saw such a beautiful woman in the company and their eyes lit up. When they met Ye Xinru’s gaze, they grinned.
The receptionist led Ye Xinru to the door of the general manager’s office, knocked on the door, said, ‘Mr Qin, you have a visitor,’ and then turned away, not even offering Ye Xinru a glass of water.
Ye Xinuo opened the door and went in, walked up to Qin Fen’s desk, and said in an emotionless voice, ‘Mr. Qin is really busy.’
Qin Fen looked up and saw that the big boss was here, so he quickly got up to greet him, ‘Hello, Mr. Ye, have a seat over here. What brings you here?’
Ye Xinuo sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and smiled, ‘Don’t you think there’s a lot of northwest wind blowing through the company lately?’
‘Northwest wind?‘ Qin Fen was puzzled. “I don’t feel it? We’re on the 22nd floor, it’s not easy to get wind in here.”
Xu Xiao put his hand on his forehead and thought to himself, “I think you’re quite stupid, brother.”
’Really?’ Ye Xinuo’s face slowly sank. “Then it seems that President Qin hasn’t had enough northwest wind.”
Qin Fen was slow to react again, but he also knew that the boss was probably angry now. He immediately stood up straight and nervously said, ’I don’t know what instructions General Ye has.’
Ye Xinuo’s words were full of sarcasm. ‘I don’t dare take instructions. I was worried about being stopped by the receptionist when I came unannounced, but it seems I was worrying for nothing.’
‘Our receptionist is quite easygoing,’ Qin Fen grinned, ‘and besides, I can’t stop anyone from entering, let alone you.’
Xu Xiao couldn’t help but sigh. How on earth had this person become the general manager? What kind of family background would allow such a pig-headed person to climb to this position!
Ye Xinru couldn’t help but laugh out loud. She also wanted to know which Fuwa this General Manager Qin had been reincarnated as. He was so round and didn’t have a single useful piece of flesh on him. How did he manage to get to this position?
‘Everyone says that I have an interesting way of speaking. I never thought that I would make General Manager Ye laugh so easily. This is truly an honour for me,’ Qin Fen said with a very happy smile. ‘The group of young girls and boys outside are also very happy every day.’
Xu Xiao glanced at the mountain of documents on Qin’s desk and silently crossed her fingers for this big brother in her heart. She thought to herself, ‘If I had such a good boss, I would do everything myself and let my subordinates goof off, and I would be happy every day too.’
Unlike what Xu Xiao was thinking in her heart, Ye Xinuo nodded and a smile spread across her face, ‘If I were your employee, I would be equally happy.’
Chapter 31
Although her heart was full of complaints, before coming, Xu Xiao had already checked Qin Fen’s information. The other party was 45 years old, not young, and had climbed to his current position, indeed rising from the grassroots bit by bit.
Some people always say that talent is more important than hard work, but Qin Fen has proven with his actions that the efforts of ordinary people are not called efforts, and in front of him they are all a drop in the ocean, a drop in the bucket.
Qin Fen put on a smile, but he could guess why the boss was here. Sijin’s performance in the past two quarters had not been very good. Staff morale was low, course sales were down, and there had been a lot of complaints from customers. He, the general manager, was to blame.
Ye Xinuo folded her fingers and rested them on her knees. Her sharp gaze fell on Qin Fen’s sweating face.
‘To be honest, I don’t like dealing with incompetent people. Compared to those lazy employees outside, you, the hard-working boss, are even more annoying.‘
Qin Fen’s throat rolled, and he lowered his head without saying a word.
’Of course, I also know that you are very capable, otherwise you would not be in your current position. Ye Xinuo paused, ‘But Mr. Qin must understand that you are a leader at the top of the pyramid, not a worker moving stones at the bottom of the tower.’
She tapped her finger against her head, ‘You need to use this.’
‘President Ye… I…’ Qin Fen stood up and bowed 90 degrees, ‘I have let down the trust the group has in me, and I will take full responsibility. If you have another suitable candidate—’
Ye Xinuo interrupted him: ‘President Qin, you don’t need to think of things as so serious. You have your strengths, and they cannot be replaced by others. Otherwise, I would not have come here in person.’
‘Mr Ye,‘ Qin Fen sat up straight and looked at the big boss in surprise.
’As far as I know, among all the subsidiaries of Ye Sheng Group, Siqin has the lowest turnover rate and the highest score in team building games. This proves that Mr Qin’s team has strong cohesion.‘
Qin Fen was flattered, “Thank you, Mr Ye, for your affirmation.”
Ye Xinuo suddenly changed the subject, “In our group interview, there was a question, I would like to hear Mr Qin’s answer.”
’You say.’
‘You need to send out 100 invitations for a reception. Each envelope must be sealed with wax. What are the options?’
Qin Fen naturally knew the standard answer to this question and replied: ‘Gather the envelopes and invitations together first, seal each one with an invitation at a time, and write a recipient; or write all the recipients first, then stuff in the invitations, and then seal them in batches.’
‘So, what do you think is the fastest way, Mr Qin?’
‘The first one,’ said Qin Fen without hesitation.
‘Why?’ asked Ye Xinuo. ‘Many people would think that the second method of batch processing would be faster,’
‘Because they’ve ignored the problems that will arise with batch processing. After the first step, the invitations will be piled together, which will inevitably take more time to organise on the desktop, and the error rate will also be higher. If rework is required, the time required will increase exponentially.‘
After hearing Qin Fen’s answer, Ye Xinru’s voice softened as he said, “Since you know the answer to this question, why can’t you manage the company?”
’What do you mean, Mr Ye…’ Qin Fen’s sweat was gathering.
‘Siqin’s departments are clearly divided now, and it looks well-ordered and everyone is doing their job, but in fact it is inefficient. Accountability is unclear when things go wrong, and communication costs are high. Ye Sheng has implemented a project team system in many of his subsidiaries, where one team is responsible for a project from start to finish. If something goes wrong, the project manager is held fully responsible. Correspondingly, the project bonuses are also more generous.‘ Xu Xiao sighed inwardly. This was as far as he could go.
’Very well,’ Qin Fen nodded like a hammer, ’Ye Zongying, I understand.’
Ye Xinuo took a deep breath to suppress her impatience, ‘I suggest that Mr. Qin observe the row of employees at the door more. Although they have games open on their desks, in between games, they are working underneath their hands, and their speed is faster than their colleagues next to them who are just doing their work but goofing off. I’m not saying this to encourage employees to play games during work hours, but Mr. Qin should know that efficiency is more effective than just pretending to work.’
‘I’ve learned my lesson,‘ Qin Fen said with a slight bow. At this point in the conversation, he sincerely admired the young group president.
Ye Xinuo’s phone vibrated. She lowered her head to deal with a few emails, and the office fell into silence.
After a while:
’President Ye… I…’ Qin Fen was a little embarrassed and kept rubbing the fabric on his trousers with his hands. ’I have some personal business to attend to, and I’m running a little late.
‘Well, I’m leaving too.‘ Ye Xinuo put away her phone and got up, Xu Xiao opening the door for her.
’Then I’ll walk you out.’ Qin Fen also hurriedly stood up and followed.
On the way out, Ye Xinuo said without warning, “I wish Mr Qin a speedy recovery for his family.”
Qin Fen was stunned for a moment, and the eyes of this big man filled with moisture instantly.
When they reached the company entrance, Ye Xinuo tilted her head and said, ‘Please ask Mr Qin to replace the front desk with one that matches the Ye Sheng Group’s high-level aesthetics. No one will want to patronise a dirty-looking place, right?’
After saying this, she stepped into the elevator without looking away in her high heels.
‘Mr Ye, can I ask a question?’
Xu Xiao hesitated before speaking after the elevator door had closed.
‘Hm?’ Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow, indicating that the other person should continue.
‘Even if Qin Fen carries out a comprehensive reform from now on, there will still be a long transition period, and the losses will continue for a long time. Why don’t you just…‘ Xu Xiao didn’t continue.
’You want to ask why I didn’t just fire Qin Fen, right?’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes were a little dazed. ’Maybe because I’m an emotional leader, after all, he has been with Ye Sheng for 20 years, and it’s hard for someone his age to start over from scratch.’
In her previous life, after Siqin had encountered operational problems, Ye Xinuo had directly dismissed Qin Fen. It wasn’t until later that she learned that Qin Fen’s wife had been in a car accident in her early years and had become almost a vegetable, with high hospitalisation costs. His daughter had had motor neuron problems since childhood, and until she was six years old, she could only crawl. She needed to do an hour of rehabilitation every day, kneeling on a treadmill with 20-pound sandbags tied to her legs and walking slowly with her knees.
It can be imagined how much of a blow it would be to a family if Qin Fen lost his job at this time.
While earning money is certainly important, there are some things that are even more important to Ye Xinuo’s heart. So in this life, she has chosen to be compassionate and give Qin Fen a chance. Of course, she is not without selfish motives. She also needs more loyal employees.
Through this period of contact, Xu Xiao sometimes felt that her boss had the wisdom and decisiveness of someone beyond her age, and sometimes felt that she did not have the coldness of an entrepreneur who had been in the business for a long time, but was still a kind-hearted young girl.
Ye Xinuo still remembered the question she had asked Qin Fen, which she had been told to answer by Qin Moyan in her previous life. However, her attitude had been much harsher. At the time, she had felt that Qin Moyan was humiliating her, but now she thought that it was more like teaching her how to manage a company.
***
After returning home, Yu Qing was distracted in everything she did. She wanted to read a book to calm her mind, but the more she read, the more irritable she became.
Without knowing when, she got dressed again and went out. After wandering around for a while, she arrived at the hospital.
She didn’t find out much about the guy in the morning, and she didn’t know if he had any other injuries. Nuo Nuo said that Han Jingjin was going to a dinner party, and she should take this opportunity to go and see him, just this once.
Yu Qing found a reason in her heart and walked into the hospital.
After getting off the elevator, she suddenly thought of something and immediately took out her phone to make a call.
‘Hello, Brother Sen, could you please find out who Director Qin Moyan met with at the municipal hospital today and how long he stayed?’
‘Did Nuo Nuo ask you to do the same?’
“Okay, then you can report directly to her.’
Yu Qing hung up the phone, a trace of doubt flashing in her eyes. She always felt that after waking up, Nuo Nuo had become a different person, overly mature and sophisticated. If her behaviour hadn’t been the same as before, she would really have suspected a soul-transmigration.
Because it was just groundless speculation, Yu Qing quickly dismissed the thought, took a deep breath, and followed the corridor to the door of Han Qiuzi’s room.
She lifted her hand, hesitated for a long time before knocking, her thumb kept tapping the nail tip of her index finger, and she swallowed a few times.
‘Is Special Assistant Yu here to help General Manager Ye find her earrings?’
The voice of Special Assistant Li Qing sounded behind Yu Qing.
‘Huh?’ Yu Qing widened her eyes and turned around, quickly hiding the panic in her eyes. She went along with the flow and said, ‘That’s right, how did you know?’
‘I happened to see a shiny object on the floor of the ward just now. I picked it up and it looked familiar. If I remember correctly, it should be General Ye’s. I was afraid of losing it, so I put it in the drawer of the bedside table. I was also thinking of calling you. Special Assistant Yu, wait here for a moment, I need to go back to the company to take care of some things, say hello to General Han and bring the item out with me.’ After knocking twice on the door, Li Qing pushed it open.
‘Thank you.’ Yu Qing let out a sigh of relief, glad that Nono had dropped the earrings at just the right time.
Li Qing handed the earrings to Yu Qing and then went downstairs with her.
When they reached the hospital entrance, Yu Qing saw that the people had gone far away, so she turned back to Han Qiuzi’s ward.
It’s not like she’s a thief, so why is she so nervous? Yu Qing sighed helplessly as she looked at the ward door.
This time, without hesitation, she knocked on the door and went in.
As soon as she entered, she saw Han Qiuzi cross his legs, stuffing snacks into his mouth with his uninjured hand while watching SpongeBob SquarePants on TV with relish.
‘…’ Yu Qing thought to herself, ‘This doesn’t look like someone who has just been injured, he looks like a primary school student on holiday.’
‘Ah Qing?’ Han Qiuzi’s eyes were full of surprise, ‘Why are you here?’
Yu Qing looked for an excuse and said, ‘I came to help Nuo Nuo find her earrings and I stopped by to see you.’
Han Qiuzi’s eyes were full of confusion. ‘So Li Qing came in just now to get something for you, then why did you take so long to come in?’
Yu Qing thought to herself, ‘I just wanted to walk around outside a bit more to burn calories, is that not okay?!’
Han Qiuzi didn’t wait for her to answer and said, ‘Never mind, it’s not important, can you help me peel an apple?’
Chapter 32
Yu Qing was stunned for a moment, ‘Okay, I’ll go wash my hands.’
Then she put her bag on the chair and went into the bathroom.
Han Qiuzi’s mouth gradually curled up, and she picked up the phone at hand and typed with one hand: ‘Thanks.’
Send.
After Yu Qing came out, she picked up the apple in the fruit plate and focused her eyes.
Han Qiuzi laughed, ‘You’re just like you used to be, peeling an apple like it’s a battle, you have to keep it whole and intact.’
‘Don’t talk!’ Yu Qing’s eyes never blinked, for fear that she would get distracted and break it.
Hearing this, Han Qiuzi quietly watched Yu Qing, occasionally breaking into a silly smile.
‘Hoo~‘ Yu Qing let out a long breath, satisfied, holding the apple in one hand and the knife in the other, as long strips of peel lay neatly in a circle on the tray.
’Ah Qing is still so good at peeling apples.’ Han Qiuzi’s eyes curved downwards, their pupils shining like the Milky Way.
Yu Qing was momentarily distracted by this smile, and wondered how long it had been since she had seen Han Qiuzi smile so closely.
‘Why are you so silly?’ Han Qiuzi poked Yu Qing’s face with her finger, and her eyelashes blinked a few times.
Yu Qing suddenly felt as if the two of them had gone back five years together.
Han Qiuzi took Yu Qing’s hand, brought the apple to her mouth, and took a bite.
Yu Qing’s body trembled slightly, and she tried to pull her hand back, but the other party held on tightly.
‘Why are you hiding?‘ Han Qiuzi’s pupils showed no signs of movement. “Didn’t you say we could still be friends? Do you need to be so nervous to feed me an apple?”
’I’m just not used to having someone hold my hand.‘ Yu Qing’s gaze drifted away.
’Just get used to it then.’ Han Qiuzi took another bite. “I like holding the hands of my friends.”
Yu Qing: “… If you can’t tell that this is intentional, your reflex arc is a bit too long.
”Knock, knock, knock.’
Han Qiuzi looked towards the door, displeased, and wondered who had chosen this moment to cause trouble.
However, no matter how unhappy she was, she could not lose her manners, and reluctantly said the two words, ‘Please come in.’
The two people in the room did not expect that the person who came was Ni Mingxuan.
‘Zi, I heard that you were injured, so I came to see you.’ Ni Mingxuan subconsciously frowned slightly when he saw Yu Qing, but quickly covered it up with a smile, ‘Miss Yu is also here, what a coincidence.’
‘Mr. Ni,‘ Yu Qing said, standing up and nodding, “no, now you should be called Chairman Ni. Congratulations on joining the board of directors of the Ni Jin Group.”
’Thank you,’ Ni Mingxuan said with a gentle smile, ’and congratulations to Special Assistant Yu on eating the first crab in Luming District.’
Luming District is a technology industry base that the government is about to vigorously develop. Companies that have heard the news have gone early to establish relationships and secure a place. Ye Sheng is naturally no exception. A while ago, Yu Qing rarely appeared by Ye Xinuo’s side, busy with this matter.
‘You’re too kind, Director Ni,’ he said, before turning back to Han Qiuzi and saying, ‘Since you have a visitor, I’ll go first…’
‘I need to pee!’ Han Qiuzi didn’t care if there were any outsiders around, and in a panic, he made up an excuse to stall Yu Qing.
Yu Qing first looked at the expression on Ni Mingxuan’s face, and the embarrassment slowly rose on the other person’s face. Then she looked at Han Qiuzi, who didn’t even blush.
Han Qiuzi grabbed Yu Qing with the hand that wasn’t being held, and said, ’Take me to the bathroom.’
Yu Qing was very helpless. She helped Han Qiuzi move his legs out of the covers, then knelt down to put on his slippers.
The moment Yu Qing knelt down, Han Qiuzi’s heart ached with unbearable pain. How long had it been since the other person had pampered him like this? If they could do this forever, she would let him fall down the stairs every day.
When they entered the bathroom, the two of them were not embarrassed at all. Yu Qing helped Han Qiuzi take off her pants in a very natural way, and sat on the toilet with her arm around her, while Han Qiuzi was not embarrassed at all and went about her business as usual.
When helping Han Qiuzi put on her pants, Yu Qing noticed a bruise on her thigh and reached over to touch the surrounding skin, softly asking, ‘Does it hurt?’
Han Qiuzi didn’t feel anything at first, but when Yu Qing touched her, the wound felt like it had been electrified, and a tingling sensation spread up her thigh. Surrounded by this strange feeling, she would rather choose the pain.
‘Cough, cough, cough, cough…’ Han Qiuzi coughed violently for a while, ‘It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t hurt. You can help me put my pants on, my butt is so cold.’
Yu Qing then realised that the two of them were in an awkward position, and without saying a word, she took a step back, helped Han Qiuzi pull up her trousers, and smoothed out the hospital gown.
Han Qiuzi washed her hands with Yu Qing’s help, and then took the opportunity to firmly grasp the hand that was turning off the tap.
‘Don’t go, okay? I’ll send Ni Mingxuan back, and you can stay with me for a while. My headache makes me want to vomit, and it’s so difficult.’
“You’re almost 30 years old, so don’t be so spoiled,’ Yu Qing pulled her hand back and used a tissue to help Han Qiuzi dry the water stains.
Han Qiuzi’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
‘Besides, I didn’t say I was leaving. I just wanted to pour a glass of water for the guest.’ Yu Qing looked at the person in front of her with a smile, ‘You didn’t think I was leaving, did you? That’s why you made an excuse to go to the bathroom, right?’
‘How could that be!’ Han Qiuzi was exposed for thinking what she was thinking, and she looked flustered. ‘Everyone has to go to the bathroom sometimes, and I just want to pee!’
‘After all, you are the daughter of a wealthy family, and it is not proper to talk about ‘pee’ so casually.‘ Yu Qing put on an air of authority, “Don’t you know that it is disillusioning to find out that a beautiful woman also needs to go to the toilet?”
’As long as you don’t mind, that’s fine.‘ Han Qiuzi hooked Yu Qing’s pinky finger, “So you will have dinner with me today, right?”
’It’s time to go out.’ Yu Qing reached out to turn the toilet door handle, ’Otherwise people will think you’ve been flushed away.’
Han Qiuzi made a face at Yu Qing and walked out first.
Ni Mingxuan sat politely in his chair, and when he saw Han Qiuzi come out, he showed his white teeth and gave a gentle smile in return.
Han Qiuzi pulled the corners of his mouth in a perfunctory manner and adopted an aloof attitude, ‘My engagement with Master Ni has been cancelled, and our friendship is not that deep. Master Ni need not go to such trouble and make a special trip to see me.’
‘The engagement is cancelled, but it seems that I fell in love with Qiuzi at first sight, so even without my parents‘ permission, I still want a chance to see Qiuzi.’
Han Qiuzi just wanted to seize the moment to spend time with Yu Qing, and his tone became increasingly impatient. ‘I have already told you, Mr. Ni, that there is no possibility between the two of us, so I hope you will not waste your time. Besides, a man’s ambition is in all directions. At this age, one should focus one’s energy on one’s career and live up to your sister’s expectations of you.’
Ni Mingxuan’s face changed noticeably when he heard the word ‘sister’, and his smile became unnatural.
‘What would Chairman Ni like to drink?’
Yu Qing came to the rescue, ‘You’ve come all this way, how can you leave without even a glass of water? It would show that we’re rude.’
‘No need. It seems that Qiu Zi doesn’t welcome me today, so I’ll come back another day.‘ Ni Mingxuan stood up, straightened the creases in his collar and cuffs, bowed slightly, then took a few steps and opened the door to go out.
Yu Qing said, “You should give Ni Shao some face. They are old friends, and they see each other all the time in social situations.”
’He was engaged to me. He was my ex-fiancé. Aren’t you at all uncomfortable?’ The little bubble that had filled her heart just now burst instantly. Han Qiuzi’s tone was full of annoyance, but more than that, she was depressed. In any case, Yu Qing was unyielding.
‘You’re not a child, you should know that in the business world, how things appear and how they really are are different most of the time.’ Yu Qing stroked the top of Han Qiuzi’s head. ‘Okay, you’re hurt, I won’t argue with you, does your head hurt?’
‘Dizzy.‘ Han Qiuzi was telling the truth. Ever since she woke up, she had been feeling nauseous.
’Let me massage it for you.’ Yu Qing sat behind Han Qiuzi and placed two fingers on each side of her temples. She was afraid to use too much force and just gently circled the area.
Han Qiuzi closed her eyes and leaned against Yu Qing with a smile that was sweeter than a marshmallow.
***
Ning Han rarely felt very depressed, but this was one of those times.
She was originally having a good time playing games, but suddenly she was dragged off by the big boss to go to some concert. She has never been able to appreciate this kind of highbrow music, and she was not feeling well at all.
Qin Moyan had given her a concert ticket, and Ye Xinuo had planned to take Yu Qing to go listen to it, but she changed her mind the day before. Since Lu Mingqi was a college classmate of Qin Moyan, it was a good opportunity to find out if Ning Han was someone he knew.
She had a strong intuition that it was important to find a connection between Ning Han and Qin Moyan.
Ye Xinuo’s seat was right next to Qin Moyan’s, and it looked like the latter had deliberately bought the seat next to her.
Before the show started, the three of them just nodded and didn’t exchange many words.
Ning Han couldn’t even play with his phone, so he just sat in his chair and let his mind wander. When he saw Qin Moyan and Lu Mingqi come over, he didn’t even greet them.
Ye Xinuo deliberately observed Lu Mingqi’s reaction and found that the other party did not seem to know Ning Han.
After Qin Moyan sat down, Ye Xinuo could always smell a faint fragrance, which was very nice, so he couldn’t help but sniffed hard and sniffed a few more times. After that, he realised that he was a bit like a pervert, so he quickly rubbed his nose as if nothing had happened.
The concert ended with an ‘encore’.
After going out, Ye Xinuo only approached and struck up a conversation with Lu Mingqi: ‘I didn’t expect such a coincidence. Mr. Lu and Miss Qin are also here, and they are sitting next to me. I really like this orchestra.’
‘No luck,’ Qin Moyan said, “I deliberately chose the seat next to you when I bought the ticket.”
Ye Xinuo’s inner villain spat out a mouthful of blood. She said that Qin Moyan was so kind, and it turned out that he was here to undermine her.
She took a breath, raised the corners of her mouth, and patted Qin Moyan on the shoulder, ’Hey! When you gave me the ticket, you didn’t say that you were also coming!’
Qin Moyan did not expose Ye Xinuo’s lie, and turned to Lu Mingqi and said, ‘Regarding the new energy project we discussed before, perhaps we can bring Xinuo along. Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t we go have a cup of coffee?’
‘Good,’ Lu Mingqi smiled, ‘Since Moyan is willing to make the connection, how can I refuse?’
Ye Xinuo felt very uncomfortable when she heard this, always feeling that it seemed to look down on her.
Chapter 33
‘Ning Han, you go back first,’ Ye Xinuo patted the shoulder of the person next to him.
‘Okay, see you later, Mr. Ye.’ Ning Han was overjoyed to learn that he would soon be free from his suffering. He just walked a few steps and took out a lollipop from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
Lu Mingqi’s gaze on Ning Han’s back carried a hint of disdain, which was captured by Ye Xinuo’s sharp eyes.
The three of them went to a nearby café. When they sat down, Lu Mingqi pulled out a chair for Qin Moyan, without showing Ye Xinuo the slightest bit of gentlemanly behaviour.
Ye Xinuo was not a small-minded person, but after a few times like this, she was extremely unhappy. Perhaps it was because their previous encounters had been too superficial, and only now did she realise that Lu Mingqi was a far cry from what she had imagined.
Qin Moyan had acted as matchmaker, so she should be the one to start the conversation.
Ye Xinuo had heard about the investment project in general and was interested. She said, ‘The founder of this company has some interesting ideas. If I get the chance, I’d like to meet him in person.’
Lu Mingqi laughed lightly, ‘I’m afraid that only Moyan here has met the entrepreneur. I trust Moyan’s judgment.’
Ye Xinuo tried hard to suppress the annoyance in his heart and said, ‘Of course I also trust Mo Yan’s judgment, but only by talking face to face can I understand more.’
‘Mo Yan, if President Ye is too worried, don’t force the issue,’ Lu Mingqi laughed, ‘Venture capitalists are most afraid of being indecisive. Unlike working in the Internet industry, where you can put together bits and pieces from different places, learn from abroad, and learn from your peers.’
Ye Xinru’s hand, which was hidden under the table, was clenched into a fist, and he almost picked up the coffee cup on the table and splashed it in Lu Mingqi’s face.
Qin Moyan gently placed one hand on Ye Xinru’s knee and said to Lu Mingqi, ‘It was me who didn’t greet Xinru in advance. The chairman of the group is cautious, and I, as a director, should be happy. It’s getting late, so let’s talk more about it another day.’
‘Okay,’ Lu Mingqi smiled, ‘shall I walk you home?’
‘No need,‘ Qin Moyan said, “I’m driving.”
Lu Mingqi’s gaze turned to Ye Xinuo again, “What about President Ye?”
’I’ll take her home.”
Without waiting for Ye Xinuo to speak, Qin Moyan spoke first.
***
Ye Xinuo sat in the passenger seat, her eyes dark and unfathomable.
Qin Moyan glanced at the side with the corner of his eye, ‘Why? Is Miss Ye in a bad mood?’
Ye Xinuo said in a deep voice, ‘Director Qin asked me to come today, does he want me to weigh my own worth?’
Qin Moyan did not answer Ye Xinuo’s question, but instead asked in return, ‘Does Miss Ye know what the Internet industry is in the eyes of venture capitalists?’
‘How is it different from other industries?‘ Ye Xinuo immediately grasped the key point in Qin Moyan’s words.
’The Internet is constantly updating and upgrading, and there is almost a wave of investment enthusiasm every six months. Correspondingly, after a wave, not many companies can survive. Investing in Internet companies is more like gambling in our eyes. Just one in ten is a huge return. The rise of new companies and the decline of old companies is nothing unusual.’
Ye Xinuo’s brows furrowed slightly. ‘What does this have to do with Lu Mingqi’s attitude tonight?’
‘The Lu family has been outstanding investors for three generations. While you were playing in the dirt, Lu Mingqi was already making his first bucket of gold with tens of millions of dollars.’ Qin Moyan turned the steering wheel and entered another street. ‘Ye Sheng Group was established just 20 years ago, and now you, an inexperienced CEO, have been replaced. Maybe in the next wave, it will be washed up on the beach.’
Ye Xinuo unconsciously bit her lower lip, ‘I understand what you’re saying, but why has Lu Mingqi’s attitude suddenly changed so much? I can tell that he likes you, did you…did you say something to him?’
It was very difficult to say the last sentence, but Ye Xinuo gritted her teeth and asked.
‘In front of someone who looks down on you from the root, no matter what you do, you cannot change their mind. Instead of trying hard to please and please, you should think about what you have that they desperately need.’ Qin Moyan smiled, “Miss Ye, do you think Lu Mingqi can’t see that you are approaching him on purpose?”
Ye Xinuo’s ears turned red. She had lived a second life, but she had unexpectedly become a clown without knowing it, and in the end, she had to ask Qin Moyan to help her see the situation clearly.
‘And, Lu Mingqi doesn’t like me, but I’m profitable.’ Qin Moyan smoothly parked the car in front of Ye Xinuo’s house. ’Your way of building connections is fine with entrepreneurs, but with venture capitalists, it’s a joke. Don’t play the relationship card with venture capitalists who have witnessed the collapse of countless skyscrapers. The wolf is always only interested in meat.’
Ye Xinuo didn’t notice that he had already arrived at the door and asked a thoughtless question: ‘What about you?’
‘Me?’ Qin Moyan stared at Ye Xinuo with a calm expression. ‘When did Miss Ye play the emotional card with me? If I guess correctly, Miss Ye should be on guard against me at all times.’
‘Cough cough, after all, we have had a few cups of coffee together, haven’t we?’ Ye Xinuo recalled in her mind. In the last life, she had regarded Qin Moyan as her mortal enemy, and in this life, it seemed that her attitude had not improved much, either. She guarded against her like a thief, and someone as clever as Qin Moyan must have seen through it long ago.
Qin Moyan unbuckled her seat belt and said, ’In that case, perhaps Miss Ye and I can become more friendly and visit each other at home more often?’
‘Okay,’ Ye Xinru answered, but then felt an immense sense of remorse. She should have at least pretended to be a little reluctant and thought about it for a minute before agreeing!
But why was this person so sure that she wouldn’t refuse, and why had he unbuckled his seat belt?
Ye Xinru had to comfort herself by thinking that she had agreed so quickly because she didn’t want to offend him.
After ringing the doorbell, Sun Mama welcomed the two of them in, asked Qin Moyan what he liked, and then went to the kitchen to prepare refreshments.
Qin Moyan sat on the Chinese-style wooden sofa in the living room, elegant like a fairy official in a painting.
He was clearly an old fox full of the stench of money, but why did he look so full of spirituality? After a while, Ye Xinuo realised with a start that he had been staring at the other person since he sat down, and he broke out in a cold sweat, hastily withdrawing his gaze.
Fortunately, Qin Moyan’s attention was not on Ye Xinuo, but rather on the surroundings since entering the door, with complex emotions hidden in his eyes.
‘It seems to be too hot in the house today. Director Qin, if you also feel hot, you can take off your clothes outside.’ Ye Xinuo fanned the air while unbuttoning the thin shirt to reveal the short sleeves inside.
Qin Moyan’s gaze was drawn back, and he looked down at his own shirt with a very serious expression. ‘I’m only wearing a layer of suspenders underneath, so I don’t feel hot.’
‘Haha, I’m joking, Director Qin really doesn’t have a sense of humour.’ Ye Xinuo’s body was sweating more and more, and she had no idea what she was talking about.
‘I can see that Miss Ye is really hot,’ said Qin Moyan, undoing the second button of his shirt, ‘the air conditioning in the room can be set a little lower.’
‘I’m afraid Director Qin is cold. In that case, I’ll adjust the temperature.’ Ye Xinuo quickly fled from the sofa area, stood in front of the central air conditioning control panel, and lowered the temperature by two digits.
Accustomed to intelligent homes, Ye Xinuo has only recently adapted to a life where she has to do everything herself.
After Sun Mama served two iced teas, Qin Moyan politely took a couple of sips and then said goodbye and left.
Ye Xinuo saw Qin Moyan off to the door. As she walked to the door, she heard the other person’s emotionless, cold words, ‘Even if Miss Ye thinks I’ve helped you a few times, it’s best not to get the idea that I’m a good person. I’ve never said that I’m not interested in Ye Sheng.’
Qin Moyan’s car disappeared into the night, leaving Ye Xinuo in her place, stunned. She couldn’t quite remember. Was the last life’s Qin Moyan also such a conflicted person?
Moreover, the other person’s behaviour tonight was strange. Could it be that he only suggested going to her house to have a cup of tea?
There were too many things that she couldn’t sort out at the moment, so Ye Xinuo simply put them aside for the time being. Her greatest strength was to not think about things that she couldn’t figure out.
Qin Moyan saw Ye Xinuo’s figure slowly getting smaller in the rearview mirror, let out a low sigh, and stepped on the accelerator to increase her speed.
While driving, he received a phone call, and it seemed that he had gotten the answer he expected. His calm eyes suddenly filled with the light of a hunter who has found prey.
At the same time, Ye Xinuo also received a phone call.
“Hello, Brother Sen.’
‘Miss, I’ve found out. Director Qin went to the municipal hospital to visit a supervisor of Leatop Express named Gao Wei. That person was also at the scene where Director Han was injured, and was seriously injured in an attempt to stop the rioting couriers. Director Qin stayed in the hospital room for about forty minutes.‘
’I understand, thank you, Brother Sen.”
Ye Xinuo hung up the phone, leaned back on the sofa, and swung the glass in her hand as her eyes followed the spiral trail of the red wine as it circled around and around.
After her rebirth, she had developed the habit of drinking a glass of red wine every night before going to sleep. In fact, this level of alcohol still could not completely relax her tensed nerves and let her sleep soundly.
In order to keep her mind running at high speed at all times, even when she was sick, Ye Xinuo did not dare to take medicine casually, for she was afraid of causing the slightest damage to her brain. In fact, she stole this method from Qin Moyan. In terms of being ruthless with oneself, probably very few people can match Qin Moyan.
It was a foggy day, with dark clouds in the sky. The rain that should have fallen did not pierce the clouds for a long time.
Many men and women dressed in black with white corsages on their chest walked solemnly into an archway draped in black.
Ye Xinuo followed the crowd into the church. On a platform about half a person high, white flowers were clustered tightly, and it seemed that someone was lying in the middle.
She forgot why she was here, like a marionette, picking up the chrysanthemums by the door and taking step after step closer to the half-person high platform. Just as she was about to place the flower branch in the jar full of flowers, she suddenly saw a familiar face.
Qin Moyan’s usually cold face was pale at the moment, looking even more cold.
Ye Xinruo retreated a few steps in horror, and the flowers in her hands fell to the ground, their petals quickly withering and turning black and dry.
‘Ah!’
The person on the large white bed suddenly sat up, covered in beads of sweat.
Ye Xinruo opened and closed her mouth, gasping for breath, her ten fingers digging into the bed sheet. Her shocked eyes overflowed with hot tears.
After a long time, Ye Xinuo realised that she had just had a nightmare. But she couldn’t quite dismiss it as a dream. In her previous life, she had indeed attended Qin Moyan’s funeral. Although it wasn’t like the dream, the person was indeed gone.
In the darkness, a trembling hand picked up the mobile phone by the pillow and dialed Qin Moyan’s number.
Chapter 34
The phone beeped seven or eight times before the other end picked up, the voice a little hoarse and confused. ‘Huh?’
Clearing his throat, he said, ‘What’s the matter, calling so late?’
Hearing Qin Moyan’s voice, Ye Xinuo suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of peace, at least this person was still alive.
‘Miss Ye?’ Qin Moyan asked after a while when he didn’t hear any sound from the receiver, ’Are you okay?’
‘I’m sorry to disturb Director Qin at this hour.‘ Ye Xinuo felt relieved and closed her eyes. “I had a nightmare and when I was confused, I accidentally pressed the phone button. It’s nothing important.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a moment.
’Don’t be afraid, nightmares are all fake,’ Qin Moyan no longer sounded as detached as he had during the day, and comforted her softly, ’now close your eyes and go to sleep, I’ll hang up after you fall asleep.’
As night falls, all things become silent, and people’s hearts become extraordinarily soft and vulnerable.
At this moment, Ye Xinruo felt like a feather had lightly swept across her heart. She wanted to say something, but in the end, all she could say was, ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome. Have a good dream.’
The sound of shallow breathing entered her ears, and the hesitation in Qin Moyan’s eyes grew stronger and stronger. In the end, she sighed and edited the sentence ‘plan postponed’ in the text message interface, and clicked send.
The next morning, Ye Xinuo recalled what had happened last night and felt uneasy all over. She thought to herself, ‘I received an inexplicable phone call in the middle of the night. Qin Moyan probably doesn’t think I’m deliberately harassing her, does she? If she thinks I’m harassing her, that’s one thing, but if she thinks I have a crush on her, there’s no way I can explain myself! It’s just a stupid dream, why is it so embarrassing? And she even let me coax her to sleep!’
She spent the whole morning feeling remorseful.
‘Seeing that President Wang has approved a lot of money, everyone wants to follow suit, right?’ The person leaning back in the chair had finely arched eyebrows and a commanding voice.
In front of Ye Xinuo’s desk, a man in a suit had a very unhappy expression.
“President Ye, about this matter—’
The man’s words were interrupted. ‘Xmate is a product we launched ahead of the market. President Wang can disregard user research and judge for himself how to iterate. This product in your hands has long been a dud on the market. Ignoring user feedback and stubbornly doing your own thing, do you think you are Einstein or Steve Jobs? Half of your users will be lost after one update. How badly do you want your name to go down in history?!’
Ye Xinuo’s rapidly rising and falling chest indicated that she was furious to the extreme at the moment.
Although the man was unwilling, he had no words of defence and reluctantly said, ‘I will take the blame and resign.’
‘Resign?’ Ye Xinuo let out a sneer, ‘Before you resign, clean up your mess first, otherwise it won’t be you who resigns voluntarily, but Ye Sheng who fires you for gross negligence!’
‘I will.’ The man in a suit bowed 45 degrees and left the president’s office.
Ye Xinuo rubbed the corners of his eyes with his knuckles. Although a few months had passed, he was much more relaxed than when he had just been reborn, but every day was full of bad things.
‘Ring ring ring~’ The private line on the desk rang with a crisp ring.
Ye Xinuo sniffed, ‘Vivian, what’s wrong?’
‘President Ye, Director Qin is looking for you.’
“Well, let her in.’
As soon as she hung up the phone, Ye Xinuo took out the mirror in the drawer, checked her makeup, smoothed out the crease between her eyebrows, and cleared her throat with a few light coughs.
‘Knock, knock, knock.’
‘Come in.’
Qin Moyan was wearing a black and white striped shirt with a waist-cinching collar, and her long legs were hidden in high-waisted wide-leg pants. The sound of her heels tapping on the floor added a perfect BGM to her entrance.
At the moment, Ye Xinuo’s eyes were watching this scene of a goddess’s entrance in slow motion.
However, the other person’s words completely ruined this beautiful scene.
‘This is Ye Sheng’s financial statement for this quarter. The Xmate department alone has burned through 100 million in a month. If you don’t think of a good explanation, the board of directors won’t let you off the hook.’ Qin Moyan’s face still had no expression, as if the gentle and patient person from last night was not her at all.
‘This is a long-term project that will take five or ten years, and the huge returns won’t be seen until the later stages. The investment is worth it—”
Before Ye Xinru could continue, Qin Moyan interrupted coldly, ’President Ye doesn’t need to explain so much to me. I’m not the company’s operator. As a director, I just want to see real money. Fine, you say this is a long-term investment, then let me tell you, I don’t want to hear empty words like it won’t bring a profit for five years. Who knows what changes will take place in the overall economic environment five years from now? I want to see the benefits of this project now.‘
Ye Xinuo was taken aback by these words. She did indeed neglect that not every director understands business. Some just bought shares with money, waiting for the stock to make a profit for them.
’At the board meeting next week, I hope that President Ye can give a reasonable explanation.’ Qin Moyan threw the report on Ye Xinuo’s desk and turned around without even saying hello.
‘Schizophrenia!’ Ye Xinuo stared at the door that had just closed, feeling full of grievances. She had been inconsiderate, but was her attitude really that bad? Even half the gentleness of last night would have been fine.
The thought of last night made her think of the fact that Qin Moyan had died young in her previous life. It was like a big stone had been stuck in her heart, preventing her from breathing easily.
Exhaling, Ye Xinuo once again used her specialty to banish the matter from her mind, and called Xu Xiao in on the private line.
‘What can I do for you, President Ye?’ Xu Xiao stood straight.
‘Help me collect the financial statements and detailed operating status of these departments.’ Ye Xinuo handed Xu Xiao a densely packed table with several circles drawn on it.
“Okay.’
After Xu Xiao left, Ye Xinuo took out a photo frame from the drawer. The photo showed her when she was five or six years old, sitting on her father’s lap, showing her two small buck teeth.
She gently ran her fingers over the photo, a look of deep nostalgia appearing on her face. ‘Dad, I now know why you never had time for me. I shouldn’t have thrown a tantrum at you before.’
After a long while, Ye Xinuo’s gaze was suddenly drawn to the teddy bear in her daughter’s hands in the photo. I remember liking this teddy bear when I was a child. I even poisoned the bear when I first learned to write my name. I don’t know where I lost it.
Qin Moyan looked at the Paddington Bear spray-painted on the wall of the coffee shop and was lost in thought. A blonde foreign woman was sitting across from her, ‘Qin, you ignored me when I called you just now. What were you thinking?’
This foreigner who speaks fluent Chinese is Qin Moyan’s colleague in the Chinese department at Hessen. She likes people to call her by her Chinese name, Li Ai.
‘Sorry, I was just troubled by some small problems,’ said Qin Moyan, beckoning to the waitress, ‘what would you like to drink?’
‘We’ve had coffee together more than 20 times, and I’ve always asked for lemonade, but you always act like you’ve lost your memory,’ said Li Ai, scolding her.
‘I remember you were preparing for pregnancy.‘ Qin Moyan lifted the iced Americano on the table and took a sip to hide the unnatural expression on her face, “I just haven’t thought of it for a while because there are too many things in my head recently.”
’Qin, there’s something wrong with you lately.‘ Li Ai’s eyes were full of curiosity, “In the past, you would never explain these trivial matters.”
’Huh?‘ Qin Moyan’s face showed a moment of surprise.
’Forget it, let’s talk about business.’
Li Ai didn’t dig deeper, but instead said, ‘Tell me, what did that text message mean? You’re not usually indecisive. You prepared for so long, and then suddenly when it was time to strike, you delayed the plan. What happened?’
‘I just don’t think the time is right yet,’ Qin Moyan said, his tone devoid of any inflection. The brief moment of panic he had felt earlier had vanished without a trace.
Li Ai narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharp and penetrating, ‘Qin, we’ve worked together for almost three years, and you’ve hardly ever made a mistake.’
Qin Moyan raised his eyes and met Li Ai’s gaze directly, ‘You also said that I have never made a wrong judgment. I think we can wait and see a bit longer, now is not the best time.’
‘Fine, I won’t argue with you,’ Li Ai raised both hands in a gesture of surrender, ‘You have always been a person in absolute control. Although I don’t know why you are doing this, I will respect you. But I can only promise not to interfere with you. If the headquarters asks about the progress, I will answer honestly.’
‘Hm.”
The atmosphere at the table was a little delicate, and neither of them spoke again. In the end, Li Ai broke the ice first, “Qin, at work, you are a god I look up to, and no matter what, I will follow you.”
A flash of surprise passed through Qin Moyan’s eyes, and after weighing the significance of these words, an aggressive and beautiful curve appeared at the corner of his mouth, ’Thank you.’
After discussing work matters, Li Ai relaxed and joked, ‘I should have gotten married later. It’s really hard not to fall for someone as ambitious and beautiful as you.’
“I’m going to disappoint you. I’m not interested in wasting brain capacity and time on relationships. The dependence, jealousy, envy, anger, and other such emotions that arise during a relationship will interfere with human progress.’
Li Ai couldn’t help but laugh, shaking her head and saying, ‘I’m looking forward to the day when Qin meets true love, so I can see what it’s like to have a work machine disrupted. It’s hard to imagine Qin being jealous of someone, let alone a little bird clinging to her other half.’
‘Coincidentally, I can’t imagine it myself either, because it’s not going to happen.’
After Qin Moyan finished speaking, he turned his face towards the window and placed his hands together against his chin.
Li Ai knew Qin Moyan well enough to know that when this posture appeared, it meant that the other person needed some time to think alone, and that she had nothing more to do. So she said goodbye, picked up her bag, and left.
In another café, the soft sunlight shone on a wooden table by the window.
Qi Jing wore headphones, her fingertips flying over the keyboard, a smile of total victory on her lips.
“This game where the clouds float is really fucking brilliant!’
Ning Han lifted her hands from the keyboard, rubbed her hair vigorously, and then took a big bite out of the lollipop she was holding in her mouth.
‘Ooh ooh ooh! My teeth hurt! A stupid piece of candy is bullying me!’
The male colleagues around her were no longer surprised by this kind of scene, and their faces showed no emotion. If they had previously worshipped the legendary ‘Woody the Woodpecker’ as a goddess in their hearts, after working together for so long, they now had to add an additional word to her description: crazy.
Ning Han felt a lump of old blood in her throat. She just wanted to experience the game of the competition, but not only was she unable to get out after entering, she was also being killed countless times by a first-level little demon, and she had become a beautiful sight in the newbie village.
‘Woody, the CEO’s special assistant is looking for you,’ the colleague sitting furthest away yelled.
Ning Han looked up, responded with confusion, and said, ‘Okay, I’ll be right there.’
Chapter 35
Ning Han followed Yu Qing to the president’s office, where the department head was also inside, and his face did not look good.
The sound of Ye Xinuo tapping his fingers on the table top echoed in the space where the four people were, and the rhythmic ‘ta ta’ sound made the originally dull atmosphere even more tense.
One minute later, Ye Xinuo slowly said, ‘Ning Han, are you familiar with Yunteng Games?’
Ning Han, with a delayed reaction, took the lollipop in his mouth out and put it behind his back, and answered, ‘We are competitors, so I know a bit about it.’
‘Competitor?’ Ye Xinuo’s eyebrows lightly flicked, ‘Do you know that disclosing trade secrets to competitors is punishable by imprisonment?’
‘I don’t understand what Mr Ye is talking about,’ Ning Han frowned, ‘Why do you need to know this?’
‘This is your studio’s business, let President Li tell you himself.‘ Ye Xinuo folded his hands together, placed them on the table, and leaned back in his chair.
Li Bin nodded to the president and said with a serious expression, “Important information from ”Tomb’ was leaked, and our colleagues from the Information Security Department tracked down the IP address. One of the encrypted habits of the relay station is unique to you.’
‘Don’t make groundless accusations! If I really did it, there’s no way you could have found out! You can suspect me of being an enemy, but you can’t doubt my skills!‘ Ning Han exploded instantly, his pupils spewing out flames of anger.
’…’ The other three people couldn’t help but freeze for a moment, as if there was something wrong with this focus of attention.
Li Bin’s face fell. ‘No one can fool others with their code habits. Are you saying that I’ve gone to all this trouble to frame you for nothing?’
‘Who knows if you’re just incompetent and can’t find the real traitor, so you’re just casually trying to pin it on me,’ Ning Han snorted.
‘Have a look for yourself,’ Li Bin said, opening a window full of code on the tablet and handing it to Ning Han.
Ning Han felt that she was absolutely righteous and upright in this matter, and there was no way there could be any opportunity. However, the more she looked, the more her heart sank. There were indeed strings with her personal style on it.
Her expression did not change, but her mind began to rack its brains to figure out what was going on.
A name suddenly popped into her mind: Health!
Ning Han remembered that when she was lecturing Health earlier, she had thrown a virus at the other person’s computer. She must have been trapped at that time.
‘What? Do you have anything to say?’ Li Bin’s gaze pressed down on the person next to him.
Ning Han silently cursed the ancestors of Health, and the moment she lifted her head, she looked tearful and helpless, “Mr Li, you have to believe me, I was framed!”
You could tell from Li Bin’s face that his heart must be a green grassland where wild horses ran freely. He even wanted to ask, ’Have you studied Sichuan face-changing?’
He said with regret, ‘It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just that the evidence is right here, and the facts speak for themselves. There’s nothing I can do to protect you.’
Ning Han turned to Ye Xinuo with tears in her eyes, looking at him with a sense of grievance, ‘Mr Ye, I really didn’t betray the company. If I’m lying, may I be hit by a car and killed.’
Ye Xinuo had never imagined that one day the legendary mysterious hacker would be crying in front of him, and suddenly he didn’t know how to react.
Li Bin patted Ning Han on the shoulder, ‘Okay, crying won’t solve the problem. I’m your boss, of course I want to believe you. But on the basis of your word alone, it’s really hard to clear your name.’
‘Mr Li, this is your team’s business, you deal with it in private. I just want results, I shouldn’t be concerned about the process.’ Ye Xinuo gave the order to dismiss the guests, ‘Give me a report within a week.’
“Okay.’
***
Afraid that Han Qiuzi would throw a temper tantrum and not eat, Yu Qing took nourishing soups and the other person’s favourite dishes to the hospital almost every night.
It turned out that Han Qiuzi had insisted on being discharged from the hospital after only a few days, and her assistant Li Qing had no choice but to go through the discharge procedures.
‘That little brat.’ Yu Qing stood at the door of the ward, her face full of anger. Not only did she not stay in the hospital properly, but she also didn’t notify her when she was discharged.
Intercontinental Garden Villa.
With her right arm temporarily disabled, Han Qiuzi asked Li Qing to turn the pages of the document for her, and she used her left hand to write her name with difficulty where she needed to sign.
At this time, the doorbell rang, and Han Qiuzi’s face burst into an unusual glow.
She dragged her injured arm and personally ran to open the door, but when she saw the person who had come, the disappointment on her originally happy face was evident.
‘Han, I know you don’t like me, but you don’t have to show it all the time,‘ said Ni Anqi, brushing her hair back with her hand. “Won’t you invite me in?”
Han Qiaozi put on a fake social smile and invited her in. “What brings you here, Ni?
Ni Anqi: ”As a partner, how could I not come and pay my respects when you got hurt?’
Han Qiaozi: ‘Thank you for your concern.’
Ni Anqi gave a meaningful smile and said, ‘Thinking about President Han’s injury, I prepared a small gift a few days ago, but I didn’t bring it with me today, so I’ll just keep it for myself.’
Han Qiuzi didn’t understand what this meant for a moment, so he didn’t respond, just smiled and let it pass.
***
Ten minutes earlier.
“Qing, what a coincidence. I heard that you’ve been going to the hospital a lot these past few days, and now that Han Qiuzi has just been discharged from the hospital, you’re going to his house again. You’re not thinking of rekindling the old flame, are you?’
Ni Anqi leaned against the car door, her gaze following the person who had just got off the car.
She had been waiting here for a while, and Yu Qing had indeed not let her down.
‘Miss Ni is joking. I’m just visiting the group director as the special assistant to the chairman,’ Yu Qing’s fingers holding the thermos jar trembled twice.
‘That’s better. Qiuzi is my future sister-in-law, so you’d better not have any delusions.’ Ni Anqi’s makeup today was very seductive, with full red lips and a charming smile.
Upon hearing this, Yu Qing took a few steps towards Ni Anqi, her eyes full of menace. ’You know perfectly well why I broke up with Qiuzi. So don’t worry, I’m not going to get back together with her. But you should know, Miss Ni, that a rabbit will bite when it’s cornered.’
‘You broke up with Han Qiuzi because of her father. Qing, why do you sound like you’re blaming me? I’m the one who’s been wronged.’ Ni Anqi reached out and ran her hand over Yu Qing’s ear. “But don’t worry, I have plenty of patience to wait for you.”
Yu Qing pushed Ni Anqi’s hand away and mocked, ’I’ve seen Miss Ni’s patience for a long time. Chasing after someone who doesn’t love you for five years really sounds touching. But in my heart, I just think you’re sick.’
‘You’re wrong,’ said Ni Anqi, her eyes full of obsession. “It’s been twelve years. I’ve been in love with you since I first saw you at the age of sixteen.”
Leaving a sneer behind, Yu Qing sat back in the driver’s seat, stepped on the accelerator and drove off, leaving Ni Anqi there alone, acting deeply in love.
***
It had been a week since Ning Han had last entered the CEO’s office. As expected, Li Bin had submitted a very happy report to Ye Xinruo, clearing his subordinates of any wrongdoing.
In the unchanged billiards room, Ning Han sat cross-legged on the pool table, as usual with a lollipop in his mouth.
‘I’ll say it, Ye Xinru is a real hard character, not at all in line with her pure and flawless appearance. I used to think she was an innocent little bunny!’
‘You’re blocking the hole,’ Qin Moyan prodded Ning Han’s thigh with the cue stick.
‘Stop playing pool and pay attention to what I’m saying!‘ Ning Han took the candy out of his mouth, “You have no idea how shameless Ye Xinuo and Li Bin were, singing in unison, one playing the white face and the other the red face. They used health care to frame me with bogus evidence, threatening, bribing, setting traps, and using every possible means to force me to ”willingly’ sell Yun Teng a blockbuster news story.‘
’Hm,’ Qin Moyan raised an eyebrow, ’so you can move out of the way?’
‘Hey, why aren’t you even the least bit curious?‘ Ning Han rolled his eyes, “You just look like a frigid person, and you’re being so cold to me.”
’I only have five words for you, ‘unworldly’.’ Qin Mo Yan shook his head, ’You only saw the big boss and the little supervisor who came forward directly. Do you know how many top industry elites are advising them behind the scenes? There’s really nothing surprising about what you’re saying.’
‘Fine, fine, you’re well-read and knowledgeable!‘ Ning Han pouted, “It’s my first time getting involved in this kind of business war, can’t I even be excited?”
Ning Han took over the billiards table, so Qin Moyan simply thrust the cue into the other person’s hands, sat down in the lounge chair, and pulled out her tablet.
’Don’t ignore me! I’ve been lonely lately, I need someone to chat with.‘
’Don’t talk!’ Qin Moyan frowned, re-watching the video she had just watched, and immediately took out her phone to call Ding Qi.
The mechanical female voice on the receiver repeated the un answered prompt tone a few times.
Qin Moyan got up and walked out, ordering, ‘I’m going to go find Ding Qi now. You go out 20 minutes later and also look for him at a few places he usually goes to. Call me whenever you find him.’
‘Okay.’
Seeing the usually composed person show such a look, Ning Han didn’t know what was going on, but she also realized that the situation was urgent.
‘This is the Hucheng Finance and Economics Channel. Ni Anqi, the new CEO of the Ni Jin Group, and Tang Jie, one of the founders of the Ye Sheng Group and the controlling shareholder of the Qin Han Group, have jointly held a press conference to announce that Dingfeng Express, a subsidiary of Ni Jin, and Lida Express, a subsidiary of Qin Han, have reached a strategic cooperation to jointly form the ‘Fengda Alliance’. This move may usher in a new era for the logistics industry. It is reported that Ni Jin and Qin Han have reached a consensus to restructure the logistics chain and create the first express delivery alliance to introduce an artificial intelligence system. Reporter Li Jing brings you the story.’
As soon as Ye Xinuo saw the news, he immediately picked up his phone to contact Han Qiuzi, but the other party’s phone was constantly busy, as was his assistant. At this time, there were probably not a few people calling to verify the news.
Han Qiuzi, one of the protagonists of this storm, also learned from the news that Ni Anqi and Tang Jie had preempted the press conference. At the same time, the group’s legal department came in person to explain the situation. The Ni Group paid a large sum of liquidated damages and terminated the contract with Li Tong Express, a subsidiary of the Han Group.
The press conference continued, with Ni Anqi and Tang Jie joining hands to look to the future and envision a bright future. Not only were the reporters on the scene filled with excitement, but many shareholders also seemed to see a huge opportunity to get rich. It was easy to imagine the frenzy that would ensue when the concept stock went public.
Ye Xinru couldn’t get through to Han Qiuzi on the phone, so after a moment’s thought, she dialed Qin Moyan’s number.
‘Hello, you have reached the voicemail. Please leave a message after the beep.”
Where could Qin Moyan be? Ye Xinuo’s mind raced, and she thought of a place. She immediately called the driver and told him to drive downstairs and wait for her.
Chapter 36
Due to the sudden change of events, Han Qiuzi was suddenly overwhelmed with work, dealing with wave after wave of different people.
Just as her tensed nerves were about to snap, she received a call from her father.
‘My dear daughter, are you okay? You are not to blame for this, don’t blame yourself too much.”
Hearing her father’s voice, Han Qiuzi finally could not hold back her tears, and became a little girl wrapped in her father’s wings, sobbing.
Han Jingjin’s deep voice on the other end of the phone deliberately sounded very soft, ’My dear, if you feel tired, just take some time off. Go…go study under Ye Sheng for a while, and I will support you.’
‘Daddy…you mean…‘ Han Qiuzi’s eyes grew wider and wider, “really?”
’Daddy just wants you to be happy.‘
’Thank you, Daddy!‘ Han Qiuzi seemed to have forgotten all her previous grievances in an instant, and her body was suddenly filled with strength.
After listening to a few more words of comfort from her father, and calming down, she asked, “Daddy, is Grandpa’s health any better?”
’Don’t worry, Grandpa will get better.’
‘Well, Daddy, you should also take care of your health and not work too hard.‘
’Okay, Daddy will. You’re living on your own, and Daddy doesn’t want you to be worried, so I’ll ask Mrs. Zhang to go over there and take care of you.‘
’Really, you don’t have to! I need to learn to be independent! Daddy forgot that I’m almost 28.‘
’You’ll always be Daddy’s little princess!’
…
Han Qiuzi cooed with Han Jingjin for a while, hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and continued to deal with the mess.
Although her father meant for her not to worry about it anymore, she felt that as the main person in charge, she could not just wash her hands of it. At least she had to do her best to minimise the losses.
***
Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan arrived at Qiran Technology almost at the same time, and the latter looked quite surprised.
The two of them nodded briefly at each other with perfect understanding before Qin Moyan rang the doorbell. Since it was the weekend, there was no one else here, and no one answered the doorbell after it had been rung five or six times.
Just as Qin Moyan was about to give up, the glass door at the entrance finally slowly opened.
‘Welcome, ladies. Coffee or tea?‘ A rakish male voice suddenly came from the intercom, but most people could tell it was a machine.
This was Ye Xinuo’s first time here, and she couldn’t help but be captivated by the interesting knick-knacks inside.
Qin Moyan let out a small sigh of relief. Ding Qi hadn’t disappeared, which meant he at least accepted the situation.
’Why are you looking so serious, beautiful lady? How about some cheerful music?’
As soon as the voice finished speaking, the tune of ‘Pigsy Piggybacking His Wife’ came out of the room’s surround sound.
Ding Qi’s voice was getting closer and closer, ‘Ding Ding, what’s wrong with you? Can you choose some more tasteful music!’
Ye Xinruo: ‘…Is this name serious?’
‘Okay brother, I’ll play you a song called “I Wish You Peace”.’
‘…’ Ding Qi closed his eyes and took a breath, ‘Okay, you can turn off the microphone now!’
“I’ll go then, brother, goodbye, I wish you a long life.’
Ye Xinuo was secretly amazed. She knew that Ding Qi would achieve extraordinary things in the future, but she didn’t expect him to have already developed a technological product that would be released in a few years. However, this conversation just felt full of romantic feelings and…killing Matt.
‘I’m sorry to have embarrassed you. I haven’t programmed Ding Ding well enough yet,’ Ding Qi shook his head slightly, blushing.
Ye Xinuo almost couldn’t control the expression on his face. With Ding Qi’s level of speaking, where you can interpret two meanings in every sentence, if you really want to have sex, you’ll have to turn this intelligent system into an encyclopedia of dirty jokes.
‘Ding Zong, have you seen the news?’ Qin Moyan didn’t want to watch Ding Qi continue to act the fool and went straight to the point.
Ding Qi: ‘News? What news? Tsunami? Earthquake? Or are the people restless and unhappy?’
Qin Moyan’s eyes drifted lightly over Ding Qi’s face, and Ding couldn’t help but shiver.
He asked with a strong desire to survive, ‘What happened? I was just in harmony with nature, having a spiritual exchange with the God of the Universe.’
Ye Xinuo’s eyes kept darting to the circular sofa in the centre of the room. She was wearing 10-centimetre high heels today, and her feet were about to break.
‘Let’s sit down and talk,‘ Qin Moyan took a step in the direction Ye Xinuo was looking.
’Please sit down, Ms Ye, I’ll go get you a drink. Would soymilk be all right?‘ Ding Qi spoke with the utmost seriousness.
Ye Xinuo nodded and sat down behind Qin Moyan, thinking to herself, “The structure of a genius’s brain is different from that of an ordinary person, so it’s really rare to see someone using soymilk to entertain guests.”
’Why are you here, Ms Ye?’ Qin Moyan got straight to the point.
‘I’m here to see Director Qin,’ Ye Xinuo replied truthfully, “I want to ask Director Qin for his opinion on the intelligent system that Ni Anqi and Tang Jie came out of thin air.”
The fact that he could think of coming here to find her made Qin Moyan’s eyes show more curiosity towards Ye Xinuo.
‘I know that Director Qin must be amazed by my intelligent brain right now, but it doesn’t matter why I came here to find you. What’s more important is that Fengda preemptively launched the concept of an intelligent logistics chain. I just want to know if there are any problems on the Qiran Technology side.”
At this moment, a handcart about half a person tall moved by itself to a stop next to Ye Xinuo, but just as Ye Xinuo reached out to grab it, the handcart left its spot and ran over to Qin Moyan.
What was annoying was that Qin Moyan not only had time to take down his own cup, but also had time to take down the refreshments and Ye Xinuo’s cup and hand them to her.
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ How can a robot still judge people and serve them differently!
‘Sorry, sorry,’ Ding Qi came over scratching his head, ‘the little cart’s technology is still immature, so it guessed the wrong time.’
‘It’s fine,’ Ye Xinuo smiled, ‘I won’t argue with a machine.’
‘You’re the machine! Your whole family is a machine!‘
Ye Xinuo was so startled by the sudden sound of a cart talking when she wasn’t mentally prepared that she almost spilled the soymilk in Qin Moyan’s face.
’Sorry, my child has recently watched some videos of elementary school students fighting and has picked up some bad habits,’ Ding Qi coughed awkwardly.
Ye Xinuo’s gaze was full of amazement. Although there were some bugs, she had to admit that this was almost comparable to many smart products five years later. So even the way he looked at Ding Qi was full of admiration.
‘Ding Zong, who else knows about our development progress apart from you?’ Qin Moyan ignored these little incidents and got straight to the point of the day.
‘At the moment, only I know the full details, and the rest of the company are just doing their respective jobs within their areas of responsibility.’ Ding Qi’s expression became serious, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Someone has beaten us to the punch and announced the concept of smart logistics.’ Qin Moyan hesitated for a moment, “You need to calm down.”
Ding Qi was surprisingly calm, rubbing his brow. “I know who it is. It should be that son of a bitch who took my place in graduate school. I heard a while ago that he was going to do something big, but I didn’t think it would be this big. After all these years, I still can’t believe how despicable he is!”
Ye Xinru asked doubtfully, ’Ding Zong…you…’
‘A gentleman takes his revenge ten years later. I know that son of a bitch. He doesn’t have anything in his belly at all. I really don’t believe he can come up with any intelligent systems. But his ability to bluff is quite impressive. I guess the boss of Ni Jin was fooled by him.”
Ding Qi’s reaction was so unusual that even Qin Moyan felt it was abnormal. However, seeing that the other party did not react too strongly when hearing this, she felt somewhat relieved. Being plagiarised is a great stimulus for any developer.
Ye Xinuo nodded knowingly, ‘So, according to this, Ni Anqi is really quite stupid, believing one side of the story and paying such a large sum in liquidated damages. How pitiful!’
Qin Moyan’s eyes drifted a little, and those who know her well will know that this is exactly when her brain is working at high speed.
‘I heard that Ni Anqi is going to compete with Mr. Ni for the position of chairman of the board of directors. A shareholders‘ meeting will be held soon. Why would she do such a risky thing at this critical moment?’ Ye Xinru continued to exclaim.
‘Yes, it is risky.’ Qin Moyan got through to all the joints with questions. ‘This is basically a scam created by Ni Anqi and Tang Jie to quickly gain support from shareholders.’
Ye Xinuo’s goal was achieved, and hiding her true emotions, she frowned and asked, ‘A scam? What do you mean?’
‘A false bubble can drive the capital market crazy.’ Qin Moyan didn’t say it explicitly, but only said, ‘If Miss Ye trusts me, it’s best to turn all liquid assets into cash flow reserves. We need to prepare for the winter.’
‘Director Qin is being too serious,’ Ye Xinuo shook her head with a smile, ‘It’s common for two groups to cooperate, so there’s no need to exaggerate!’
‘If you don’t believe me, I won’t insist.‘
Qin Moyan looked away from Ye Xinuo and turned to Ding Qi: “I came here today to confirm whether there has been any data leakage. Since you are confident, I will leave first.”
’Okay, take care,’ Ding Qi said with a smile.
Ye Xinuo said: “I will leave too. Would Director Qin mind giving me a ride?”
Qin Moyan looked at her for a few seconds and answered with one word: “Okay.”
***
After Ni Jin and Qin Han collaborated, another big event happened in Hucheng. Yunteng Games and Qiyue Studio released a mobile game with a high degree of overlap. Although the worldviews were very different, it was hard not to be reminded of the games by their similar names, ‘Peach Blossom Island’ and ‘Ancient Tomb’. More importantly, one of the highlights of both games was the character face-pinching function. However, one focused on team dungeon mode, while the other focused on single-player adventure competitive mode, so it was hard to say that it was plagiarism. But anyone with a discerning eye can see that the two teams are bound to fight.
In order to convert casual players into paying customers, methods such as recharge discounts and limited-edition lucky bags for recharge are standard practices, and these two games are naturally no exception.
Although both games claim to allow you to create your own exclusive face, they both have the same thing in common: to create a good-looking face 100%, you have to spend money, and the prices are not low. The face-pinching system can be said to be a very important channel for attracting money.
‘I’ve got something great to share with you! Someone’s selling face-squeezing coins for the game ‘Tomb of the Kings’ at a bargain price. I only paid 2 yuan for the whole face-squeezing process!‘
’Really? I thought the lowest price was 100 yuan. That’s a huge difference!‘
’I’ve tried it myself and it really works. I heard that someone exploited a loophole in ‘Tomb of the Kings’. Hurry up, before the game operators discover it and put an end to this.‘
’Okay, okay, just give me the link!’
The long-haired girl in the cap passed by two high school students, and the corner of her mouth slowly lifted as she held a lollipop.
Chapter 37
Ten hours had passed since the vulnerability was discovered, and the phone in the CEO’s secretary’s office was about to be blown up by directors from all walks of life, all of whom were here to question this major incident. Coupled with the fact that the board meeting, which was supposed to be held a week ago, was postponed by Ye Xinuo, the attitude of those directors became even worse.
Ye Xinuo had long expected this, and in order to prevent anyone from going directly to the company to find her, she simply took a day off and hid in her art studio.
As the ‘red-hot’ people around the president, Yu Qing and Xu Xiao could not help but wish they had three heads and six arms to deal with the directors, reporters, and even the occasional harassing phone call promoting cheap game currency for the ‘Tomb’.
The 24th hour of a major loophole in Ye Sheng’s 3D mobile game ‘Tomb’.
[Apology letter:
Dear respected player, due to a technical bug in ‘Tomb of the Kings’, some criminals took advantage of the situation to sell game currency at low prices, which seriously harmed the interests of the game operator and also damaged the rights and interests of normal players.
After urgent consultation by the game operation team, it has been decided to conduct a data screening of player accounts that obtained game currency through illegal channels and recall paid items.
Due to the particularity of the face-pinching function, players who have already generated characters can enjoy a preferential service of a 50% discount to retain the existing data.
Here, all the operation members would like to extend our sincerest apologies to you. We are sorry that our negligence has brought you a bad gaming experience.
At the same time, we believe that players who obtain game currency through illegal means are also victims, just like us. We hope that you will not let this little incident affect your mood and that you can enjoy the joy that this game brings you.
After this bug is fixed, every player will receive a free 7-day fashion experience card and a surprise lucky bag as compensation.
We hope that everyone can continue to support ‘Tomb of the Kings’ as usual and create your own world!
Sincerely, the entire operations team】
‘Damn it! You’ve just given me this notification after I’ve just finished pinching my face. How shameless! I spent two hours adjusting my handsome appearance!‘
A university student with a face full of acne wailed in his dormitory.
’Just be grateful! I paid full price for the face and fashion, and now playing a game is not free!’ Another guy lying on the bottom bunk with his legs crossed was also playing “Tomb of the Kings” on his phone. In just one day, his ranking had already reached the top ten in the province.
‘Fine, I wanted to play ‘Peach Blossom Island’, but you guys insisted on taking advantage of the change to ‘Tomb of the Ancients’. I’ve already got the purple outfit, so I definitely won’t follow you guys in changing games this time!‘ Another guy in the dorm chimed in.
’No, I’m not changing. I can’t bear to part with this face either.’ After much thought and deliberation, Acne Boy chose to bite the bullet, tied his bank card, and bought the facial features props at a 50% discount, successfully entering the newbie village.
‘In fact, when comparing the two games, ‘Tomb of the Ancients’ is still more fun. There are many new ways to play that you can develop yourself. The main thing is that you can display your Xmate friends‘ rankings, and some girls want to be my disciples!’
…
Ye Xinuo came out of the drawing room and received a call from Yu Qing. She gave a relieved smile, it seems that this time he bet right.
Ning Han, one of the game development team members, was feeling like dying at this moment. She had been facing the dilemma of her computer being inexplicably locked up for the past few days, although it didn’t last long, just the time it took to sneeze. However, this hurt her dignity as a top hacker.
And this time, 20 minutes had passed and she still hadn’t managed to unlock her computer. Just when she was at her lowest, a line of text appeared on the screen.
“I’m in a bad mood and want to find someone to vent to.’
‘If you’re in a bad mood, go beat someone up! Why hurt an innocent person like me?!‘ Ning Han pulled her hair and went crazy, “What holy man have I offended? Even if I die, let me know why!”
The person at the other end of the screen seemed to hear Ning Han’s voice, and typed another line on the screen.
’Tomorrow morning at 10 o’clock, Qicheng Café.”
The line stayed on the screen for 10 seconds, and Ning Han’s computer returned to the state it was in before it locked.
‘I’d like to see who it is that has a grudge against me,’ Ning Han muttered. “This guy is even more awesome than me. Maybe I should go and worship him as my master. There aren’t many people in the world who can lock my computer.”
However, the next day, when Ning Han saw who it was across from her, she immediately gave up the idea of becoming his disciple.
Qi Jing elegantly crossed her legs and lifted up the coffee in front of her. Her tone of voice did not reveal her emotions. ‘Miss Ning has a good head for business. She is paid by Qiyue, but she still manages to cheat Yunteng out of money. A loophole that she discovered has become a magic weapon for Qiyue to turn the tables. The conversion rate of paying players is as high as 15%, which is really worth studying as a classic case.’
‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I’m just a coder, and I have nothing to do with conversion rates.’ Ning Han pretended to be dumb and changed the subject, ’Aren’t you a People’s Police officer? Why are you still concerned about the affairs of a game company, and moreover, hacking into someone’s computer to play pranks is considered dereliction of duty!’
‘Being a cyber police officer is not conducive to my pursuit of you, so I resigned. I am now working for Yunteng Games and am offering you four times your salary. Are you interested?‘ Qi Jing’s eyes flashed with a determined light.
’So it turns out that civil servants can resign too. This is indeed an eye-opener.’ Ning Han nodded with her mouth slightly open, and then shook her head again, ’I’m not greedy, my current job is pretty good.’
Her heart was bleeding when she said this. Four times the salary! She had actually chosen loyalty over money, which was completely against her principles!
‘It’s okay if you don’t come,’ Qi Jing said, reversing his earlier attitude, staring pitifully at Ning Han, ‘I’m not an Internet police officer anymore, so you can stop avoiding me, right?’
What a fickle woman’s face! The weather in June can change suddenly. Ning Han was helpless. ‘Even if you do quit, it’s got nothing to do with me! I beg you to let me go, I really don’t want a relationship! Not to mention that we are both women, the yin energy is too strong, it doesn’t comply with the natural law of yin and yang.”
Qi Jing seemed to be hurt by these words, her expression tightened as she lowered her head, ’So you look down on the fact that I like women. If this is the reason for rejecting me, then I’m sorry for disturbing you for so long. But I still want to tell you, I haven’t liked anyone before you, and even if I like women, you are the only one.’
After saying this, she stood up with her eyes lowered.
‘Oops, I didn’t mean it like that. I didn’t look down on you, this is just an excuse to reject you, so don’t take it personally.’ Ning Han was at a loss for words, scratching his hair, and took out a lollipop from his pocket, ‘Here, have a lollipop, don’t be upset.’
Qi Jing took the lollipop Ning Han handed him, peeled off the wrapper and put it in his mouth, then sat back down in his chair.
‘Aren’t you leaving?’ Ning Han was shocked. “I was just trying to comfort you, don’t think I have any other intentions towards you!”
Without any warning, Qi Jing’s tears fell onto the table like “pop, pop” marbles.
If I had known it was her, I would never have come on this date! Ning Han felt like crying, but there were no tears in his eyes. He wanted to cry and kneel down in front of the person in front of him, begging her to let him go. Unfortunately, her tear point is really too high, and she can’t even squeeze out tears when she smells onions.
‘Young lady, calm down, or else people will think I stole your husband. I’m the victim here!’
Hearing this, Qi Jing’s tears became even more fierce, and Ning Han was so scared that she quickly shut up and guiltily kept stuffing paper towels across the table.
Qi Jing sneered in her heart. In this world, no one has ever escaped her clutches.
***
The meeting room on the top floor of Ye Sheng Building.
At the head of the table, Ye Xinuo calmly meets the scrutinising gaze of the various directors with ulterior motives.
‘Your Honour, do you know how much money our group has lost since you took over? It’s enough to buy a skyscraper in the city centre!’ Wei Gang’s words are cryptic, and anyone with a discerning eye knows that this is a precursor to trouble.
Ye Xinru smiled, ‘We are all businessmen, and Director Wei should know that you need to have big ambitions to be able to take a big slice of the pie. Although in the short term, the capital investment is huge, it is not meaningless money burning. Moreover, if you are not selectively blind, you should not only see the part that invests money, but also the part that makes money.’
Wei Gang snorted, ‘It’s just a bit of cleverness, but he’s embarrassed to bring it up on the table, really petty.’
Ye Xinru sometimes really wanted to pry open Wei Gang’s skull to see what was inside. How could a big man in his forties always act like a long-winded woman going through menopause, never happy unless he was stirring up trouble?
Before she could respond, another director also complained, ‘The last dividend I received was a lot less than when Brother Ye was here. I hope Chairman Ye can give me an explanation.’
Ye Xinru’s face was full of confidence. ‘I believe that if my father were sitting here today, he would say the same thing to me. Through the last round of subsidy payments, the growth rate of Xmate wallet users reached 10%. At the same time, the user data collected has discovered potential users for Ye Sheng Finance, and sales of insurance and wealth management products have increased by two percentage points compared to the previous quarter. Given time—’
Wei Gang waved his hand to interrupt Ye Xinru, ‘Chairman Ye, don’t say you need time anymore! To put it bluntly, the directors here are all people who are half buried in the loess, just trying to earn enough money to retire and enjoy their twilight years in peace. Bank cards are already convenient enough, so why bother with some mobile payment? Wouldn’t it be better if we just continued to do the familiar internet products we were doing before? Don’t you think so?‘
’Yes, you young people can wait, we just want to earn enough money to retire, so don’t bother.’ The fickle-minded directors had already started to agree.
Ye Xinuo’s face gradually lost its luster. She thought she had been reborn, and with five years of experience, she could change these old-fashioned ideas of the directors with her own efforts. She never expected that she had overestimated herself.
Tang Jie, who had been observing Ye Xinuo’s actions, smiled and said, ‘Xinuo has been voted in as the chairman by the board of directors. How can the directors question the chairman?’
“I propose to replace the chairman! At first, I didn’t vote for Ye Xinuo either, and it was all because Lao Lu supported her. Recently, Lu has fallen ill and doesn’t know that the group is in such a mess. I think when he gets better, he will realise that he has made a mistake!‘
Han Qiuzi couldn’t stand it anymore and helped Ye Xinuo to argue, “That’s not what you’re saying. Chairman Ye’s current decisions are all for Ye Sheng’s development. It’s not like he hasn’t helped you make money, so how can you cross the bridge after the bridge is demolished?”
’If we had elected Director Tang as chairman, we would have seen our wealth skyrocket by now!’ Wei Gang’s face showed remorse, ‘Nowadays, any stockholder knows that you can make a fortune by buying a few shares of Winda Alliance.’
‘After all this time, the directors are just complaining that they aren’t making enough money. Why are they using such high-sounding reasons to make things difficult for a young girl?’ Qin Moyan leaned forward and said, ‘Why don’t we calm down and think about it? Maybe Chairman Ye has some other way to make money.’
Chapter 38
Ye Xinruo looked at Qin Moyan in surprise, unable to guess whether this was a coincidence or whether the other party had known about her plan earlier.
Just looking at Qin Moyan’s face, she couldn’t tell anything.
‘If there is any money-making project, don’t hide it, tell the uncles and aunties here, and they can also keep an eye on it for you.’ The director who had just jumped up the most just now instantly transformed into the most amiable uncle.
Ye Xinuo withdrew his inquisitive gaze and rested his hands on the table. ‘I had originally planned to announce it after a while, but since the directors are so concerned about the development of the group, it doesn’t matter if it’s a few days early. Some time ago, I negotiated a partnership with a rapidly growing search engine company in Silicon Valley to represent the Chinese market. This company was founded just two years ago, and it has already begun to gradually break Google’s monopoly. As you may have heard, it is called “Alpha Search”.’
The next words that followed were needless for Ye Xinuo to say, as the directors present all knew how much advertising revenue a popular search engine could generate.
Tang Jie squeezed out a ‘caring’ smile, ‘Xinuo is really something now, having negotiated such a big project without a hint of it getting out. You upstart, you really are going to surpass all your predecessors.’
Ye Xinuo was very humble, ‘Uncle Tang is over praising me, compared to the predecessors, Xinuo is still far behind.’
In fact, there are only two or three directors who are familiar with the company’s operations, and most of the directors are very satisfied as long as they can make money. Ye Xinuo continued to go through the process of the board meeting, and the whole meeting was only concluded.
At the end, Ye Xinuo called Qin Moyan over.
‘Director Qin, thank you for speaking up for me just now. I’m just curious, how did you know that I wanted to cooperate with Alpha?‘
Qin Moyan said, “If I say that I don’t know anything about it, do you believe me, Miss Ye?”
’Director Qin also knows that I won’t believe you,’ Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow, ’Since Director Qin doesn’t want to say, I won’t force you.’
‘The bigger the snowball gets, the bigger the impact when it collapses. I hope you can roll this snowball carefully. If it doesn’t work, you should break it into smaller snowballs as soon as possible.‘
Qin Moyan said.
’You are still young, and sometimes being too arrogant will make you suffer.‘
’Oh? This is a bit unusual to hear from the famous helmsman of Hessen,’ Ye Xinuo said, ’I thought Director Qin loved to take risks.’
‘Miss Ye and I are not comparable,‘ Qin Moyan said, pointing at his own head, and left with the sound of his heels tapping on the ground.
Ye Xinuo stood in disbelief, unable to digest the words for a long time.
’What do you mean I’m not comparable to her! I’ve seen it all! Is she always so arrogant? It’s very rude to say that in front of other people!’
‘Boss, I’m still here,’ Xu Xiao reminded in a weak tone, “but don’t worry, I didn’t hear a word you said!”
This blatant attempt to reassure her… Ye Xinuo’s face tensed. ’It’s okay, your boss never fears that what he says will be overheard. Just an old woman, heh.’
Normally Ye Xinuo is not someone who cares about what other people say, but being mocked by Qin Moyan made him inexplicably feel suffocated.
‘Boss, it seems very rude to speak ill of people behind their backs,’ Xu Xiao said in a low voice, covering her mouth with her hand.
‘I like employees like you who dare to speak frankly. Director Qin is lacking a cleaner in his house. What do you think…’ Ye Xinuo stared at Xu Xiao with a smile.
‘Boss, I will be your most loyal subordinate in life and in death, and no one can take me away from you! If there is nothing else, I will go and serve Ye Sheng to the best of my ability.’ Xu Xiao bent 90 degrees and bowed, then disappeared from Ye Xinuo’s view at the speed of a spinning top.
Ye Xinruo couldn’t help but laugh out loud. The previous oppressive mood had gone by half, but he still couldn’t completely relax.
Many of the directors present might only know that advertising space is a piece of fat meat with a lot of oil and fat, but based on the fact that there are already relatively mature search engines in China, most users of foreign search engines are young users who are happy to try new things. How to improve user stickiness and prevent this search engine from being squeezed out of the domestic market is full of challenges and risks. In previous years, even a leader like Google could not gain a foothold in the country, let alone an emerging company.
For this reason, Ye Xinuo actually did not want to announce this matter too early at the board meeting. As Qin Moyan said, the bigger the snowball you roll, the more vulnerable it becomes, and if you’re not careful, the whole thing could come crashing down. By then, her position as chairman would also be in jeopardy.
Was Qin Moyan actually helping her or harming her? Ye Xinuo wasn’t sure.
***
Ever since the Fengda Alliance entered the stock market, causing a craze for it, the capital market has become increasingly frantic. As long as something has the word ‘smart’ in it, investors and even investment institutions of a certain scale will scramble to throw money at it. For entrepreneurs, as long as they throw out the concept of artificial intelligence, they won’t have to worry about not being able to raise funds.
It’s hard to imagine that some investors will transfer millions of dollars as soon as they hear that the other party is going to make smart products, without even meeting the company’s founder, just to get a share of the pie.
Capitalists in Hucheng have entered an unprecedented carnival.
Every day when Ye Xinuo reads the news, she sees headlines like ‘Little Monkey Intelligent Wok Turner Completes Series A Financing’ and ‘Little Horse Intelligent Breastfeeding Robot Listed on the New Third Board,’ and she doesn’t know whether to laugh or feel sad about the impending financial tsunami.
Before they can even walk, they have to run and fly. Even before the app market has matured, capital has flooded into the smart home sector, overwhelming it.
Ye Xinuo knows full well that there will be serious consequences, but she is powerless to stop it. In the face of this huge wave, even the top companies in Hucheng find it hard to stay out of trouble.
In the previous life, it was also because of the blind capital craze that triggered the financial crisis. However, it didn’t start out like this, so Ye Xinuo didn’t know when the crisis would actually strike.
She only knew that the two instigators, Ni Anqi and Tang Jie, would definitely withdraw at the right time, leaving behind a stock market full of holes.
Sometimes, when Ye Xinuo passes by the breakfast stall, she sees the smiling face of the stall owner and the delicious and cheap breakfasts, and wonders if the auntie’s son or daughter has bought stocks and bonds, or if the auntie has listened to the advice of her relatives and friends and gambled all her savings on this bubble that will burst at any moment, in order to save money for her child’s dowry.
If that is really the case, when the people running this scam pull out, will she still be able to face life with such a smile?
However, Ye Xinuo had no way of going over to tell the auntie that you are just a plaything of capital and you will lose everything. If she did that, people might just think she was crazy.
In her previous life, the Han Group had been badly hurt during the financial tsunami. In this life, Ye Xinuo was determined to give her some advice, but she had no idea where to start.
After Han Qiuzi slowly divided up the affairs of the Han Group, he stayed at Ye Sheng full-time, and even when the Li Tong Express, a subsidiary of the Han Group, joined the Fengda Alliance, he didn’t receive advance news of it.
“Hey, Daddy, I saw the news that Li Tong has joined Fengda. Ni Anqi and Tang Jie are both crooked villains. Let’s—’
‘My dear daughter, don’t worry, I know what’s best for the company. Just relax and enjoy being the director of Ye Sheng. Daddy is very busy right now, so I have to go. Take care of yourself.‘
Before Han Qiuzi could say anything, the line went dead.
’Usually I’m the one who has to hang up first, but now he’s so busy,‘ she muttered.
’Knock, knock, knock.’
Han Qiuzi put away the phone and said, ‘Come in.’
‘Director Han, you wanted to see me?’ Yu Qing stood respectfully in front of Han Qiuzi’s desk.
‘Qing, Daddy has agreed to be with you, I miss you very much, please don’t avoid me, okay?’ Han Qiuzi said, and reached up to take Yu Qing’s hand.
‘I don’t quite understand what Director Han is saying,’ Yu Qing took a step back, ‘You really are a forgetful person, we broke up five years ago.’
‘Qing, I know you have been rejecting me because of my family background. Now that even my father has given his consent, you—‘
’Director Han may have some misunderstandings,’ Yu Qing said with a smile, ’When I proposed to break up back then, it was partly because Mr. Han said some hurtful things to me, and I can still hear them now. After so many years, I have fully realised that the shackles of class cannot be broken.
Yu Qing looked directly into Han Qiuzi’s eyes, ‘But that doesn’t mean that I’m still rejecting Director Han for this reason. You seem to have forgotten that people can change their minds.’
‘You obviously like me, so why are you lying to me now?’ Han Qiuzi really didn’t understand.
‘Miss Han, you’re overestimating yourself, aren’t you? How well do you think you know me?’ Yu Qing sighed, ’I may have done things in the past that made you misunderstand me, but that was because you had a say in the Han Group and could help me. Now, you’re of no use to me anymore, so I’m really too lazy to deal with you, so I’ll just come right out and say it. Your father’s words of humiliation will never leave me, and every time I see you, it reminds me of my humble past. What makes you think I’d still be with you?’
‘Qing, I…‘ Han Qiuzi didn’t know what to say. The courage and confidence she had finally built up were fragile and easily destroyed by Yu Qing’s words.
’Director Han, if you’ve had enough of being willful, just go back to the Han Group. If you’re willing to be a person who gets tripped up by love, it will make me look down on you even more.’
Yu Qing finished speaking and then bowed to leave.
Han Qiuzi stared at the office door for a long time, rubbed his dry eyes, and after encouraging himself nonchalantly, he set off to visit his grandfather in the hospital.
***
Ye Xinuo, dressed in a ruby red fishtail evening dress, her hair coiled at the back of her head, with the latest custom-made diamond earrings dangling from her ears, walked into the ballroom, taking Yu Qing’s arm.
She was invited to attend a business reception hosted by Xiong Zhi, the president of Pioneer Technology. Her main purpose was to meet someone who would be very helpful to her in the future.
However, the saying ‘opposites attract’ once again proved to be true for her. She had just taken a glass of wine and hadn’t walked far when she saw Qin Moyan talking happily with Lu Mingqi.
After what happened last time, Ye Xinuo couldn’t hold back her anger when she thought about Lu Mingqi, not to mention seeing him with her own eyes. What’s more irritating was that Qin Moyan actually smiled at him.
So Ye Xinuo moved faster than her brain could think, taking a few steps and wrapping her arms around Qin Moyan’s waist from behind. Her tone was ambiguous: ‘Honey, didn’t you say you were waiting for me to come with you?’
Chapter 39
When Ye Xinuo leaned over, Qin Moyan’s body stiffened for a moment. Although he didn’t know the other person’s intentions, he didn’t expose her.
‘Do me a favour, and I’ll owe you a favour.’ Ye Xinuo’s mouth came very close, and the hot breath she exhaled all hit Qin Moyan’s cochlea.
Upon hearing this, Qin Moyan wrapped his arms around Ye Xinuo’s neck and whispered, ‘I heard that you own a property in Lugang District.’
‘You’re so greedy!’ Ye Xinuo gritted her teeth while maintaining her smile, ‘You’re robbing me!’
“I can make a big concession. I’ll let you use that property rent-free for five years, or… Ms Ye, if you’re not afraid of me exposing you on the spot and accusing you of sexual harassment…’
‘Deal!’ Ye Xinuo agreed very readily, although she felt bad about losing the small one million rent each year, but this amount of money is nothing compared to what she has to do next, and she doesn’t want to give Qin Moyan the chance to change her mind.
From the outside, the two of them appeared to be a couple whispering together, and there was nothing unusual about them at all.
Ye Xinuo buried her head in Qin Moyan’s neck, as if kissing the other person, but in fact whispering in a low voice, ‘At ten o’clock, you know Haley, the founder of the American social platform MiniFeel, right? She only cooperates with people in a stable partner relationship, regardless of whether they are the same sex or the opposite sex. It’s always inconvenient to find a partner of the opposite sex, so…’
If there are no unexpected events, MiniFeel will be acquired by Facebook in a year’s time, which means that striking a deal with MiniFeel will indirectly give you access to the resources of the largest social platform in the United States.
‘I understand.’ Qin Moyan understood Ye Xinuo’s idea as soon as she heard these words. Although she didn’t know that MiniFeel would be acquired, she knew that this would be an important opportunity for Ye Sheng to expand into overseas markets.
So at the end, she added, ‘Ten years.’
Ye Xinuo almost spat out a few mouthfuls of old blood. By the time the construction of the science and technology industrial park in Lugang District is complete, house prices will have at least doubled, and rents will definitely rise every year. This guy is immediately raising the price to lock in the right to use the property for ten years. What a crafty old fox!
It’s okay, I’ll get it back in the future. She comforted herself mentally.
Lu Mingqi, who was standing nearby, saw them flirting like they were the only people in the world, and his expression was very unpleasant. However, he maintained his gentlemanly demeanour and refrained from lashing out. So he coughed a few times to remind them that there was someone else here.
‘Sorry,’ Ye Xinuo seemed to realise that there was someone next to him, and pulled a little distance away from Qin Moyan, apologising, ‘Mo is really beautiful today, I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to reveal our relationship so early, but Mo is so charming, if I don’t declare my sovereignty, she will always attract the attention of others.’
As he spoke, his arm tightened a little more, and there was still some infatuation on his face.
Lu Mingqi looked at Qin Moyan with a crooked mouth and said, ‘Can Moyan tell me if this is a prank by President Ye?’
Qin Moyan’s thin lips pursed slightly, ‘It is true that I am dating President Ye, but due to our status, I couldn’t disclose too much before. However, Mingqi is an old classmate I trust very much, so there is no harm in letting you know.’
Lu Mingqi’s smile grew more and more strained, ‘Then Mo Yan has been hiding it very well, and I didn’t even realise it. No wonder Ye would bother to find that painting, it turns out that’s what it was.’
Ye Xinuo then remembered that Qin Mo Yan, this old fox, had a previous record of taking advantage of a situation. Immediately, he was full of remorse. Wasn’t it better to follow the original plan and find Yu Qing to pretend to be his other half? He had to provoke this Buddha just to vent in front of Lu Mingqi.
Yu Qing, who was being talked about, went off alone and walked to a corner, occasionally glancing in the direction of Hayley to make sure she was within her line of sight.
‘Ah Qing, what a coincidence, you’re here too.’ Han Qiuzi’s face showed no trace of the displeasure he had felt when he had parted ways with Yu Qing the last time.
Yu Qing glanced back at Han Qiuzi, her tone devoid of much emotion, ‘We’re both businessmen, it’s not uncommon to bump into each other at events like this, so it’s no coincidence.’
Han Qiuzi did not continue to press, but simply said, ‘Since we ran into each other, we can at least toast, can’t we?’
‘Of course,’ Yu Qing raised her glass.
‘I didn’t expect to run into you two here, what a coincidence.’
Yu Qing’s glass had not even touched her lips when she heard Ni Anqi’s voice.
Han Qiuzi imitated Yu Qing’s tone and said, ‘We are all businessmen, what’s so coincidental about running into each other at a business reception?’
Yu Qing’s attitude suddenly changed, and she smiled politely and said, ‘It is indeed very coincidental.’
Ni Anqi’s lips slightly parted, ‘Really? Does Qing feel that she has a greater affinity with President Han or with me?’
Han Qiuzi’s tone was not good: ‘Qing has nothing to do with you, and President Ni’s question is redundant. Qing Qing’s calling, doesn’t President Ni feel that it’s too intimate? With regard to things like this, it’s only good if the other person is willing to let you call them that.’
‘Ah Qing doesn’t like me calling you that?‘ Ni Anqi’s eyes were full of meaning, and she was sure that Yu Qing would not say no.
’I really don’t like you calling me that,’ Yu Qing’s smile was a little more grim, ’even if I break up with Zi, it doesn’t mean that I will be easily conquered by others. Your choice has always been to push me away and further away.’
She suddenly stepped closer and whispered in Ni Anqi’s ear, ‘Maybe, try me here, and see if there’s a way for us to go down together.’
Yu Qing blurted out the words ‘Zizi’ without realising it. However, Han Zizi, who was standing nearby, heard it clearly. It felt like a pin had been stuck in her heart, a little painful and a little itchy at the same time, but at the same time, a glimmer of hope arose.
Ni Anqi was deflated, her eyes filled with annoyance, but she maintained a smile on her face as she whispered, ‘The higher the mountain, the greater the desire to conquer it.’
Han Qiuzi smiled and added, ‘Ni’s project is currently sought after by thousands of people, so she should focus all her attention on her career. Love and romance are a waste of time and not worth the attention of someone as ambitious and driven as Ni.’
Yu Qing no longer paid any attention to the two people competing with each other. When she looked again for Hayley, she saw someone else there.
‘Damn it!’ she cursed under her breath.
Hayley didn’t know many people at this party, and she wasn’t actually familiar with the host. The reason she came to this party was to get to know the Chinese Internet community.
She was holding a glass of wine as she searched the crowd for topics of interest, when she was blocked by a same-sex couple holding hands.
‘Hey, Hayley,’ Ye Xinuo did not pretend to have a chance encounter this time and directly called the other person’s name.
‘You know me?‘ Hayley asked in surprise.
’I came here especially for you. Are you interested in having a drink together?‘ English was almost the second language of the current rich generation, and Ye Xinuo was no exception, with standard pronunciation and fluency.
’My pleasure.’ Hayley raised an eyebrow slightly. She liked dealing with straightforward people, not to mention the fact that the other person was a beauty.
The three of them found a relatively quiet place to stand.
‘My name is Ye Xinuo, you can also call me Sherry. I am the CEO of Ye Sheng Group.’ Ye Xinuo held the two tightly clasped hands in front of her chest, with a faint, sweet smile on her face, ’This is my girlfriend, Dione, the representative of Hershen Foundation in Greater China.’
Qin Moyan’s pupils dilated slightly.
‘Oh!’ Hayley exclaimed, covering her mouth. ‘Dione! One of the proud helmsmen of the Hessen Foundation. I’ve heard of a few of your projects. At your age, it’s really amazing!’
Ye Xinuo: ‘… I knew this old fox was awesome, I just didn’t expect to be so famous with the Americans. To be fair, I’m the one who needs to be introduced.
‘Thank you,’ Qin Moyan smiled politely, speaking English as fluently as Ye Xinuo. “My girlfriend and I would like to discuss a collaboration with Miss Hailey.”
Ye Xinuo suddenly had an ominous feeling. It sounded like Qin Moyan was trying to get a piece of the action.
Chapter 40
‘My girlfriend and I want to discuss a collaboration with Hailey.’
‘Hm?’ Hailey gestured for Qin Moyan to continue.
“The MiniFeel instant-erase feature is novel and interesting, and it protects the privacy of the shared content to a certain extent. However, after experimentation, when there are a large number of users, the page becomes unstable, and the app may even crash. It’s been a year since MiniFeel went online, and the experience has never been smoother.’ A thin layer of aggressive mist covered Qin Moyan’s usually indifferent eyes. ‘Have you encountered any problems?’
Hailey nodded frankly. ‘As expected of Dione, you are right. The head of the technical team is my partner, and between us…’
She shrugged.
‘A genius’s mind should not be wasted,’ said Qin Moyan. ‘I may be able to help you solve this problem. Since Hailey has heard of me, she will know that I am very good at judging people out.’
Xinuo Ye had not interrupted before because she had not found the opportunity, and because she wanted to hear what Qin Moyan intended to do. Now that she had heard, she realised that Qin Moyan had not only set her up, but had also used her as a springboard. Judging from the thoroughness of her analysis…could it be that he was also coming after Hailey? Then she would lose out again!
‘Help me?’ Hailey pondered for a moment, then flashed a charming smile, ‘I trust Dione’s methods. Let me hear your terms.’
‘User big data during the cooperation period.’ Qin Moyan paused, “I know that it is illegal to provide user data to a third party without permission, so I need my girlfriend to continue the negotiations with you.”
Ye Xinruo heard this and tacitly took over the conversation. ’My company is also building a social platform, and it has chat software and mobile game links, and has many users in China. If Hailey doesn’t believe me, she can search the internet for the two social products Xmate and MateBlog to see if I’m lying. My company is interested in expanding overseas. Are you interested in a resource exchange?‘
’You mean, a traffic exchange?‘ Hailey asked.
’Not exactly,‘ Ye Xinuo smiled. “Hailey also works in the social media field and knows that user activity is very important. Research data shows that MiniFeel in the US and MateBlog in China have some overlapping users, which means we can develop a larger market.”
’Overlapping users,’ Hailey repeated.
Xinuo Ye continued: ‘In China, to use MiniFeel, you need to first connect to the external network by circumventing the Great Firewall, which can sometimes involve switching between countless VPNs. The process is very cumbersome, and after trying a few times, people may gradually give up. So the reason that prompts them to use MiniFeel may be that they have social connections on MiniFeel. My team tried the overseas version of MateBlog in the United States, and the process was a bit simpler than before.’
The implication is that such cooperation is more beneficial to the social platform founded by Hailey.
‘But if you do traffic redirection, you still have to wait a long time, and it doesn’t solve the real problem,‘ Hailey questioned.
’Exactly, so I want to adopt a different model,’ Xinuo Ye got to the point, ’What if you post a MateBlog in China, and it will be synchronized to the MiniFeel platform, where you can see the likes from friends on MiniFeel and interact in the background? Although users don’t log in directly to your platform, it will also drive the activity and stickiness of existing users. It’s better to solve the problem with technology than to cause trouble for users, isn’t it?‘
’Sherry’s idea seems a bit bold, it’s not an easy task.‘ Despite what he said, Hailey’s expression revealed that she was very interested.
’To borrow the words of your American investment giant, going from 1 to N is just copying, going from 0 to 1 is great.’ Ye Xinuo raised his glass, ’Hailey can think about it, I’ll be waiting for your reply.’
Hailey raised her glass and clinked it with Ye Xinuo’s, producing a crisp, pleasant sound.
After listening to the idea of cooperation, Hailey casually chatted, ‘How long have you two been together?’
‘Three years,’ Ye Xinuo answered quickly.
This answer was very subtle. If the time was too long, it would be easy to see flaws in the relationship from getting along; if it was too short, it would not be enough to prove the stability of the relationship. Three years was just right.
Hailey then asked Qin Moyan, ‘I wonder what it is about Sherry that attracts you?’
Qin Moyan gave it some thought and a shy smile slowly appeared at the corner of his mouth, ‘She’s a very kind girl, like the sun shining all over her, warm and comfortable.’
Ye Xinuo was momentarily distracted. Although she knew that the other person was acting, it was so realistic that she could feel her heart skip a few beats.
‘And what about Sherry? What do you like about Dione? In the eyes of the Wall Street elite, she is just like her name, a ruthless killer.”
Ye Xinuo glanced at Qin Moyan and replied, ’Dione is actually very gentle. She is always there when I need her, like a hero, helping me solve my problems. Although she can be a bit fierce sometimes, she is very cute.’
To make it seem more real, she raised Qin Moyan’s hand to her lips, and deeply kissed the back of his hand.
‘That’s really enviable. Can you tell me how you two met?’ Hailey was interested.
Ye Xinuo’s head swelled with a burst of ideas. Sometimes she really didn’t understand foreigners. Starting a business and investing were clearly very rational things, but when it came to them, they just did whatever they wanted. There were entrepreneurs who came to talk about investment in a suit, but were rejected, and entrepreneurs who were in a T-shirt were given money; there were people who didn’t invest because they didn’t like the way someone else’s children were born; and there were people like Hailey, who would only confirm that the other person’s partnership was stable before talking about follow-up cooperation.
In fact, Hailey is not completely unreasonable. In her opinion, people in a stable relationship have a stronger sense of contract, especially after experiencing a few bad relationships.
Qin Moyan seemed to be very happy to talk about this topic, and quickly made up a story about a romantic encounter, falling in and out of love, and mutual attraction, half true and half false.
Ye Xinuo had never known that Qin Moyan had such a talent, and he could lie without stuttering, in one continuous flow.
He secretly marveled, Whoever becomes Qin Moyan’s other half is really unlucky. With this level of performance and language skills, coupled with meticulous logic, if she gets cheated on, she’ll definitely still think she’s deeply in love.
Through this period of contact, Ye Xinru even felt that the Qin Moyan she knew in her previous life was a fake.
Ye Xinru occasionally added a little oil and vinegar, and she and Hailey also had a good chat. Before saying goodbye, they exchanged contact information and agreed on a time and place to talk in detail.
***
Three hours later.
‘Baby, relax,‘ Qin Moyan said, untangling the long hair Ye Xinuo had tied behind her head and stroking her bare shoulders. The touch sent shivers of electricity through her body.
’Why didn’t I realise before that you’re such a beastly person!’ Ye Xinuo tilted her head back, hooked Qin Moyan’s neck, and pressed her lips against his.
Chapter 41
A black car pulled up in front of a villa. Yu Qing patted the person next to her and said, ‘Nono, we’re home. What were you thinking about?’
‘Oh, okay,’ Ye Xinuo said, as if she had lost her mind, and then she said goodbye. When she came back to her senses, she found that she had already finished showering and was lying in bed.
She grabbed the bedside light with her hand and felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
She picked up her phone, opened her friends list, and saw Qin Moyan’s cat avatar. She muttered, ‘This avatar doesn’t suit you at all. You should put a picture of a big white fox instead.’
Ye Xinuo tapped into the conversation interface, but there was not a single chat record. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“What am I doing?’
After staring at the phone for a long time, Ye Xinuo realised that she was wasting precious sleeping time doing something inexplicable.
She stuffed her phone under her pillow, closed her eyes, and thought to herself, ‘It’s not like we’ve been a couple twice, and now we’re saying goodnight to each other? It must be the fault of being single for a long time, and having a hormonal imbalance, that I’m thinking such nonsense.’
***
Ye Xinuo had another dream of a grey sky. Once again, she was at Qin Moyan’s funeral. The people around her, all dressed in black, had impassive faces, unable to tell whether they were sad or happy. It seemed that the fact that the person lying there was dead or alive would not affect their lives.
But she felt an indescribable sadness, her eyes burning with tears that would not fall.
‘Qin Moyan,’ Ye Xinuo reached out, wanting to touch the person with closed eyes.
Suddenly, the person surrounded by flowers opened his eyes and gave Ye Xinuo a smile that made the world lose its colour. He raised his arm and took Ye Xinuo’s hand, which was hanging in the air.
The next scene showed a room full of teddy bears.
‘Baby, relax.’
Ye Xinuo felt Qin Moyan’s breath slowly approaching, and her long hair, which was tied behind her head, was gently untied by a hand.
Everywhere on her shoulders where Qin Moyan’s fingertips passed, it sent a tingling current of electricity.
That current slid down her shoulders, igniting a blazing flame on Ye Xinuo’s butterfly bones, spreading inch by inch throughout her entire body. The heat wave passed over mountains, valleys, plains, and jungles, and arrived at a secluded place full of flowers and babbling springs.
A sense of exhilaration she had never experienced before continuously assaulted all her senses.
This was the first time she had felt such a flutter, something unfamiliar yet faintly anticipated.
‘Is it comfortable?’ Qin Moyan’s hand swept down from top to bottom, like a feather, across her snow-white skin. “Mm?”
Her tense body couldn’t help but tremble with desire for more.
Ye Xinuo tilted her head back and hooked her neck around Qin Moyan’s, pouting, “I never realised before, you’re such a beastly guy!”
After a moment of light panting, her breath unsteady, she pressed her lips to the other person’s tempting lips.
‘Ah!‘ Ye Xinuo exclaimed, touched the edge of the bed and climbed back onto the bed, supporting her waist and gasping for breath.
What kind of dream was that just now! The person who was limp on the bed looked dazed, and the various sensations in the dream were still very clearly reflected in the body.
’Crazy, crazy, crazy!’ Ye Xinuo angrily pulled her hair with both hands and sat up from the bed, rushing into the bathroom, standing under the shower and opening the valve, regardless of whether the temperature had been adjusted properly.
The result was naturally that the person who was washed by the cold water was cold and squealed like a pig.
“Dreams are the opposite, dreams are the opposite, I don’t have any thoughts about Qin Moyan. She is cold and uninteresting, and also sinister and cunning. How could I possibly want to be entangled with her in this way or that!’ Ye Xinuo stood under the shower and kept muttering, ‘It must be that I’ve seen her too many times recently, and it’s messing up my dreams. I’m still at the funeral, and the next second we’re having sex. Is there still a ghostly romance?!’
After nearly a year of system reform and a change in management, Ye Xinuo’s abilities have been respected by the vast majority of employees. With less resistance, she doesn’t have to do everything herself, so she has more time to obtain information and think about the layout.
However, this also means…
‘Why do I have to search for Qin Moyan? I’ve known all about her acquisitions and investments for ages!’ Ye Xinuo couldn’t concentrate all morning, and if she wasn’t careful, she would recall last night’s dream, with Qin Moyan’s face full of passion and lust looming close in front of her.
Yu Qing had just knocked on the door when she heard Ye Xinuo shouting, ‘Get out, get out, get out!’ Stunned, she stood in the doorway, wondering, ‘I didn’t offend her this morning, did I? All I wanted was for her to treat me to lunch. Why is she so agitated? Besides, I haven’t even said it yet.’
Ye Xinuo was having a mental battle with Qin Moyan, and when she saw the strange-looking person at the door, she coughed a few times and said nonchalantly, ‘Yu Qing, you wanted to see me?’
‘Ah, yes, I wanted to see you,’ Yu Qing scratched her head, ‘What did I want to see you about?’
‘Haha, it’s time for lunch, let’s go out for dinner, my treat, order whatever you like.‘ Ye Xinru stood up from the leather chair with a guilty conscience.
’Yes, I came to ask you to take me to lunch. How did you know what I was thinking?’ Yu Qing’s eyes were full of suspicion, ’That’s not the point, usually you don’t even want to go out to eat, what’s gotten into you today, taking the initiative to eat on time? When something is out of the ordinary, there must be a demon.’
‘What evil? Can I just change for the better and be good? Health is the foundation of a revolution. I’m afraid I’ll die young, and you’ll be so lonely for the rest of your life! Hahahaha!’ Ye Xinru spoke rapidly, and walked quickly out the door. ’Okay, cut the crap, I’m not doing anything today, so let’s go somewhere far away. It’s boring staying inside all day.’
‘Hey, slow down!’ Yu Qing chased after him, wondering why he had been going out so much lately when he had clearly been cooped up at home.
Yu Qing drove Ye Xinuo to the Palm Hotel, which was famous for its pastries and had a quiet environment.
As they walked into the lobby, Ye Xinuo thought he was hallucinating. Not only was Qin Moyan in his head, but there was also a 3D image of him. Next to him was an elegant foreign woman making intimate gestures towards Qin Moyan.
‘Qin, you have hair on your shoulder,’ Li Ai reached out to help Qin Moyan shake the dirt off his shoulder.
Qin Moyan’s voice sounded like an emotionless machine, ‘Every time I see you, I come home covered in cat hair. Can you control the cat hair on your body so it doesn’t fly around?’
Li Ai: ‘…’ If she could control it, she would have long ago controlled her cat not to shed.
After rolling her eyes behind Qin Moyan, Li Ai patted the person in front of her on the shoulder and said, ‘Qin, do you see that person in front of us? Isn’t that President Ye Sheng?’
Qin Moyan looked in the direction Li Ai was looking and saw that it was indeed Ye Xinuo and Yu Qing. She nodded and said, ‘Go over and say hello.’
Ye Xinuo herself was unaware of how resentful her gaze was at the moment, but Yu Qing noticed it and was full of doubts, ‘Nono, what did you see? Why does your face look like you’ve seen your wife with another man?’
‘Huh? Did I?’ Ye Xinuo tried to cover her confusion with a silly smile, ‘You must have seen wrong. How could I possibly have that kind of strange expression? Hahaha.’
Before she could finish the last ‘haha,’ she saw Qin Moyan walking over with the foreign woman next to him.
‘President Ye,‘ Qin Moyan greeted him politely but distantly.
’It’s Director Qin, what a coincidence,’ Ye Xinuo felt very uncomfortable, as if there were ants nibbling at her heart. In the past, he called her “Miss Ye”, but now he had become “President Ye”, as if the two of them only had a business relationship.
Well, isn’t that what they had?
‘Hello, Mr Ye, I’m Li Ai from the Hessen Foundation.‘
Ye Xinruo shook the hand extended by the person he was meeting for the first time, revealing a standard business smile, “Ye Sheng Group Ye Xinruo, nice to meet you.”
At the end, he didn’t forget to add, “Miss Li speaks Chinese very well.”
’I have to thank Qin for that,’ Li Ai smiled and glanced at Qin Moyan.
If it weren’t for Qin Moyan’s habit of speaking in half sentences, his lack of patience to explain, and his occasional Chinese-style poison tongue, she wouldn’t have studied Chinese so hard.
Ye Xinuo felt unbalanced in her heart. How come she never has anything to say except at work, but she is so patient with others and even teaches them Chinese?
‘Li, take some pictures for me.’ Qin Moyan handed his phone to Li Ai and took a few steps towards Ye Xinuo, ‘I’m sorry to trouble you.’
Ye Xinuo didn’t know what the other person meant by this sentence, but she felt a tightness in her waist, and the rich and fragrant scent belonging to Qin Moyan came to her nose, enveloping her.
‘Smile happily,’ Qin Moyan whispered in Ye Xinuo’s ear, ‘don’t forget the preparations before meeting Hailey.’
Ye Xinuo’s ears suddenly burned red, and she leaned against Qin Moyan’s shoulder with a forced calm expression, showing a happy and sweet smile.
Li Aigang just pressed the shutter and gave a ‘ok’ sign, and Qin Moyan immediately returned to his usual cold expression, pulling a small distance away from Ye Xinuo. ‘I will make an appointment with Assistant Manager Yu again. President Ye needs to take half a day to take some more photos with me. If Hailey is serious about verifying, she will at least flip through our social media platforms. If they are really in love, even if the secrecy is done well, there will be clues left behind. I’ll find someone to use technology to plant the newly-taken photos into the past state.‘
Ye Xinuo’s warm breath suddenly disappeared. After a moment of loss, he nodded with a corner of his mouth, “Okay.”
’President Ye, let’s go eat, we’ll take our leave first.‘
After Qin Moyan finished speaking, he took back his phone from Li Ai and walked out of the revolving door together.
’What just happened?’ Yu Qing’s nose sniffed the scent of gossip, her face full of excitement.
‘What’s the situation? Qin Moyan is meticulous and is just sacrificing and dedicating himself to achieve cooperation.’ Ye Xinuo felt inexplicably irritable and suddenly lost his appetite to eat.
Chapter 42
Ye Sheng Building – Qiyue Studio.
‘Let me introduce you, Qi Jing, the former president of Yunteng Games, who has now brought the entire team to join Qiyue and is now our N-series team director.’
Ye Xinuo personally introduced Qi Jing to the staff of Qiyue. She never expected that the second young lady of the Qi Sheng Group would bring the entire game department to Ye Sheng.
Ning Han looked carefree with a lollipop in her mouth, but inside she was shocked. She had thought that Qi Jing had joined Yunteng as a humble cog, just like herself, but she never imagined that he would be a CEO.
‘I hope we can learn from each other in the future, especially…’ Qi Jing’s eyes scanned the room and landed on Ning Han’s face. ‘I heard that the famous “Woody the Woodpecker” is here too. I have admired you for a long time.’
Ning Han took out the lollipop in his mouth and waved symbolically, not daring to look directly at Qi Jing’s gaze, which carried 100,000 volts of electricity.
‘Holy cow, I’m blind,’ Health muttered, ‘but seeing two girls getting along, what is this inexplicable excitement?’
As a spy for Yunteng, he knew Qi Jing’s fears well, and couldn’t help but mourn for Ning Han. If you’re noticed by the female devil, there’s no way you can get away.
Qi Jing was introduced to the current team of Qiyue Studio. Ye Xinuo suggested going for a walk to get familiar with the environment, and the other party readily agreed.
At the same time, Xu Xiao, who had just returned from the United States, got into a car.
After the car slowly started, the words ‘on a call’ appeared on the in-car screen.
“The final contract has been signed with Wesley, and Ye Sheng has obtained the domestic agency rights of Alpha Search. A conservative estimate is that at least 2 billion yuan will be invested in the early stage.’ Xu Xiao loosened his tie and let out a breath, ‘President Ye is now almost walking a tightrope at high altitude. If he’s not careful, the capital chain will break and he will fall to his death.’
‘Then you be careful and don’t have any accidents.’
On the other end of the phone was not Xu Xiao’s boss Ye Xinuo, but Qin Moyan, who didn’t seem to have anything to do with him.
“During this time, I compared the financial records and there are no problems with the taxes, and there are no strange signs of incoming or outgoing transactions.’ Xu Xiao said, ‘It seems that Ye Shengqian has been earning his money honestly.’
‘Well, be careful. If the situation gets out of hand, just quit. Tang Jie is a cautious and ruthless person,’ Qin Moyan instructed.
‘Got it. I’m a little smart aleck, I won’t be discovered easily.’
Qin Moyan hung up the phone, and a news article popped up on the tablet—Han Songzhu, the chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group, is seriously ill and has been admitted to the ICU of Hans Private Hospital.
His delicate features were slightly furrowed, his gaze more and more distant, as if he was lost in thought.
Han Qiuzi was sitting outside the ICU, her eyes dark with fatigue.
Han Jingjin sat down next to her, put his arm around her shoulders, and spoke in a soothing voice, ‘Don’t worry, sweetheart, Grandpa will get better.’
‘Mmm.’
Han Qiuzi leaned over and rested her head on Han Jingjin’s lap, her mind filled with images of her frail grandfather.
Her mother had died in childbirth due to heavy bleeding, and her grandfather had doted on her ever since. Now the old man looked so frail, as if he would break if touched.
[Qing, I’m so scared. I’m scared that I’ll be separated from Grandpa forever.
As night fell, Han Qiuzi curled up under the covers, the bright light on the screen making her eyes increasingly sore and unbearable.
In the moonlight, a white BMW pulled up in front of Han Qiuzi’s house.
Yu Qing, holding the steering wheel, looked at the brightly lit window in a daze, her eyes full of tenderness. She had seen the news about Grandpa Han and drove here without realising it.
The phone by her hand rang with a text message alert, from Han Qiuzi.
She clutched the phone, struggling with her emotions, but finally closed her eyes, threw the phone on the back seat, calmed herself, and started the car to leave.
Half an hour later, Han Qiuzi received a text message.
[Open the door.]
Seeing the sender’s name, all the grievances of the past few days exploded, and tears poured out. Without even putting on her shoes, she ran to the door.
Yu Qing entered the room, closed the door behind her, and, seeing the tearful person in front of her, suppressed the aching feeling in her heart. She handed the bag she was holding to Han Qiuzi, ‘I don’t know if you’ve given up your habit of not eating when you’re in a bad mood. I bought wonton. Have some.’
Han Qiuzi walked up to her and put his arms around Yu Qing’s waist, burying his face in the hollow of her neck. His body trembled more and more violently.
Yu Qing raised one hand, hesitated for a moment, and then let it drop weakly, ‘The wontons won’t taste good if they soak for too long.’
Although he longed for the warmth of Yu Qing’s body, Han Qiuzi could tell that she didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.
‘Okay,’ Han Qiuzi’s pale lips twitched slightly.
Yu Qing handed the bag in her hand to Han Qiuzi, and with ease, she changed into slippers and went to the kitchen to get the bowls and chopsticks.
This action, as seen by Han Qiuzi, was like a needle hidden in sugar, and although she was happy, it still stung.
Yu Qing poured the food in the disposable lunch box into the ceramic tableware and handed it to Han Qiuzi along with the spoon.
‘Thank you,’ Han Qiuzi took the bowl and, without saying a word, put the hot wonton one after the other into her mouth, looking extremely obedient.
But a closer look revealed that hot tears were splashing in the bowl.
Yu Qing couldn’t remain indifferent, took the aluminium cutlery from Han Qiuzi’s hands and embraced her.
Han Qiuzi’s arms tightened around her, as if she wanted to draw Yu Qing into her body.
‘It’s okay, Grandpa will get better,’ Yu Qing said, stroking Han Qiuzi’s unkempt hair with gentle hands. Even though it wasn’t silky, it felt like the finest silk in her hands.
Han Jingjin’s car was parked not far away, and he watched Yu Qing go inside without saying a word. You couldn’t tell what he was thinking from the expression on his face.
A few minutes later, ‘Start the car,’ he instructed the driver.
After trimming the exquisitely manicured bushes, a man holding a camera drew a playful smile, ‘Rich people are really interesting.’
***
Ye Xinru came to Qin Moyan’s house again, recalling the embarrassing experience from the last time, and wished he could open a bucket and remove that part of the memory.
The two had previously taken some photos secretly ‘showing affection’ at some dating spots frequented by young people, including photos of their backs, the corners of their clothes, and the shadows of their hands holding hands. The final stop was Qin Moyan’s house, creating the illusion that the two were living together.
Ye Xinuo took a good look at Qin Moyan’s home this time, and the overall style was the same as her person, simple, restrained, and cold.
But I never expected that when I entered the master bedroom, it was like entering another dimension.
‘Hahahahahaha! Qin Moyan! So you’re such a child at heart?’ Ye Xinuo looked at the room full of Paddington Bear dolls and couldn’t help but fall on the bed laughing, “You’re about to turn 30, and you like teddy bears!”
Wait, this scene, why is it so familiar!
A fine layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on Ye Xinuo’s body. Isn’t this the house in her dream?
Chapter 43
Qin Moyan frowned slightly, ‘Is it normal for a lady to go straight to the bed when she enters someone’s bedroom for the first time?’
Ye Xinuo hurriedly got up, her cheeks red. She and Qin Moyan were not on familiar terms, and what she had just done was indeed very rude.
Why did she just fall onto the bed out of nowhere?
“I’m sorry, I… I was just tired from walking, and when I saw the bed, I couldn’t help wanting to rest for a while.’ She made up a reason that she didn’t even believe herself.
Qin Moyan seemed to believe it, nodding seriously, ‘Then let’s hurry up and finish so that Miss Ye can go back and rest early.’
‘Okay.’ Ye Xinuo felt awkward again, thinking to herself, ‘We’ve known each other for a few months at least, so there’s no need to be so cold! You can teach someone Chinese patiently, what’s wrong with me lying on your bed for a bit? This tone makes it sound like you want me to leave quickly.’
***
A little girl with a ponytail pulled out a chocolate from her pocket and placed it on the marble table top. Her voice was soft and sweet. ‘My little Sanhua has gone missing. Can you help me find it? After I find it, I’ll give you another one.’
Ni Anxin held up two fingers and tilted her chin. ‘Two, otherwise forget it.’
The little girl with the ponytail wrinkled her chubby little nose, and after a long struggle, she said with a heavy heart, ‘Okay.’
Ni Anxin asked the little ponytail to describe the basic characteristics of Xiao Sanhua and printed a stack of cat-finding notices.
[Xiao Sanhua, a middle-aged cat with a mustache, makes ‘ow ow ow’ noises and likes to rub against pretty girls’ legs. If any enthusiastic member of the public spots Xiao Sanhua, please contact Miss Ni at 189xxxx2333.]
An Xin Ni took Xiao Mawei’s hand and walked out of the office door. Secretly, she posted a notice about the cat on a nearby telephone pole. Unlike the usual flyers, however, she used special paper produced by the Ni Jin Group, which melts when it comes into contact with water and is easy to clean up.
After walking about two blocks, Xiao Mawei exclaimed in surprise, ‘Xiao Sanhua!’
An Xin looked on as Xiaomawei ran with her two short legs towards a pretty woman wearing a knee-length skirt, while a small, flower-patterned cat with its tail erect was circling around her feet.
‘What a coincidence,’ said Yu Qing, holding two cups of coffee she had just bought. ‘I was just going to look for Miss An Xin.’
An Xin politely nodded to Yu Qing, then crouched down in front of Xiaomawei, petted the small flower-patterned cat in her arms, and held out a palm. ‘Xiaosanhua is found, and here is my final payment.’
The little pony girl pouted, took out two chocolates from her pocket, said ‘thank you,’ and then hugged the kitten and skipped away.
Ni Anxin stood up, peeled off the chocolate and put it in her mouth, looked at Yu Qing, and put the other chocolate in her pocket. ‘This is my commission, so I won’t share it with Miss Yu.’
Yu Qing smiled and didn’t say anything.
The two returned to the office. Ni Anxin took the coffee from Yu Qing’s hands, placed it neatly on the coffee table, and then took several different types of imported snacks from the cupboard and placed them on a snack plate.
‘Miss Yu has a case to entrust as well? I charge very expensively.’ Ni Anxin opened the coffee paper cup and took a sip, her face turning almost ashen as a pig’s liver.
‘Hot, hot, hot!’ She covered her mouth, lowered her head, and shook her head vigorously.
After opening her mouth and taking a few breaths, Ni Anxin said with a serious face, ‘Now you have to add burn cream and mental damage fees.’
Yu Qing: ‘…’
She cleared her throat, ‘I have two things to discuss with you during this visit, one is public and the other is private.’
‘Then the fees…’ Ni Anxin’s eyes flashed.
Yu Qing helplessly drew a smile, ‘I only pay commission for private matters.’
Ni Anxin waved her hand, ‘Let’s talk about private matters first, we don’t need to talk about public matters.’
Yu Qing’s gaze gradually became sharp, as if she were about to force her way into Ni Anxin’s pupils.
Ni Anxin swallowed, ‘Times are tough, people always have to make a living, the price is negotiable, I can give you half an hour of my time to hear about the business. Miss Yu, don’t get your heart set on killing me over a trivial matter, I’m not worth you ruining your own promising future.’
‘Who is Qin Moyan’s benefactor? Miss Anxin really hasn’t found out? Nuo Nuo may not know how powerful the Ni family’s underground information network is, but I worked under the old master.‘ Yu Qing withdrew the sharpness in her eyes, “I want to buy the truth from Miss Anxin.”
’Miss Yu doesn’t want to know,’ the relaxed look faded from Anxin Ni’s face, and she said sternly, ’I can guarantee that I will pretend to know nothing.’
Upon hearing this, Yu Qing temporarily suppressed her curiosity and said, ‘Then let’s talk about business first. Miss Anxin should be aware of the serious consequences if she lets the bubble created by Miss Ni grow bigger and bigger.’
‘Did Grandpa ask you to come?’ Ni Anxin casually played with the snack bag in her hand, crunching it.
“Not exactly. It was also my own wish.’
…
No one knows what Yu Qing found out from Ni Anxin in the ensuing conversation. In any case, after she left the luxurious detective agency, the shocked expression on her face did not fade for a long time.
She had always had questions about Qin Moyan, but as Ni Anxin said, she now really regretted prying.
A few days later.
‘Nono, the South African Entrepreneurs Conference has sent an invitation!’ Yu Qing was extremely excited.
After Ye Qisheng’s death, all entrepreneurial conferences, forums, and economic summits had inexplicably cut ties with Ye Xinuo, which was an unwitting blow to the Ye Sheng Group. Now that Ye Xinuo is among the ranks of those invited to economic conferences, it is enough to prove that their efforts have not been in vain.
Ye Xinuo seemed indifferent after hearing this, her eyes falling on the screen of her phone, which showed nothing, without any ripples.
‘Xinuo?’ Yu Qing waved her hand in front of Ye Xinuo’s face a few times, but the other still didn’t react.
‘Fire!’ she said, raising her voice mischievously.
Ye Xinuo finally reacted, slowly raising her head, ‘Yu Qing, what did you say?’
Yu Qing worriedly touched Ye Xinuo’s forehead. ‘Xinuo, what’s wrong with you lately? You’re always distracted. Are you not feeling well?’
Ye Xinuo repeated in her heart, ‘What’s wrong? Am I not feeling well?’
She shook her head, puffed up her cheeks and let out a breath, looking at Yu Qing, ‘I was a little distracted just now. Can you repeat that again, Yu Qing?’
‘The South African Entrepreneurs Conference has sent an invitation to you to attend the international economic conference in a month’s time! Although this is your first time attending such a large-scale conference, there is no need to be nervous. It is just to go and listen to the speeches of the business tycoons. Master often attends these kinds of conferences, and with me here, there is nothing to worry about.’ Yu Qing said this, but her surging emotions could not be concealed.
‘Really?‘ Ye Xinuo curled up his eyes happily, “That’s great.” Apart from that, there was no special reaction.
Yu Qing’s uneasy feeling in her heart became stronger and stronger. She tried to ask, “Xinuo, your makeup looks very good today. You came so late, did you go out on a date in the morning?”
’Who goes on a date in the morning?’ Ye Xinuo’s tone of denial was very exaggerated, “I went out to talk about something!”
Yu Qing: ’Huh? Your schedule doesn’t have an update for this.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘I forgot to tell you, the meeting scheduled for the afternoon the day after tomorrow was rescheduled. Hailey changed her flight back to the afternoon at the last minute to deal with some things, so we met in a hurry this morning.’
‘With Director Qin?’ Yu Qing’s heart skipped a beat.
‘Well, it went quite well. Director Qin has done his homework well. Hailey’s preferences are clear to her.’ A faint smile appeared on Ye Xinuo’s face involuntarily.
Yu Qing lightly bit her lower lip and didn’t say much, only teasingly remarking, ‘It’s not easy to become the representative of Hesse Greater China at such a young age. After all, Mr Ye is also within her hunting range.’
Ye Xinruo put away his smile, a flash of panic in his pupils, and said to Yu Qing, ‘Yu Qing, I remember you saying before that there was a case you wanted to discuss with me. When will you give me the project proposal?’
‘I’ll go get it now.’ Yu Qing said hello, turned around and left, her worried expression slowly spreading as she tried to hide it.
Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, two fingers idly circling the edge of her eyebrow. She didn’t know what had gotten into her lately, she just couldn’t concentrate. As the leader of a large corporation, she absolutely couldn’t let this state of affairs continue.
***
On the computer screen in the room was the face of an English man.
‘Dione, why hasn’t the acquisition of Ye Sheng Group been completed yet? This is not how you should be acting.‘
’Now is not the best time to make a move. Wait a few months, and you can do it at a much lower cost than now—‘
Qin Moyan’s words were rudely interrupted.
’Headquarters is putting a lot of pressure on me. You know how many people want to push me out of my current position. If you don’t listen to me, I will change the cards at any time!’
Qin Moyan’s expression did not change, his attitude neither humble nor arrogant. ‘Give me another month.’
‘OK, don’t let me down!’
After ending the video call, Qin Moyan took out the small teddy bear in the drawer and stroked it gently with his fingers. The fluff on the outside of the teddy bear had curled up and become balls of fur, and it was obvious from the workmanship that it was something from a long time ago.
“Ding~’
the phone on the table beeps.
After unlocking the screen, she sees a message on Xmate from Ye Xinuo, who she has never had a conversation with before, with a waving cat emoticon.
Qin Moyan looks puzzled and replies with a question mark.
[Ye Xinuo: Director Qin, do you have time the night after tomorrow? I’d like to invite you to a casual dinner.
Qin Moyan puts the teddy bear in the drawer and replies, ‘Sure.’
That night, in a two-bedroom apartment under the same sky, a stock market forecast programme was being broadcast on the TV.
‘Recently, the A-share market has left many experts baffled. There are just too many stocks to choose from, and it seems that if you buy just one, you can make money. What is Mr Tang’s opinion on this?’
The guest on the programme was none other than Tang Jie, the man who had started this craze.
Tang Jie pushed his glasses up his nose and a smile appeared on his refined face. ‘This is the result of the market’s choice…’
‘Many of my colleagues have seen their savings multiply many times over thanks to stocks. Do you think I should get in on the action and buy a few tens of thousands?‘
A bespectacled girl with a bob haircut sits cross-legged on the sofa, clutching a bag of potato chips in her hands.
’Don’t do it. The stock market has only recently bottomed out. The bigwigs I know have specifically told me not to get involved.”
Ning Han looks up, her gaze shifting away from the PSP.
Since returning to China, she has not yet found a suitable house, so she is temporarily staying with her high school classmate, Mo Lan.
‘Oh,’ Mo Lan thought for a moment, and then reluctantly asked, ‘Does your friend know when it will come back?’
‘No one can be 100% sure about stocks. Anyway, it’s definitely not something you should touch for a while.’ Ning Han rubbed her eyes and yawned, ‘Are my aunt and uncle coming back soon?’
‘Yes, they said they’d be back next month,’ said Moran, nodding.
Ning Han: “Then I’ll try to find a place to move out quickly.”
Moran showed her two small fangs and said, “There’s no need to rush. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll go and stay with Xiao Jie when my parents come back, and you can stay with my parents. They really like you and want to adopt you as their daughter.”
Ning Han suddenly became curious and asked, ’When are you and Xiao Jie planning to get married? You’ve been dating for three years, but he still hasn’t proposed?’
Moran shrugged, ‘Forget it. He says that a man has to focus on his career first, and that when the company turns a corner, he’ll marry me in a big, glamorous ceremony.’
‘Sigh, I don’t understand this kind of mundane affairs anyway, I’d rather be free and comfortable living alone.’ Ning Han jumped off the sofa and quickly rushed to the bathroom, ‘I’ll take a shower first today!’
‘You sneaky little man!’ Moran grabbed the sofa cushion and threw it at Ning Han.
***
Ning Han dodged the throw pillow flying at him and exclaimed, ‘Why are you in my house?!’
‘This is my house, what’s so strange about me being here?’
Qi Jing sat on the sofa, watching Ning Han’s shocked expression, and feeling very comfortable.
Ning Han had just signed the contract to rent the entire apartment yesterday, and on the first day after moving in, he saw such a big surprise sitting on his sofa.
Ning Han plucked up the courage to take a few steps forward, ‘Even if this is your house and I’ve rented it, you’re trespassing if you show up here without my consent!’
Qi Jing smiled and winked, ‘Did the agent not give you any additional terms for renting the whole place for half the market rent?’
Ning Han recalled the scene of signing the contract yesterday and suddenly gasped. The agent said that the owner was currently living abroad and might occasionally return once a year, and that if they were allowed to temporarily stay in the living room for a few days, they could get half off the rent.
She had confirmed the identity of the owner, who was a PhD from Yale. After all, letting a female PhD stay for a few days would not hurt, so she signed the contract.
Who would have thought…
Ning Han was not giving up hope. ‘But you’re not the owner, and I only agreed to let the owner…’
‘People are treacherous. If you’re not careful, Ms. Ning, someone could sell you out one day,’ Qi Jing said mockingly. ‘The ID card the agent showed you was my sister’s, but the property ownership certificate for this apartment is in my name. Didn’t you look carefully when you registered the ID card?’
Ning Han felt extremely remorseful. She had been naive and trusted the agent from the biggest real estate agency. She wanted to complain!
Qi Jing seemed to have guessed what she was thinking, and her tone was full of pity, ‘The daughter of that agent is seriously ill and urgently needs an operation, so she took a desperate risk and took my money. But that is no reason for him to violate his professional ethics. Han Han should complain to him and never be softhearted.’
Ning Han thought to herself: ‘I’m heartless, I’m not soft at all, I’m going to complain to that black agency and re-sign the contract!’
However, the next second, the image of a weak, pitiful and helpless little girl appeared in her mind.
‘Oh, come on!’ Ning Han pulled her hair a few times and compromised, ‘If you have to squeeze in with me, we’ll keep our distance and you can sleep on the sofa.’
‘No problem,’ Qi Jing readily agreed.
‘Then let’s sign a treaty first.‘ Ning Han’s eyes were guarded, “You must not have any improper thoughts about me, or I will call the police!”
Qi Jing joked, “Can Miss Ning tell what thoughts are going through my head?”
’I don’t care what you think,’ Ning Han took a step back, “but you must not touch me.”
Qi Jing stood up, put his arms around Ning Han’s waist, and his breath hit the other person’s ear, ’Is this what Miss Ning means by touching?’
Ning Han stamped hard on Qi Jing’s instep, ‘Yes, that’s the kind of touching I’m talking about!’
She glared at the person who had fallen on the sofa in pain, and angrily calculated in her heart. She just didn’t believe that with a little effort, she couldn’t even get rid of a woman.
***
The next day, Qin Moyan arrived at the agreed restaurant, where Ye Xinuo was already seated.
‘Miss Ye.’
After Qin Moyan had said hello, the person who had been sitting suddenly leaned in, and the two soft lips met without warning.
At the same time, a mobile phone not far away captured this scene in perfect detail.
Chapter 44
Feeling the two warm, soft lips press against his, Qin Moyan’s pupils suddenly widened.
Ye Xinruo wrapped her arms around Qin Moyan’s neck and whispered in his ear, ‘Hold me, this time I’ll return the favour.’
Although Qin Moyan was a little confused, he also believed that there was a special reason behind Ye Xinruo’s actions, and he returned the hug as she asked.
The two of them laughed and talked, but in fact, their minds were elsewhere. After dinner, Ye Xinuo took Qin Moyan’s arm and followed her back home.
As soon as Ye Xinuo entered the house, she pushed Qin Moyan onto the sofa and eagerly kissed the other person’s fair neck, leaving two light strawberry marks. Then she got up in a panic and closed the curtains.
Qin Moyan never asked a single question, and cooperated with Ye Xinuo in all interactions.
The next morning, a major news broke across the internet.
‘This morning, high-ranking official Wang Dezhong was arrested on suspicion of economic crimes. Qin Mou, representative of Hessen Fund in China, was seen leaving his mansion in the early morning, suspected of being involved in sex trafficking. The relevant departments are launching an urgent investigation.’
The illustration was a blurry surveillance video.
Ten minutes later, the plot took a turn for the worse when various gossip media outlets released a video of Ye Xinuo, CEO of Ye Sheng Group, and Qin Moyan, representative of Hesson Foundation China, kissing passionately.
Seeing the news, Qin Moyan locked eyes with Ye Xinuo, and without words they knew what was going on.
Not knowing if there were any listening devices in the house, Ye Xinuo put on a full act, and after waking up in the morning, he even ‘lingered’ with Qin Moyan for a while.
At 9am, Ye Xinruo calls Yu Qing to ask Ye Sheng’s public relations department to respond urgently and delete the news to dispel the rumours.
At 9am, the police knock on Qin Moyan’s door.
At 12pm, Ye Xinruo can’t stand the pressure any more and admits the affair to prove his girlfriend’s innocence.
At 12pm, the police station completes the evidence collection. The surveillance footage shows Qin Moyan taking Ye Xinruo home from the restaurant and not going out all night.
At 1 pm, the internet exposed surveillance screenshots of several meetings between Qin Moyan and Wang Dezhong.
At 1:10 pm, the Ye Sheng legal team sued the media for illegally disseminating surveillance screenshots.
At 1:30 pm, netizens intercepted posts from Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan’s social media platforms, analysing that Qin Moyan’s meetings with Wang Dezhong were normal business activities, and that the two had spent the night together on the corresponding dates, so there was no possibility of an erotic transaction.
At 3 pm, the Ye Sheng Group’s stock price hit the limit down.
At 3 pm, Ye Xinuo’s car pulled up in front of the police station, picking up Qin Moyan to go back to the company to hold a board meeting.
After driving, Qin Moyan saw that Ye Xinuo’s face was no longer guarded, and asked, ‘Why did you help me? You should know how serious the consequences would be if someone made a fuss about your sexual preferences.’
‘Do you believe I said it was because I felt guilty?’ Ye Xinuo wore a smile that seemed genuine but also fake. ’Anyway, judging by the date of your implant, you’ve already paved the way for your own future, so it’s not like it’s a big deal for me to help you.’
She knew that the person who looked exactly like Qin Moyan, who was photographed outside Wang Dezhong’s house, was hired by Tang Jie. If nothing went wrong, that woman would probably be abroad by now.
Although Qin Moyan and Wang Dezhong had never had any dealings, Wang Dezhong was indeed the backer of Heisen. With a little guidance, Qin Moyan would become the sacrificed pawn.
It is always better to shift the focus to homosexuality than to be associated with a fallen high-ranking official in an unclear relationship.
In her previous life, she knew what Tang Jie had done, but because of her hatred, she chose to remain silent. Although Qin Moyan did not know how to get out of it, in the hearts of the people, she was always associated with that love.
And that sense of guilt accompanied her until she fell into the cold sea water.
She thought she had forgotten, but in fact, it was deeply engraved in her bones.
‘Guilt?‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes were filled with surprise, “What do you know?”
’Uncle Tang is Dad’s partner. Although I also want to get you out of Yesheng, I can’t just let him use dirty tricks against you. I apologise on his behalf.’ Ye Xinru passed the buck, twisting his head towards the window, ’You’ve helped me a few times too, so consider this me repaying the favour.’
Qin Moyan saw that the other person didn’t want to talk anymore, so he didn’t pursue the matter, turning his head to the window on the other side and watching the ever-changing scene outside.
Entering the meeting room, all the directors looked displeased.
Before Qin Moyan could say anything, Ye Xinuo, whose expression was very grave, took the lead and sat in the chairman’s seat, saying, ‘As the chairman of Ye Sheng Group, I deeply apologize for this incident. I have let down the trust that the directors have placed in me. I’m sorry.’
‘Just saying sorry is not enough? Do you know that because of your scandal, the company’s stock price fell 10% in one day! Do you have any idea what it means to have a market value of 50 billion U.S. dollars evaporate?!’ Wei Gang was furious and his face turned pale.
Ye Xinuo got up and bowed, his attitude sincere: ’I will not defend myself, and I will resign from the positions of chairman and CEO of Yesheng.’
But, straightening his back, he looked Wei Gang in the eye with a calm expression and said, ‘However, I don’t feel that having a public relationship is a scandal. Although as Chairman, I have caused an impact on the company because it doesn’t meet people’s expectations, personally, it is my freedom to like whoever I like and be with whoever I want. Compared to some people’s dirty dealings behind closed doors, I have at most touched the shackles of feudal thinking. Director Wei, please be careful with your words.’
Director Lu, who had just returned from recuperating, said objectively, ‘It’s not entirely Chairman Ye’s fault, and there’s no need to make such a big deal of it.’
Tang Jie seemed in a good mood and came to Ye Xinuo’s rescue, ‘Director Lu is right. Since Nuo Nuo is so reasonable and has taken the initiative to step down, let’s not make things difficult for her. The time of the directors gathered here is precious, so shouldn’t we first elect a suitable temporary replacement?’
‘I don’t think there is anyone here who is more suitable for that position than Director Tang,‘ one director immediately chimed in.
’Yes, Director Tang is the only one who can take charge of Ye Sheng, and I hope that Director Tang can keep the situation under control.”
Ye Xinuo sneered inwardly. When her father was alive, these people had not hesitated to mock him because of Tang Jie’s background. Now they were putting on a show, it was really interesting.
‘Now that Ye Sheng is in crisis, naturally I must stand up and do my duty. I can’t let Sheng’s hard work go up in smoke.”
Tang Jie got up from his seat and walked over to Ye Xinuo.
Those directors had never noticed before, but Ye Xinuo had been exuding a powerful aura of leadership since who knows when. Now standing next to Tang Jie, who was more than twenty years her senior, she was not in the least bit inferior.
‘I’m afraid I don’t need to continue participating in today’s meeting, so I’ll take my leave.”
After saying this, Ye Xinuo straightened her shoulders and left the meeting room without looking back.
Qin Moyan followed her out, grabbed Ye Xinuo’s wrist, and dragged her to the stairwell in a bad mood. ’Even without Miss Ye, I can get out of this just the same, so you don’t have to help me in this way.’
‘Director Qin, you don’t need to feel like I’m sacrificing myself for you.’ Ye Xinuo shook off Qin Moyan’s hand and rubbed her wrist. “Girls need to be gentle, especially older girls, otherwise who would dare to fall in love with you.”
Qin Moyan: “I don’t need Miss Ye’s favour.”
Ye Xinuo shrugged, ’Although my original intention wasn’t entirely to save Director Qin from danger, it’s also very sad that I can’t even hear a thank you.’
Facing such an attitude, Qin Moyan didn’t know what to say for a moment.
‘Director Qin, you don’t need to feel too burdened. You should know that if you want to survive, you must first eliminate your greatest threat.’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes were clear. ‘Hesen has been slow to make a move against Ye Sheng, perhaps because Director Qin knows that there will be better opportunities in the future.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes changed slightly.
‘So? I’ll take out Director Qin as a nail first, so I can feel more at ease. Although there was a price to pay, fortune turns, and temporary wins and losses don’t mean anything.’ Ye Xinuo rested two fingers against his chin, ’Maybe I can’t call Director Qin now. If there are no accidents, Hesen’s people should come soon to take Dione to the UK to avoid the storm, and investigate whether Dione, who is 100% accurate, has delayed the action because of a love affair. Maybe they are already downstairs at Ye Sheng Building.‘
Qin Moyan let out a rare laugh, “It’s been a long time since I met someone as clever as you, Miss Ye. You really have filled me with surprises. As you wish, I want to say thank you.”
Ye Xinru also pursed her lips, “You’re welcome. You can come back to visit Ye Sheng when you have time and see your old friends.”
’Goodbye, Miss Ye.’ Qin Moyan held out a hand, as if she wanted to shake hands with Ye Xinru to say goodbye.
‘We have known each other for a few months at least, so we should at least have the friendship to exchange a farewell hug, shouldn’t we?’ Ye Xinuo opened her arms and gave Qin Moyan a light hug, with a bright smile on her face, “Take care, Miss Qin.”
Before Qin Moyan went to the airport, she looked up and saw the words “Ye Sheng Building” and a few emotions that were different from the past appeared in her eyes.
In this incident of high-ranking officials falling from power, incident, many companies have been affected, and the Han Group is no exception.
Han Jingjin, the temporary acting chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group, was recently invited by the relevant department to have tea because of his close relationship with Wang Dezhong. As a result, Han Qiuzi had to bear all the burdens of the company single-handedly.
In just a few days, she discovered many financial problems. During the period when she let go of company affairs a while ago, Han Jingjin remitted several sums of money to an overseas account.
She was frowning as she looked at the problem documents spread out on the table when she suddenly received a call from Ye Xinuo, who said he wanted to meet her.
Han Qiuzi agreed, hung up the phone, rubbed her face, and took a deep breath. Her grandfather’s serious illness had already exhausted her, and now the company was leaving her overwhelmed. It was no exaggeration to say that even if one more straw were to be added, she could collapse at any time.
Ye Xinuo, who had been exposed online after the ‘affair scandal’ with photos of her down on her luck on the street, was actually not too affected by the situation. On the contrary, she had put on two pounds and her face was very rosy.
The beautiful woman in the light grey coat stood at the arrivals gate of the international airport, with a pleasant smile on her lips, seemingly waiting for someone.
Chapter 45
Ye Xinuo opened her arms wide and gave the person in front of her a hug, her joy clearly visible. ‘Uncle and auntie have agreed to let you start a business in the country?’
‘With my silver tongue, how could they possibly say no!’
The person speaking had a ponytail and looked like a high school student. In fact, she was the same age as Ye Xinuo in university and had grown up abroad. Her name was Lu Yunqing.
‘Let’s go eat first, and after that I’ll take you to meet someone. I haven’t felt this excited in a long time,‘ Ye Xinruo said, excitedly rubbing her hands together.
It had been a long time since the only thing in her life had been the words “Ye Sheng Group”.
’Hey, have you no humanity? I’ve just got off the plane and you want to drag me off to talk business?’ Lu Yunqing gave Ye Xinruo a firm slap on the shoulder.
‘Can’t you have some aspirations? Can’t you wait to make money? You can’t miss this opportunity again, and if you miss this time, you’ll have to wait another year!’ Ye Xinuo imitated the exaggerated expressions and movements of TV shopping presenters promoting sales.
Lu Yunqing laughed and said, ’I see that now that you’ve relieved yourself of the burden of being Ye Sheng, you’re becoming more and more like the person you were in college. I remember when I saw you a few months ago, you were still very dignified and self-possessed.’
‘It’s so liberating not having to worry about the livelihoods of tens of thousands of employees, the development of the Chinese Internet, the management of the entire group, finances, and all the other messy things!
Ye Xinuo revealed a relaxed smile that she hadn’t seen in a long time. It wasn’t that she had really let go of all that, but in this life, she had finally learned to let go of her obsession. Because there was more than just holding onto the position of chairman to protect Ye Sheng.
Ye Xinru had previously arranged to meet Han Qiuzi in order to introduce Lu Yunqing to her.
After her rebirth, Ye Xinru had accumulated a lot of personal assets based on her memories and experience. Even if she temporarily lost her decision-making power in Ye Sheng, she could explore other territories outside Ye Sheng.
The meeting place was set at the Mushin Club. In the warm and elegant red room, four women with very different styles entered one after the other.
“It’s you?’ Yu Qing’s eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise when she saw Lu Yunqing.
‘Do you know each other?’ Ye Xinuo asked.
Lu Yunqing stuck out her tongue, ‘I accidentally smashed someone’s window with a tennis ball when I returned to China last time. This is the owner at the time.’
Yu Qing remembered the back of that day, which looked exactly like Han Qiuzi’s. Her eyebrows and eyes became very soft, ‘This young lady is a very lovely person. At the time, she insisted on stuffing money into my hands. In fact, the damage wasn’t that serious, and the repair costs weren’t that much.’
‘I caused you trouble by smashing your car, so even if it doesn’t cost that much, I should pay.”
Han Qiuzi witnessed the interaction between the two and felt very uncomfortable. If it were anyone else, it might not have been a big deal. But when she first saw Lu Yunqing, she felt that she looked a bit like herself. Anyone who saw their loved one laughing and talking with someone like that would probably feel uncomfortable.
‘This is Lu Yunqing, an old college friend of mine,’ Ye Xinuo said with a smile, introducing them. “This is Yu Qing, my special assistant. Next to her is Han Qiuzi from the Han Group, who is also a director of Ye Sheng.”
Lu Yunqing shook hands with the two men, maintaining a sweet smile on her face.
As soon as the four of them were seated, Ye Xinuo got straight to the point.
‘Smartphones are becoming more and more popular these days, but domestic brands are still being beaten by Apple. So I want to develop our own smartphone system.”
Han Qiuzi glanced at the four iPhones on the table and could only say, “That’s a great idea.”
Ye Xinuo smiled, ’I’m not just having a momentary whim. Yunqing started a mobile phone enthusiast forum while she was at university, and there are already several thousand active users on the forum. These people are all keen to experience various mobile phone systems, from Nokia to Samsung to Apple, and are willing to go to the trouble of installing several systems on one phone. With these people as seed users, there is a possibility that my idea will not be realised.‘
’That’s right,’ Lu Yunqing continued, “I previously opened a development version of Android on the forum, and by absorbing everyone’s ideas, it has now taken shape. If we continue to work on it, it may not be worse than Apple’s.”
Yu Qing asked uncertainly, ’Could it be the Yun Ti System Forum?’
‘You Qing, you know my forum?’ Lu Yunqing’s eyes lit up.
You Qing nodded, “I followed this forum before and thought it was a good investment project, but then the old master passed away and I was busy for a while, so I put it out of my mind.”
Ye Xinuo’s gaze turned to Han Qiuzi, ’Qiuzi, apart from LITON Express, there is also a high-end insured courier company under the Han Group, right?’
‘Hummingbird Express.‘ Han Qiuzi’s face showed signs of fatigue. “Recently, some senior management proposed temporarily closing this subsidiary, saying that the labor costs are high but the business volume is very low. I’m worried about this. Once the business is suspended, layoffs will be inevitable.”
’I plan to acquire Hummingbird Express as a logistics support for online sales,’ Ye Xinuo’s face was full of confidence. ’Qiuzi, do you want to make an offer directly, or do you want to invest directly? A friendly reminder: becoming a shareholder of Yun Tai Mobile will not do you any harm, but it also won’t do you any good. You need to think carefully about it.‘
’Online sales?‘ Han Qiuzi frowned slightly. “Most consumers of electronic products like mobile phones need to experience the real thing before they can buy with confidence. Are you serious?”
’Of course,‘ Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow. “The mobile phones on the market are actually very similar, basically only divided between Apple and non-Apple. I plan to combine the marketing methods of ”hunger marketing’ and ‘word-of-mouth marketing’ and sell them in limited quantities only through online platforms. The first batch of testers will be mobile phone enthusiasts on the Yun Tai forum. Our secret weapon will be Yu Qing.‘
’Me?‘ Yu Qing was a little confused.
’You’ve forgotten that you still hold the key to Qiran Technology,’ Ye Xinuo said.
Yu Qing patted her head, ’Speaking of Qiran Technology, the other day, President Ding seemed to say that he couldn’t even pay the rent anymore, and I forgot about him when I got busy.’
‘That’s good,‘ Ye Xinuo smiled sinisterly, “I’ll go see him tomorrow.”
The four of them chatted about cooperation for a while before preparing to disperse.
Han Qiuzi went to the bathroom, and when she washed her hands and reached for a tissue, her vision blurred for a moment. She faltered, and when she fell, she landed in the arms of someone.
’Are you feeling unwell?’ Yu Qing looked at the person in her arms with concern. She could see that there was almost no blood in the person’s face, and a few drops of sweat were oozing from their forehead.
Han Qiuzi closed his eyes for half a minute, and when his consciousness returned, he said, ‘Anemia, an old problem.’
‘Have you not been eating properly lately?’ Yu Qing sighed, ‘No matter how busy you are, you should take care of yourself—’
Han Qiuzi turned around and tightly embraced Yu Qing’s neck, then suddenly tilted his head and kissed her.
Yu Qing was stunned for a moment, and while she wanted to push him away, her body was uncontrollable and she did not move for a long time.
‘I’m really tired, don’t push me away, okay?’ After the kiss, Han Qiuzi tightened his arms and buried his face in Yu Qing’s arms, his tone full of helplessness and vulnerability.
Yu Qing’s hand trembled twice, gently patting Han Qiuzi’s back, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, go home and get a good night’s sleep.”
Then she pulled Han Qiuzi a little distance away from her, ’If you want to talk to a friend, I’ll be a good listener.’
Han Qiuzi could tell that Yu Qing was drawing a line between them. She pulled the corners of her mouth up in a self-deprecating smile and said, ‘I know, don’t worry, I won’t bother you.’
Yu Qing ended up not saying anything and helped Han Qiuzi back to the private room.
Ye Xinru also noticed that Han Qiuzi’s face looked bad, so he said to Yu Qing, ‘Yu Qing, you take Qiuzi home, I’ll call the driver to pick me up.’
Yu Qing hesitated for a moment and said, ‘Okay.’
***
Host: ‘Today we have invited Mr Tang Jie, CEO of Ye Sheng Group, to our show. As you know, friends familiar with the financial world, Mr Tang’s wealth has skyrocketed recently, and the Fengda Alliance has been rising all the way, completely igniting the enthusiasm of investors. The Shanghai stock index has already broken through the 5,000-point mark…’
Tang Jie: ‘The Chinese stock market has ushered in a long-lost spring. From my personal experience, the bull market will continue…’
Ye Xinuo listened to the financial channel programme half-heartedly, snorting at Tang Jie’s ‘nonsense’.
By the time she returned from the toilet, the programme had finished and had moved on to late-night gossip.
Ye Xinuo was about to turn off the TV when she saw a familiar figure appear on the screen: Qin Moyan, who was currently in the UK.
She paused before she pressed the remote control to turn off the power.
‘The heroine of the recent financial scandal, Qin Moyan, the representative of the Hesson Fund in China, has rarely been seen since she was recalled by the British headquarters. Our reporter went to London, UK, to find out about Qin’s current situation.”
Ye Xinuo was waiting for the rest of the story when he saw the female anchor make a gesture and the pleasant female voice came on: ’For more exciting information, stay tuned to Hucheng Lace Broadcasting. Let’s go to an advertisement now, don’t go away, we’ll be right back.’
Ye Xinuo, who normally could not stand even a second of advertising, endured the five minutes of advertising with great patience, only to be almost infuriated by the content of the programme.
The female anchor said with glee, ‘According to the latest news from our correspondent, Qin Moyan is facing the dilemma of having to leave the Hessen Foundation. It is suspected that in order to resolve his own crisis, he has been having an affair with Elizabeth, the daughter of the president of the Hessen Foundation. I wonder how Ye Xinuo, the former chairman of Ye Sheng Group, who was previously rumoured to be having an affair with her, will react when he finds out about this?’
The male anchor next to him laughed mischievously, ‘If it were me, I would fly to the UK immediately to catch him in the act.’
Ye Xinuo looked at the photo on the TV screen that looked like a kiss, burning with anger. He thought to himself, ‘Do I not care about my reputation? After all, we are also a scandalous couple, and it’s too much to publicly cheat on me like this!’
British streets.
Qin Moyan came out of the headquarters and looked back at the building where her old employer was located. She couldn’t tell what emotions were in her eyes.
‘Dione!’ Elizabeth called out to her from behind.
Qin Moyan stopped and nodded politely, ‘Is there anything else, Miss Elizabeth?’
‘I can intercede for you if you agree to go out with me,’ said Elizabeth, her pretty face full of arrogance.
Qin Moyan laughed silently. He never thought that he would look so miserable and give this spoiled brat the misunderstanding that she would use her charms to stay in Hessen.
‘I knew you wouldn’t refuse.’ Elizabeth saw the person in front of her smile, thinking it meant she had agreed, and took a few steps forward to kiss Qin Moyan.
Qin Moyan quickly used one hand to block Elizabeth’s face as she lunged at him, and said in a British accent with a hint of mockery, “I admire your father’s intellect, but it’s a pity that his good genes didn’t pass on.”
However, the paparazzi in the distance naturally hoped that the plot would be more melodramatic, so they only released photos that looked like they were kissing from certain angles.
Chapter 46
Qin Moyan and Li Ai sat facing each other in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows bathed in the warm sunlight.
‘Qin, are you really not considering returning to Hessen?’ Li Ai’s face was full of excitement that she couldn’t hide. ‘You don’t know, when I submitted your summary of your last project in Hessen, the guys at headquarters all wanted to kneel down and beg you to come back when they heard that you had acquired Tiansheng Investment for one-third of the market price.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes did not show much emotion, and he shook his head lightly, ‘Next, I want to do some things on my own.’
***
[It is reported that the legendary venture capitalist Dione has officially left his old employer, Hessen Fund. The last deal was the acquisition of Tiansheng Investment at a bargain price of one-third of the market price. This short-selling trading technique can be described as a magic that made investors marvel.
‘He can be so ruthless even against his old classmates. Qin Moyan is really scary!‘ Ye Xinuo muttered as she read the financial news. “But just thinking about Lu Mingqi’s black face, it really feels good!”
’The driver is already waiting downstairs,’ said Yu Qing as she knocked on the door and came in. Seeing Ye Xinuo’s happy and sweet smile, she couldn’t help scratching her head. She hadn’t seen Xinuo with any prospects lately.
Ye Xinruo climbed up from the sofa in a good mood, and when she passed by Yu Qing, she raised an eyebrow, ‘Sister Yu Qing, your new clothes look really good.’
Yu Qing: ‘????’ This outfit has obviously been worn several times.
Ye Xinruo and Yu Qing have been running around these past few days, contacting the hardware supply chain, downstream distributors, the marketing team…
Every day is busier than when Ye Xinruo first came back to life.
This time, they are going to meet Long Yourong, the boss of Dosi Optics, one of the top domestic suppliers of glass covers. Being well-known also means that many companies come knocking on the door, so the flexibility of the production schedule is very high. In short, the general rule is that if you can please Mr Long, you will be able to ship your products first.
Ye Xinuo and Yu Qing arrive at a magnificently decorated Chinese restaurant, where the waiter comes up to them and leads them to the private room where Long Yourong is.
‘President Ye.’ When Long Yourong, sitting in the main seat, saw Ye Xinuo, a look of amazement came into both his eyes.
Ye Xinuo didn’t like that look at all, but since she was in a position where she had to ask for help, she had to endure it. She sat in a seat separated from Long Yourong by a chair, and Yu Qing sat down next to her.
There were also a few people from Dos Optics at the table, one woman and three men. After introducing themselves, Long Yourong’s secretary told the waiter to serve the food.
Drinking is a necessary part of doing business in China. In the past, Ye Xinuo was the boss of the group, so she naturally didn’t need to drink with clients. Now that she is almost a loner, even if Yu Qing helps her to drink, she doesn’t want to offend the others. After the meal, she had drunk quite a lot.
Ye Xinuo was really at her limit. Without making a sound, she exited the private room and as soon as she entered the bathroom, she vomited everything she had just eaten.
After vomiting everything she could, Ye Xinuo stood in front of the sink, straightened her posture a little, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared herself to drink another catty.
Ye Xinuo stumbled down the hall, and bumped into someone. ‘Oops! Sorry.’
‘Miss Ye?‘ Qin Moyan’s delicate brows creased slightly. “Why have you drunk so much?”
Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but burp when she heard the word “drunk”. She narrowed her eyes and suddenly burst out laughing, slapping the person in front of her on the shoulder. “Qin Moyan! Why are you here?”
’Who did Miss Ye come with?’ Qin Moyan held out her hand to support Ye Xinuo’s unsteady body. ’You can’t drink anymore.’
‘Hoo~‘ Ye Xinuo puffed up his cheeks and spat out a mouthful of turbid air, his voice floating and drunk, “I didn’t want to drink either! But what could I do if I wanted to open the back door with Long Yourong?”
’Okay, I’m going back. Miss Qin, enjoy your meal.’ The person who spoke smacked his lips, patted Qin Moyan’s arm, and walked towards the private room.
Long Yourong.
Qin Moyan recalled the name in her mind, her brows furrowing as she did so.
Ye Xinuo sat back down and took a few sips of the hot tea before feeling a little better in her stomach.
‘President Ye, I toast you,’ said a vice president under Long Yourong, smiling as he brought a wine glass over.
Yu Qing picked up the glass and stood up, ‘President Li, our boss can’t drink much, he can’t drink anymore, so I’ll drink this one for him.’
‘Is it because I’m a vice president that Mr Ye doesn’t want to drink with me?’ The man offering the toast looked displeased.
Ye Xinuo cursed in her heart, extremely rarely, “son of a bitch,” but still smiled as she lifted her glass, ’of course not, I’m counting on Mr Li to take care of me.’
After finishing the drink, Yu Qing leaned in Ye Xinuo’s ear and whispered, ‘Xinuo, I can see that they’re trying to get you drunk. Let’s go back, it’s better to avoid trouble.’
‘Let’s go,’ Ye Xinuo sighed. Although she didn’t want to return empty-handed, she also knew that drinking more wouldn’t get her anywhere. She wasn’t desperate enough to drink herself to death just to please others.
Yu Qing helped Ye Xinuo put on her clothes and smiled politely, ‘Our CEO Ye is not feeling well, so she is leaving first. If you are still not satisfied, you can go upstairs to the club to sing and get a massage, all on our account.’
Long Yourong heard this and said in a strange tone, ‘The little princess of a wealthy family is really different. Even though she is no longer the chairman of the group, she still doesn’t take us small manufacturers seriously. She was only a few drinks in and already eager to leave.’
Ye Xinuo laughed and stood up, resting her hands on the table. ‘President Long is right. As for me, I can never change my habits as a little princess. I’m not like ordinary people, and I dare not say a word when I’m put in a difficult situation by President Long.’
The president Li, who was standing next to Long Yourong, stepped in to smooth things over, narrowing his eyes and saying, ‘Harmony breeds wealth. Harmony breeds wealth. Why don’t we all go out first and leave some space for President Long and President Ye to talk?’
Ye Xinru couldn’t help sneering inwardly. How could someone still use such a clumsy tactic these days?
‘I’ve already told the driver to come over, he’ll be here soon.’ Yu Qing waved the phone in her hand, ‘Enjoy yourselves.’
Then she leaned closer to Ye Xinru and whispered, ‘Hurry up and leave, there seems to be something wrong with the wine.’
Ye Xinru just wanted to move her feet, but she felt a little weak and her head was getting dizzy.
“President Ye is drunk, why don’t you rest here for a while.’ Long Yourong’s voice was getting closer and closer.
Ye Xinuo clenched her fists and cut her palms with her fingernails to try to wake herself up.
She had never thought that someone would be so brazen as to do evil.
Yu Qing felt that something was wrong and immediately bit her tongue hard. The smell of blood spread in her mouth and she came back to some consciousness.
Then she immediately held Ye Xinuo’s waist and led her out.
‘Young girls these days are really too inconsiderate. Even when Ye was alive, they had to give me some face.’ Long Yourong snorted, “Since you’re here, you should know how to make me happy.”
A man from the other company was about to grab Ye Xinuo’s arm, so Yu Qing casually picked up a goblet and smashed it on the man.
He shouted for help, “Help!”
Two other men pounced on him, one covering Yu Qing’s mouth, the other trying to break her hand.
Ye Xinuo’s drinking ability was never good, and coupled with something in the wine, he was already in a daze at this point, and could only kick the person next to him away by instinct.
The one who went to grab Ye Xinuo was the only woman in the other company. She never dreamed that she would end up covering her crotch like a man and falling to the ground.
It has to be said that Ye Xinuo’s high heels were impartial and fierce. If he were a man, he would probably be sterile for the rest of his life.
‘This little girl is quite feisty,‘ Long Yourong licked his lips. He was a shareholder here and had long ago instructed the waiter not to come in no matter what happened inside, so even if there was a commotion, he was not at all afraid.
He took a few steps forward, just about to pull Ye Xinuo’s clothes off, when the door to the private room was pushed open and a beautiful woman appeared at the door, her appearance on a par with the young girl in front of him.
’You are?’ Long Yourong’s throat, full of cross-shaped muscles, involuntarily rolled a few times.
‘I’ve come to pick up President Ye.’ Qin Moyan took a few quick steps, put his arms around Ye Xinuo’s waist, and let her lean against his chest.
Yu Qing’s eyes instantly turned red when she saw the familiar face enter. Her heart, which had been hanging on the edge of a cliff, finally settled, and her body stopped struggling. She slumped to the ground. If something happened to Ye Xinuo today, she would be ashamed to face her mother and Ye Laoshi even if she died.
‘You, Ye Zong, still don’t want to go back.‘ The smile on Long Yourong’s face became more and more wretched. “Why don’t you stay and have fun with us too? If you make me happy, you’ll have no worries about food or clothing for the rest of your life.”
’Qin Moyan,‘ Ye Xinuo murmured, “go call the police and hurry up and go. There are a lot of them, so don’t worry about me.”
An unusual emotion spread through Qin Moyan’s eyes. She never would have imagined that Ye Xinuo would say such a thing.
’Police?’ Long Yourong also heard Ye Xinuo’s words, as if he had heard a joke, ‘What can the police do if they come? Did I do anything illegal? Ye always asked me to have dinner, and as for what else happened, it was also something that Ye volunteered for. Does Ye always think the police will arrest me?’
‘Qin Moyan, don’t worry about me.’ Even if Ye Xinuo had lived for five more years, he had never seen such a beast.
‘President Long didn’t do anything today,’ Qin Moyan’s mouth curled up slightly.
‘Hahahaha, those who know how to adapt to circumstances are the heroes. Long Yourong grinned from ear to ear, ‘You are much more sensible than that little Ye woman.’
As soon as the other person finished speaking, Qin Moyan gave Long Yourong a hard kick in the groin, innocently saying, ‘I didn’t do anything either.’
Long Yourong was sweating with pain and directly fell to his knees, wailing in agony.
At this time, a few people in police uniforms came to the door.
Long Yourong’s subordinates are all old pros, and immediately pretended that nothing had happened, politely asking, ‘Comrade policeman, what’s going on here?’
Long Yourong, who was kneeling on the ground, took the opportunity to turn the tables, ‘Comrade policeman, this woman maliciously injured someone!’
‘Yes, yes, these three women caused trouble and we were all injured!’
‘She cut my hand with a piece of glass!’
“She kicked me with her heel!’
‘She scratched me!‘
Several people from the Dos Optics began to accuse the evil person first, one after the other.
Ye Xinlu didn’t even have the strength to scold them for being shameless. His mind became increasingly unclear, and the arm around Qin Moyan’s tightened.
The person standing in the front glanced at the person kneeling on the ground, and disgust was hidden in his eyes.
’Wang Changli from the Economic Crimes Unit is responding to the call.’ He took out his ID from his breast pocket, ’Who is Long Yourong?’
Chapter 47
Private dining room.
Gao Wei hung up the phone and sat back down at the round table. ‘Mo Yan asked me to apologize to everyone. She had to leave early due to prior commitments, and she will apologize to everyone else another time.’
‘Today is a welcome home dinner for her, so why did she leave first?’
‘Mo Yan is a busy person, unlike you, who has nothing to do all day!’
“How can you speak like that, Sun Zi!’
‘Who are you calling grandpa? I’ll show you!”
…
The table became lively again, and no one was upset by Qin Moyan’s departure.
***
When Ye Xinuo woke up, Qin Moyan was answering the phone with his back to her.
The person who had just opened his eyes stared fixedly at the back figure not far away, unable to take his eyes off it.
After Qin Moyan finished talking, he turned around and caught Ye Xinuo’s staring gaze. After a moment of hesitation, he held up a hand and asked, ‘Do you recognise this number?’
Ye Xinuo was embarrassed and looked away, answering in a low voice, ‘Three, I guess.’
Qin Moyan let out a sigh of relief. ‘You looked so dazed just now, I thought you’d had a brain fart.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’
‘Miss Yu hasn’t woken up yet.’ Qin Moyan glanced at the sleeping person in the other bed. ‘Miss Yu drank more, so in theory she should have passed out first, but…’
Okay, you don’t need to say anymore, I know I don’t hold my drink well. Ye Xinuo muttered to herself.
Qin Moyan seemed to have heard her inner voice, and instead of continuing, he changed the subject.
‘Before joining the dinner, didn’t Ms Ye investigate to find out what kind of person the other person was? You dared to compete with someone in drinking with just one person.’
‘Why didn’t you investigate? It’s just a guy who sells mobile phone glass!’ Ye Xinuo muttered, ‘Who knew he had the guts to dare to drug us.’
‘Long Yourong’s eldest brother-in-law is the director of the Hucheng Public Security Bureau. He has committed several crimes while drunk before, and every time he went to jail for a short time, the victims would retract their confessions. Later, the police simply turned a blind eye to him. Do you really want to be on the front page of Legal Evening News?’ Qin Moyan’s tone was a little urgent, in stark contrast to the past.
‘Then why did the police just take him away?‘ Ye Xinuo automatically ignored the rest of the content, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Qin Moyan wondered if he should applaud Ye Xinuo’s lack of caution. How did she manage to get to the heart of the matter so quickly?
’You don’t know either,’ Ye Xinuo said, pouting when the other person didn’t answer for a long time. ’Then I’ll ask around tomorrow.’
Qin Moyan took a breath and said, ‘The head of the Economic Crimes Unit is the sworn enemy of the Director General.’
‘Oh,’ Ye Xinuo nodded, ‘then how come they happened to come just in time to save me in my time of trouble? I really am lucky and have a great life.’
Qin Moyan’s expression was very subtle, and it was just a matter of time before the words ‘I reported it’ were written on his face.
‘Hey, I know you saved me. I was just joking to lighten the mood! Anyway, thank you!’ Ye Xinuo patted Qin Moyan on the shoulder like a big brother, “I didn’t think you didn’t have a sense of humour at all.”
Yu Qing, who had been awake for a while, was secretly struggling. Should she open her eyes now? Had Xinuo been scared stupid? She always felt that something was not quite right. But it was better to lose face in front of one person than in front of two, so she’d better save Xinuo some face.
Qin Moyan let out a small sigh. ‘If you were still the chairman of Ye Sheng Group, Long Yourong probably wouldn’t dare to do anything to you. I’m also responsible for the situation today. If Miss Ye needs any help—’
‘You’re really too polite!’ Ye Xinuo interrupted Qin Moyan. ‘I still haven’t settled on a battery supplier, storage, or shell accessories.’
Qin Moyan: ‘…That’s really quite rude.
Ye Xinuo’s smile curved his eyebrows, ‘Anyway, I don’t have anything to deceive you with right now, and since you’ve left Hessen, I don’t need to guard you like a thief as I did before.’
Yu Qing made her decision silently and immediately opened her eyes. She was afraid that if she waited any longer, Ye Xinuo would reveal all her secrets.
Hearing Ye Xinuo so bluntly reveal her previous thoughts, Qin Moyan smiled with a face of leather, ‘Then I have to thank you, Miss Ye.’
‘Then, Miss Qin, would you consider investing some money to become a shareholder?’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes sparkled.
Qin Moyan said, “I’ll think about it.”
Seeing the other person’s serious reply, Ye Xinuo’s smile grew even wider. “Don’t think about it. I’ve been having good luck recently. I’ve even encountered danger and had a noble person appear from the sky to turn it into a safe situation. I’ll definitely designate you to bring wealth.”
Yu Qing lay on the bed, her eyes blinking helplessly, and the two people next to her simply didn’t feel that she was even there.
Seeing that both of them had woken up, Qin Moyan called the doctor and had them give a simple examination.
Basically, they were fine. Qin Moyan was about to go through the hospital admission procedures and let them observe for a day before leaving, but the plump doctor impatiently said, ‘If it’s not a big deal, don’t take up the bed, there are so many patients waiting for beds.’
‘Okay doctor, we’ll leave now.’ Ye Xinuo smiled happily and got up from the bed, not at all concerned about the other person’s attitude.
After they left, he even defended the doctor, saying, ‘I know this doctor. He often volunteers at the rural elementary school Ye Sheng sponsors. He has a bad temper, but he’s a good person.’
Qin Moyan nodded and said, ‘You guys stand here for a while, I’ll go get the car.’
***
A man in his forties signed his name to the power of attorney and burst out laughing, ‘With you managing my assets, I don’t need to keep working, I can just lie in bed every day and count the money.’
‘You’re too kind, Mr Long,‘ Qin Moyan said, putting away the power of attorney in duplicate form.
’But didn’t you say it would take a while to get the controlling interest from my brother? How come the next thing I know, he’s in jail?’ The one speaking was Long Youliang, the younger brother of Long Yourong. He had hired Qin Moyan as a consultant through a friend’s introduction. At first, he had looked down on the other party because he was under 30, but now he felt like he had struck gold.
‘Your brother has broken the law, and sooner or later he will have to face the consequences.‘ Qin Moyan neither took the credit for himself nor disclaimed any responsibility.
’Xiaoqin is right, we are all law-abiding citizens, we cannot break the law.’ Long Youliang was different from his brother, although he craved power and wealth, he was at least a gentleman.
Having said that, Qin Moyan recalled the reason Ye Xinuo had dinner with Long Yourong that day, and slowly said, ‘A friend of mine had an unpleasant encounter when discussing a collaboration with your brother. I wonder if you could spare some time to sit down and talk again?’
‘No problem!’ Long Youliang agreed very readily, and Qin Moyan helped him shovel away a large rock. He just didn’t know how to express his gratitude.
After leaving the tea room, Qin Moyan received a message from Ye Xinuo on Xmate.
[Ye Xinuo: I’m going to a party tonight and I’m missing a companion. If you’re free, can you come be my date?
The corners of Qin Moyan’s eyes unconsciously curved up. When had the two of them become so familiar? She was the one they thought of for a date.
While she was thinking this, she typed a word on her phone: ‘Yes.’
Ye Xinuo looked at the word ‘OK’ that Qin Moyan had sent back on her phone with delight. After smiling for a while, she realised that she was being too ungrateful, so she quickly patted her face and thought to herself, ‘It’s just a social event, not winning the lottery, so what’s there to be happy about!’
That night, Ye Xinuo, who was always at the forefront of fashion, appeared at the party and immediately captured the attention of most of the men there, and every now and then, the envious or admiring gazes of some women would drift over.
However, as soon as her female companion Qin Moyan appeared, the attention that had been focused on Ye Xinuo was instantly diverted to someone else.
Ye Xinuo was a little stunned. She had always thought that Qin Moyan would only wear black, white and grey clothes with a cold, indifferent style, but she had never expected her to have such a dramatic change in style tonight. She was wearing an exaggerated red one-piece dress that showed off her long, slender, white legs.
Qin Moyan greeted her in her usual elegant and indifferent manner.
Ye Xinru’s throat felt dry, and she cleared it before saying, ‘Qin Moyan, why are you dressed like a demon today?’
‘Chairman Ruan’s daughter is having her year of the zodiac this year, and seeing red makes her feel better. Didn’t you do your research before coming?’ Qin Moyan raised an eyebrow lightly.
‘Chairman Ruan?‘ Ye Xinru quickly searched her mind, “Are you talking about Ruan Litian, the chairman of the Zhejiang Entrepreneur Association?”
’I thought Miss Ye was here for Chairman Ruan’s daughter,’ Qin Moyan said doubtfully, “then what is Miss Ye’s purpose for this trip?”
Ye Xinru: ’…She can say that just because she can’t see Qin Moyan’s discomfort, and there is no other reason to meet?
Qin Moyan didn’t wait for an answer and gestured in another direction, ‘That’s Miss Ruan.’
‘Moyan, long time no see,’ Ruan Lisha came slowly with a glass of red wine in her hand, wearing a proper smile on her face.
‘President Ruan, long time no see,’ Qin Moyan nodded slightly.
‘I saw a figure like yours from afar,’ Ruan Lisha praised,
“You’re beautiful today.’
Ye Xinru felt very uncomfortable. What was the relationship between Qin Moyan and this Miss Ruan? Why did he specially dress her up in a red dress? She had always been the image of an old nun!
‘Thank you.’
After some polite conversation, Qin Moyan introduced Ye Xinru to Ruan Lisha: ‘This is my female companion, Ye Xinru, the former chairman of Ye Sheng Group. She is now developing in the field of smart phones and should have some common topics with Miss Ruan.’
‘I know Ms. Ye. I saw it in the tabloids. Mo Yan’s girlfriend. It caused quite a stir a while ago. If I hadn’t read the news, I never would have thought that Mo Yan would like a woman.’ Ruan Lisha raised her glass, her vermillion lips curling up into a smile, “It’s nice to meet you.”
Ye Xinuo never liked being overwhelmed by other people’s energy, so she immediately straightened her shoulders, took hold of Qin Mo Yan’s arm, raised her glass, and clinked it with Ruan Lisha’s.
Chapter 48
‘Ruan is always the CFO of Rui Xing Mobile, and getting on well with her will save you a lot of trouble.’
Qin Moyan whispered, and the heat of his breath made the person next to him tremble.
Ye Xinuo suppressed the fluttering in his heart and praised, ‘I have heard of President Ruan’s reputation for a long time. It is really amazing to become the CFO at such a young age.’
Lisa Ruan: ‘You’re too kind, Mr Ye. I’m the lucky one, with a wonderful father.’
Ye Xinuo thought to herself: ‘That was quite a blunt thing to say. How am I going to compliment her next…’
In the end, she had to change the subject.
But the other person seemed very interested in the relationship between the two of them, and her eyes were full of aggression. ‘Mo Yan is a legend at our school, but unfortunately she had already graduated by the time I enrolled. Later, I was lucky enough to hear her give a speech at our school, and I fell in love at first sight. I chased after her for a while. Unfortunately, she said at the time that she wasn’t interested in women, which shows how charming Ye Zong is.”
Ye Xinuo’s mind instantly conjured up strange images.
She earnestly lectured, “Qin Moyan is at least a few years older than you, and it sounds like you’re still calling her your senior, Moyan Moyan, which is very rude to your senior.”
Ruan Lisha was very respectful in her attitude, ’Then I’ll call you Moyan Xuejie.’
It sounds even more awkward.
At this thought, Ye Xinru’s face crumpled into a frown. Is it so great to be Qin Moyan’s junior?
Qin Moyan is a crafty old fox, not only is she cunning and treacherous, she also seduces people. She knows that the guy has a crush on her, and she dresses so flirtatiously, is she trying to cuckold me in front of my face?
And there was that news in the UK earlier, this woman is really indiscreet!
At this point, she had already automatically ignored the fact that she had been rejected.
‘Ye Zong?’ Ruan Lisha reminded, her mouth curving up more and more.
Realising her inappropriate behaviour, Ye Xinuo quickly gathered his thoughts and laughed graciously, ’Yan Yan never told me about these romantic past events, and the fact that she can be pursued by such an outstanding girl as you is enough to show that she is truly outstanding. I am very lucky.’
Qin Moyan thought Ye Xinuo was acting again, so she went along with the conversation, saying, ‘It is indeed an honour to be favoured by someone as outstanding as President Ruan. At that time, I was young and impetuous, so if there is anything I said that offended you, President Ruan, please don’t take it to heart.’
After she received the message from Ye Xinuo, she guessed that the other party had found out about Ruan Lisha’s past pursuit of her and wanted to use her looks.
If it had been someone else who had approached her, she would have rejected him outright. But for some reason, when she thought of the cunning face behind Ye Xinuo’s phone, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
Wasn’t this conversation a harbinger of the resumption of their relationship?
She never imagined that Qin Moyan, beneath his seemingly serious appearance, had a heart of scum!
Ye Xinuo hated that she couldn’t grab Qin Moyan’s arm and bite it right now, but on second thought, it seemed that Qin Moyan and she were just playing at being a couple, fooling around and seeing other people, and she couldn’t care less.
But why did she feel even angrier when she thought about it like that!
Ruan Lisha: ‘It’s rare to bump into each other like this, I wonder if Ye Zong can let me catch up with Moyan alone?’
Refusing would seem petty, but not refusing would make her feel bad.
‘I respect Yan Yan’s wishes.’ Ye Xinuo simply threw the question at Qin Moyan to see her reaction.
Since Qin Moyan said that the nickname ‘Mo’ was corny, she had silently switched to a more intimate nickname, but she still felt that calling her an old fox best captured her image.
‘Of course it’s fine.’ Qin Moyan did not hesitate for a moment, and after agreeing, she leaned over to Ye Xinuo and whispered, “The man in the grey suit next to the champagne tower is Mr. Hu from Zhishang Technology. He likes Renaissance oil paintings, so you can go over and chat with him.”
After saying this, she followed Ruan Lisha to the soft seats in the inner room.
Ye Xinuo watched as a sexy beauty with a snake-like waist hooked Qin Moyan away, but she did not have the courage to say anything, and suddenly her heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys all ached.
An hour later, Ye Xinuo had already finished chatting with President Hu about religious philosophy, but Qin Moyan still hadn’t come out.
So in the main venue of the party, there was an additional stone called the ‘Looking for Wife Stone’.
Ye Xinuo waited for another half hour, and then the door to the inner room slowly opened. The smile on Qin Moyan’s face was particularly glaring.
‘It’s getting late, let’s go back,’ Qin Moyan walked towards Ye Xinuo, while at the same time, she regained her expressionless and cold face.
‘Miss Qin had a very pleasant chat with President Ruan, and the wrinkles on your face are from smiling,‘ Ye Xinuo said in a sulky voice.
’I wouldn’t say I was happy or not, but I gained something anyway,‘ Qin Moyan said, touching her face. “It’s true that fake commercial smiles are a bit tiring.”
’So it turns out that Miss Qin will smile at someone for a little trivial gain,’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was full of acid.
‘A trivial profit?’ Qin Moyan tilted her head, “Ms. Ye may have some misunderstanding about me, I will only smile at Cornucopia.”
Ye Xinuo snorted, turned her head and walked away, still unable to stop herself from complaining in her heart: ’This is not a rebirth, I must have travelled to a parallel universe. This Qin Moyan is not the Qin Moyan I know.’
Qin Moyan’s heart was full of question marks. She couldn’t help but sigh, ‘This young lady is really quick to turn on me.
Ye Xinuo walked to the door before remembering to call the driver. Qin Moyan heard the conversation and asked, ’If it takes the driver a long time to come, I can drop Ms Ye off on the way.’
‘Thank you.”
Ye Xinuo said thank you, and immediately said to the other end of the phone, “Lao Zhang, you don’t need to come and pick me up, just rest at home.”
Driver Zhang, who was waiting in the nearby parking lot, said, “…”
After getting in the car, the first thing Qin Moyan did was start the car and turn on the heater. Then, it didn’t matter that Ye Xinuo was in the car, so he slid the driver’s seat back to make room, grabbed a bag from the back seat, and took out a pair of black sweatpants.
Ye Xinu watched as Qin Moyan put the sweatpants underneath her dress in front of her, and all the words like ‘goddess’, ‘cold’, and ‘ascetic’ in her mind completely shattered.
After Qin Moyan had put on her pants and adjusted the seat back, the person in the passenger seat said with a dry laugh, ‘That’s quite a unique combination.’
Qin Moyan glanced at Ye Xinuo and, as if by magic, pulled out another pair of grey sweatpants of a similar style from his bag. ‘I have some extras. They’re new.’
Ye Xinuo froze on the spot, unsure whether to reach out or not.
If she didn’t take them, it would be rude to refuse after he had gone to the trouble of offering.
But if she did… would she be as brazen as Qin Moyan and pull them on in the car with no one around? And she would never dare try the awful look of sweatpants with a skirt.
Qin Moyan only held the bag in her hands for a second as a symbol of her gesture, before putting it down and fishing another down jacket from the back seat, the length of which just covered her skirt.
‘My joints aren’t very good, and I can’t catch a cold,’ Qin Moyan seemed to be explaining the reason for her actions.
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but lower her head, so as not to expose her cheeks, which were getting hotter and hotter.
Qin Moyan had moved a little too much when she was getting dressed just now, and she seemed to have vaguely seen a groove.
‘If you don’t protect your legs properly, you’ll end up like me.’ Qin Moyan put the paper bag in her hand back on the back seat, “You young people just rely on your good health and don’t know to wear more in the cold weather.”
Ye Xinuo: “…” In her previous life, Qin Moyan always wore a stern expression and looked unfathomable. So much so that at one point she felt that the other person was a robot.
This life…the original aloof character has completely collapsed, what is this grandmotherly, kind but helpless tone?
Qin Moyan reached out and felt the air vent, sensing the heat before fastening her seat belt. However, she did not start the car immediately.
One minute later.
Ye Xinuo: ‘Are you waiting for someone? Why haven’t you started the car yet?’
Qin Moyan: ‘You haven’t fastened your seat belt.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ On TV, the thoughtful male protagonist always wraps his arms around the heroine and the air is thick with tension as they fasten their seat belts.
Although Qin Moyan could never be the male lead, could she still spoil the mood?
After thinking for a moment, she added, ‘I don’t have enough points to deduct.’
What she meant was, I’m not a person who cares about trivial matters, but I can’t break the traffic rules and take you with me.
Ye Xinuo let out a sigh of relief, pulled the seat belt behind her over to her side, and inserted it into the left buckle.
At first, the air in the car seemed to have solidified, and no one spoke. After driving for a while, Ye Xinuo finally couldn’t hold back anymore, looking out the window dreamily, ‘Miss Qin has been quite lucky in love lately.’
‘Lucky in love?’ Qin Moyan shook her head, ‘I haven’t been lucky in love.’
“Miss Qin, you don’t need to be humble. What about the British lady from the Herson Fund, the finance officer Ruan from Ruixing Mobile, and not long ago, wasn’t there also the young master Lu from Tiansheng Investment with his long nose?’
‘I thought you only had a love affair if you wanted it. There are many people who like me, and if everyone was called a peach blossom, I’m afraid my luck would be used up.”
Ye Xinru didn’t have time to spit blood at this answer that deserved a beating before Qin Moyan continued, “But Elizabeth is younger than you, so you don’t need to call her sister.”
Where was her sword? Where had her 80-meter long broadsword gone?
Ye Xinru took a few deep breaths to convince herself not to argue with the old-fashioned person.
Before long, Qin Moyan’s car pulled up in front of Ye Xinru’s house. Before she could say anything, the person in the passenger seat glared at her and angrily said, ‘Thanks to Miss Qin for driving me home. Be careful on the road!’ and slammed the door and got out of the car.
Qin Moyan: ‘??? What did I do to offend her? Could it be that she is suffering from an endocrine disorder because Tang Jie has taken Ye Sheng’s place?
But according to Xu Xiao, Ye Xinuo has continued to meddle in Ye Sheng’s projects, and Tang Jie hasn’t gained any advantage.
A woman’s mind is really hard to guess.
Ye Xinuo entered the door and realised that her temper was inexplicably high today. She regretted that she seemed to have been acting irrationally just now. If she were Qin Moyan, she would definitely think that she was sick.
——But Qin Moyan really looked good today. It would be nice if she could dress like that for herself sometime.
No, no, this thought is dangerous.
The person standing in the doorway hadn’t yet figured it out when he suddenly received a phone call, and his face suddenly became extremely serious.
***
“Mr. Han Qiucheng, the chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group, passed away unfortunately. The lawyer team has made public his will. All of the shares in his hands will be inherited by his granddaughter, Han Qiuzi. It is not surprising that Ms. Han Qiuzi will become the next chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group.’
Tang Jie sat on his sofa, turning the red wine glass in his hands. His face was lined with deep wrinkles, but his smile was awe-inspiring.
Chapter 49
Grandpa Han As the head of the Han Group, one of the leading traditional industries in Hucheng, the funeral was attended by a prestigious gathering of the older generation, who could not help but praise Han Jingjin for handling his father’s funeral with grandeur and filial piety.
Han Qiuzi has been busy dealing with the inheritance of the shares and taking over the group’s affairs these days, and she has no time to spare. She has almost left the funeral arrangements to her father. Even until the day of the funeral, she didn’t have time to grieve.
Although she doesn’t know why her grandfather didn’t leave the company to her father, since her grandfather made a will, she can only do her best not to let her grandfather down.
Han Qiuzi was in a daze throughout the funeral, spending the day like a marionette, and she was exhausted when she got home.
[I’m sorry for your loss. Get some sleep.]
As soon as Han Qiuzi turned off the lights in the house, she received a text message from Yu Qing, and the dry eyes once again overflowed with hot tears.
Outside the villa, a silver-grey car was glowing with a pale blue light.
After the funeral, Yu Qing had followed Han Qiuzi everywhere, and when she saw her go inside, she parked the car in the visitor parking space and stared at the bright light in the house. When she saw the light go out, she couldn’t help but pick up her phone and send a comforting message.
She sighed, and just as she was about to step on the gas and leave, her phone rang, and the caller ID showed Han Qiuzi’s name.
After hesitating for a moment, she picked up the phone.
‘Qing, I’m so sad. Can you come over and keep me company?‘ The voice on the other end of the line sounded very helpless.
’I…‘ Yu Qing clenched her left hand into a fist, suppressed the urge to open the door, and her eyes were gloomy, “I can’t leave because of something. I’m sorry.”
’It’s not right for me to ask for so much,’ Han Qiuzi said despondently, ’Grandpa has handed over the entire group to me, and I no longer have the right to be willful. Maybe we don’t have enough fate, and I can’t give up now.’
Yu Qing bit her index finger to force herself not to make a sound, but the tears just kept falling.
She had to pretend to be unconcerned, so she said softly, ‘You’ll do well, come on.’
‘Thank you,’ Han Qiuzi’s tone was full of reluctance, ‘then…then I’ll rest first, goodnight.’
‘Yes, goodnight.’
Yu Qing held her breath, afraid that if she wasn’t careful, she would let out a sob.
After the other person had hung up the phone, Yu Qing finally couldn’t control her emotions. She gripped the phone tightly, her knuckles turning white, and leaned over the steering wheel, letting out a suppressed sob.
As long as Han Qiuzi could live a safe and uneventful life, she could care about nothing else, even if it left an irreparable wound in both of their hearts time and time again.
After the death of Mr Han, Yu Qing would wait outside Han Qiuzi’s house every day after work, watching the bedroom light go out before driving off.
Since becoming the chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group, Han Qiuzi has vaguely felt that her relationship with her father has become a bit more complicated. Although her father’s attitude towards her has not changed, she always feels that there is an additional layer of distance between them.
However, being from a wealthy family, she also understands that it is normal for her grandfather to hand over the group directly to his granddaughter, and for her father to harbour grudges.
This is perhaps the inevitable fate of every big family: they are greedy for money but fickle in love.
***
Yun Ti Studio.
‘Yu Qing, you’ve been looking really haggard lately. When are you going to find some time to go to the hospital?’ Ye Xinuo nibbled on his apple while looking up and down at Yu Qing, ‘I’m counting on you to help me take over the country!’
‘I’m fine, I just have a little insomnia, it won’t affect my work.’ Yu Qing coughed a few times, her nasal voice a little heavy, and the words she just said seemed to immediately lose their persuasiveness.
Ye Xinuo sighed heavily, ’Yu Qing, don’t blame me for being nosy, in fact, I have long known about your affair with Qiuzi. You have been worried lately, is it related to her?’
‘I know,’ Yu Qing replied to the first half of Ye Xinuo’s sentence, and then added, “My relationship with her is very complicated. I haven’t told you about it because I didn’t want to distract you. I know you care about me.”
Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow. It was true that although Yu Qing sometimes seemed silly, she was not bad at reading people’s expressions and body language. It would be unusual if she couldn’t tell.
Then she said generously, ‘I can see that Qiu Zi has very deep feelings for you, and you haven’t let her go either. Why not try again, rather than both of you being stuck in pain? Although there are many obstacles, they are not completely insurmountable.’
Yu Qing gave a faint wry smile, ‘We’ve already moved on. We’re not children, there’s nothing to let go of.’
Having said that, Ye Xinuo knew that it would be useless to say more, so she smiled and stood up, ‘I’ll go make you a cup of coffee, let’s try to finish this proposal today.’
In fact, since the previous life, she had a question nagging at her. She could clearly feel that Han Qiuzi was very important in Yu Qing’s heart, but Yu Qing always avoided the relationship. At first, she also thought it was because of the huge difference in family background that Yu Qing showed. But when she thought about it carefully, in the previous life, Han Qiuzi’s family had fallen on hard times, and she had bumped into a few times when Yu Qing used being busy at work as an excuse to reject his invitations.
In the past, Ye Xinuo was so obsessed with revenge that she ignored the people around her, and her heart was full of guilt. Living an extra life, she gradually realised that making the people around her happy is more important than futile revenge.
What concerns her even more now is how the death of Mr. Han will affect the trajectory of the world, because in the last life, Mr. Han was still alive until she died.
***
A familiar old place.
‘Mo Yan, how long do you think the current bull market will last? I can see a lot of people rushing in, so it shouldn’t collapse all at once, right?”
Ning Han asked, hoping for the best.
She wasn’t someone who would pay attention to the stock market, but her good friend Mo Lan didn’t listen to her advice. In order to support her boyfriend’s business, she listened to the encouragement of her colleagues and plunged headlong into the stock market. At first, she only took out a portion of her money to test the water, but it doubled in just two weeks. She couldn’t stop herself, and almost used all her savings to buy a few popular stocks, including Fengda Alliance.
“No one can say for sure about the stock market. Mature individuals and teams have a high ability to withstand risks and can stop losses in time. Even if the impact is great, they won’t go bankrupt. But retail investors who follow the trend should best withdraw from the market as soon as possible.’ Qin Moyan was distracted while playing billiards and made several mistakes in a row. Finally, Ding Qi seized the opportunity to mock him.
‘Ugh, I get it,’ Ning Han helplessly tugged at her hair. Moran is a stubborn person. Once she sets her mind on something, she won’t listen to reason. Besides, the saying ‘to deprive someone of their means of earning a living is like killing their parents’ has been around for so long, and it’s not without reason. She can only find an opportunity to persuade her again. If she doesn’t listen, there’s nothing she can do.
‘You’d better watch out or you’ll end up bald,‘ teased Ding Qi, “programmers” hair is precious.’
‘If anyone’s going to go bald, it’ll be you first, look, you don’t even have a front curtain anymore,’ Ning Han retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
‘I just cut my hair two days ago,’ said Ding Qi, but while Qin Moyan was playing ping pong, he took out his phone and used it as a mirror.
Qin Moyan made another mistake, and a look of annoyance appeared on his face. Without warning, he said, ‘What do you think would cause a sudden change in someone’s attitude?’
‘Oh, Boss Qin, you have such a problem too?’ Ding Qi said with a smile, ‘The logical and thoughtful Boss Qin is always very good at reading people’s minds through the analysis of interests, right? Why can’t you play the ball well today, and why can’t you read people’s minds?’
Qin Moyan ignored Ding Qi’s teasing and said, ‘If you can help me solve this problem, I can let you hand in your report a week late and not deduct your funds.’
‘I’m best at solving this kind of problem!’ Ding Qi’s attitude changed 180 degrees, and his face suddenly became very serious and earnest. ‘Tell me the specific circumstances and I’ll help you analyze it.’
‘Hopeless,’ Ning Han whispered with contempt.
Qin Moyan frowned slightly and organised his thoughts, ‘Someone who had always treated me like an enemy before, for some reason helped me out, and then it was like they had changed, asking me for a favour and then getting angry with me. Anyway, it was all very strange.’
‘…’ Ding Qi couldn’t help twitching his eyebrows and eyes. ‘What you’re saying now is also very strange. Tell me the truth, did you hit your head and why are you talking in such a disjointed way? Unusual, very unusual.‘
’Mo Yan, you’re not in love, are you?’ After a long silence, Ning Han’s sharp eyes swept across Qin Mo Yan’s face, “You look just like my best friend when she talks about her boyfriend.”
Qin Mo Yan laughed lightly, “I only fall in love with money.”
Ning Han: “Then tell me, who is the person whose attitude towards you has suddenly changed?”
Qin Mo Yan choked for a moment before replying, ’A businessman, you don’t know him.’
‘Boss Qin!‘ Ding Qi held Qin Moyan’s shoulders and said anxiously, “Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital for a check-up? You can’t get sick, my research depends on you to pay the bills!”
’What’s wrong with you? I’m fine.‘ Qin Moyan pushed Ding Qi’s arm away.
’Still saying you’re fine?’ Ding Qi’s face turned even uglier, ’You’re even acting spoiled! In the past, if I shook you like this, you would have frozen me with your eyes long ago.’
Qin Moyan was speechless. ‘You’re exaggerating, I’m not a demon.’
Ning Han agreed, ‘You are, I don’t think Ding Qi is exaggerating at all.’
Qin Moyan waved her hands, ‘Forget it, I know asking you is a waste of time. I have things to do, I’m leaving.’
‘Leaving already?’ Ding Qi’s eyebrows were already twisted into an eight-character shape.
‘Mm.’ Qin Moyan didn’t waste any time, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
‘She, she, she even left without clearing the balls off the table?‘ Ding Qi’s hand was shaking as he pointed to the door. “What do you think is wrong with her?”
’Who knows.’ Ning Han shrugged, “I’ll go first, you cover my back.”
Her mind was preoccupied with her good friend Mo Lan’s situation, and she didn’t continue to delve into the reason for Qin Mo Yan’s unusual behaviour.
After getting into the car, Qin Mo Yan hesitated for a while and dialed Ye Xinuo’s phone number.
Chapter 50
‘The supplier’s base price list you asked for.’ Qin Moyan pushed a paper document bag in front of Ye Xinuo.
‘Huh?’ Ye Xinuo looked confused.
Half an hour ago, she received a phone call from Qin Moyan, saying that he had something for her, so the two of them made an appointment at a private restaurant.
She had been guessing what it would be along the way.
‘Miss Ye is really forgetful, forgetting everything in just two weeks?’ Qin Moyan was rarely annoyed, and thought that Ye Xinuo was pretending not to understand.
Ye Xinuo tried to remember what had happened two weeks ago, and it seemed that…she had asked Qin Moyan to a party, and then they had had a falling out.
Recalling the contents of the file bag…
‘You got this from President Ruan?‘ Ye Xinuo’s eyes suddenly widened, and in her haste, she even broke her intonation, “You got such an important thing from her?”
’Consider this my repayment of the favour I owe Ms Ye,‘ Qin Moyan said indifferently.
’Wait a minute, let me think,’ Ye Xinuo blinked, holding up a hand to stop Qin Moyan from speaking.
‘You think you owe me a favour, so you get all dressed up and go meet President Ruan to return the favour.’ Ye Xinuo’s breathing became heavier and heavier, “You really want to settle things with me quickly! You took advantage of the fact that she likes you and asked her for such an important quotation.”
Qin Moyan: ’??? Did I misunderstand Ye Xinuo’s meaning?
But even so, what kind of anger is Ye Xinuo feeling, when it was clearly her who did the work?
‘What were you doing in the private room with President Ruan that day? How did you manage to get this?’ A thin layer of mist rose unconsciously in Ye Xinuo’s eyes, and she chafed at herself for not telling Qin Moyan to go to some party that day.
Although this document is a treasure that she cannot buy with money, she is angry and sad when she thinks about what Qin Moyan did.
Qin Moyan burst out laughing, ‘I didn’t realise before that Miss Ye is so childish.’
Ye Xinuo felt depressed and didn’t want to speak. Qin Moyan had given her such a big gift to repay her favour, so how could she have the position to care about what method someone used.
‘Have you thought of something strange?‘ Seeing Ye Xinuo with a look as if she wanted to beat her chest and kick her feet, Qin Moyan explained, “It’s just a resource swap, not like Ye Xinuo is selling herself. There’s no need to have a psychological burden.”
’Really? You weren’t groped?’ Ye Xinuo coughed a few times unnaturally.
Qin Moyan’s smile grew even wider. ‘Trading sex for benefits is the most unstable and lowest form of exchange. I won’t do it. Relationships are fragile things. Miss Ye, do you think that Mr. Ruan will hand over his trade secrets just because he has a favourable impression of you? I don’t think I’m that charming.’
‘That’s good,’ Ye Xinuo let out a sigh of relief.
‘Why does it seem like Miss Ye is even more nervous than I am?’ Qin Moyan felt more and more that Ye Xinuo was an interesting person.
‘I… I was afraid that you would force yourself to do something you didn’t want to do in order to repay me,’ Ye Xinuo said stubbornly. “Now we’re even, so you don’t have to think about repaying me anything.”
Qin Moyan nodded with a smile, and there seemed to be something else hidden in his deep eyes.
Ye Xinuo was mesmerised by this smile, and thought to herself, Qin Moyan has been smiling more and more frequently recently, and it’s not that bad to look at. Why did she always have a stern face in her previous life?
But thinking about the two people’s positions in their previous life, perhaps the other person just didn’t smile in front of her.
Qin Moyan: ‘So can we start ordering?’
Ye Xinuo flipped the menu open and placed it in front of Qin Moyan, ‘What do you want to eat? I’m treating today, so don’t fight me for the food.’
‘The sour and spicy lotus root is the signature dish here, the clam and winter melon soup is very fresh, and as for the meat dishes… Since I’m a vegetarian myself, I can’t really give any recommendations, but the sour and spicy chicken giblets and poached fish here are very famous, and there are many regular customers who will drive for hours to come here and eat.’ Qin Moyan handed the menu back to Ye Xinuo, ’Two dishes and a soup should be enough, ordering more than that is a waste and will bring bad luck.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘I don’t have any particular preferences when it comes to food. Just order one more vegetarian dish.’
Xinduo: ‘From the looks of things, Qin Moyan has probably become a Buddhist.’
Qin Moyan added: ‘Although I’m a vegetarian, I don’t mind if others eat meat dishes.’
‘I don’t really like meat either. Seriously, let’s order the eggplant with string beans.’ Ye Xinuo casually pointed at a dish on the menu.
Qin Moyan hesitated for a moment, and said, ‘Normally I don’t comment on what other people order, but I’m allergic to string beans…’
‘Then how about stir-fried seasonal vegetables with cashews? Something light is good for the skin,’ Ye Xinuo laughed awkwardly.
‘I’m also allergic to nuts,’ Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo, ‘as well as seafood and pollen.’
‘…’ Ye Xinuo looked at Qin Moyan sympathetically, ‘You’re just destined to be a lonely person!’
‘Fortune telling? Is it a person?‘ Qin Moyan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.
’Doomed to a lonely life, abbreviated as destined to be lonely.’ Ye Xinuo’s sympathy in her eyes deepened, and she even had a bit of schadenfreude, “Do you only read financial news online, and never pay attention to internet slang or celebrity gossip? You definitely don’t know what a netizen is, do you?”
Qin Moyan had learned his lesson this time, and stopped asking questions. He just said, ’I’m a few years younger than Miss Ye, so it’s normal to have a generation gap. Anyway, there aren’t many opportunities to go out to eat alone, so I don’t think these internet slang terms will have a big impact.‘
’A generation gap?‘ Ye Xinuo immediately shook her head, “No, no, I don’t know anything about celebrity gossip or internet slang! When I’m not busy, I just like to watch the financial news. The Nasdaq index in the United States has dropped again, and I don’t know if it will affect the domestic market. Hahaha.”
’Miss Ye, you work in the internet industry, so it’s better to maintain a young mindset. The major internet giants are almost fifty years old, and they all maintain the habit of learning popular vocabulary.’ Qin Moyan’s words carried a tone of deep concern, ‘I often deal with old-fashioned people, so I don’t know if that’s okay.’
Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but mutter to herself: How could there be such a mean person in the world.
Qin Moyan called the waiter in, ‘One sour and spicy lotus root, one hairy blood wang, and one clam and winter melon soup.’
Ye Xinuo kept shaking his head, ‘You don’t have to accommodate me, just make it all vegetarian, it’ll show more piety.’
Qin Moyan knew that the other person had misunderstood, so he said lightly, ‘When I was studying abroad, vegetables were too expensive, I couldn’t afford them, so I could only eat greasy food, so after I came back to China, I rarely ate meat.’
After saying that, he didn’t forget to add, ‘Mao Xue Wang is quite delicious.’
Ye Xinruo: ‘… Everyone knows Mao Xue Wang is delicious, and it’s all out of respect for your beliefs! It turns out you don’t have any beliefs at all!
The air froze for a few minutes.
Still, Ye Xinruo broke the silence by making small talk, ’That… I’m also allergic to pollen, quite coincidentally.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘The incidence of pollen allergy symptoms is not low. Perhaps one in five people is allergic to pollen, but not every kind of pollen from every kind of flower will cause an allergic reaction in people. Perhaps the allergens for the two of us are not the same. A bouquet of flowers placed here may only cause an allergic reaction in one person.’
Ye Xinuo gave an awkward but polite smile and thought to herself, ‘If this meal is going to take an hour, we’re going to have a lot of tension between us.’
Qin Moyan saw the other person’s petrified appearance and let out a light laugh. ‘Just kidding, although I studied economics and my daily life is relatively boring, it’s not to the point of boring you to death.’
‘Ha, ha.’ Ye Xinuo let out a few dry laughs. She had never realised that Qin Moyan had such a ‘humorous’ cell.
***
On the other side of the city, at the Han Group’s temporary board meeting.
‘I’m very sorry for keeping this from everyone for so long. The truth is, my daughter is a lesbian. When Ms Ye Xinuo of Ye Sheng Group abdicated because her love life had been exposed and caused the stock price to fall, I wanted to confess to you directors. But I was always hindered by a father’s protection of his daughter and was unable to speak out sooner.‘
Han Jingjin stood directly in front of the conference table, his attitude sincere.
’Daddy, what are you talking about?’ Han Qiuzi, who was sitting in the chairman’s seat, had disbelief in his eyes.
‘I am very proud that my daughter has my approval to succeed me as the chairman of the board of directors of the Han Group, but our group is after all a huge listed company, and I am responsible for the future of the Han Group.’ Han Jingjin looked at Han Qiuzi and said, ’I’m sorry, Daddy, but I can’t help you hide it anymore. Some paparazzi already took pictures, but I paid a high price to buy them, so they shouldn’t spread for a while.’
Han Qiuzi’s heart suddenly filled with a sense of foreboding. The father she had respected so much since childhood could actually use such despicable means against his own daughter. No wonder he suddenly relented some time ago and encouraged her to pursue happiness again. It turned out to be for this day.
‘So…’ Han Jingjin made an expression as if he was having difficulty speaking, ‘My dear daughter, for the sake of the group’s development, you should abdicate the throne yourself.’
Han Qiuzi let out a few snorts from her throat, and the tears in her eyes disappeared in an instant. ‘What if I don’t want to?’
Han Jingjin said, ‘Then we’ll have to call an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting.‘
’Extraordinary shareholders‘ meeting.’ Han Qiuzi lowered her head and chewed on these words for a while, and when she looked up again, there was a hint of mockery in her eyes. ‘No need to go to all that trouble.’
‘So, you agree to abdicate?’ Han Jingjin’s face showed a satisfied smile.
Han Qiuzi shook his head, ‘Grandpa’s will clearly states in black and white that I have absolute control. What this means is that no matter what, I am the decision-maker of the Han Group. If any of the directors have objections to me being the chairman, they can simply follow legal procedures with my legal team.’
The room of directors had not yet recovered from the shock of Han Qiuzi’s words when they proceeded to stage a coup, so that after Han Qiuzi had finished speaking, they were like waking from a dream and began to express their opinions.
‘This…‘ One director hesitated a little, but his tone was quite tactful, “The personal image of the company’s leaders is indeed very important, so you should not monopolise this position.”
’Qiuzi, Grandpa Zhang has been your grandfather’s friend for decades, and I know he is right about people. It’s just that…‘
’You directors don’t need to worry so much,’ Han Qiuzi’s tone was cold, ’I broke up a long time ago, so there won’t be any news that affects the company’s image.’
Seeing the relieved expressions of the directors below, Han Qiuzi added, ‘But I hope you all understand that I have only experienced a love affair that is different from most people’s, and I am not playing the rich family’s game. Compared to the heirs of other families whose private lives are in chaos, I am more qualified to stand here and tell you that I will lead the tens of thousands of employees of the Han Group and turn our company into a top business empire.’
***
Back on this side of the city.
Ye Xinruo had just finished paying the bill when he received a call from Xu Xiao. After listening quietly for a while, a ready smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
Chapter 51
“Daddy, you weren’t like this before. The daddy who loved and respected me for the past twenty-odd years, did he just disappear just because Grandpa handed over the company to me?’
At the Han family residence, Han Qiuzi’s face was full of disappointment but also a glimmer of hope. She hoped that her father had just lost his mind for a moment.
‘Daughter, you know that I have loved you for more than 20 years. The company will be yours sooner or later. Now, you can be a carefree little princess while you still can. Whoever you fall in love with, I won’t interfere,’ Han Jingjin gave a kind smile, which Han Qiuzi found extremely ironic.
‘Daddy, the Han Group is not mine, nor is it the Han family’s. I thought you were just temporarily obsessed, embezzling public funds, and that if you were given time…’ Han Qiuzi took a deep breath, ’Forget it, I don’t want to say anything more. I will use my own money to cover the hole you’ve dug, because you are my father. But this is the last time, I hope you will behave yourself.’
‘Not enough! I need more money to take over the business, or all the money I’ve invested before will be wasted.’ Han Jingjin grabbed Han Qiuzi’s shoulders and smiled flattery, “Daughter, I know you’re the best. In that case, if you give your father 10 billion, I will never interfere with the group’s affairs again. Or you can take out a mortgage on the group’s real estate, I know you can.”
Han Qiuzi looked at the man in front of her with unfamiliar eyes. She didn’t know if he had disguised himself too well in the past, or if money really had the power of the devil. Perhaps Grandpa had seen through him long ago, which was why he refused to hand over the company to him.
‘Daddy, you’re crazy,’ she said, her tone devoid of emotion.
‘Is that any way to speak to your father?’ Han Jingjin glared at her, irritated.
‘Do you even look like a father?’ At this point, Han Qiuzi was surprisingly calm. She took a step back and said, ‘You’re old, you should enjoy your retirement and stop worrying about the company.’
Without waiting for Han Jingjin to say anything else, he walked expressionlessly out of the main Han residence.
Han Qiuzi drove home calmly, and apart from the look of exhaustion on his face, there was nothing else to be seen.
After hastily washing his face, the bruising under his eyes could no longer be hidden, making Han Qiuzi look even more haggard.
She leaned weakly against the sofa, her eyes vacant as she grabbed a pillow and held it in her arms. After a long while, she picked up her phone and tried to dial someone’s number, but in the end she let go of it with a slump, and let the phone bounce a few times on the sofa cushion before lying there quietly.
***
Ye Xinuo had just finished scheduling production with Long Youliang from Dos Optical, and the process went very smoothly, leaving her physically and mentally relaxed.
The last time she was set up by Long Yourong had left a big psychological scar on her. Although she had learned that the other person had been temporarily detained pending trial, the memory of that night still flooded back when she saw a face that looked very similar to that person’s. Fortunately, Qin Moyan had arrived, otherwise…
Thinking about it like that, she actually owed Qin Moyan an even bigger favour.
‘What are you thinking about?’ Qin Moyan, who was sitting next to her, looked a little curious as she saw Ye Xinuo’s expression change several times in a minute.
She was here with her today.
‘I was thinking about you.’
Ye Xinru felt that this sentence was likely to be misunderstood, so she quickly added, ‘I was thinking about how timely your appearance was. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened. At the time, I didn’t feel anything, but the more I think about it now, the more terrifying it is.’
‘You know,’ Qin Moyan’s eyes seemed to contain reproach, ‘although no one could have predicted this kind of thing, your safety awareness is too weak.’
Somehow, Ye Xinru suddenly felt her cheeks heating up from that glare, and she didn’t know where to put her hands and feet. She muttered, ‘Then you protect me.’
‘Huh?’ Qin Moyan didn’t hear the mumbled words from Ye Xinru’s mouth.
‘It’s okay, as a token of my gratitude, I’ll buy you dinner.’ Ye Xinru pulled a long face and spoke stiffly, ‘I can’t thank you enough for your great kindness, I’ll repay you in the future.’
‘You have already repaid me,‘ Qin Moyan said with a crooked smile, “The government’s new policy on electric vehicle qualifications states that individuals with actual decision-making power in two or more companies are not allowed to apply for relevant qualifications, and existing qualifications will be reallocated. Thanks to you, Tang Jie not only has his own company outside, but also has Ye Sheng.”
’You got Tang Jie’s permit?’ Ye Xinuo’s face was full of undisguised surprise.
Qin Moyan said, ‘Well.’
The introduction of this policy was something Ye Xinuo had long known about, and she had been waiting for this day. This was also one of the reasons why she was able to leave Ye Sheng so decisively in the first place, allowing Tang Jie to throw a stone at his own feet, and the scene was still quite a sight to see.
Although Tang Jie’s quota would be taken away, it was not something that anyone could get if they wanted it, and Qin Moyan’s abilities had really exceeded her expectations.
Qin Moyan seemed to know Ye Xinru’s question and said generously, ‘I’ve pulled some strings. As Tang Jie’s partner, it’s a bit easier than for others.’
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinru nodded. She wasn’t really interested in this. Everyone did business in their own way, and there was no need to be curious about other people’s methods.
‘I thought you were going to invite me to dinner,’ said Qin Moyan, shaking the car keys in her hand. ‘I know a good place to eat.’
Qin Moyan drove Ye Xinuo to a food street and looked for a long time before finding a place to park.
There were shouts of encouragement all over the food street, and amidst the bustling crowd, Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan were still the two most conspicuous people.
Qin Moyan leaned close to Ye Xinuo’s ear and spoke louder, ‘Is this the first time Miss Ye has been to a place like this? Does it feel too noisy?’
Ye Xinuo felt amused and actually broke into a smile. ‘Have you watched too many TV dramas? Do you think I’m some rich princess who eats bird’s nest and shark’s fin every day? When I was little, I used to carry my allowance and eat spicy sticks with my friends at the roadside stalls, okay?’
Qin Moyan’s face softened a little and she teased, ‘Then you’re a local tyrant too, because I didn’t have any money to buy spicy sticks when I was little.’
‘Then hurry up and follow me, I’ll buy you something delicious!‘ Ye Xinuo walked quickly forward to hide the panic in her eyes.
The other person had only shown a hint of tenderness, and she felt like there were several little deer jumping around in her heart.
In the last life, she was at least 27 or 28 years old, but now she was acting like a little girl.
’I’m a few years older than you,’ Qin Moyan said with a hint of dissatisfaction in her tone, ’why don’t you call me sister and see what happens?’
Ye Xinuo turned around, her pupils slightly dilated, once again doubting that this was Qin Moyan.
‘What’s that face?’ Qin Moyan slowly walked closer, and even lifted his hand to pinch Ye Xinuo’s face, ‘I just asked you to call me sister, why are your eyes wide open like that?’
Ye Xinuo smelled the rich fragrance coming at her, intoxicated in the scent that belonged to Qin Moyan, her throat involuntarily rolling, and a blush quickly rising to her cheeks. Stammering, she angrily said, ‘I’m a big person, why did you suddenly pinch my face?’
‘Didn’t you just graduate last year?’ Qin Moyan tilted his head, ‘You’re still a child.’
But you’re not a child anymore, why are you suddenly acting cute?
Ye Xinuo never would have thought that Qin Moyan was such a treasure, and recently, he has been killing it with every move, always stirring her romantic heart.
Qin Moyan’s gaze drifted to the stall in the left front corner, and without warning, he patted the tip of Ye Xinuo’s head again, ‘I’m hungry, come pay.’
Ye Xinuo followed Qin Moyan like a lost soul, and it wasn’t until after they had paid that she came back to her senses because of what the stall owner said.
‘Qin, I haven’t seen this young girl before, is she a new friend of yours?’
Qin Moyan nodded with a smile, ‘Yes, a new friend.’
The stall owner’s auntie: ‘You kids are all so busy these days, and you don’t come here often, so no one ever tells me how delicious my noodles are.’
Qin Moyan sweetly said: ‘How could that be? Look at the long queue, everyone comes here because they want to try my noodles. Auntie Huang’s noodles are the best I’ve ever tasted.’
‘You’re such a kid.’ The stall owner’s auntie added a hard-boiled egg to Qin Moyan’s bowl and served a plate of freshly fried pork chops. ‘This is a gift, so don’t refuse or you’ll be doing me a disservice.’
‘Okay, Auntie Huang’s fried pork chop with special sauce, who can refuse?’ Qin Moyan winked at the stall owner at the counter with his right eye, and after carrying the plate around in circles, he finally found a table for two, but it was the kind where they had to share the table with other people.
Ye Xinru was already stunned at this point, the impact of Qin Moyan’s previous series of actions had been too great.
‘The spicy clam noodles are the specialty here, try some.‘ Qin Moyan took out a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to Ye Xinuo.
’Thank you.‘ Ye Xinuo took the chopsticks and immediately buried her face in the bowl of noodles.
Qin Moyan laughed lightly, “Are you afraid that tomorrow’s newspaper will write, ”Ye Xinuo, former chairman of Ye Sheng Group, is living in poverty, and has been seen at a roadside stall’? Your face is about to fall into the bowl.’
Ye Xinru raised her head with a blush, and said in a mosquito humming voice, ‘You can call me Xinru.’
Then she buried her head even lower.
She hated herself for being so weak-willed. She was already a grown woman, but why did she suddenly become so flustered and lose control of her heart rate? How could she have such a weak aura!
Qin Moyan’s smile grew even wider. She picked up a piece of pork chop, dipped it in the sauce, and held it in front of Ye Xinuo. ‘Then… Xinuo, try the pork chop here.’
Hearing the word ‘Xinuo,’ the original owner’s heart almost jumped out of her throat. She didn’t care what was being offered, and she would have swallowed it without hesitation, even if it was shit.
So the dazed Ye Xinuo didn’t think much about it and bit directly into Qin Moyan’s chopsticks.
‘…’
Ye Xinuo held the not inconsiderable piece of pork chop in his mouth, moved his mouth quickly a few times, and chewed and swallowed it in no time.
He then scratched his nose and said awkwardly, ‘I didn’t touch your chopsticks.’
‘Well, it’s fine,’ Qin Moyan coughed lightly a few times, and his expression was also a little strange.
Ye Xinruo quickly changed the subject when she saw this, cleared her throat and said, ‘Aren’t you a vegetarian?’
‘Auntie Huang’s fried pork chops are delicious, and the dipping sauce is even better,’ Qin Moyan said seriously, ‘it’s the meat I can eat.’
Ye Xinruo: ‘…So it’s just that you only eat vegetarian food when you encounter meat that doesn’t taste good. She had even thought about whether she wanted to become a vegetarian in the future, but now it seems that there’s no need for that.
After eating for a while, Ye Xinuo asked with a frown the question she had wanted to know earlier: ‘Have you brought many people here before? The stall owner even knew that I was your new friend.’
After the words came out, Ye Xinuo suddenly realised that Qin Moyan’s reply at that time seemed to acknowledge their friendship.
Chapter 52
‘Do you often bring friends here?’ Ye Xinuo didn’t realise that her tone of voice had a sour undertone.
‘When I was little, I…’ Qin Moyan’s eyes flashed with a dark gleam, ‘When I was little, I and my playmates were often taken care of by Auntie Huang, and when we grew up, we would come back from time to time to eat noodles.’
Ye Xinuo muttered, ‘That doesn’t answer my question.’
“Among the friends I’ve just met, you’re the only one I’ve brought here,’
Qin Moyan said this very calmly, but it made the person listening tremble several times.
Ye Xinuo’s heart was beating rapidly, and even though she had never been in love, through the abnormal emotions she had felt over the past few days, she knew that she had developed a different feeling for Qin Moyan.
She looked at Qin Moyan, opened her mouth, but the words got stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out.
Qin Moyan thought Ye Xinuo was embarrassed by the sentence, so she picked up a chopstick of noodles, put it in her mouth slowly, and stopped talking.
After finishing eating, Ye Xinuo was driven home by Qin Moyan. Before getting out of the car, she wanted to invite Qin Moyan in for a chat, but the other person happened to answer a phone call. She said goodbye to her with her eyes, and she didn’t want to continue hanging around in someone else’s car, so she got out of the car sulkily.
Ye Xinuo was extremely annoyed when she entered the door. She thought to herself, ‘We’re all adults, what’s the point of having a secret crush? Just say it out loud, and if you get rejected, so be it.’
Although she was building herself up mentally, she also knew that when she saw Qin Moyan again, she would definitely still be a coward.
‘Su Ma?’ Ye Xinuo called out.
In the past, Su Ma would greet her at the door, but what was wrong today?
[Miss, something happened to my grandson. Please take care of yourself tonight.]
After changing into slippers and loungewear, Ye Xinuo saw a note on the table. The handwriting was sloppy, showing that the person had left in a hurry.
She threw the note in the trash can and wanted to go upstairs to take a shower, but she faintly heard a sound from the kitchen.
The closer she got to the kitchen, the more obvious the sound became, which seemed to be the sound of water flowing.
Ye Xinuo’s brows furrowed slightly as she resisted the discomfort and walked to the kitchen door. The faucet was wide open, and water was constantly overflowing from the sink, flooding the kitchen floor.
The drainage problem had been considered during the renovation. The kitchen was much lower than the rest of the house, and the floor drain was working, so the water did not flow into the other rooms.
Just seeing this scene alone, Ye Xinuo already turned pale, unable to move a muscle as she stood there, her hands around her own neck, feeling like she couldn’t catch her breath.
The feeling of drowning and dying came over her again, and Ye Xinuo fell heavily to her knees, her body curled up, her hands and feet twitching uncontrollably.
At this moment, the phone that had been in the pocket of her pajamas rang a tune.
Yu Qing had tried to call several times, but Ye Xinuo had not answered, which made her sense of unease grow stronger.
For some reason, she had always felt a tightness in her chest today, and her eyelids kept twitching. The feeling was exactly the same as the day her mother died.
Han Qiuzi was sitting opposite her, talking about the project, as if nothing had happened. The only thing that worried her was Ye Xinuo.
Yu Qing had called Su Ma and learned that she was not at home. Her expression became even more anxious. She got up and said, ‘I’ll go to Nuo Nuo’s house. We’ll continue the project some other day.’
Han Qiuzi understood Yu Qing and didn’t ask any more. She just said, ‘I’ll drive you there. You’re not in a stable mood, and it’s not safe on the road.’
Yu Qing hesitated for a moment, obediently nodded, and her hands were indeed shaking badly.
When they arrived at Ye Xinuo’s house, Yu Qing directly entered by pressing the code, and shouted a few times, but there was no response in the house.
‘Xinuo is over there!’ Han Qiuzi found Ye Xinuo with his sharp eyes and quickly ran over.
At this time, Ye Xinuo’s suffocation had faded a lot, but her consciousness was still fuzzy, and the memories of her past and present lives were in utter chaos.
***
The smell of disinfectant in her nose made Ye Xinuo’s eyebrows knit.
‘Nono, Nono, can you hear me?’
Yu Qing’s anxious voice drifted to Ye Xinuo’s ears from a distant place.
‘No!’
Ye Xinuo sat up from the hospital bed, covered in sweat.
‘What’s wrong?’ Yu Qing was obviously startled, and after regaining her composure, she said with concern, ‘Are you feeling unwell?’
Ye Xinuo looked at Yu Qing blankly. The news that ‘Qin Moyan died after the brakes failed and he fell off a cliff’ was still ringing in her ears, so her mind was blank and unable to continue functioning.
‘Xinuo, you should get some rest,’ Yu Qing said softly, ‘I’ll keep an eye on things at the company for you.’
‘Qin Moyan, Qin Moyan.‘ Ye Xinuo blinked a few times blankly, her eyes red from the tears, and the misty steam blurred her vision uncontrollably. “She’s dead, how could she be dead?”
’What are you talking about, Nuo Nuo?’ Yu Qing’s knitted brows were no less twisted than Ye Xinuo’s. ’Miss Qin is alive and well, did you have a dream?’
‘Dreaming?’ Ye Xinuo buried her head in her hands and muttered, “It’s not a dream, she’s dead.”
Yu Qing’s eyes also turned red. She had never seen Ye Xinuo like this before. Helplessly, she stroked Ye Xinuo’s back and said softly, ’It’s okay, it’s okay, you just had a nightmare. Miss Qin is alive and well. I’ll call her and have her come over to keep you company, okay?’
‘Mm,‘ Ye Xinuo nodded blankly.
Yu Qing sighed, called Qin Moyan to briefly explain the situation, and then sat down to wait with Ye Xinuo. Thinking about Han Qiuzi’s strange expression when he left after answering a phone call earlier, she couldn’t help but feel a little worried.
Qin Moyan entered the ward, and the first thing she saw was Ye Xinuo’s pale face and red eyes.
’I’m sorry to trouble you, Miss Qin, for coming at this late hour,’ Yu Qing nodded slightly, ‘Nono fainted at home today, probably hit her head, stuck in a dream and couldn’t come out, and kept…kept saying Miss Qin’s name.’
Yu Qing did not tell the complete truth, it would be rude to let others know that Nono kept saying she was dead.
Qin Moyan nodded, walked up to the bed, and before his raised hand touched Ye Xinuo, he was embraced from the waist by the other party.
Ye Xinuo didn’t say a word, just trembling all over, hot tears falling from her eyes like broken threads.
Qin Moyan didn’t rush to ask questions either, patiently helping the person in his arms to follow the back, and looking at Ye Xinuo’s frail body from above.
Yu Qing hadn’t had time to breathe a sigh of relief when the phone rang again, as if joining in the fun. She saw the name on the caller ID and silently stepped back to close the door.
‘Come to my house within half an hour, and I’ll give you a chance to end this relationship.‘
The voice on the other end of the line was the gloomy voice of Ni Anqi.
Yu Qing let out a heavy breath and lowered her voice, “I’m busy right now, I don’t have time—”
’I can send that thing to Han Qiuzi, or I can destroy it,’ Ni Anqi was aggressive, ’it’s up to you.’
Yu Qing’s face, which was full of fatigue, was slightly startled. She looked at the ward door and said with clenched lips, ‘You wait for me.’
‘Half an hour, I won’t wait a second longer.’
As soon as the person on the other end of the phone finished speaking, they hung up.
Yu Qing took a deep breath, patted her face, adjusted her expression, and returned to the room. ‘Ms. Qin, I have something urgent to deal with right now. Could you…could you please take care of Nuo Nuo for me? I’ll try to come back as soon as I can.’
Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan were still in the same position as before.
‘Miss Yu, don’t worry, I’ll stay with her,’ Qin Moyan’s voice seemed to have a calming effect, not only did Yu Qing feel relieved, but Ye Xinuo’s trembling also slightly subsided.
Yu Qing drove very fast the whole way, fortunately, the distance was not far, and when she arrived at the destination sent by Ni Anqi, there were still five minutes left before she had to hang up the phone.
She walked quickly towards the tall iron gate, when a figure suddenly appeared in her way.
Yu Qing’s eyes filled with anger. ‘What do you mean, Mr. Ni? If you have something to say, you can find another time, I don’t have time now.’
‘I just want to say something to you,’ Ni Mingxuan whispered. ‘My sister wasn’t like this before. She was clearly a very warm person, and she always warmed me like the sun. It wasn’t until you appeared that she slowly changed. My sister just wanted you to see her, that’s why she became more and more crazy.’
‘She shouldn’t force her feelings on me, and she shouldn’t hurt the innocent Zizi because of it.’ Yu Qing walked past Ni Mingxuan with a cold expression.
Ni Anqi stood in front of the French windows with a red wine glass in her hand, her back faintly showing a hint of loneliness.
The sound of heels tapping on the marble floor became clearer and clearer. She knew it was that person.
‘What does Miss Ni want?’ Yu Qing’s voice was a little hoarse.
Ni Anqi slowly turned around, a seductive smile on the corner of her mouth, and asked with her head tilted: ‘What is there about me that is inferior to Han Qiuzi? In terms of family background, appearance, and obsession with you, I surpass her in every way. Why, why won’t you even give me a second glance?’
There was no hysteria, but it made people feel even more terrifying.
Yu Qing said sternly, ‘My love for Xiaozi has nothing to do with anything you just said. If I could choose, I wish I had loved you from the beginning, at least she wouldn’t have been hurt. The only thing I’m sorry for is not being able to properly face your feelings and make you develop such a deep obsession.’
Ni Anqi shook her head with a smile, her eyes full of resentment and bitterness, ‘No matter when it is, all you care about is her. Even after breaking up, you refused to be with me. In that case, what’s the point of me keeping this secret? It’s better for us both to end it together.‘
Yu Qing’s face changed, and she said anxiously, “I’ve said it before, you’ve made her life difficult. Even if I lose everything, I will destroy you!”
’Am I afraid?’ Ni Anqi shook her hair, “But then it wouldn’t be any fun.”
Yu Qing’s eyes were about to burst into flames, and she ground her teeth as she said in a single sentence, ’What do you want?’
Ni Anqi looked at the red wine shaking in her hand, and her light voice flowed from her throat, ‘Don’t you care about your dignity the most? How about this, you kneel down and beg me, and I will definitely destroy the tape in my hand.’
Yu Qing closed her eyes and almost without hesitation, she knelt down, her face taut and stiff, ‘Please.’ She had no other choice.
A cold liquid poured down from her head, and she knew it was the red wine in Ni Anqi’s hand.
‘Very good.’ Ni Anqi threw the glass in her hand on the ground, laughing maniacally and clapping her hands. “I, Ni Anqi, never go back on my word. I will definitely destroy the tape in my hands.”
Yu Qing stood up with her head bowed and an expressionless face. She walked to the door and heard the voice behind her say again, ’But you don’t know, do you? Back then, the only other person who knew about it was Tang Jie. I’m afraid he’s already given that thing to your precious baby.’
After a few sharp rises and falls of her chest, she looked back at Ni Anqi. There was a bone-chilling coldness in her eyes that seemed to lower the temperature of the room. Her voice was low: ‘I will make you pay.’
After leaving Ni Anqi’s house, Yu Qing repeatedly dialed Han Qiuzi’s phone number, but all she got was the system busy tone of ‘The user you have dialed is not answering. Please try again later.’
She drove to Han Qiuzi’s house, mumbling under her breath, ‘Please, don’t do anything stupid, please.’
***
Five years ago.
After listening to Han Jingjin’s sarcastic words, Yu Qing just laughed lightly, ‘The moment I was with Xiao Zi, I made up my mind that no matter how difficult it was, I would get the Han family’s approval and spend the rest of my life with her openly and honestly.’
After saying that, she politely bowed and left the Han Building.
What she didn’t expect was that Ni Anqi would later show her a surveillance video that would change Han Qiuzi’s life forever.
The video showed a man pinning a woman down as she desperately struggled, and the content was unbearable to watch.
The people in the video were Han Qiuzi’s father and mother, whom she had never met.
Back then, Han Jingjin had fallen for a young girl from a humble background, and when his relentless pursuit failed, he followed her and committed rape.
Later, the girl’s boyfriend followed Han Jingjin for a long time, and finally got the chance to beat him half to death, which made him infertile. Naturally, Han Jingjin would not let it go, and after much activity, the girl’s boyfriend was sentenced to 35 years in prison.
But the tragedy did not end there. When the Han family heard that the girl was pregnant, they immediately placed her under house arrest until she gave birth to Han Qiuzi.
At that time, the Han family blocked all news, and they never dreamed that a copy of the video would fall into the hands of Ni Anqi’s father and Tang Jie.
Yu Qing only remembers that Han Qiuzi said that her mother divorced her father and left the country after giving birth to her. Based on Ni Anqi’s word alone, it is impossible to judge whether it is true or not. However, the surveillance video is real, and no matter what the truth is, it is an indelible and huge injury to Han Qiuzi.
The thought that Han Qiuzi would always ask her with a downcast expression whether her mother had disowned her since she was a child, and whether she didn’t love her, made Yu Qing feel as if her heart was being strangled by a net.
If only Qiuzi knew…
***
Yu Qing rushed to Han Qiuzi’s residence like she was crazy. Fortunately, there were few cars at night and she didn’t hit any red lights along the way.
When she opened the door and went in, the person inside was fiddling with the projection equipment that had just been delivered, and his face was full of distress.
‘Qing?‘ Han Qiuzi looked up in surprise.
’That’s great,’ Yu Qing suddenly lost her strength, showing a smile of survival, and walked a few steps over to embrace Han Qiuzi tightly, ’no matter what happens, I will be with you.’
Chapter 53
Han Qiuzi took a while to come back to her senses from the sudden hug, and embraced Yu Qing in return, patting her back, ‘What happened?’
Yu Qing stepped back a little, supporting Han Qiuzi’s nape with one hand while running her other hand over the slightly tired face. The strong love in her eyes was no longer concealed, ‘Zi, I love you, and it’s never changed. No matter what terrible things happen, I’ll be there for you from now on, okay?’
Han Qiuzi’s heart was pounding, but her body could not respond for a long time. She could not help feeling a little sour. She had been waiting for so long to hear those words, but she heard them just when she was not sure if she could give the other person happiness.
She stood there for a while, before noticing Yu Qing’s unusual appearance. Her brows were knitted together, and she was nervous. ‘Why are you in such a sorry state? Has someone bullied you?’
Yu Qing’s hair and face had traces of dried red liquid, and now that her heart had settled, she noticed the discomfort.
‘No one bullied me.’ Yu Qing’s slightly cold fingertips gently caressed Han Qiuzi’s earlobe, and her tone was full of coquettishness: ‘Will you wash it off for me?’
She needed some more time to think about how to tell Han Qiuzi all this.
‘Okay,’ Han Qiuzi reflexively agreed, and just seeing such a gentle lover was enough to make her forget everything.
Yu Qing pushed Han Qiuzi to the stairs and said, ’Go get me a nightgown, I’ll go change my shoes.’
Han Qiuzi’s breathing stopped for a moment, and then she became a little disoriented, and her hands unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes. ‘Aren’t you leaving tonight?’
Yu Qing rubbed the hair on the back of Han Qiuzi’s head and deliberately lengthened her intonation: ‘It’s so late, do you still want me to go home alone?’
‘Oh.’ Han Qiuzi lowered her head, her mouth slightly curled up, with a kind of shyness of staying with her lover for the first time at home overnight.
Yu Qing hid the pain in her eyes, changed her slippers, and glanced around the living room. There was a video tape on the marble coffee table, and next to it was an open kraft paper bag. A cursory glance revealed that there was no writing on it.
Soon, Han Qiuzi took a white suede dressing gown from the closet and stood by the railing on the second floor, calling down to the people below, ‘I’ll put your laundry for you on the bathroom shelf, so you can wash it in my room’s bathroom, okay?’
‘Coming.‘ Yu Qing responded, coming upstairs and trapping Han Qiuzi in the bathroom.
’I still have some things to take care of, so blow-dry your hair after you’re done.’ Han Qiuzi thought Yu Qing was joking, and remembering the videotape downstairs, hurried downstairs to find out what was on it.
But just as she passed Yu Qing, she was embraced from behind, and heard intermittent hot breath in her ear, ’What’s so urgent? Is it more important than me?’
Han Qiuzi trembled, and the heat spread from her lower abdomen throughout her body. She couldn’t help but lean back, pressing even more closely against the person behind her.
“At that time, Tang Jie handed me a video tape and said he would give me the whole night to think about whether or not to trade the shares of Leatop Express for him. I don’t know what he was thinking.’
Yu Qing’s eyes became very sinister, and she held Han Qiuzi tightly in her arms, took the other person’s small earlobe in her mouth, nibbled on it lightly, and her voice was full of a bewitching magic, ‘It’s still early until dawn, first bathe with me, hmm?’
‘Hmm.’ Han Qiuzi’s voice trembled slightly, and his body also instantly became limp, almost unable to stand steadily. Very easily, he removed his loungewear with Yu Qing’s help.
Yu Qing was distracted and left Han Qiuzi in the bathroom just to buy some time. Although the two of them rubbed their ears together under the warm water of the shower, they did not have any further physical intimacy.
After blowing her hair, he put his arms around her waist and focused his serious eyes on her frowning face. ‘Can you tell me what’s going on? You don’t look well.’
Yu Qing knew that what was to come could not be avoided, so she let out a heavy sigh. She cupped Han Qiuzi’s face in her hands, pressed her forehead against hers, and said in the gentlest voice she could muster, ‘Qiuzi, I know what’s on that video tape, but I’m afraid that if you watch it, it will be too much of a shock. Promise me that you won’t forget that you still have me, and that I’ll be there for you.’
Han Qiuzi’s eyes grew wider with confusion and unease, but she obediently nodded.
***
After an incredibly confusing memory, Ye Xinuo’s mind was clearer than before. Some small fragments that had been forgotten in the previous life were also slowly found again.
Even though the incidence of traffic accidents was high, the deaths of Xu Xiao and Qin Moyan were too coincidental.
Ye Xinuo remembered that in the previous life, he had accidentally heard Xu Xiao on the phone, saying that he could not give up, and that he was just a little short. Before he could figure out who Xu Xiao was calling, he collided with a large truck and died. Although Ye Xinuo had suspected Xu Xiao at the time because of the few words he had said, a careful investigation later confirmed that he had not done anything to harm Ye Xinuo.
From the few experiences of riding in Qin Moyan’s car, he could feel that she was a very steady driver, and she would always check everything after starting up. How could someone like this drive a car with a broken brake up a mountain road?
If the reason could be figured out, could it change their fate and save them?
Ye Xinuo hoped so.
‘Are you feeling better, Xinuo?‘
At first, when she heard Qin Moyan’s voice ringing above her, the person who had been lost in thought was startled and only then realised that she was sobbing and sniffling in someone else’s arms.
’Cough, cough, cough,’ Ye Xinuo cleared her throat, which was not working very well, and sheepishly withdrew her arm. She lay back on the bed, closed her eyes, and tried to pretend that she had just been sleepwalking.
‘Don’t pretend to be asleep. Are you feeling unwell?‘ Seeing this, Qin Moyan didn’t ask any more questions, but was only concerned about Ye Xinuo’s health.
’It’s fine,’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes narrowed a slit, and he said apologetically, ’Why are you here?’
Qin Moyan: ‘Miss Yu found you collapsed at home and kept calling my name after she brought you to the hospital.’
‘Hmmm…’ Ye Xinuo tried to make up a dream, but couldn’t think of one, so he just said in a dazed manner, ‘I had a nightmare, I can’t remember exactly, but you were in it anyway, I think it’s a bad omen. You should be careful when you go out in the future, check to see if the brakes are working, if the oil tank is leaking, and so on, maybe you can avoid disaster and misfortune.’
‘You opened my third eye for me, do I need to pay you?‘ Qin Moyan said, while taking the wet wipes on the bedside table to clean the tears on Ye Xinruo’s face.
’I’m a generous person, I don’t need any payment, just don’t ask me to reimburse the gas money you used.’ Ye Xinruo took the wet wipes from Qin Moyan’s hands, acting as if nothing had happened, but in fact feeling that he had lost face.
Just as they were talking, a chubby doctor with an intern pushed the door open.
‘You’re so young, how come you’re back in here so soon?‘
Ye Xinuo scratches his head and asks in return, “I’d like to know that too, why am I back in here?”
The fat doctor replies helplessly, “You’re experiencing a shock response due to stress.”
’Well… I feel pretty good now, so can I go home?’ Ye Xinuo blinks.
Fat doctor: ’It’s not a serious problem, but I need to know the reason for these symptoms in you.’
Ye Xinuo said half-truthfully, ‘I’ve drowned before, so when I got home and saw that the water in the sink at home was still bubbling, I felt faint.’
‘Hm.’
The fat doctor told the intern to write it down in the medical records, and then said to Qin Moyan, ‘You can take your girlfriend home.’
‘Haha, doctor, you sure know how to joke,’ Ye Xinuo’s eyebrows instantly turned into a figure eight, ‘what girlfriend? !
In fact, she thought to herself, ‘Doctor, what a mouthful of nonsense. Do I look like I was born to be with Qin Moyan?’
‘Don’t be nervous, I’m very progressive in my thinking,’ the fat doctor said with a ‘I understand’ expression. ‘This lady brought you here last time, and you were just holding her waist, not letting go. It’s obvious you’re a couple.’
Qin Moyan didn’t give them the chance to continue talking about this topic, and asked, ‘Doctor, does the patient need a follow-up appointment? Also, do you need to prescribe any medicine for her to take back home?’
‘No, she hasn’t been in a coma for long, just like she’s had a nap.’ The fat doctor put on a stern face again, “Once she wakes up, go home quickly, don’t occupy medical resources.”
Qin Moyan took out his phone and sent a message to Yu Qing, then took the overcoat off the hanger and draped it over Ye Xinruo. ’I’ve already spoken to Miss Yu, I’ll take you home now.’
‘Oh.’ Ye Xinuo suddenly had a childish temper and, without waiting for Qin Moyan to get dressed, quickly walked out the door.
Qin Moyan just thought that Ye Xinuo was embarrassed because she had been seen crying and quietly followed behind her.
When they were about to leave the gate, Ye Xinuo suddenly turned around again, “Where did you park the car—”
Before she could finish the sentence, a magnified face suddenly appeared in front of her.
Qin Moyan stopped in time, took a step back, and said softly, ‘Follow me.’
Then she walked around the person in front of her and continued walking towards the door.
Ye Xinuo followed Qin Moyan without saying a word, and kept thinking to herself, ‘People say I look like your girlfriend, but you didn’t react at all. We almost bumped into each other just now, and you still didn’t react at all. Do I really look that unruffled to you? Although you died young in your previous life, if you obediently stay under my watchful eye in this life, I will still show mercy and protect you well.‘
’Ouch!’ The absent-minded person was caught off guard and bumped into a hard back of the head.
Qin Moyan pointed at the car in front of him and said in a flat tone, “We’re here.”
After getting in the car, Ye Xinuo covered her nose and puffed up her cheeks, saying, ’Your back of the head hit my nose.’
‘It was your nose that hit me,’ Qin Moyan said, buckling his seat belt while pointing at Ye Xinuo’s. “Besides, you’ve hit my nose before, so we’re even.”
Ye Xinuo fastened her seat belt, her eyes darting around, not expecting this old fox to bear a grudge and be so petty.
The car started, the lights gradually dimming, and the person in the driver’s seat sat upright. In the darkness, a blush crept up her ears.
When they arrived at the door, Ye Xinru was hesitant for a long time before getting out of the car. She looked outside and licked her lips a few times before poking Qin Moyan’s arm and hesitantly saying, ‘Can you go in first and check if the kitchen faucet is turned off?’
Qin Moyan: ‘Okay.’
As soon as the fire was extinguished, Ye Xinru reported a string of numbers, not forgetting to explain, ‘This is the code for my house lock.’
Qin Moyan stared at her for a few seconds, and then slowly said, ‘Actually, you could have opened the door and stood there waiting for me, and you didn’t need to tell me the password.’
Chapter 54
’Actually, you could have opened the door and stood there waiting for me, and you didn’t need to tell me the password.”
Ye Xinuo heard this sentence, and before she could spit blood, she was stabbed again. ’Remember to change the password. If any important documents are missing, don’t try to blame it on me.’
‘Am I that kind of person?’ Ye Xinu roared in her heart, and then answered silently, “It seems so.”
But that was an idea that would only appear before she stopped acting recklessly.
Qin Moyan opened the door, got out of the car, and entered the house to check. The kitchen faucet was indeed still running. Because the sink was a distance away from the door, she had to roll up her pant legs and go in barefoot to turn off the faucet. Although the room temperature was not low, she still couldn’t help shivering when her feet were immersed in water.
‘The water is turned off,‘ Qin Moyan walked to the door and saw Ye Xinuo staring blankly.
’Huh? Oh. Thanks,’ Ye Xinuo snapped back to reality, noticing that Qin Moyan was a little shivering, so he closed the door, pulled Qin Moyan onto the sofa, and turned back to say, “You sit here for a while, I’ll bring you a basin of hot water to soak your feet.”
The sound of water came from the bathroom, and soon, Ye Xinuo pushed a wooden foot bath tub out from inside.
‘You must have just filled it with water, right? Quickly soak your feet to get rid of the cold.‘
Qin Moyan froze for a moment, shook his head and said, “No need, I’ll do it when I get home—”
’I knew you were embarrassed, so I’ll just have to do it for you. Didn’t you say your legs and feet were cold?‘ Ye Xinuo said, and made a move to help Qin Moyan take off his shoes.
’Okay, okay, I’ll do it myself,’ Qin Moyan compromised, ’Just don’t look at me.’
Ye Xinuo straightened up and laughed teasingly, ‘You’ve pulled up your pants in front of me, so what’s there to be embarrassed about soaking your feet?’
Qin Moyan thought about it for a moment and replied very seriously, ‘Didn’t they say that in ancient times, if you saw a woman’s feet, you had to marry her?’
A blush immediately spread across Ye Xinuo’s face behind her ears, ‘It’s the 21st century, there’s no need for all that, and besides, I’m not a man.’
As she said the latter part, her voice grew smaller and smaller. Didn’t she have that kind of thought?
‘Xinuo always says I don’t understand humour. I was joking,’ Qin Moyan’s face was serious, and most people really couldn’t tell when she was joking.
Ye Xinuo had to re-examine this person Qin Moyan, and simply couldn’t tell when she was actually talking nonsense seriously.
Ten minutes later, Qin Moyan wiped her feet with the clean towel Ye Xinuo had brought and put her shoes and socks back on.
‘It’s late, you should be careful on the road.’ Ye Xinuo wanted to ask Qin Moyan to stay, but then felt that it was rude, so he changed his words before they came out of his mouth.
‘Well, it’s late, Xinuo isn’t going to let me stay the night?’ Qin Moyan asked this question very naturally.
Instead, Ye Xinuo, the host, seemed to have something stuck in her throat, coughing until her face turned red. The word ‘overnight’ really made her daydream.
Ye Xinuo licked her dry lips, rubbed the hem of her pants with her thumb and forefinger, and pretended to say casually, ‘I was afraid that you wouldn’t be used to living in someone else’s house, so this is perfect. Driving at night is not safe. I’ll take you to the guest room upstairs. I have new clothes for you to change into. We have similar figures anyway.’
‘Similar?‘ Qin Moyan lowered her head to look at her breasts, “Xi-nu is flattering me.”
Ye Xinuo blushed and said annoyed, “The bra won’t stink if I don’t change it every day!” She was a little suspicious that Qin Moyan was deliberately saying strange things, but the other person’s expression was extremely serious, and there was no flaw to be seen.
’It’s late at night.’ Qin Moyan stared at Ye Xinuo without blinking, as if to say, ’Take me to bed quickly.’
Ye Xinruo resisted the urge to lead the person directly to her room, and took the person to the guest room on the third floor, finding her clean clothes and freshly opened towels.
As night fell, lying in bed, Ye Xinruo tossed and turned, unable to sleep for a long time.
Her thoughts could not help but drift to Qin Moyan.
‘I don’t know if an old-fashioned person like Qin Moyan can accept same-sex relationships. Although she has pretended a few times, it’s not real in her heart after all. What if she knows that I have other thoughts about her and distances herself from me? I still have to remind her to be careful of people plotting against her.‘
’Today, I saw her react so naturally, I’m afraid she didn’t think about it at all.‘
’So annoying!’
Ye Xinuo muttered to herself as she tugged at her hair and rolled around on the bed.
The next day, Ye Xinuo was woken up by the smell of food.
Qin Moyan was wearing a sweater that Ye Xinuo had bought for her, which fit her perfectly, with the sleeves rolled up above her wrists, revealing a section of pale arm, which looked even more attractive to Ye Xinuo than the fried egg and toast next to her.
‘You’re awake?‘ Qin Moyan looked up and explained, “There shouldn’t be any breakfast shops nearby, so I borrowed the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind. I’ve already cleaned up the water in the sink, but I’ll need to call someone to come clean up the soaked things.”
’Thanks,’ Ye Xinuo realised that she hadn’t brushed her teeth yet and quickly covered her mouth, “I’ll go wash up.”
Qin Moyan set the table and went to the kitchen to make two cups of coffee, and Ye Xinuo finished washing up and took her seat at the table.
Looking at the toasted bread, which was perfectly cooked and had an attractive colour, Ye Xinuo swallowed. ‘I didn’t realise you could cook.’
In her heart, Qin Moyan’s previous image had nothing to do with the culinary arts.
‘What image do I have in your heart?’ Qin Moyan felt a little amused for a moment, her mouth curling up in anticipation of the other person’s answer.
‘The image of a professional investor who is tall and imposing,’ Ye Xinuo lowered her head sheepishly.
‘Eat up.‘ Qin Moyan didn’t argue with her and lowered her head to focus on her food.
After eating for a while, Ye Xinuo chimed in again, “I see that you don’t eat much meat either. The first time you emphasized that you were a vegetarian, were you teasing me?”
’I was just telling you my preferences,’ Qin Moyan stopped what she was doing and looked intently at Ye Xinuo, ’and my allergic foods.’
Ye Xinruo’s heart began to throb violently again, but he couldn’t help reminding him, ‘But clams are also seafood.’
‘Right, I forgot.’ Qin Moyan’s pupils slowly dilated, ‘Then the doctor lied to me.’
Ye Xinruo: ‘…Is this person a clown sent by the monkey? But…why does it seem like I’m even more tempted?
Qin Moyan took a tissue and wiped the remnants around Ye Xinuo’s mouth, ‘Eat quickly, I’ll leave after collecting the tableware.’
Ye Xinuo floated and finished his breakfast, unable to help but recall, was this guy this flirtatious in his previous life? Definitely not, otherwise he would have long since given up on revenge and thrown himself into the arms of the enemy.
***
Han Qiuzi did not collapse as expected after learning the truth, but was unusually calm. That state of mind made Yu Qing feel scared.
‘This video is worth a Litong Express delivery.’
After a long silence, Han Qiuzi spoke in a wooden voice.
‘Zizi, if you’re feeling difficult, just let it out, don’t hold it in.’ Yu Qing knew that she could not share Han Qiuzi’s pain at the moment, but she could not just stand there and do nothing.
Han Qiuzi leaned her head on Yu Qing’s shoulder, her voice very tired, ‘If it were five years ago, I would probably have broken down, hated my own birth, and escaped from the world, but I can’t do that now. If this tape sees the light of day, not only will the Han family be finished, but the entire financial market in Hucheng will be finished as well. Tang Jie will use this as leverage, knowing that I won’t refuse. This is good. Cutting off a third of the business solves at least one problem.’
She would not question Tang Jie’s sincerity in keeping his promise. As businessmen know, a killer move can only be effective once. Touching the other party’s bottom line will only end in mutual destruction and no one will be happy.
‘No matter what you want to do, I will support you.’ Yu Qing’s heart ached even more as she looked at her. She clearly knew how important pride was to Han Qiuzi’s heart. To say such words so calmly was the result of swallowing all the injustice and grievances.
‘Mummy must really hate him,’ Han Qiuzi’s voice was still lifeless. “But I can’t send him to jail on such a charge. Grandpa has entrusted me with the honour and disgrace of the Han family and the rise and fall of the company. So many people depend on the Han family for their livelihood, and I can’t let this castle collapse. I feel so sorry for her. My birth was already a humiliation for her, and now I can’t even do her justice.”
As she said this, her tears rolled out one after the other, and her body trembled more and more violently.
‘It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault,‘ Yu Qing hugged Han Qiuzi’s thin shoulders tightly, “don’t think like that.”
’I will go find him and ask him what really happened, and then send him to prison for the crime of corruption. He should atone for this for the rest of his life! But I’m really useless. I want to say I’m sorry, but I can’t find anyone to listen.’ Han Qiuzi curled up in Yu Qing’s arms and could not stop sobbing.
‘You’ve done a good job, really.’ Yu Qing kept stroking Han Qiuzi’s back with her hand, trying her best to calm her down.
A resolute look appeared in Yu Qing’s eyes. Han Qiuzi’s family affairs would not be her concern, but she would definitely make those people who used this as a bargaining chip pay the price they deserved.
***
One week later.
Yu Qing knocked on the door and walked into Ye Xinuo’s office. The corner of her mouth couldn’t help but rise, and she said with confidence, ’Everything is ready, we just need the right conditions.’
‘You seem in a good mood, Yu Qing?‘ Ye Xinuo’s eyebrows lifted slightly. The other day, Yu Qing was surrounded by a low-pressure atmosphere, and today it was rare to see her smile.
Yu Qing’s expression was pleasant, “A happy person is full of energy.”
’Happy event?‘ Ye Xinuo pondered for a moment, “Could it be that you are talking about blowing the east wind?”
’Mm-hm,’ Yu Qing raised an eyebrow.
‘Xu Xiao has been feeling very depressed lately, and Julie and Vivian have also been bullied by the gang in the secretary’s office. It’s time for us to get our revenge.‘ Ye Xinuo twirled his pen in a good mood, but as a result, his hand slipped and it flew straight out.
’…’ Yu Qing walked over and bent down to pick up the pen, and said without mercy, ’Xinuo, you’d better change to an expression of a successful plot. It’s quite tiring to have to pick up your pen every time.’
Ye Xinruo stood up with a blush on her face and said, ‘It’s time for dinner, let’s go out to eat.’
Yu Qing noticed the time only then, and quicker than Ye Xinuo, she opened the door first, and left behind the words, ‘I have an appointment, you eat by yourself.’
And she left without a trace.
‘What kind of person is that! Doesn’t she know that I’m lonely and isolated?’ Ye Xinuo muttered as she walked out of the office, scanning the sparse employees of Yun Tai Studio sitting at their workstations eating takeaway, her stomach grumbling unpleasantly.
She pursed her lips, thinking about the hygiene conditions of the takeaway food, and decided that she might as well make do with a piece of bread. So she planned to go downstairs and buy a piece of bread to satisfy her hunger.
As Ye Xinuo was about to leave the office, she heard her phone ring. She answered it and heard the elegant voice of Qin Moyan.
‘Xinuo, have you eaten yet?’
‘Not yet.’ Ye Xinuo’s heart skipped a few beats, ready to go. She knew that if he was calling at this hour, it must be to ask her out to dinner.
Qin Moyan said, ‘I was going to ask you about something, but since you haven’t eaten yet, give me a call after you’ve finished eating.’
Ye Xinuo’s smile gradually faded, and she answered emotionlessly, ‘Oh.’
Qin Moyan’s laughter came over the phone, ‘Xinuo, look up.’
Ye Xinuo looked up as she was told, and at a glance she saw Qin Moyan standing in the middle of the hurried passers-by, smiling brightly as she held up her phone in the golden sunlight.
Chapter 55
Like a movie scene, all the pedestrians on the road became black and white in Ye Xinuo’s eyes, and only Qin Moyan’s figure was a bright spot of colour.
Zhang Ailing’s words ‘There are millions of people in this world, and you will eventually meet the person you want to meet. It’s not a step too early, not a step too late, you just happen to catch up. There is nothing else to say, except to say softly, “Oh, so you’re here too?”’ suddenly popped into Ye Xinuo’s mind.
So she walked over very pretentiously, smiling lightly, ‘What a coincidence, so you’re here too.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Unfortunately, I just spoke to Miss Yu on the phone.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…When I was young and watching idol dramas, people always said, ’Unfortunately, I was waiting for you.
Sure enough, idol dramas are idol dramas!
‘Be careful!‘ Qin Moyan wrapped his arm around Ye Xinuo’s shoulders and brought her into his arms.
A boy on a skateboard brushed past where Ye Xinuo had just been, turned back, hooked his feet, and the skateboard landed firmly in his hands.
Ye Xinuo unconsciously climbed her hands around Qin Moyan’s waist, immersed in the other person’s breath.
’Sister, you look really good, add me as a friend?’
The boy holding the skateboard had a buzz cut and a handsome face, which was exactly what the saying ‘a bald head is the only criterion for judging a handsome guy’ meant.
It could also be read between the lines that he was also a veteran user of the Xmate app. As the app was an English name with many pronunciations, the first users localised it as ‘Mitt Chat’ during communication, and Ye Sheng’s development team then developed the social platform ‘Mitt Weibo’ based on it.
Qin Moyan ignored the other person’s cheeky pick-up line and said coldly, ‘This is a crowded sidewalk, not a place for you to skateboard. If you hurt someone, you need to pay for the medical expenses.’
The man with the crew cut frowned and said, ‘Come on, auntie, I didn’t ask for your contact information. We young people are communicating, what are you meddling in!’
When he heard the word ‘auntie’, Ye Xinuo clearly felt Qin Moyan’s breath become several degrees colder, and he thought to himself, ‘So the old fox also cares about age.’
The short-haired man saw that Ye Xinuo hadn’t responded for a long time, and he wouldn’t give up. He said, ‘Pretty sister, just give me your contact information! I have a rich family!’
‘You have a rich family?’ Ye Xinuo turned her head and looked at the short-haired man with a smile, ‘Do you know whose software Xmate is?’
‘Huh?’ The man with the short haircut seemed to have no idea why the girl in front of him was asking such a question, and shook his head confusedly. “Wait a minute, let me check.”
With that, he quickly typed a line of words on the touchscreen phone with one hand, and after a few seconds replied, “It’s owned by the Ye Sheng Group.”
Ye Xinuo continued to ask with a smile, ’Guess what my surname is?’
The man with the short haircut gave a charming smile that was bursting with testosterone. ‘You must be surnamed Fu, right? Even if you’re not surnamed Fu now, you will be in the future. Because you’ve met me.’
Ye Xinuo couldn’t hold back the expression on her face and burst out laughing. What kind of corny, cliché romantic line is this!
‘You look even more beautiful when you smile,’ the man with the short haircut thought that the other person was flattered by his romantic line and was a little smug.
Ye Xinru finally managed to stop laughing and said, ‘I, for one, don’t want to hurt a minor, but if you haven’t even grown your hair, don’t try to flirt with girls, okay? Children should respect their elders. Since you called this lady auntie, you have to call me little auntie. I don’t like cross-generation romances. And, when I let you guess my surname, I wanted to tell you that my surname is Ye, and Ye Sheng Group is my family’s. So, I’m not interested in your family’s mine. You almost ran into me, so don’t bother apologising. Don’t block the way to the table for the aunts. Bye~”
After listening to the other person’s long speech, Ban Cunnan couldn’t fully digest it, but he heard the main point: he was being rejected.
So, this middle-school-aged boy put his skateboard on his shoulders, raised his arms, and pointed his index finger at the person in front of him, “In five years, I will have grown into a man that will make you regret it!”
After saying that, he threw the skateboard on the ground and left like the wind.
‘Hahahaha,‘ Ye Xinuo laughed until he hiccupped, “kids these days are so funny.”
Qin Moyan’s face was set in stern resolve, and it took him a long time to spit out the words, “Do I look like an aunt to you?”
’No, you don’t. You look in your early twenties.’ Ye Xinuo immediately became a toady, shaking his head like a rattle.
Qin Moyan didn’t seem to want to dwell on the issue, but instead screwed up his brows and asked, ’Why did he guess your surname was Fu?’
Ye Xinu suppressed a smile and her eyes were clear, ‘Because you will be happy when you meet me.’
Qin Moyan’s pupils twitched slightly, and then she nodded with a sudden realization, exclaiming sincerely, ‘It’s really hard to understand what you young people say.’
Before Ye Xinu could laugh at her, another sentence sounded in her ear, ‘So when are you going to let go of me?’
‘What?’ Ye Xinu’s brain rebooted for a moment before she realized that she was still hugging Qin Moyan’s waist.
’…’
‘Ah! Hmm!‘ Ye Xinuo quickly took two steps back, her eyes wandering, “I forgot.”
’Let’s go eat,‘ Qin Moyan said, taking the lead and walking away.
’Wait for me!’ Ye Xinuo looked at the eight-centimeter heels in front of her and the shoes on her feet without heels, cursing the unfairness of the world in her heart. How could there be such a big difference between them, even though they were both human?
At that moment, ‘bang’, a human-shaped sign on the street was blown over by the wind. Ye Xinuo was scared and quickly said to herself, ‘I’m sorry, God! Qin Moyan is the chosen one, I’m not worthy to compete with her!’
The next second, a coin rolled to her feet.
Ye Xinuo: ‘… Sure enough, there’s something in it for following the chosen one.
’My coin!’ A little girl about six or seven years old came running over.
Ye Xinuo bent down to pick up the coin and handed it to the little girl, receiving a sweet smile in return.
The little girl showed her two missing teeth and took out a lollipop from her pocket and handed it to the pretty girl in front of her, ‘Thank you, sister, here.’
Ye Xinuo took the candy from the little girl’s hand and politely replied, ‘Thank you.’
Looking at the slender back as she ran away, she always felt that this scene was familiar, as if she had also given something to a girl when she was little.
Ye Xinuo shook her head, not intending to waste brain cells on such trivial matters.
‘What’s wrong?’ Qin Moyan walked for a while and found that the person had not followed, so he turned back to find her.
‘It’s nothing, I just helped a little girl pick up a coin, and this is her thank you gift.’ Ye Xinuo held the lollipop up to her chest, ‘It’s for you.’
Qin Moyan took the lollipop and put it in his overcoat pocket, his expression unchanged. ‘I’d be happier if you gave me money.’
After saying this, he took Ye Xinuo’s wrist and dragged the person along at a fast pace, ‘My time is precious, I have an appointment at two o’clock, you need to hurry.’
‘Oh.’ Ye Xinuo looked at the other person’s slightly stiff hand, and couldn’t help but fantasise in her heart, would Qin Moyan also have a little different kind of thought for her?
Qin Moyan didn’t lie, she did have a hurry, so she took Ye Xinuo to a fast food restaurant and finished lunch in half an hour.
‘You’re leaving?‘ When they reached the door, Ye Xinru’s tone betrayed her reluctance.
Qin Moyan then said slowly, “I asked Miss Yu if you had any plans in the afternoon. Come with me to meet someone.”
’Who?’ Ye Xinru’s tone suddenly lightened again, “Why didn’t you tell me in advance?”
Qin Moyan: ’I don’t think Xinru knows your schedule as well as Miss Yu.’
Ye Xinuo stuck out her tongue. That was indeed the truth.
‘It’s nearby, let’s walk there and use it as a post-meal snack,’ said Qin Moyan, before putting his hands in his pockets and walking on.
Ye Xinuo stared at the other person’s pockets for a while, then shrugged, realising that Qin Moyan had really just grabbed her wrist because he was in a hurry.
Qin Moyan used the time on the way to give Ye Xinuo a brief introduction to the person they were meeting.
Lin Xiwu, the president of Yunhai Bank, is divorced with one son. This meeting is mainly about her son’s affairs.
After a fifteen-minute walk, the two arrived at a café called ‘Moonlight’.
Unlike Starbucks and Costa, which are very popular, this café has small private rooms, which are perfect for talking about things.
However, as soon as they entered the room, a face appeared that was not familiar but had just been seen.
Qin Moyan suppressed the surprise on her face and extended her hand to say hello: ‘President Lin, it’s been a long time.’
The other person lightly shook Qin Moyan’s hand, smiled, and nodded: ‘Miss Qin.’
The woman called President Lin looked to be in her early forties, with a good appearance and temperament, and it was hard to imagine that she was already the mother of such a big son.
The boy next to Lin Xiwei’s face became not very good-looking, and in Ye Xinuo’s words, his face turned green with fear.
Qin Moyan acted as if she was seeing the man with the short haircut for the first time. When her gaze fell on him, she politely said, ‘This must be the son of the bank president. He is indeed well-dressed and has an extraordinary bearing.’
‘You are too kind, Miss Qin,’ Lin Xiyi smiled, ‘If I couldn’t control him, I wouldn’t have the face to ask for your help.’
Qin Moyan said gently, ‘You are too kind. I am just a matchmaker. If I am to help, it is because of the CEO next to me.’
Ye Xinru’s eyebrows and eyes were smiling, and she took the initiative to come forward and extend a hand, ‘I am Ye Xinru from Ye Sheng Group. I have heard a lot about President Lin, and this is the first time I have seen such a beautiful female president.’
‘President Ye is too polite,’ Lin Xi smiled politely and shook hands with Ye Xinru.
Then she turned to the person beside her and said sternly, ‘Xiao Cheng, come over and say hello to the two sisters.’
The boy with the short haircut reluctantly said, ‘Hello, Ye sister and Qin sister, my name is Lin Cheng.’
‘You two must be laughing. Lin Cheng just turned 18 this year and is still a bit rebellious,’ Lin Xiwu backed up a little, ‘Don’t just stand there, let’s sit down and talk.’
Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow. So he’s all grown up. He’s got a baby face. Maybe this little boy will still look like this when he’s 40.
‘Do I look good?’ Qin Moyan whispered in Ye Xinuo’s ear. ’Even if she’s an adult, you’re still an old man eating young grass.’
Chapter 56
‘You’re not jealous, are you?’ Ye Xinuo whispered back half-jokingly.
Before Qin Moyan could reply, Lin Xiwu laughed lightly, ‘You two have a great relationship, it’s enviable.’ She meant it sincerely. Although the relationship between the two in front of her was not the mainstream in society, the tacit understanding between them made outsiders feel that they were meant to be a natural pair.
Of course, the main reason they knew they were a couple was because of the financial news from a while ago.
This bank president sister has such good taste.
Ye Xinru thought to herself, but on her face she shook her head and smiled, feeling quite helpless. ‘We don’t usually have much time together, and if it weren’t for this opportunity with you, we wouldn’t necessarily be able to meet up. I have to thank President Lin.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes twitched slightly, and she couldn’t help but secretly sigh that the acting skills and ability to flatter of this person next to her seemed to have risen another level.
Lin Xixi pursed her lips, unable to hide her smile. ‘I dare not take the credit. The reason I asked Xiaoqin out today was to ask her to introduce me to someone. I never thought she would bring someone here before I even opened my mouth.’
Ye Xinuo’s gaze was sincere. ‘I don’t know what kind of trouble you’re in, President Lin. Can I help in any way?’
Lin Xixi: ‘My little town is a junior this year. He really likes games, and especially admires that hacker called Woody.’
Hearing this, Ye Xinuo basically understood Lin Xiwu’s main point today, and smiled, ‘Only 18 years old and already a junior, Lin Cheng must have a very high IQ.’ After praising him, he added, ‘Since the child has a favorite goal, how about he first comes to Ye Sheng’s game department for an internship for a while? It will be a good opportunity to get up close and personal with the great god Woody.’
Lin Xiwu was naturally very satisfied with this answer, and kept smiling. Lin Cheng, who was standing next to her, however, let his face drop.
‘I can rely on my own strength to do what I like, and I don’t need you to open the back door for me.”
This time, before Lin Xiwu could say anything, Ye Xinuo looked at the rebellious teenager in front of him with the kind gaze of an elder, ’Lin, it’s good that you want to support yourself, but do you know that Ye Sheng’s game department internship qualification will only be issued to people with a master’s degree? If the academic qualifications are not up to par, then at least you have to have more than two years of work experience in a top domestic game company. Think about it, by the time you finish your master’s degree, it will be at least three to four years, and by then Woody will be old.‘
Qin Moyan listened to the first half of Ye Xinuo’s words, thinking that the other person was going to say something like chicken soup for the soul, but the last sentence almost made her choke on her coffee.
Ye Xinuo continued to persuade her gently, “I have met Woody in person, and she is truly beautiful, beyond compare, and words like ”fish in a net’ and ‘moon in shame’ are not enough to describe her beauty. But in three or four years, time will take its toll, the法令纹 will appear, the freckles will come out, and the programmer’s hair will fall out. You should think about it carefully: should you go through with this or not?”
Qin Moyan scratched his nose, but in fact it was because he was holding back laughter and wanted to divert his attention.
At that moment, Ning Han, who was testing the game in the office, sneezed uncontrollably, which attracted Qi Jing from the office, who gave her a large pack of cold medicine.
Lin Xiwu was originally worried that her son would offend the other person, but Lin Cheng, after listening to the words, considered them for a while, and for the first time in history, agreed, ‘Ye sister, you are right. I should see the goddess in full bloom before it’s too late.’
‘Young people have insight!’ Ye Xinuo winked, in a very middle school way, put his index finger and middle finger together, placed them in front of his forehead, and waved them lightly, ‘Congratulations on joining Ye Sheng!’
Lin Cheng was very taken with this, and did the same thing, saying, ‘I won’t let my sister down!’
After ending this topic, Lin Xiwei said to her son, ‘Cheng, do you still have class this afternoon? You should go back to school first. Be careful on the way.’
‘Bye, Mom.’ Lin Cheng looked at Lin Xiwei with a somewhat stiff face, but when he turned his head to say goodbye to Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan, he was much more natural, ‘Bye, Ye Xiejie and Qin Xiejie.’
Lin Xi smiled as she watched her son go, and said with appreciation, ‘Ms Ye is very impressive. Lin Cheng and I have a bit of a strained relationship. I’ve been trying to help him with things, but I can’t seem to get it right. I was worried that he would mess up again today.’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘Children will rebel at this age. I didn’t understand things at my age either, and I always fought with my dad. You just have to go with the flow with these rebellious teenagers.’
Lin Xixi: ‘Listening to General Ye’s insights, it seems that he knows better than I, as a mother, how to get along with children.’
Ye Xinuo waved his hands, ‘I just had some strange…ahem…eccentric classmates when I was in college, so it was kind of a stroke of luck.’
The three of them chatted for a while before they dispersed.
On the way back, Qin Moyan’s voice was gentle, ‘Xinuo is very good at making young boys happy.’
“Making him happy?’ Ye Xinuo was flabbergasted, ‘I was just trying to please his mother. The president of Yunhai Bank is a big shot!’
‘You’re right to be blunt,’ Qin Moyan was amused by Ye Xinuo’s ‘shrewd businessman’ appearance.
Ye Xinuo said happily, ‘Anyway, I owe you a personal favour this time. If you haven’t thought about it yet, just—’
‘I want to invest in Yunlai,’ Qin Moyan answered quickly.
‘But I can’t actually guarantee that I’ll make a lot of money in the future…‘ Ye Xinuo scratched his head, “if it were any other investor, I’d just lie casually. Since you’ve helped me out, I have to tell you that I’m not sure about this. You should think about it carefully, and if it ends up losing money, don’t blame me.”
’This isn’t like you. I remember that you always wanted to take advantage of me,’ Qin Moyan said, naturally crossing her fingers and giving Ye Xinuo’s nose a little nudge.
What did Qin Moyan just do?
Why did she suddenly act so intimately with me? Although it was corny, it was also too provocative!
Ye Xinru’s brain shut down for more than ten seconds. When he came to his senses, the other party had already walked a few metres away, leaving only a slender and graceful back.
‘Hey, wait for me! Why have you been touching me a lot lately?’ Ye Xinru took a few short steps to catch up.
***
The outskirts of Hucheng, inside a delivery warehouse full of shelves.
Han Qiuzi looked at the man in front of her with a calm gaze, her complex emotions intertwined in her voice, ‘Do you know why I asked you to come here?’
‘Daughter, is that the tone you use when talking to your father? !’ Han Jingjin obviously had no idea what Han Qiuzi was up to.
Han Qiuzi took a few steps, lightly sweeping her fingertips over the packages on the shelves, unconcerned that she had dirt on her hands. ‘This place will soon no longer belong to the Han Group. They say that wealth does not last beyond three generations, and I’m afraid I’ll be the one to blame for the Han family.’
‘Daughter, are you under too much pressure? Daddy doesn’t quite understand what you’re saying.’
“When I was little, I asked you why all the other children had a mother, but I didn’t. You told me that my mother had divorced you and gone abroad. Is she really abroad? Or have you been so heartless that you have even deprived her of the right to live?’ Han Qiuzi asked this question that she was so afraid to know the answer to. If she found out that the Han family had done something even more heartless back then, there was no way they could continue to hide it, even if it caused a huge wave.
Han Jingjin’s expression became panicked. ’Daughter, has someone told you something? Listen to your father. Those people are plotting against our Han family—’
‘I’m a grown-up, I can tell what’s true and what’s not! There’s surveillance footage to prove it, so how could the truth be any worse?’ Han Qiuzi’s emotions, which she had been deliberately suppressing, finally exploded. “Just tell me, what happened to my real mother!”
Although she hadn’t watched the video, she believed Yu Qing. To verify the authenticity, Tang Jie had given her the tape that Yu Qing had personally watched a segment of.
‘She’s still alive.‘ Han Jingjin knew he couldn’t hide it anymore, and his face suddenly turned pale. “When you were born, Grandpa sent your mother’s family abroad. He knew that the Han family owed them a debt, and gave them a lot of money to appease them—”
’Money?‘ Han Qiuzi’s eyes were red, and tears slid down her cheeks. “Money can’t erase the dirty things you’ve done! It can’t erase the harm done to my mother, and it can’t erase my disgust for my own background!”
’Qiuzi, listen to your father—’
Han Jingjin’s words were once again interrupted by Han Qiuzi, ‘I have already submitted the relevant materials to the relevant department. The crime of corruption will result in a prison sentence of a few years. When you get out of prison, you can go to the nursing home in Yanshan to spend your old age. I will pay for the basic three meals a day for you. As for everything else you can enjoy while you are alive, you are not eligible.’
After all, this person is her father who has raised her for more than 20 years, and every decision he makes makes her suffer immensely.
“Daughter, you cannot be so heartless to your father!’
Han Jingjin was about to say something more when suddenly some powder fell from the ceiling above his head, and he immediately felt unsteady on his feet.
‘Earthquake!’ Han Qiuzi was the first to react, instinctively grabbing Han Jingjin’s arm and running out.
In just a second, the shelves fell one after the other, and the warehouse glass smashed down ‘clattering’.
‘Be careful!’ Han Jingjin threw himself at Han Qiuzi, pushing him to the side, while a heavy object falling from above hit him in the back, causing him to fall on a pile of broken glass and immediately bleed.
A split second, his father’s instinct made him make a choice without hesitation.
‘Daddy! Are you okay? ! No… don’t…‘ Everything happened so fast that Han Qiuzi’s mind was in a complete state of confusion.
’Run… don’t… I…‘ Han Jingjin was having a hard time breathing, with a piece of glass stuck in his lungs.
’I can’t possibly leave you behind!’ Han Qiuzi grabbed Han Jingjin’s arm and tried very hard to pull him up, but he was unable to succeed.
At some point, the shaking stopped, and Han Qiuzi’s body was still trembling violently.
‘Zi, Daddy…there are many, many wrong things that I have done…or maybe this is…this is retribution.’ Han Jingjin’s breathing became increasingly difficult, and he stared intently, “But…yes…the love I have for you is…”
He never got the chance to finish his sentence, and he left this world with his eyes open.
Without any warning, the father who had grown up with Han Qiuzi since she was young ended his life in such a way right in front of her.
Han Qiuzi’s throat felt dry, and she opened her mouth and took a few sharp breaths. Her eyes were vacant and lifeless.
She just knew that she had to leave here as soon as possible. An aftershock could happen at any time. Since this man had made the sacrifice to protect her, she had to live on even more.
***
In an office building in the city.
Ye Xinru was explaining his train of thought to Qin Moyan when he saw the water in the cup shake a few times, before returning to normal. He closed his eyes for a few moments, thinking that he was hallucinating.
Chapter 57
Ye Xinuo saw that the water in the cup shook a few times and there was no other reaction. Thinking that she was seeing things, she rubbed her eyes and took a sip of the water.
Qin Moyan kindly reminded her, ‘You’re holding my cup.’
Ye Xinuo was about to take another sip, but the water choked her and she burst into a violent cough.
“Slow down,’ Qin Moyan, who was originally sitting opposite Ye Xinuo, immediately took the cup from her hand, moved position, and helped Ye Xinuo pat her back to calm her down.
Ye Xinuo covered her mouth with the tissue Qin Moyan handed her, coughed a few more times, and said apologetically in a low voice, ‘Thank you.’
Qin Moyan didn’t forget to add, ‘So Xinuo dislikes me, but just for drinking from my glass, she has such a big reaction.’
‘No, I was afraid you would think I was being rude.’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes wandered, and she had to explain in a way that made it obvious that she was lying, “I really did accidentally take the wrong one.”
Qin Moyan said, “Well, it’s okay, I don’t mind you.”
Ye Xinuo’s body temperature suddenly rose, and she was embarrassed to look at Qin Moyan, so she missed the ambiguous smile at the corner of the other person’s mouth.
She silently lamented her tragic fate in her heart. She should never have had the stupid idea of pretending to be a couple with Qin Moyan in the first place, and now she’s in deep trouble.
‘I’m going to go get two glasses of water, and then we can continue,’ Qin Moyan said, stopping just short of teasing Ye Xinuo, and carrying the glasses to the pantry.
Ye Xinuo felt a huge weight lift off her shoulders, and she even licked her lips in aftertaste, wondering if that could be considered an indirect kiss.
Once the phrase ‘indirect kissing’ appeared, Ye Xinuo couldn’t hold back the floodgates of imagination, and her face grew redder and redder.
‘Are you running a fever?’ Qin Moyan put down the cup and touched Ye Xinuo’s forehead with her slightly cool fingers, ‘Why do you look so strange?’
‘I’m fine!’ Ye Xinuo bounced back a little, her eyes falling on Qin Moyan’s lips. Her breathing quickened a little, and she was still shocked.
In order to prevent any animalistic behaviour, she quickly said, ‘I’m going to the bathroom!’ and fled.
Qin Moyan looked in the direction Ye Xinuo had disappeared to, frowned for a moment, and then took out her phone to search for ‘the reason why girls always blush’.
The first result of the search was ‘the most common reason for blushing is physiological blushing… This is a sign of sufficient blood.’
The next few results were ‘possible menopause’, ‘beware of high blood pressure’, and ‘possible physical weakness and hyperactivity of the liver’.
Her brows furrowed as she became more and more disappointed, and she closed the search results and threw the phone on the table in a huff.
‘What’s wrong?’
Ye Xinuo heard a ‘pop’ sound as soon as she returned from the bathroom, and thought Qin Moyan was angry.
‘It’s nothing,’ said Qin Moyan, still looking serious, ‘my phone is going through menopause, I’m just helping it to unblock its meridians.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ This expression doesn’t look like he’s joking.
Qin Moyan cleared his throat and sat up straight, ‘Continue, where were we?’
Ye Xinuo also sat up straight and returned to the topic at hand, ‘Oh, we were talking about the current development trend of the circle economy. Apart from the first batch of seed users, I want to start with young users. So when promoting the market, I want to highlight some points that are different from other mobile phone brands.’
‘What do you think of the office of Qiran Technology?‘ Qin Moyan suddenly asked a seemingly unrelated question.
’The office of Qiran Technology?‘ Ye Xinuo pondered for a moment and understood what he meant: “You mean his robots?”
’Exactly,’ said Qin Moyan, drawing a circle on a piece of paper, ’Market response is the most real. The current madness in the capital market has already shown that intelligent modules are bound to be the future development trend. What if you don’t just make a mobile phone, but an ecological chain?’
Ye Xinru has experienced the smart era, so she naturally knows that what Qin Moyan says is not false. However, her previous thinking has been confined to the assumption that after regaining Ye Sheng, she will not be able to devote much energy to it, and she has never thought about building such a large ecosystem.
“I guess you must be thinking that sooner or later you will have to focus on Ye Sheng Group and that you will be too busy to do anything else, right?’ Qin Moyan drew another radiation circle on the paper, ‘But you don’t need to think about that now. As long as Ladder Mobile develops to a certain scale, people will come to you for cooperation. This is the law of the market. Backed by Yesheng, you have a natural advantage. You can even train a team from Yesheng to manage the subsidiaries under Ladder. But none of this is an issue that needs to be considered at this stage. You just need to let consumers know what they can enjoy in the future. People are very susceptible to affection.’
‘Qin Moyan,‘ Ye Xinuo called the other person’s name for the first time in such a serious tone.
’Huh?‘ Qin Moyan was momentarily stunned.
’You’re really amazing!’ Ye Xinuo suddenly beamed, giving Qin Moyan a hard slap on the shoulder, ’This is like in the cartoons, first you let the dog smell the meat, then you throw a bone to keep it interested, right! As for whether there is any meat, that’s something for later.’
‘You can think of it that way.’ Qin Moyan’s eyebrows twitched a few times, suppressing the strange emotions that had just arisen, and she lifted the cup to drink some water.
Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. It is said that the most beautiful women are those who work hard. God knows, just now when I saw Qin Moyan expound her views with such concentration, I almost lost my head and blurted out something strange. Fortunately, it was a close call.
‘Then we can hold a few open exhibitions of simulated smart experience scenarios and hold a lucky draw on our Weibo platform to attract some people to experience the future technology and create a synergistic effect.‘ After Ye Xinuo finished speaking, she wrinkled her nose again, “But what if Dingqi’s robots fail… I still remember the grudge from last time.” She looked like a little cat just begging for a hug.
’There is still some time before the official production, which is enough for Dingqi to upgrade the version,’ After Qin Moyan finished speaking, he took out his phone and read a message.
During this lull, Ye Xinuo fell into reflection. Was it because she didn’t act cute enough? Why wasn’t Qin Moyan at all moved?
‘It seems like there was an earthquake just now,’ said Qin Moyan, searching the internet for related news.
[An earthquake occurred in Yuhe County, the magnitude and depth of the epicentre still need to be further determined.]
[There was a slight tremor in Hucheng City, and some houses in the surrounding area collapsed.]
[A school in Hucheng’s Haihe District collapsed. Firefighters have begun rescue operations, and netizens suspect it was a shoddy construction project.
Ye Xinru immediately called Yu Qing, who had just heard the news on the news.
As a first-tier city in the country, Hucheng’s earthquake resistance is not low, not to mention the fact that it is not the epicentre, so most people in the city did not feel much. Only the old houses built in the past felt the earthquake significantly, and many old family buildings had crowds of elderly people and children gathered in the courtyards. The white-collar workers in the high-rise office buildings were still busy.
Although humans are advanced animals, when faced with a huge crisis, the first instinct is also to save food. Soon, instant foods such as instant noodles, pickled vegetables, ham sausages, and biscuits were sold out in major supermarkets, and mineral water was also basically out of stock.
Hucheng is the closest big city to the epicentre county, and officers, soldiers, hospitals, enterprises, and enthusiastic citizens have all thrown themselves into helping the affected county tide over the difficulties.
Due to this black swan event, the financial market quickly changed its direction. The stock prices of several contractors whose tofu-dreg projects had been exposed plummeted, while most stocks in the construction supplies sector rose rapidly, followed by the pharmaceutical sector.
In the face of this natural disaster, entrepreneurs in Hucheng also temporarily adjusted their pace and promoted public welfare projects first.
Due to the tight public resources, Han Qiuzi did not hold a memorial service for her father. He was cremated and buried the next day. She stood in front of the tombstone for a long time, not knowing what to say.
In the end, she sighed before leaving, ‘Daddy, I don’t know if there really is karma in this world. That warehouse was built by the team you supervised back then, and if it had been built a little more securely, you might not have died. I hated you, but I’m really sad that you’re gone. When I think back on the past, you spoiled me from childhood to adulthood. If there really is reincarnation, I hope you can be a good person in your next life.’
Han Qiuzi put down the bouquet in her hands, walked out of the cemetery, and at the entrance, Yu Qing was quietly standing there waiting for her. After all the twists and turns, she had found the treasure she had once lost, and from now on, she would only have this as her only support.
But no one expected that at this juncture, Tang Jie announced that Fengda Alliance had completed the acquisition of LIT Express under the Han Group, and Ni Anqi announced that Dingfeng Express had separated from the Ni Jin Group.
This means that the Fengda Alliance has almost mastered the lifeblood of logistics in Hucheng, and there are very few logistics companies that can compete with it across the country.
And this is just the beginning.
Under the leadership of the Fengda Alliance, logistics costs have risen by 50%, which means that the cost of transporting earthquake relief supplies has more than doubled.
And under the bombardment of good news, the Fengda Alliance has been trading at the daily limit for five consecutive days.
Ye Xinruo had thought that she could take her time, but now she couldn’t sit still for even a minute. Tang Jie and Ni Anqi were simply profiting from the national crisis. If things continued like this, even if she wasn’t a professional stock trader, she was sure that when the market opened on Monday, the share price of Fengda Alliance would definitely plummet. The two people who had blown up the balloon had probably already seen the right time to sell most of the shares in their hands, just waiting for them to drop to a low point before buying them back again.
She rested her arms on the desk and kept rubbing her eyebrows counterclockwise.
***
The highest office of the Ye Sheng Group.
Ye Xinuo sat in the guest seat, staring at Tang Jie with a serious expression for a long time, and suddenly laughed. ‘I really admire President Tang very much. This mental outlook is really very pleased with yourself. I’m curious, do you lie in bed in the middle of the night, afraid of the ghost knocking on the door?’
‘Look at what you’re saying, Uncle Tang. I’m just doing this to make up for the hole you left in Ye Sheng’s giant snowball. In the final analysis, the ghost can’t find me.’ Tang Jie narrowed his eyes and smiled.
The two projects that Ye Xinuo had previously pushed forward, ‘Alpha Search’s entry into China’ and ‘Meitu Weibo & MiniFeel linkage,’ both required huge financial support. However, before she left Yesheng, she had cut off several sources of Tang Jie’s income, causing the group to run into financial difficulties. The board of directors had already pressured Tang Jie, the chairman, several times.
‘When it comes to shamelessness, I have practiced for many lifetimes, but I can’t compare to you, Uncle Tang.’ Ye Xinruo smiled, rubbed his brow, and then his gaze became fierce, ’Why don’t we talk about the terms.’
Chapter 58
‘Oh? Little Ye Zi has grown up and can negotiate with your uncle.’ Tang Jie leaned back and rested on the leather backrest of the sofa, “Tell me.”
Ye Xinuo: ’Everyone knows what Mr. Tang wants to do with the Fonda Alliance rising to this level. However, one should still do good deeds for oneself. If Mr. Tang stops this time, I will hand over the two projects to you, how is that?’
‘That sounds very tempting,‘ Tang Jie pushed the gold-framed mirror in front of him and smiled, “I’ll think about it.”
’Okay, I’ll wait for your reply.’ Ye Xinuo got up and politely said goodbye to Tang Jie without hesitation: ’Mr. Tang, I’ll take my leave first. I wish you good health. After all, people like you can easily be haunted by evil spirits.’
Tang Jie nodded with a smile, ‘I accept this blessing, Nuo Nuo.’
After Ye Xinuo left the room, her face immediately turned cold. This answer was within her expectations.
Monday opened.
The stock market was full of green, and the Fengda Alliance, as expected, fell below the stop-loss lines of major investment institutions, causing the first round of selling. Many retail investors saw that the situation was not right and also panicked and sold, closing down.
In just one day, many small investors lost all their capital, and some of the large investors who had entered the market in a timely manner exited, while others still hoped that the market would recover the next day.
The next day, the two stock indices continued to fall, and the Fengda Alliance fell all the way down again with little upward trend. In just two days, some people’s lifelong savings had become those green numbers again.
Ning Han also saw the relevant news and immediately called his friend Mo Lan.
“Hey, Lan, are you okay?’
‘Hanhan, I was just about to call you. I have to go now, but please take care of my parents for me, and say sorry for me.‘
The wind whistling in the phone made it difficult to hear what was being said, but Ning Han was able to make out the gist of what was being said.
’Lan, calm down. You can earn more money. Think about your aunt and uncle, they can’t live without you! And, and I have money, I’ll give you my money, don’t do anything stupid!’ Ning Han became incoherent, grabbed the phone and ran out.
Qi Jing saw this and took the car keys, stopping the person who was at a loss for what to do and dragging him into the car.
“Han Han, I really can’t do it. The house in our family is mortgaged to me. I can’t face my parents. I really have lost my mind.’
Then there was a burst of crying on the other end of the line.
‘Don’t be so suicidal, don’t do anything stupid, I’ll pay off your debt for you, you’ll lose everything if you die!’ Ning Han saw that the other person was unmoved, and angrily roared, ‘Can you stop being so selfish! You’re the only daughter they have, do you know how painful it will be for them to bury their child?’
Ning Han and Mo Lan had known each other for more than ten years, and had long since come to regard each other’s parents as their own. She could not imagine how heartbroken the old couple would be if they knew that their only daughter had done something so foolish.
‘I’m sorry.’
Ning Han’s mind went blank, because after a moment of interference from electrical currents, the call was cut off. Her eyes stared straight ahead, but there was no expression in them. It felt as if the whole world had turned white, and she could not hear any sound.
Qi Jing waited patiently for Ning Han to come out of her daze before asking softly, ‘Can you tell me the address?’
Ning Han said blankly, ‘Mudan Jiayuan.’
Mudan Jiayuan.
‘There was a loud noise just now. Does anyone know what happened?’
‘It sounded like something hitting the ground to me.’
‘It seemed to come from Building 112.’
…
Several old ladies who were taking a stroll started guessing what the noise was about.
‘Ah!’ A scream resounded across the entire residential area.
By the time Ning Han and the others arrived, the police had already set up a cordon.
‘No way,’ Ning Han’s legs gave way, and she was quickly taken in the arms of the person next to her.
Qi Jing supported the pale-faced person and squeezed outside the cordon, where a white cloth had already been placed.
‘Comrade policeman!‘ Qi Jing patted the nearest policeman and asked, “What happened here? It’s possible that my friend was involved.”
The policeman didn’t want to answer questions from the crowd, but when he heard that the other person might know the deceased, he replied formulaically, “The identity of the deceased will be confirmed by the public security department first, and the relatives will be notified at that time.”
There was a lot of discussion in the crowd.
’It’s a good thing he jumped from this side, otherwise it would be unlucky to block the door.’
‘What made you want to kill yourself? What are your family going to do?‘
’I arrived early and saw the body. It was really scary, the brain was hanging out. Just thinking about it gives me nightmares!‘
…
’Ninghan, maybe it’s not…‘ Qi Jing couldn’t continue, she didn’t want to give the other person any false hope.
’You go back first, I’ll go to her house and take a look.’ Ninghan didn’t cry or scream, her voice was very calm, ’I want to wait for the uncle and aunt to come back myself.’
‘I’ll go with you,’ Qi Jing said, taking Ning Han’s hand and looking at her earnestly. ’Not as a suitor, but as a friend who wants to support you, okay?’
Ning Han nodded with her eyes lowered. If she were really alone right now, she probably wouldn’t be able to keep her wits about her.
The elevator arrived on the 24th floor, and the people inside felt fear and hesitated to step out. She was afraid to face such a reality.
‘It will pass, it will pass,’ Qi Jing stroked Ning Han’s back, carefully caring for the fragile person in his arms.
Ning Han always had a spare key to the Morans’ house in her hand, but when she held it in her hand at this time, she tried to insert it several times but couldn’t get it into the right place.
‘Let me do it.’ Qi Jing took Ning Han’s hand and took the key to open the door.
The lights in the room were still on, and the wide open windows let in a blast of cold air, causing the curtains to flap.
But if you listened carefully, you could hear the sound of a girl crying “oooh” from Moran’s bedroom.
Ning Han’s eyes lit up, and he wanted to go over and open the bedroom door. However, Qi Jing tightly embraced Ning Han’s waist and could not move.
‘I’ll go take a look,’ Ning Han said in a slightly hoarse voice.
Qi Jing had no direct relationship with Moran, and after guessing that the other person wanted to jump off a building, although he felt sad, he was just sad. Now that he heard a woman crying in the bedroom, all the materialism and Marxist-Leninist ideology he had learned in the past was thrown aside, and his hands and feet trembled like sieved grain.
His tone also had to be ready to cry at any time, ’I’ll go with you, let me hold you for a while.’
‘Let’s go.”
Ning Han’s voice was tired, but she had already let her guard down. The sound that came from the room was indeed Moran’s crying. She didn’t believe in ghosts in this world, so perhaps it was a misunderstanding.
Opening the bedroom door, she saw a pretty girl sitting on the bed hugging her knees and sobbing. Hearing the bedroom door open, she looked up and saw it was Ning Han, so she threw her arms around her and said in a broken voice, ’Han Han, I’m too useless to even die, and I dropped my phone.
Ning Han gently patted Mo Lan’s back and said, ‘Lie down and get some sleep. Nothing is insurmountable.’
She stayed by the bedside until Mo’s parents returned, and then she and Qi Jing bid them farewell.
On the way home, Qi Jing suppressed the aching feeling in his heart and asked in a casual tone, ‘Is she someone very important to you?’
‘Someone very important,’ Ning Han said with a wry smile, ‘was.’
I don’t know if she needs a way to vent, but before Qi Jing could ask again, she continued, ‘I don’t have any parents. I met Mo Lan in junior high school. Mo’s parents are very good to me, they’re like my family. But I’m a selfish person, and Mo Lan has touched my bottom line. She can only be a friend who was once very important to me.’
Qi Jing learned for the first time that Ning Han was an orphan, and her feelings for her quietly grew a little more.
***
On the third day, just when everyone had given up hope, the Fengda Alliance began to steadily rise again. Huakang Securities and Huazheng Securities, both subsidiaries of the Ye Sheng Group, and an unknown Qin Shu Securities began to acquire large amounts of Fengda Alliance and several other previously popular stocks. The market rebounded slightly.
Ye Xinuo held a press conference and declared, ‘The Ye Sheng Group will fulfil its social responsibilities as a company and strive to maintain a balanced market economy. At the same time, we hope that the majority of shareholders will rationally view investment and financial management and avoid following the crowd. He even advised small and medium retail investors to withdraw from the stock market in time to avoid risks.”
For a while, Ye Xinuo became a saviour-like hero in the eyes of ordinary retail investors, but in the eyes of speculative institutions, he became an eyesore.
In the evening, in a romantic Western restaurant.
Ye Xinuo looked at the pianist diagonally in front of him as he played with elegant fingers, revealing a clean smile of appreciation for beauty, and casually said, ’Qin Moyan, do you know why I asked you here today?’
‘I don’t like making wild guesses.‘ The shadow of Qin Moyan’s eyelashes flickered at the bottom of his eyes.
’You really like the music played by the pianist in this restaurant, don’t you?‘ Ye Xinuo brought his gaze back, and his smile fell on Qin Moyan’s face. “What do you think? Am I sincere?”
’Xinuo has investigated so thoroughly that it makes me think you’re going to propose to me,’ Qin Moyan’s mouth curved slightly.
Ye Xinuo: ‘What, if I propose now, will you marry me?’
Qin Moyan: ‘That depends on whether Xinuo is sincere.’
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, and Ye Xinuo lost first, casually averting his gaze. ‘To be honest, I found out that you asked the resident pianist here to go to the Baoyuan Group’s cruise ship party. So just as it happened, a week later, week, the American short-selling agency Falcon, which is feared by businessmen, released a research report claiming that Baoyuan had financial fraud. Together with the hedge trading brokerages, accounting firms, and law firms in Lake City, they ‘bang’ and blew the bottom of Baoyuan out. This year, there are three unlucky companies that have been suspended like Baoyuan. You tell me, how did these foreign companies stretch their hands so far?’
‘Hmm,‘ Qin Moyan nodded, indicating that Ye Xinuo should continue.
’You previously appeared to be entering Ye Sheng as a representative of Hessen, but in fact you were looking for opportunities to short sell Ye Sheng, and the benefits obtained by the two are not on the same level.’ Ye Xinuo stared at Qin Moyan with an expression of “I see right through you.”
Qin Moyan said, “Hmm, you’re right.”
Ye Xinuo’s face quickly turned cold, ’Don’t you feel guilty for deceiving me in every way possible?’
Qin Moyan pauses for a few seconds in a thoughtful manner, ‘I don’t remember deceiving you. From the very beginning, I told you to be careful. I have intentions for Ye Sheng. Did Xinuo forget?’
‘…’ Ye Xinuo angrily lifts the cup and takes a drink. ‘Anyway, I treat you as a friend, and your unwillingness to confess has caused irreversible damage to my spirit. I want to ask you for a favour, and I don’t think you’ll refuse.’
Chapter 59
Ye Xinuo lowered his head, took the straw and stirred the water in the glass. He said seriously, ‘You see, although you were always trying to bring Ye Sheng down before, I can understand you. In view of my tolerance and generosity, can you help me find some money? Although I have asked Director Lu to join me, our cash flow won’t last long. I have already taken out mortgages on all the properties I can.’
Qin Moyan said in surprise, ‘If you go bankrupt, you’re still going to drag me down with you?’
Ye Xinuo looked up and gave Qin Moyan a glare, with a hint of coquetry, ‘Can’t you just hope for the best for me?’
Qin Moyan’s tone was flat, ‘Even if I don’t know your specific financial situation, compared to today’s stock market trading volume, I can roughly guess that you have almost no liquid capital. From an economic point of view, your behaviour this time is suicidal. Why is it suicidal? Because it is cuter than just being stupid and looks a bit smarter.‘
Ye Xinru muttered, “I thought you would help me, that’s why I didn’t care.”
’But seeing as you are so kind and trust me…’ Qin Moyan looked directly into Ye Xinru’s eyes with a smile, ’deliberately letting me hear your own thoughts, hoping to hear me say this?’
Ye Xinru’s originally raised mouth corners immediately fell: ‘…’ How was he deceived by this person’s appearance in the past?
‘Don’t worry, the money will soon fly into your hands.’ After Qin Moyan finished speaking, he suddenly reached out and brushed Ye Xinru’s lips.
Ye Xinru’s breathing stopped for a moment. Before she could figure out the meaning of this ambiguous action, she saw Qin Moyan wave his index finger in front of her face, ‘This unidentified residue has been around your mouth for a long time, and I really couldn’t help it.’
‘Thank you so much!’ Ye Xinru’s facial muscles twitched as she raised the corners of her mouth.
Qin Moyan wiped his hands on a tissue, ‘You’re welcome.’
“If you just used paper to wipe it off for me, you wouldn’t have to wipe your hands.’ Ye Xinuo twisted her head to the side, testing again and again, hoping that Qin Moyan would say something that even slightly hinted at intimacy, to lift her sagging courage.
Qin Moyan once again threw the question back, ‘Then why didn’t Xinuo want me to remind you directly, but let me wipe it for you?’
Ye Xinuo moistened her throat with water guiltily and said slowly, ‘I lack maternal love.’
Qin Moyan froze for three seconds, then turned his head and waved at the waiter not far away, ‘Waiter, bill please.’
***
‘I didn’t think that President Tang would come looking for me, it’s really like the sun coming up in the west.’ Ye Xinuo ran her fingers over the glass in front of her.
Tang Jie pushed the rim of his gold-rimmed glasses and said mockingly, ‘I never realised before that little Ye has endless tricks up her sleeve and is very skilled at manipulating people.’
‘President Tang, you know I’m still young and don’t understand what you’re talking about.’ Ye Xinuo pointed to his head, “I still don’t know the reason why you asked to see me today.”
Tang Jie: “The shares of Fengda Alliance in your hands, I will buy them back at market value.”
Ye Xinuo quickly analysed what Tang Jie meant. How could someone like him suddenly do a losing deal?
He smiled and shook his head, ’A businessman, every transaction is to make a profit, right? Selling to President Tang at market price, I’m grateful.’
Tang Jie laughed a few times in return, ‘It’s not smart to know that these shares are useless in your hands and not get rid of them quickly.’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘In that case, I’ll sell them to you at 1.5 times the market price, and everyone will be happy.’
Tang Jie snorted, ‘Do you think I’ll spend that much money to buy back useless stocks?’
Ye Xinuo shrugged, ‘Then I’ll see you out.’
‘Hahahaha!‘ Tang Jie let out a burst of laughter, “President Ye is really surpassing his master in skill, and is far more shameless than your father.”
’That’s my pleasure. Compared to face, I still want the money in President Tang’s pocket more.‘ After a lifetime of hard work, Ye Xinuo is no longer the person who loses her composure when she talks about her father.
’Very well, it seems that in the future, I will have to treat Ye Xinuo as a real opponent.’ Tang Jie smiled and narrowed his eyes.
Ye Xinuo calmly lifted the cup and took a sip of tea.
After Tang Jie left, Ye Xinuo was unable to snap back to reality for a long time. Is this what Qin Moyan meant when she said that money would come to her?
It was just a risky test, but Tang Jie really agreed. How could he do such an obvious losing deal?
***
One day ago.
Tang Jie walked into a private club room where there was already a person sitting.
He sat down opposite the man and said, ‘It is my good fortune to be able to spend tea time with such a cold beauty as Miss Qin.’
Qin Moyan’s mouth curled slightly, ‘I hope Mr. Tang really thinks it is a blessing.’
“Miss Qin, don’t you think we are on the same page? We are both ambitious and have a desire to conquer. Although we have been at each other’s throats in the past, I have always admired you.’
Tang Jie is over 40 years old, but his features are handsome, and he has a mature charm that comes from having experienced the world. Coupled with his extraordinary family background, he is very popular with women.
Qin Moyan seemed to be smiling very happily and said, ‘Mr. Tang has a good eye.’
Tang Jie said, ‘Being able to make a beautiful woman smile is the second thing I’m grateful for today.’
‘To make a beautiful woman smile.’ Qin Moyan heard these words that sounded familiar, and Ye Xinuo’s sparkling eyes flashed through her mind.
Qin Moyan withdrew her smile and spoke in a cold tone, ‘The Qinhan Group was founded by President Tang with his own hands and feet, so it must be like his own flesh and blood.’
‘I don’t quite understand what you mean by that, Miss Qin,’ Tang Jie slowly put away his smile.
‘Some time ago, it was rumoured that Falcon had set its sights on Qinhan, causing the stock price of Qinhan to fall. President Tang, do you think this is true?’ Qin Moyan’s dark, bottomless eyes fixed on Tang Jie.
‘It seems I underestimated Miss Qin.‘ Tang Jie loosened his tie with his hands, “If Miss Qin is so confident, does that mean she has a close relationship with Falcon?”
’Why would I have a relationship with Falcon? You’re joking, Mr. Tang.’ Qin Moyan shook her head, ’It’s just that whether you’ll get involved with them is very flexible.’
Tang Jie’s face did not change. ‘My company conducts business in a proper manner, and even if the Falcon idea hits me, there is nothing I can do about it.’
‘That’s right, President Tang is meticulous in everything he does,’ Qin Mo Yan’s voice was unhurried, ‘but President Tang’s other flesh and blood is indeed not someone to be trifled with. If he is targeted, it could be a troublesome matter. Involving AN network transactions could attract the attention of Interpol.’
Tang Jie’s eyes under the gold-rimmed glasses sank slightly, ‘Go ahead, what does Miss Qin want from me? Otherwise, she wouldn’t have informed me of this matter.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Very simple, I just want money.’
Tang Jie let out a small sigh of relief, ‘How much do you want?’
‘I’m not really sure,’ Qin Moyan thought for a moment, ‘I wonder how much it would cost you to buy back the shares of the Fengda Alliance that Ye Xinuo has in her hands?’
Tang Jie did not say yes or no, but stared thoughtfully at Qin Moyan for a long time. ‘I never thought that Miss Qin would threaten me today for the sake of a woman. Tell me, if she knew that you could have stopped it earlier but you waited until now to take action, what do you think her reaction would be?’
‘Indecisive people cannot make the rules of the business world,’ said Qin Moyan with a calm expression. ‘Does Tang Zong think that I care?’
‘Interesting. I’m really looking forward to the future.’ Tang Jie clapped his hands and got up to leave.
Qin Moyan never advertised herself as a good person; she only did what was useful. Rather than keep a hidden danger buried and bear the risk of future fluctuations in the international stock market, it was better to let it explode first and minimise the scope. After this incident, those stock investors should have been alerted, and those who were still not awake would have to suffer the consequences.
As for the kindness and warmth in Ye Xinuo’s heart, she wanted to protect it well.
***
Due to Tang Jie’s repurchase, some investment institutions have also slowed down their pace of selling, and the stock market has rebounded slightly. Sane retail investors have begun to withdraw from the market, while some diehard investors are still hoping for a resurgence of the stock market.
After this storm, the image of the Ye Sheng Group has taken root in people’s hearts, and many financial magazines want to interview Ye Xinuo.
When Ye Sheng Group was founded, Ye Xinuo had already considered this. Naturally, she would not refuse media invitations. The public relations department of Ye Sheng Group became extremely busy, and they wished they had two people to do the work.
Ye Xinuo herself was also spinning like a top, and every day after returning home she felt as if she had been drained of all energy, with no energy to think about other things. Her previous doubts were also temporarily put aside.
After a month of busyness, Ye Xinuo finally had some time for herself.
The first thing she did when she had some free time was to stare at the cute cat avatar of Qin Moyan on her phone screen.
For the entire 30 days, the other person had never once taken the initiative to contact her.
Ye Xinuo buried her head listlessly in the pillow, her mouth about to pout from being so depressed.
After torturing herself for a while, Ye Xinuo decided that she couldn’t just sit there and do nothing, so she sent a message to Yu Qing: ‘Yu Qing, find out what Qin Moyan has been doing lately.’
She received a reply on her phone soon after.
[Yu Qing: Miss Qin has been abroad for nearly a month. I thought she told you.]
Ye Xinuo immediately dialed the number, ‘Yu Qing, why do you know that she’s gone abroad and I don’t know anything about it?
Yu Qing was taken aback by the angry tone and swallowed involuntarily. ‘I had some business contact with her and heard her mention it casually.’
Ye Xinuo shrugged. ‘Then why didn’t you tell me?’
Yu Qing was confused. ‘You never said you wanted to know where Miss Qin was.’
Ye Xinuo was at a loss for words. This reason sounded plausible.
It was Yu Qing’s turn to ask questions.
“Why do you care so much about where Miss Qin goes?’
‘Have you and she developed a love affair that I don’t know about?‘
’You’ve fallen in love?‘
’No, if you were in a relationship, you wouldn’t not know where she was going.”
Ye Xinuo: “I have to go now, goodbye Yu Qing.”
Yu Qing listened to the busy signal on her phone, blinked, and felt like she knew something big.
Ye Xinuo muttered to herself, ’I also want to know when the two of us will develop a love affair. You rotten fox, you bad fox, you left without telling me, and I was waiting every day for you to take the initiative to message me.”
It’s strange to say, but people just can’t help but keep talking. Just as she finished scolding the person, she saw Qin Moyan place a video call.
Ye Xinuo jumped up from the bed in surprise, tidied her appearance in the mirror, and then pressed the answer button.
Chapter 60
The video call connected.
‘Happy birthday.’
On the screen was Qin Moyan’s face, which still looked a little cold, but the words made Ye Xinuo’s heart warm.
Today was Ye Xinuo’s lunar birthday, which she had forgotten.
‘Thank you,’ Ye Xinuo’s lips and eyebrows were tinged with a smile.
Qin Moyan’s voice sounded ethereal and gentle in the video, ‘Have you gone to sleep?’
Ye Xinuo sat up straight and said in a soft voice, ‘Not yet.’
‘Hm,’ said Qin Moyan, ‘I just saw Hailey. She seems to have been on the same flight as me, and we talked about you today.’
‘Oh,’ Ye Xinuo’s mood suddenly dropped a little, as it turned out that she was only thinking of her because someone else had mentioned her.
Qin Moyan didn’t seem to notice the change in mood on the other end of the video call and continued, ‘I’m going to board the plane now, see you when I get back.’
Ye Xinuo didn’t know what to say for a moment, so he just wished her a safe trip.
‘Okay.’ Due to the unstable network, the faint smile on Qin Moyan’s face before the call ended didn’t reach Ye Xinuo’s eyes.
A mixed-race man handed Qin Moyan her passport and checked-in boarding pass, and then looked at his watch and said nonchalantly, ‘Hailey has rescheduled her trip, so what’s the rush?’
Qin Moyan said indifferently, ‘There’s no necessary causal relationship between the two.’
‘I don’t even bother with you!‘ After rolling his eyes, the expression on the mixed-race man’s face became a little more complicated, with curiosity taking up most of it, “Don’t you regret it? You were clearly so close to being able to bring down the castle that Ye Qisheng built with his own hands, and now, instead, it’s even stronger.”
’We Chinese have a saying, ‘no regrets,’’ Qin Mo Yan’s relaxed expression gradually turned cold, ’Besides, no matter what, Ye Qisheng won’t be able to see any of this anymore, so why do something pointless?’
The half-breed raised an eyebrow, ‘What are you going to do about the last person?’
‘The last one…’ Qin Moyan’s eyes were like an arrow, ready to fly off the bow at any time, ‘Tang Jie is almost watertight, and I’m afraid it won’t be as smooth as before. And he was probably the one who planned that incident back then; the others were at most accomplices. I can’t let others take risks with someone as ruthless as him. I have enough patience to wait for him to make a mistake.’
‘Anyway, you should be careful too.‘ The mixed-race man laughed and whistled, “If I get the chance, I really want to meet the person who made you change your mind. I wonder if they are my type.”
’Let’s go.’ Qin Moyan gave the mixed-race man a piercing look and walked into the security check without looking back.
Ten hours later.
Ye Xinru stared nervously at the arrivals gate, afraid that if she lost concentration for even a second, she would miss the figure of that person. At the same time, she was torn inside, not knowing what Qin Moyan’s reaction would be if she saw her. She had come on a whim, and felt a pang of remorse if she turned back.
Finally, the face she had been thinking about appeared in Ye Xinru’s line of sight, still with the same icy aura that kept people at a distance.
Qin Moyan saw an unexpected person the moment she exited the gate, but her face did not show any signs of surprise. Only the unconscious action of pushing her hair behind her ear and her softer gaze betrayed her.
‘Qin Moyan,’ Ye Xinuo called out anxiously, seeing that everyone had come out, but she didn’t even glance over here, for fear that the other person might not see her.
Qin Moyan slowly tilted her head to the side, giving Ye Xinuo the illusion that she had been searching for many lifetimes, just waiting for her to look back.
‘Have you eaten yet?’ After Qin Moyan came closer, she didn’t ask Ye Xinuo why she was here, but simply asked in a matter-of-fact way, the way Chinese people greet each other.
Ye Xinuo: ‘Not yet.’
‘Mm,‘ Qin Moyan said, “then go eat first.”
Ye Xinuo scratched her nose and looked around, “Is someone else picking you up?”
’I’m not that popular,‘ Qin Moyan said, stepping closer, “but if you’re not here to pick someone up, don’t you have a present?”
Ye Xinuo was a little confused. She hadn’t heard that you had to bring a present to pick someone up.
’Then you can buy me dinner,’ Qin Moyan said, not at all polite, ’where’s the car parked?’
‘I told the driver to park in the underground car park.‘ Ye Xinuo pointed at the suitcase in Qin Moyan’s hand and asked, “Do you want me to carry the suitcase for you?”
’No,’ Qin Moyan refused, and then added a reason without missing a beat, “I don’t think you have very good athletic ability, so if you fall, you’ll need to replace the suitcase.”
Ye Xinuo: ’… Not angry, not angry, let’s just pretend that she’s being kind but mean.
Qin Moyan extended the free hand and rested it by Ye Xinuo’s side.
Ye Xinuo looked at the slender, thin hand, her thoughts racing. Common sense dictated that Qin Moyan wanted her to put her hand on it, but what if she misunderstood?
‘Aren’t you playing the role of a good partner who welcomes his girlfriend home? Shouldn’t you be holding hands?’ Qin Moyan’s eyes and tone were both incredibly open.
Ye Xinruo then remembered that Qin Moyan had said that Hailey was on the same flight as her, and immediately found an excuse to ask, ‘By the way, where is Hailey?’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Maybe she went to the bathroom. I’ll be out quickly.’
Ye Xinruo pretended to be very calm as she took Qin Moyan’s outstretched hand, ‘So what is she doing in Hucheng?’
Qin Moyan said honestly, ‘I don’t know.’
‘Do you want to wait for her to say hello?‘ Ye Xinuo looked back at the exit every few steps.
Qin Moyan kept walking at the same pace, rejecting Ye Xinuo’s suggestion, “No need, it’s pretentious.”
’Okay.’ Ye Xinuo naively believed Qin Moyan’s nonsense, and quickly turned his attention to something else, “So what are we going to eat?”
Qin Moyan: ’Hot pot.’
Ye Xinuo’s voice was extremely weak: ‘I can’t see how someone as asexual as you can actually like hot pot.’
Qin Moyan stopped in his tracks and frowned, ‘What did you just say?’
‘Did I just speak? You’re hearing things.’ Ye Xinuo immediately pretended that nothing had happened.
Qin Moyan: ‘Xinuo needs to know that I studied a very rigorous subject.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Huh?’
“Any conclusion must be supported by evidence.’
Ye Xinuo’s ears instantly turned red when she heard this.
Qin Moyan suppressed the smile at the corner of his lips and said seriously, ‘It’s like the matter of liking hot pot.’
‘Of course I know you’re talking about the matter of eating hot pot!’ Ye Xinuo glared at Qin Moyan angrily, not believing that this person, despite his age, could be so naive.
‘Well,‘ Qin Moyan continued, “I’m just afraid that Xinuo will misunderstand. After all, the difficulty of arguing for the two things is different.”
Ye Xinuo: “…” I’m really curious about how Qin Moyan’s ability to remain calm in the face of danger was cultivated.
’Let’s go, I’m hungry,’ said Qin Moyan, and he took Ye Xinuo’s hand and continued walking towards the elevator.
I don’t know if it was Ye Xinuo’s illusion, but it seemed as if there was a hint of coquetry in those words. Moreover, the Qin Moyan that they met this time seemed to be different from before, as if she had become more like a lively person.
Once they got in the car, in the dark and cramped space, Ye Xinuo was even more sleepy than Qin Moyan, who had been flying for more than ten hours.
The reason for this was that Ye Xinuo had been unable to sleep last night and in the morning, all he could think about was the face he had seen on the screen of his phone before going to bed.
Qin Moyan said gently, ‘If you’re tired, go to sleep for a while. We still have a long way to go.’
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo mumbled drowsily, snorting lightly through his nose, ‘In that case, can I lie on your lap?’
Without waiting for a response, he fell straight over.
Now, Ye Xinuo’s mind was filled with nothing but lewd thoughts, and there was no trace of sleepiness left.
Qin Moyan sat very upright, not moving for a long time, and would even hold Ye Xinuo’s head when they hit bumps. As a result, although Ye Xinuo’s neck was about to break, he didn’t want to get up.
‘Xinuo, we’re here,’ Qin Moyan patted Ye Xinuo on the shoulder.
We’re here already? Ye Xinuo’s face was full of regret, so he made up his mind to pretend that he hadn’t woken up yet and wanted to stay asleep for a while longer.
‘If you’re really sleepy, just go home and sleep.’
‘Ah, we’re here already.’ Ye Xinuo got up and stretched, ‘Did I sleep for a long time? I suddenly feel full of energy!’
Qin Moyan covered his mouth and coughed a few times, agreeing, ‘Well, you slept for a long time and you even talked in your sleep.’
Ye Xinuo thought to herself, ‘How can this person talk such nonsense with his eyes open? I didn’t fall asleep at all, so I didn’t say anything in my sleep.’
But she asked, ‘Really? What did I say in my sleep?’
‘Why would I waste brainpower remembering what I said in my sleep?’ Qin Moyan gave Ye Xinuo a puzzled look and got up and got out of the car.
Ye Xinuo’s lips moved several times, but the sound of the word ‘you’ in her mouth never came out.
***
The next day, Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi came to Yunti Technology to discuss the plan. After only half a day of talking, Ye Xinuo was like a person in a daze, giggling all the time.
‘President Ye?’ Yu Qing deliberately lengthened the end of her sentence. ‘You are a very incompetent boss.’
‘I’m listening.’ Ye Xinuo repeated what Yu Qing had said before, with the same smile, ‘I’m a multi-core processor. You can say whatever you want, just ignore me.’
Han Qiuzi sniffed, ‘I can smell something strange.’
Yu Qing cooperated, ‘What is it?’
Han Qiuzi’s expression was as if she was personally experiencing the birdsong and flowers, and she sighed, ‘The smell of spring!’
Yu Qing’s expression was even more exaggerated, ‘Oh? But it’s not spring!’
‘A young girl yearns for love, thinking of which young man~’ Han Qiuzi simply sang in a melodramatic voice.
Ye Xinuo’s smile gradually faded, and he pointed coldly to the door, ‘Go show off your affection outside.’
‘Which of your eyes saw us showing off our affection?’ Han Qiuzi got up from his original position, switched to Yu Qing’s lap, and hooked his neck, ‘This is what it means to show off your affection.’
‘Stay away from me with your sour stench!’ Ye Xinuo looked at the two people in front of him and thought about the fact that he had only had dinner with Qin Moyan, and he couldn’t smile at all.
‘Xinuo, come clean. Is there something going on between you two?’ Yu Qing’s nosey face was exposed, “Tell me so I can be happy.”
Ye Xinuo was about to speak when the phone on the table rang. The screen displayed the three words “Qin Moyan”.
An unconcealed smile instantly blossomed on her face. She quickly picked up the phone and pressed the answer button, then lowered her head and said hello softly.
On the other end of the line: ‘Xinuo, if you’re free this afternoon, I want to take you somewhere.’
Ye Xinuo looked up, shook her head without blushing, and said, ‘Sure, I’m free this afternoon.’
Yu Qing: ‘…’ Since ancient times, beautiful women have caused many disasters.
Han Qiuzi: ‘…’ Since then, the king has not attended court early.
Chapter 61
After Ye Xinuo left the house, Han Qiuzi changed into a straddling position, hooked Yu Qing, and smiled with narrowed eyes, ‘Now there are only the two of us left here.’
Yu Qing nodded, ‘Well, I can see that.’
Han Qiuzi held Yu Qing’s face, which was close at hand, in both hands, and after a while of kneading, he kissed a loud ‘boo’ on the other person’s mouth, and his smile became even greater, ‘So can I do whatever I want?’
‘Do whatever you want?’ Yu Qing took Han Qiuzi’s two paws off her face, forced him to put his back against his back, and gently nibbled her chin. “What do you want me to do to you?”
Han Qiuzi kept his hands behind his back like that, leaned his head forward, reached Yu Qing’s ear, and exhaled an ambiguous hot breath. ’Then I won’t lose out either, but it’s broad daylight, what do you want to do?’
Yu Qing tightened her arms and leaned her head to kiss Han Qiuzi’s jawbone. She closed her eyes and teased the smooth, cool skin of his tongue inch by inch, finally moving it to the corner of his lips. She stopped suddenly and teased, ‘I don’t want to do anything.’
“But I want to kiss you every moment,’ Han Qiuzi pulled his hand out again, pressed Yu Qing’s shoulders, pushed her down on the sofa, his eyes sparkling with water and overflowing with affection. He looked into Yu Qing’s eyes with a smile of affection, raised the corners of his mouth, and tenderly kissed the two seductive lips.
After stabilising, the two maintained a position with one on top of the other.
Yu Qing rubbed Han Qiuzi’s head and let him find a comfortable position to lie in her arms.
Han Qiuzi: ‘Qing.’
Yu Qing: ‘Hm?’
‘I love you.’
‘Hm, I know.’
‘I said I love you.’
‘I said I know.’
‘Asshole!’
‘Has the company director been giving you trouble lately?’
‘Don’t change the subject.’
Yu Qing frowned, ‘We’re an old married couple, don’t you feel awkward hanging around saying “I love you” all the time?’
‘What’s so awkward about it?‘ Han Qiuzi rested his chin beneath Yu Qing’s collarbone and stared at her straight in the eye, “And we’re calling this mending the broken mirror, we haven’t even gotten out of the honeymoon period yet, is it too much to ask you to say ”I love you’?‘
’Not at all.”
Yu Qing circled Han Qiuzi’s head and whispered in her ear, “Tonight in bed, you can hear it as many times as you want.”
Han Qiuzi gave Yu Qing a dirty look, ’You rascal!’
‘But I like it.’ With that, she pecked Yu Qing’s mouth several times in a row before she would relent.
***
Ye Xinruo arrived at the Ivan Art Centre and saw Qin Moyan standing at the entrance, where the crowds were surging, still the most dazzling presence.
She couldn’t help but think, it is said that an average person will meet 29.2 million people in their lifetime, and among these people, they will only know 3,000. And among these 3,000 people, it is really a very lucky thing to be able to have a star like Qin Moyan, whose touch would be considered sacrilegious.
But if she tells that guy these words, she will definitely say that everyone has a different lifespan, goes to different places every day, has a different flow of people, and there are many other variables like these, and these numbers have no scientific basis.
When did you start unconsciously imagining every reaction and every word that person says?
It wasn’t long before Ye Xinuo had walked up to Qin Moyan.
‘Here I am,’ Qin Moyan said with a smile, ‘since you collect Modica’s paintings, I guess you’ll be interested in this exhibition. There are also some good works by another artist today.’
Ye Xinuo nodded, smiling as he ran a hand through his hair, ‘I’ve been really busy lately, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have known about his exhibition.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘They just had an exhibition in Prague a while ago, and I went to see it. There were a few paintings that hadn’t been shown yet.’
‘So you came here today especially for me?’ Ye Xinuo lowered her head, her voice getting smaller and smaller, afraid that Qin Moyan would answer that he only asked her to come because he really liked it, which would make her seem very self-absorbed.
‘Mm,’ Qin Moyan’s voice swept over Ye Xinuo’s heart like a feather, ‘apart from paintings, I don’t know what else you like. You can tell me, and next time you can have other options.”
This answer made Ye Xinuo’s mouth curve up, and his eyebrows and eyes curved into the moon lake in the secluded valley, reflecting the fine starlight.
Qin Moyan coughed twice unnaturally and said, “Let’s go in.” His fingers moved, circled halfway around, and then returned to his side.
Ye Xinuo was so happy that she naturally didn’t notice these small movements. After walking into the exhibition hall with a sweet smile, she focused her attention on the paintings.
Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo’s focused profile, and the smile on his face curved into just the right arc, making the whole person look warm and gentle like jade, lacking much of the unapproachable severity.
Ye Xinru turned around to ask Qin Moyan what he thought of the painting, and just happened to catch sight of those deep, dark eyes, as if he were about to be sucked right in.
Qin Moyan unobtrusively averted his gaze and said lightly, ‘Do you like this painting?’
Ye Xinru came back to his senses and shyly nodded, ‘The artistic conception of this painting is very beautiful. The warm and cool colour blocks blend together without being jarring at all, just like ice and fire are a natural pair.’
‘In the world, nothing will remain in eternal hostility, as long as there is a heart.‘ Qin Moyan said something that sounded like an answer but wasn’t, and then returned to silence.
Ye Xinuo saw that the other person was no longer speaking, so he refocused his attention on the other painting nearby.
’Sister Qin?”
Ye Xinuo turned his head and saw a woman of noble birth, about the same age as himself, walking slowly towards him with a surprised look in her eyes.
Qin Moyan nodded politely, ‘May I ask who you are?’
‘Sister Qin, don’t you remember me?’ Pu Zhiya seemed a little lost and reminded, ‘I am Pu Yuanshan’s daughter, you helped my father as an investment consultant.’
‘So you are the daughter of the CEO.’ Qin Moyan’s chin twitched slightly, ‘I’m sorry for being rude.’
‘Then…’ Pu Zhiya’s small lips pouted slightly, ‘if Sister Qin feels sorry, how about treating me to dinner?’
Ye Xinru inwardly sneered, ‘Calling me sister Qin affectionately, like that, when she doesn’t even know you. And pouting at a stranger, disgusting! She looks like a green tea bitch, and if Qin Moyan agrees, she’s got to be out of her mind!’
Qin Moyan hardly hesitated before replying, ‘No problem.’
Ye Xinru was furious inside, but she still had to maintain a proper smile on her face. If she could, she wanted to bite Qin Moyan right now.
‘But I’m afraid I can’t today, I wasn’t there for my girlfriend’s birthday the day before yesterday.’ Qin Moyan reached out and put his arm around Ye Xinuo’s waist, pulling her closer to him, “I want to personally cook for her today to make up for her birthday and apologise.”
Ye Xinuo’s heart suddenly tightened, and all the blood in her body rushed to her face. From the outside, she really looked like a young, lovely girl full of shyness.
Pu Zhiya glanced at Ye Xinuo sideways, ‘So this is Qin’s girlfriend, she looks a bit like me.’
Ye Xinuo wanted to fight back, but the words caught in her throat. She looked at Qin Moyan with a pout, and pouted her lips as well, ‘Baby, she said I look like her. You clearly said I was the one and only little demon in the world, are you lying to me?’
Qin Moyan’s face, which usually didn’t show much expression, almost couldn’t hold back the strain and changed shape. She used a tender, affectionate expression to hide the smile that had accidentally leaked out, ‘How could I lie to you, baby? You really are one of a kind. It was Miss Pu who made a mistake. Don’t be angry.’
Pu Zhiya sneered, ‘I’ve seen plenty of green tea bitches like you who only know how to act pitiful. Sister Qin is obviously the perfect match for a businesswoman elite.’
Ye Xinruo’s inner villain petrified at the sound, and her mouth hung open in disbelief. ‘Does this little sister know what she’s saying? It’s as if she’s teasing me. With that IQ and EQ, could the next sentence be that the businesswoman is her?’
Sure enough.
Park Zhiya’s mouth corners lifted up, and she flicked her hair, ‘I just became the vice president of my father’s company. I believe with my abilities, I will soon be able to remove the word vice.’
Ye Xinuo suddenly leaned over, buried her head in Qin Moyan’s shoulder, and trembled all over. She really couldn’t help it. There were really strange people every year, and this year there were especially many of them. At this level, she didn’t even bother to pay any attention to them.
‘Baby, don’t cry. Although your career has just started and you’re just a small boss, I will work hard to make money to support you.’ Qin Moyan stroked the back of Ye Xinuo’s head, showing a warm side of the overbearing CEO.
Park Ji-ah frowned, and with a condescending air, said, ‘Sister Qin, my father is also your employer, so it’s not wise of you to insult me like this.’
Ye Xinru shook even more violently. By hiring such a vice president, was she trying to increase the difficulty and challenges of the company’s development? Qin Moyan had previously recruited peach blossoms that were at least true business elites. Where the hell did this spoilt brat come from!
‘Miss Park, my subordinates are responsible for your father’s business, so if anything goes wrong, I naturally will not shirk my responsibility. However, if you are genuinely interested in me, perhaps you should first check up on my girlfriend and I, or perhaps go back and ask your father if I am unwise or you are unwise.”
If she didn’t think Ye Xinuo liked acting, Qin Moyan wouldn’t have had the patience to say so much to someone like her. She had now reached the limit of her patience.
‘We still have to continue the tour, Miss Park, please make yourself at home.‘
Yeh Hsino was dragged away by Qin Moyan, and she teased while wiping away her tears, “You’re not lucky in love this time, you’re practically mentally handicapped! Even if she pretended to be a white lotus, she could have done that, don’t you think?”
’Did Hsino have fun acting?’ Qin Moyan stopped in his tracks, his eyes warming at the edges.
‘It was okay.‘ Ye Xinuo was quite dissatisfied, “She was too weak, I didn’t even have room to play.”
Qin Moyan made a thoughtful expression, “It seems that I will have to recruit some better peach blossoms in the future.”
’I don’t have the hobby of blocking peach blossoms for you!’ Ye Xinuo’s words were full of disdain, ’And you casually made up a story about cooking for me, bragging that you are good in the kitchen as well as the living room, trying to make people love you even more!’
‘I did want to invite you to my home for dinner.‘ Qin Moyan paused, “And I can indeed cook.”
Ye Xinuo looked at Qin Moyan blankly, her face flushing again as she whispered, “You didn’t tell me either.”
’Xinuo didn’t ask.”
After saying that, Qin Moyan pointed his finger at the space inside the exhibition hall, “We haven’t been there yet.”
Then he lifted his foot and moved his position first.
Ye Xinuo deeply realised that one of the characteristics of a sulky person is that they don’t say anything unless they are asked.
Later, Ye Xinuo casually asked Qin Moyan why she wanted to eat hotpot after getting off the plane that time, and the sulky old fox replied, ‘Because hotpot can be eaten for a long time.’
Chapter 62
Ye Xinuo was driven by Qin Moyan to a large supermarket. She thought that the next scene would be the two of them pushing a shopping cart around, laughing and joking as they shopped for the ingredients they needed.
But she never expected… Within ten minutes of entering, they were standing outside the supermarket again.
Ye Xinuo seriously suspected that Qin Moyan’s usual walking speed had been honed by shopping in supermarkets. Without even looking at the other shelves, they went straight to their destination, picked up what they needed and left. It was nothing like the behaviour of a normal woman with a desire to shop.
Qin Moyan noticed Ye Xinuo’s expression of regret and asked curiously, ‘Is there anything else you want to buy?’
‘No,’ Ye Xinuo narrowed her eyes in curiosity, ‘Qin Moyan, do you usually go shopping?’
After trying many names, she felt that no matter how she called her, it didn’t have the same meaning as the three words ‘Qin Moyan’ put together.
Qin Moyan uttered a syllable in puzzlement, ‘Hm?’
Ye Xinuo curved her lips, ‘Judging by the speed at which you shop at the supermarket, I’m guessing that when you buy clothes, you don’t even try them on, just pick them up and leave.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Xinuo really knows me well. I don’t have any trouble with clothes not fitting, and I usually don’t need to try on casual clothes.’
Ye Xinuo thought to herself, ‘That means she looks good in anything! I was right before, it wasn’t a delusion, this old-fashioned person really is narcissistic.’
At this moment, Qin Moyan suddenly leaned forward.
Ye Xinuo, who was silently complaining, subconsciously flinched back a little. She didn’t know why Qin Moyan had suddenly leaned closer, but her heart rate had already rapidly increased in response.
‘The first thing you need to do when you get in the car is to fasten your seat belt,’ said Qin Moyan, reaching behind Ye Xinuo and pulling out the strap to fasten it. Her smile was like ripples in a shallow pool of water, slowly spreading. ‘You always forget.’
‘Oh, I see.‘ Ye Xinuo scrunched up the clothes on his body under his hands, while maintaining a calm appearance on his face, teasingly saying, “Then aren’t you missing out on a lot of the fun of being a woman?”
’No.‘ Qin Mo Yan started the car, “If Xinuo asks me to go shopping, I’ll be happy to go.”
’Why?”
Ye Xinuo asked, and then wanted to bite his tongue off. The villain in his heart covered his face and didn’t want to face reality, feeling like he was about to bore the sky to death.
‘You can think of me as someone who doesn’t want to give up the fun of being a woman,’ Qin Moyan paused slightly, “or the chance to enjoy the fun with you.”
—Is this flirting with me?
—Is it…?
—But as a friend saying this, it seems to work.
Ye Xinuo was once again caught up in self-doubt, and unconsciously hit the car’s neck pillow with the back of her head.
Qin Moyan did not tease Ye Xinuo anymore and drove home.
After entering the door, Qin Moyan found a pair of slippers for Ye Xinuo and told her to sit on the sofa, before going into the kitchen.
Ye Xinuo thought that she couldn’t just let Qin Moyan do all the work, so she went over to him of her own accord and offered to help with the vegetables.
Qin Moyan found an unopened apron, hung it around Ye Xinuo’s neck, and tied the string behind her directly in front. In a flash, he stepped back and took out everything that needed to be used from the refrigerator.
My heart is going to die. This was the only thought in Ye Xinuo’s mind.
She walked blankly to the sink, turned on the tap, and washed her hands for a long time.
‘Are you washing the vegetables like that because you want to wash your sleeves as well?”
Ye Xinuo heard Qin Moyan’s voice ring in her ears, very close.
The next second, the temperature behind her suddenly increased, and Qin Moyan reached out from behind to help her roll up both sleeves.
Ye Xinuo’s eyelashes seemed to have entered slow motion mode, slowly blinking a few times before she swallowed, and all the blood in her body concentrated on the place where she had just touched Qin Moyan’s body temperature.
With her brain not functioning at all, Ye Xinuo instinctively helped Qin Moyan wash some vegetables, and was politely asked to leave, otherwise at this rate, they might not even be able to eat tonight.
Ye Xinuo didn’t struggle, obediently dragging her floating feet back to the living room, collapsing on the sofa, and recalling the pounding of her heart just now. She had been sad, then smiling, then coy, just like a schizophrenic.
About forty minutes later, Qin Moyan served the food on the table, but Ye Xinuo was still lost in her own world of imagination. Her mind had already extended several different scenarios from the physical contact just now, such as Qin Moyan feeding her fruit, Qin Moyan blowing her hair, Qin Moyan being cute in her arms…everything.
“Xinuo, dinner’s ready,’
Qin Moyan called a few times, but there was no response, so she had to go to the front of the sofa herself, where she saw Ye Xinuo bury her face in her hands and keep wriggling.
Ye Xinuo had just imagined Qin Moyan pinning her to the sofa and tickling her, and when she heard a voice overhead, she looked up and saw the real person, so she was shocked and leaned back sharply.
Qin Moyan frowned in puzzlement, ‘Xinuo doesn’t want to eat? Why are you lying down?’
‘Ah, I’m very hungry, I don’t even have the strength to sit anymore, hahaha.’ Ye Xinuo stood up and fled towards the dining table. When her back was turned to Qin Moyan, her facial features were all scrunched up like a steamed bun.
Because she had been distracted just now, she hadn’t noticed the fragrance, and now, looking at the table full of dishes with attractive colours and appearances, Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement, ’The presentation of these dishes is just too good! Did you go to New Oriental to learn to be a chef?’
Qin Moyan’s tone was indifferent, ‘I worked in a Chinese restaurant when I was at school, and I learned by watching a lot.’
‘You’re so good! Whoever marries you will be really lucky.’ When Ye Xinuo said this, her heart was sour, and a brief flash of loss in her eyes. Even if they maintain this kind of relationship that is neither close nor distant, she dares not take the risk of saying something that reveals her innermost feelings.
She is afraid that if she says something, she will even lose the small satisfaction and happiness she has now.
Qin Moyan rarely winked at Ye Xinuo and asked in return, ‘Why doesn’t she cook for me?’
‘That’s right. You, a fairy who shouldn’t be involved with worldly matters, will definitely be worshipped in the future, so how could you bear to let you work?’ In order to hide her emotional changes, Ye Xinuo quickly pulled away the stool and sat down, unable to wait to pick up the chopsticks and take a taste, praising it repeatedly.
After the meal, Qin Moyan took out a suede square box and handed it to Ye Xinuo, casually saying, ‘It’s a gift for you.’
Ye Xinuo’s small cherry-red lips immediately blossomed into a smile. She opened the lid and found a platinum necklace with a unique design.
Looking up, she said insincerely, ‘I’m so embarrassed to accept such an expensive gift from you.’
Qin Moyan held out his palm facing up, saying, ‘If Xinuo thinks it’s expensive, you can return it—’
Ye Xinuo hurriedly changed her tone when she heard the first half of the sentence, ‘Oh, it’s really beautiful, you can put it on for me!’
Qin Moyan gathered the smile in her eyes, took the necklace out of the box, and placed it around Ye Xinuo’s delicate collarbone. The clasps intersected and fell behind the smooth porcelain-white neck.
Ye Xinuo turned around, her eyes shining, ‘Does it look good?’
“It suits you very well.’
Ye Xinuo’s heartbeat quickened a few beats.
She couldn’t count how many times her heartbeat had quickened tonight, but she had a strong feeling that in the next few decades, whenever she saw Qin Moyan, she would be unable to escape this fate.
Just as the atmosphere in the room gradually became more and more ambiguous, Qin Moyan’s phone suddenly rang.
She glanced at her phone, pressed the call button, and quickly typed a few lines on the screen and sent it.
Ye Xinru knew that Qin Moyan didn’t like to answer the phone in front of other people, so in order not to make her feel awkward, he said, ‘Well, you go ahead. It’s getting late, so I’ll go back first.’
Qin Moyan gave a soft ‘hmm’ and added, ‘I’ll drive you, it’s not easy to hail a cab here.’
‘It’s fine, my driver doesn’t live far away, I’ll just ask him to come pick me up. You’re a girl, don’t go back and forth at night.’ Ye Xinuo stopped Qin Moyan from arguing, “It’s decided then.”
The driver arrived quickly, and Ye Xinuo had to reluctantly say goodbye and leave.
The houses in this community all have one elevator per household, and the elevator is right outside the door. Qin Moyan watched the elevator doors close before turning back inside.
***
Ning Han was playing a fierce game of PS, while the phone on the table kept ringing tirelessly.
She glanced at the name displayed on the screen, frowned, put the controller aside, and pressed the switch on the Bluetooth headset.
‘Han Han, I have some good news for you. Most of the money I lost in the stock market has been recovered. Once I get it all back, I’ll redeem it.’
‘Do you see Ye Xinuo in person when you work at Ye Sheng? She’s practically a superhero!’
’…’
Moran said a few more crackling things before asking, ‘Hanhan, are you listening?’
‘Yes,’ Ning Han’s brows tightened even more. A friendship of more than ten years could not be broken just like that. She just felt disgusted by Moran’s behaviour of not listening to others and not caring about other people’s feelings, so she didn’t have much patience to continue listening to her.
‘Judging by the attitude of my friend, the stock market will continue to fall in the next few days, whether you believe it or not. I just hope that no matter what happens, you will not do anything to make your uncles and aunts sad. I’m very busy, so let’s not get in touch with each other in the future unless there’s something important.”
In the stunned silence of the other person, Ning Han hung up the phone without hesitation, threw the phone on the table, took a lollipop and put it in her mouth, and continued the game she was playing.
Qi Jing came out of the kitchen carrying fruit, placed the fruit plate on the table, and sat down next to Ning Han. She reached over and took the lollipop from the person next to her and stuffed a piece of dragon fruit into her mouth.
Ning Han mumbled, ‘I just ate the candy, how can I taste the fruit?’
‘Eat a few more pieces and you will,’ Qi Jing rolled up another piece and said, ‘Open your mouth.’
Ning Han was stuffed with several mouthfuls in a row and protested by turning her head, ‘Is this fun?’
‘It’s fun,‘ Qi Jing said with a look of enjoyment on his face, “You look just like a little hamster, you’re so cute.”
’I’ll smash your face like a little hamster!’ Ning Han snatched the lollipop from Qi Jing’s hand and put it back in his mouth.
Qi Jing took the lollipop out again with relish.
In this way, the two went back and forth several times. Ning Han couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up, ’I’ll tell you, I don’t usually hit women, but I really want to hit you now!’
‘How hard do you want to hit me?‘ Qi Jing then stood up, grabbed Ning Han’s wrist, and placed it on his hip, “How hard do you want to hit me?”
’You’re sick!‘ Ning Han was scared and quickly pulled his hand back, took two steps back, and threatened, “This is sexual harassment, I’ll call the police!”
’That’s a pity, you’ll miss a really beautiful view,’ Qi Jing shrugged, ’Or, do you want to try domination play?’
‘I’m going to bed, and you should go take a shower and clear your mind!’ Ning Han fled in defeat, leaving the game unsaved and running away with the controller.
Qi Jing gave a smile at the sound of the bedroom door slamming shut, glanced at the TV screen, picked up the controller and continued playing, killing a boss before saving the progress and shutting down.
She could imagine Ning Han’s frantic face when he found out that the hardest boss had been killed.
She was the same. The more she couldn’t conquer it, the more she wouldn’t give up.
***
Ye Xinuo arrived home, rummaged through the information that Ni Anxin had given her last time, glanced at the ID number, silently noted the birthday number on it, and then immediately called Ni Anxin.
‘Hello, Detective Ni, I want to terminate the commission. Don’t worry, you won’t be paid less.”
There was a short silence on the other end of the line. ’I was just about to call you. Some of Qin Moyan’s information is fake. I found out that she lived in an orphanage until she was a junior high school student, and was adopted by her later parents. Unfortunately, they both passed away a few years later. Also, I learned before that her benefactor was your father. Although I don’t know what the connection is between these people, Qin Moyan’s background is very complicated. You…’
Chapter 63
‘She lived in an orphanage until she was adopted by her later parents in junior high school, but unfortunately they both passed away within a few years. Moreover, I learned earlier that her sponsor was your father.’
Ye Xinru’s eyes first showed surprise, then confusion, and finally she let out a sigh and said, ‘Okay, that’s enough. Thank you. I hope you can destroy and keep this confidential.’
‘That…’ Ni Anxin hesitated.
Ye Xinuo: ‘What is it?’
‘Er… I have to confess something. I told Miss Yu who Qin Moyan’s benefactor was.’ Ni Anxin’s tone was slightly embarrassed. ‘I swear, I only told her this, and I originally wanted her to warn you about Qin Moyan.’
‘I understand, thank you, detective.’ Ye Xinuo exchanged a few more pleasantries with Ni Anxin before hanging up, her thoughts racing.
Although her father does charity work every year, as far as she knows, he has never funded a specific person alone.
Unconsciously, it has been a year since she was reborn, and Ye Xinuo has never set foot in her father’s study. This time, she felt a mixture of emotions when she pushed the door in.
She knew that her father had the habit of collecting newspaper clippings, and she was afraid that if she wanted to catch a glimpse of the truth, she would have to find the fragments that had been lost in the long river of time.
After two hours of searching, Ye Xinuo finally found several newspaper clipping books from more than 20 years ago at the bottom of a cabinet.
She patiently leafed through the pages, almost all of which were about major political and business events. Just as her eyelids were about to give in, she came across a news article about a fire in Building XXX of Longzhou Tiandi Community, which killed 29 residents. Some residents reported that Longzhou Real Estate Company had poorly maintained the property, and the building lacked basic firefighting equipment. In addition, a large amount of debris blocked the fire escape, and it was suspected that a stampede had occurred during the escape of the residents who were killed.
Not only was the news content shocking, but the degree of wear on this page was also significantly higher than the previous pages.
After noticing this news, he read it carefully, and at the bottom of the text was a list of those responsible, with Ye Qisheng’s name prominently listed.
Ye Xinuo used his phone to look up the names of those people, and most of them were unknown. Apart from his father, the only other people he could find were the controllers of the three companies that had gone bankrupt some time ago.
Further down the page was another news story.
‘Longzhou Real Estate Company illegal operation incident sues lawyer Shu Qingming and his wife in a traffic accident, and the whereabouts of their young daughter are unknown.’
Ye Xinuo glanced at the time of the news report, and a strong sense of unease rose in her heart.
She forced herself to pull away and look at the problem from an outsider’s perspective, connecting the existing fragments of clues, and a vague suspicion formed in her mind.
Ye Xinuo covered her mouth, and her fingertips, lips, and nostrils could not stop trembling violently. If what she thought was true, Qin Moyan might be the missing child.
A chill spread up Ye Xinuo’s spine and reached the top of her head.
She collapsed to the ground, not knowing when tears had already slid down her cheeks and into her neck.
Sitting motionless on the ground for a long time, Ye Xinuo tried to escape from the sadness that was whirling around her. She got up, washed her face, and read the two news articles again.
The timing of the lawyer’s accident was too coincidental.
Judging from the time of the newspaper clipping and Qin Moyan’s age, she was only three years old when it happened, which was probably too young to remember much. Was what she was doing now a form of revenge for that incident?
But how did their child go missing?
From the text of just a few decades ago, it is impossible to know the family situation of the lawyer and his wife, nor is it possible to know why Qin Moyan grew up in a welfare institution.
A series of questions lingered in Ye Xinuo’s mind.
It was just obvious that, combined with the previous information, after being adopted, Qin Moyan once again experienced the pain of losing her adoptive parents.
Ye Xinruo put the newspaper clippings back in the depths of the cupboard and fled from Ye Qisheng’s study like a thief.
For the first time, she hated her own mind, because the truth was often a cruel thing.
Ye Xinruo lay on the bed with her eyes vacant, suddenly feeling a little regretful. If she didn’t know any of this, it would be so much better.
She began to pray that these were just sad stories that she had woven together from unrelated fragments. How could someone as dazzling as Qin Moyan have such a sad life story?
The person in bed curled up, her heart filled with pity for Qin Moyan, mixed with hatred for herself. In her previous life, she had been provoked by Tang Jie and had antagonised Qin Moyan at every turn, but it turned out that she simply wasn’t qualified to do so.
Ye Xinuo’s heart ached, and even her fingertips felt numb. No matter what she did, she couldn’t get rid of the images flashing through her mind. In her previous life, Qin Moyan’s cold face now seemed more like a mask hiding her vulnerability.
She had no sleep that night, and it was only when the morning sun shone through the gaps in the curtains that she felt like she had returned from hell to earth.
Ye Xinuo sat up in bed, pulled back the curtains, stared at the soft but somewhat blinding sunlight, took a deep breath of the oxygen bathed in sunlight, and washed up and put on makeup with bloodshot eyes.
No matter how she tried to hide it, the puffy bags under her eyes and the dark circles under her eyes could not be removed, so she simply let it go.
She spent the morning in a daze, and as noon approached, the name Qin Moyan appeared on her phone screen.
Ye Xinuo looked at the little square that kept vibrating, and she hesitated to touch it, as fear climbed like a vine up every inch of her body, tightening little by little.
Finally, the phone returned to silence, but her heart felt as if a piece had fallen out, sprouting and growing rapidly within her body.
It turned out that this piece was called ‘unrequited love and inability to let go’.
There are eight sufferings in life.
Birth, ageing, sickness, death, separation, long-lasting grievances, unfulfilled desires, and inability to let go.
The worst suffering is being unable to let go.
If her father really owed a sinful debt, she would be lucky to get Qin Moyan’s forgiveness in this life, let alone being able to ask for a good outcome to her feelings.
After a few seconds, the phone rang again, with the same name that she was so attached to.
This time, Ye Xinuo held out her right hand, which was shaking uncontrollably, clenched her fist a few times, and picked up the phone with all her strength. She cleared her throat by pinching her neck before putting the phone to her ear.
‘Xinuo.’
Hearing this voice that made her heart flutter, Ye Xinuo could no longer suppress her craving. No matter what the other person was thinking, she also wanted to grasp the false bubble of the present.
She replied softly, ‘Mm.’
‘Do you remember the apartment you rented for me before? My new company has moved in, do you want to come and have a look?’
‘Sure, I’ll be right there.’ Ye Xinuo tried hard not to choke with sobs.
‘Mm.’
After hanging up the phone, Ye Xinuo buried her face in her hands and didn’t let go until she was about to suffocate.
The sensation of death still lingered in her body, and this kind of stimulation could clear her mind.
As long as she was alive, she would have the opportunity to make amends.
Before Ye Xinuo left the house, she made a phone call.
‘Hey, Brother Sen, I have a favour to ask. Please help me find two people to secretly protect Qin Moyan for 24 hours. Let me know immediately if anything is unusual.’
“No snooping into her life and privacy, just ensure her safety.’
‘Well, give me the expenses, and I’ll transfer the money every month.‘
***
’You take over this deal, buy 50,000 shares, and get the right to conduct internal audits.‘ Qin Moyan’s face was cold, and there was suppressed anger in his tone, “Also, I don’t like idiots, tell him to get lost.”
’Knock, knock, knock.‘
’Dione, President Ye is here.”
The secretary knocked on the door to Qin Moyan’s office, palms together in front of her, slightly bowing her body.
‘That’s it, I’ll be waiting for your good news.’ Qin Moyan hung up the landline on the desk and said to the secretary, “Ask her to come in.”
Her face then returned to its usual calm, serene and elegant expression.
Ye Xinru was led into Qin Moyan’s office by the secretary at the door. The interior decoration was just as mechanical and cold as the exterior.
Perhaps, this was how Qin Moyan had always been.
Was that gentleness an illusion on her part, or…
She didn’t dare to think any further.
‘I’m here,‘ Qin Moyan said, a smile curving her lips. “Does it hurt to see me using your house for free?”
Ye Xinru’s expression was unnatural, and she stood there, at a loss.
’What’s wrong?”
Qin Moyan took a few steps closer, bringing with her a faint aroma that could soothe the soul.
Ye Xinru reached out and put her arms around Qin Moyan’s waist, closed her eyes, and rested her forehead against Qin Moyan’s shoulder. ’Just let me lean on you for a second, real quick.’
Qin Moyan raised his hand to comfort her, gently stroked Ye Xinuo’s head, and asked, ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing, I’m just tired,’ Ye Xinuo tightened her arms around him, greedily inhaling a big sniff of Qin Moyan’s scent, then backed away, playfully saying, ‘You know, women, there are always those days when we’re sentimental and moody.’
Qin Moyan’s thumb swept gently across Ye Xinuo’s face. ‘Didn’t sleep well last night? You look haggard.’
‘Yeah, I worked all night on a proposal.’ Ye Xinuo rubbed her eyes and giggled, ‘Even an angel like me has to experience the suffering of the common people every now and then.’
‘You sit on the sofa for a while.’ Qin Moyan turned and walked into the pantry, making a cup of brown sugar water.
Ye Xinru took the opportunity to adjust her state of mind, patted her face, and gently pressed her middle finger a few times at the end of her eyebrows.
Qin Moyan placed the cup in front of Ye Xinru, did not sit down, but went around behind her, and placed her slightly cool fingertips on her slightly warm temples, pressing counterclockwise with moderate force.
Ye Xinru’s body stiffened, and she hurriedly said, ‘I’m fine, don’t trouble yourself.’
‘I don’t do free work,’ Qin Moyan said, bending down and whispering in Ye Xinuo’s ear, “You can pay me back by treating me to dinner.”
An instinctive physiological reaction instantly invaded her entire body, a tingling sensation spreading from her ears to her entire body, especially the unspeakable place.
Ye Xinuo was shocked by her own sensitivity and pinched her fingernails hard into the flesh of her palm.
‘Relax, close your eyes.’ Qin Moyan straightened up and lightly tapped Ye Xinuo’s brow with his index finger to soothe the meridians and dispel fatigue.
Ye Xinuo did as he was told, trying not to show any signs of unease, except that his heart felt as if it were being tangled up in a mass of fine, dense threads. It wasn’t fatal, but it was impossible to untangle.
***
A private club’s high-class room—
After reading the latest collected data, Tang Jie took off his glasses and pondered with a furrowed brow. The other securities firms that had bailed out the market had all suffered losses to a greater or lesser extent. This Qin Shu Securities, which had never made a splash, was doing the same thing but had made a profit instead. It was really interesting. There was a precedent on Wall Street of betting against insurance to multiply returns tenfold, but it had taken years to set up and involved huge investments, so few people would have the courage to do it.
It seems that the economic situation in Hucheng will become more and more interesting.
Chapter 64
After parking the car, Qin Moyan took Ye Xinuo to a restaurant called ‘Vegetarian House’.
After ordering, Ye Xinuo said with a smile, ‘The first time I went out to eat with you, you said you were a vegetarian, and I thought you were doing it to accumulate good fortune.’
“I’m afraid that anyone who has spent time on Wall Street is destined to be associated with these two words for the rest of their lives. Killing without seeing blood is also called killing.’ No emotion could be seen on Qin Moyan’s face. ‘If there really is a heaven, after I die, I will definitely be the one going to hell.’
Ye Xinuo was shocked by these words and stared blankly at Qin Moyan’s deep eyes.
‘Scared by me?’ Qin Moyan revealed a slight smile. ‘I just want Xinuo to know more about me. If I really have to give a reason…’
‘When I was young, eating meat was a luxury. Sometimes when I passed by a restaurant and smelled the meat, I would imagine that I was eating a golden chicken leg dripping with fat, and then swear that I would make a lot of money in the future and eat meat every day.”
Ye Xinuo’s eyes began to well up with tears, and she quickly looked away, teasing, ’So why didn’t you keep your promise?’
‘Then I went abroad, and I had to make money to support myself and save up the capital for investment, so I could only be mean to myself when it came to food. Food abroad is really expensive, and I can’t afford it. At that time, I thought to myself, I was really short-sighted when I was young.’ Qin Moyan shook her head with a smile, ’That’s why I now value every meal. If I eat something I don’t like, I’ll be in a bad mood all day. Isn’t that childish?’
Ye Xinuo’s hands under the table were clenched together, her eyes strained, trying to keep back the tears that had built up inside. Qin Moyan was telling this story with a light heart, but when she had been through all that, how much suffering she must have endured.
“I can make you cry just by telling a story. You’re so soft inside, but you’ll be eaten alive by others.’
Qin Moyan leaned forward and used his thumb to wipe the tears from the corners of Ye Xinuo’s eyes. ‘There are millions of people in the world who have experienced poverty and gone without food. Not everyone needs sympathy, and not everyone wants to be shown sympathy. Look, we were originally people from different worlds, but now we’re sitting together, eating together, aren’t we?’
‘I’m not crying,’ Ye Xinuo said stubbornly. ‘I just stayed up late last night and I want to yawn.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Do you have anything planned for this afternoon and evening?’
‘No,’ Ye Xinuo immediately began to adjust his afternoon work plan in his head.
‘My office has a lounge where you can take a nap, and I’ll take you to a business dinner tonight,’ Qin Moyan added, ‘I had my secretary prepare a tuxedo, so the size should be fine.’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘You’ve already made all the arrangements, what if I have something to do?’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Going with you is an alternative plan, so if you have something to do, that’s fine.’
‘Oh.‘ Ye Xinuo felt a vague sense of loss in her heart.
’Just kidding,’ Qin Mo Yan poked Ye Xinuo’s slightly pouting face with his finger, “I asked Miss Yu about your schedule in advance, and there are no plans to go out or collaborate on projects. If you find another reason not to go, I’ll just knock you out and take you away.”
Ye Xinuo laughed out loud, ’You sound like a primitive person knocking out other primitives and dragging them into the cave for the sake of reproducing offspring.’
‘Xinuo looks very much looking forward to it.’ Qin Moyan raised the corners of his mouth, “We can try.”
Ye Xinuo lowered her head, blushing, “How could I be looking forward to it? Dragged into the cave by you, we won’t be able to reproduce the offspring either.”
Qin Moyan said innocently, ’I only said knock unconscious and drag into the cave, is Xinuo looking forward to something else?’
‘Has anyone ever told you that you’re a pervert?’ Ye Xinuo gathered her courage and grabbed Qin Moyan’s hand, which had not yet been retracted. She said casually, “Your hands are quite nice, long and well-proportioned.”
After she finished speaking, she broke out in a cold sweat. These two sentences, when linked together, seemed strange. She swore to the heavens that she was just trying to get closer to each other.
Before Qin Moyan could say anything, Ye Xinruo grinned again and said with a forced laugh, ‘I’ve studied palmistry, and your life line is long and unbranched, which means you’ll live a long life. This career line is soaring, which means you’ll be able to make money. Hmm…it’s just that the love line isn’t very good, with too many broken lines, attracting a lot of bad luck in love. But there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and you’ll meet someone who loves you and stay together for life. Don’t be discouraged. Raising children is so troublesome these days, so as long as you have a good career line, that’s all that matters, right?‘
’I didn’t know before, but Xi Nuo is really good at this,‘ Qin Moyan said seriously. “Then take a look and tell me when my beloved will appear?”
’I thought you were more concerned about your financial fortune,’ Ye Xi’nuo cleared his throat and said sheepishly, ’I’m not a professional face reader, either. When the time comes, fate will take care of itself. It might be right in front of you when you least expect it.’
‘Hmm, I think I know who it is,‘ Qin Moyan nodded.
’Cough cough!’ Ye Xinuo was choking on his saliva a few times, and said in alarm, “Who is it?”
He thought to himself, “Was my hint too obvious?”
Qin Moyan: “Recently, my secretary keeps looking at me, maybe she has a crush on me.”
Ye Xinuo: “I looked at your palm lines again, this peach blossom won’t fly over here anytime soon, it definitely isn’t your secretary.”
…
***
‘Welcome, welcome. Tang is now a big shot. I heard that the head of the internet company has invited many internet giants to the dinner. I, as an old friend, don’t even dare to trouble you to attend the birthday banquet of the old man.’ An obese middle-aged man’s eyes betrayed undisguised contempt.
This person is Lu Tiancheng, the powerful real estate tycoon in Hucheng.
A sinister gleam flashed in Tang Jie’s eyes, but there was no anger on his face. His smile was even a little servile, ‘Cheng, you just love joking. Today is Mr Lu’s 80th birthday, so how could I not come prepared with a big gift to congratulate him?’
“Right, right, I forgot, you’re now the CEO Tang, not the assistant Tang who used to open doors and carry my bags for me,’ Lu Tiancheng patted his head, ‘I’m getting old, my memory is not good. As an apology, I will personally lead you to your seat.’
The bloated man looked at the guest seating plan and showed a difficult expression, ‘Oops, I don’t know which inconsiderate person wrote your name on the end table. Tang is no longer the same as he used to be, how can he sit at the same table as the secretaries? I have to find out which son of a bitch did this!’
‘Forget it, forget it. Today is the old man’s birthday, and harmony breeds wealth. There’s no need to make a big deal over such a trivial matter.‘ Tang Jie’s smile did not fade, “I’m sure they and I will find plenty to talk about.”
’Hey! Tang Jie really understands the big picture. No wonder he’s achieved so much today.‘ Lu Tiancheng gave a thumbs-up, “People, if they don’t forget their roots, can go far.”
’Yes, yes, Chengge is right.’ Tang Jie laughed a few times in agreement, ’Then I’ll go in first and wish the old man a happy birthday.’
Lu Tiancheng waved his hand, ‘The old master is still asleep upstairs. Whoever wakes him up will get a cane. I’ll accept the gift on his behalf. The old master probably won’t remember you anyway, so there’s no need for you to go in person.’
‘I’ll take my seat first, Brother Cheng, you go ahead.’ After Tang Jie turned around, the gloom in his eyes only swirled for a while, but his face still wore the same smile.
“These inferior dogs will easily become overconfident if you don’t show them some respect. The old man was still saying the other day that he was doing well in business,‘ Lu Tiancheng gloated to the man next to him, “You see? In front of me, he doesn’t even dare to fart.”
’Yes, yes, Brother Cheng. Every time you take a step, Hucheng shakes three times. You are the one and only Hucheng,’ the man said, giving a thumbs-up sign.
After Tang Jie took his seat, someone next to him came over and said, ’Brother, which big shot brought you here? Do you have any gossip to share?’
‘Haha, you’ve asked the right person,’ Tang Jie said with a smile, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses. “I’ve heard all the secrets about the host of this birthday banquet, and it’s really exciting.”
***
At another banquet, Luo Ming, CEO of Tianjun Group, the largest e-commerce enterprise in Hucheng, gathered together the heads of a handful of internet companies, as well as some friends from the investment community, to sit down and chat casually.
And the casual chat between these big shots sometimes means that the direction of development of an industry will change quietly.
After Ye Xinuo took his seat, he looked around, but he didn’t see Tang Jie’s figure. Logically, there shouldn’t be a lack of Ye Sheng’s president at such an occasion.
‘Today is the birthday banquet for the real estate tycoon, Lord Lu. I’m afraid your uncle Tang won’t be coming,’ Qin Moyan seemed to have guessed Ye Xinuo’s thoughts, and there was a teasing look in his eyes.
Ye Xinruo shrugged, ‘I find that you really hold a grudge. Is this tone of voice an expression of dissatisfaction with me for lying to you in the past?’
Qin Moyan leaned close to Ye Xinruo and whispered, ‘Xinruo is getting smarter and smarter.’
Ye Xinruo’s back suddenly straightened. She could tell that this person was definitely the type to tease her on purpose.
‘Having this opportunity for us to sit together and speak freely has great significance for the future development of Hucheng,’ Luo Ming said in his speech. “As we all know, the Internet is developing at a rapid pace. We can already see the tail end of the demographic dividend period. The vigorous development of the digital economy still depends on the joint efforts of Internet people like us…”
Ye Xinuo had attended many such dinners in her previous life, so she didn’t act like a young girl in her early twenties, which impressed many people.
Qin Moyan seemed to have met someone she knew, and after talking to a blonde man for a while, she was led to another Chinese woman.
‘Dione, I’ve been in contact with you through Lai, but I didn’t know that such a decisive person was actually a fairy in the painting.’
‘Hello, Miss Dong,’ Qin Moyan nodded, ‘I hope we continue to have a pleasant working relationship.’
‘Cheers!’
***
That night, when she returned home, Ye Xinuo had that familiar dream again.
‘What’s wrong with you, sister?‘ The young Ye Xinuo stood in front of the thin young girl curled up in a ball, her eyes full of curiosity.
The young girl looked up, her face covered in tears, but her eyes were no longer weak. She ignored Ye Xinuo and tried to get up and leave.
’Are you mute, sister?’ Ye Xinuo’s tone did not carry any sympathy or ridicule, just the simple question of a child.
The young girl froze for a moment when she saw Ye Xinuo’s clear eyes.
‘This is for you,’ Ye Xinuo took something out of her small backpack and held it up in front of the young girl.
When she woke up the next day, the face of the older sister in her dream was still blurry, and she still couldn’t remember what she took out of her bag.
Ye Xinuo used her right hand to cover her eyes, wondering what the dream meant.
Chapter 65
‘Ni Zong, how have you been?’ Yu Qing smiled and nodded to Ni Anqi.
‘Special Assistant Yu has been looking well lately, I presume it is because you have been nourished by love, should you not thank me?’ Ni Anqi also curved the corners of her mouth, if it weren’t for the jealousy and resentment in her eyes, it would really seem like she was happy for Yu Qing.
Yu Qing’s smile grew even wider, ‘So, I had a good business deal, and I immediately came to see you, didn’t I?’
‘Hahaha.’ After Ni Anqi let out a loud laugh, the smile on her face gradually faded, ‘You really have a great spirit.’
‘We are all businessmen, and business is business. The land along the mountains in Lugang District should be in the Ni family’s pocket.’ Yu Qing’s smile did not diminish, ‘Although I don’t believe in your character, it doesn’t affect Ye Sheng and Ni Jin’s cooperation, does it? The Ni family has stood for so many years, and the two companies have supported each other to develop further, haven’t they?”
Ni Anqi narrowed her eyes, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Yu Qing was indifferent, ’If you can’t distinguish between public and private, how could you have reached your current position. I heard that Mr. Ni was sent to the Deshan Nursing Home, and President Ni can even more recklessly flex his muscles. Congratulations.’
‘You know what? I like your courage in dealing with the tiger,‘ said Angel Ni, running her thumb across her full bottom lip.
Yu Qing leaned forward slightly, “But I don’t like the way you smell.”
’What can you do? You have to put up with the smell and sit down with me to talk business,’ said Angel Ni, pulling out a chair for Yu Qing. ’Tell me, if my smell gets onto your little princess, will she be angry?’
Yu Qing glanced at the time on her watch and pursed her lips slightly. ‘With such a large group as Ye Sheng’s, with so many departments, naturally I don’t have to be fully responsible for such matters. But someone like Ni, who doesn’t trust anyone, will have to take care of it themselves.’
‘Knock, knock, knock.’
The two’s gazes fell simultaneously on the door to the private room.
Yu Qing pulled open the door and nodded, ‘It’s all yours.’
‘Okay.‘
A man in a suit with a briefcase walked in and held the back of the chair that Ni Anqi had just pulled out. “Please sit, President Ni. I will follow up on the cooperation project with the Ni Jin Group. I hope we can have a happy time together.”
’I wish you both a pleasant meal.‘ After Yu Qing finished speaking, she walked out with the door behind her, her eyes full of a false smile replaced by a hawk-like gaze.
’Qing, what took you so long!’
Han Qiuzi, who was in the driver’s seat, was impatient waiting outside. In a fit of anger, he rubbed Yu Qing’s face hard from the side.
‘Let go, you’re going to wrinkle my face!’ Yu Qing opened the mirror on the sun visor and said, ‘Don’t keep touching my face, do you know how hard it is to maintain skin after thirty?’
‘Hmph, you’re so pretty, are you looking for a second spring?’ Han Qiuzi grabbed Yu Qing’s hand and bit it.
Yu Qing then asked Han Qiuzi to pinch her chin, her tone ambiguous, ‘Baby, it’s broad daylight, and you’re doing such provocative things. I can’t possibly satisfy you.’
‘Get lost!’ Han Qiuzi slapped Yu Qing’s hand away and glared at her, ‘Looks like I didn’t work hard enough last night. I’ll definitely make sure you can’t get out of bed tomorrow.’
‘I’m looking forward to that,’ Yu Qing said with a smile, propping her chin up and leaning back.
‘That’s why they say that people in their middle years are like wolves and tigers. You are a typical example.‘ Han Qiuzi said this, but in her heart, she was melting into a string of sweet little bubbles.
Yu Qing reminded her in a spoiling way, “When are you going to drive? I’m starving.”
Han Qiuzi started the car and complained, “You are really horny.”
’So now Zi is full of thoughts about tonight,’ Yu Qing said with a smile, ’Even dinner you want to save?’
‘Shut up!’ Han Qiuzi snapped, “Of course I know it’s time to eat!”
***
Ye Xinuo had stepped down as chairman and CEO, but he was still the majority shareholder of Yesheng and had a certain amount of say, so the Yesheng board of directors was at a stalemate at this time.
After Qin Moyan left Hessen Fund, Li Ai replaced her on the Yesheng board of directors, maintaining a neutral stance and not helping either side.
Han Qiuzi was too busy dealing with the mess at the Han Group to spare any time to attend today’s board meeting.
The current situation was that the directors supporting Ye Xinuo and Tang Jie were evenly split.
The main point of contention between them was the promotion of Alpha Search.
Tang Jie: ‘Although search engines can generate substantial advertising revenue, it is time-consuming and laborious for foreign search engines to break into the domestic market. I advocate abandoning this project. The initial investment is like a stone dropped into the water – we’ll just have to listen to the sound and forget about it.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Chairman Tang, as far as I know, you invested in “Top Search” some time ago, and now you are suggesting that Ye Sheng give up on this project. Are you really thinking of the company’s interests, or are you being selfish?’
Tang Jie: ‘I have worked hard for Ye Sheng for more than 20 years. How can an investment company outside the group be compared to the interests of my own group?’
‘But I heard that you, Master Tang, have gambling debts outside, and that your father threatened to sell Ye Sheng to Hesson, as if the money was not important.’ Ye Xinuo placed his fingers on his chin and rubbed them a few times, his gaze falling on Tang Jie, “Uncle Tang, I consider you a family member, so please don’t be offended if I ask you a direct question. Is this true?”
Tang Jie looked calm, smiled, and shook his head, ’My son is a naughty child, so how can we take what he says seriously?’
Ye Xinruo smiled, ‘I also don’t think that President Tang would do such a thing. After all, Ye Sheng is a well-known enterprise in Hucheng, and how could it let a foreigner take advantage of it? But by saying this, have I offended Miss Li Ai?’
Saying this, he shifted his gaze to the representative of Hessen, Li Ai, who had not said a word.
Li Ai replied politely, ‘I also have my own country, and I understand Miss Xinruo’s sense of belonging to your country. But I have great faith in President Tang’s abilities and don’t think that Hessen will be disappointed.’
‘Do you really want to sell Hessen to foreigners?‘ A director couldn’t sit still and asked sharply.
’Director Qi, it was a misunderstanding,’ Tang Jie laughed heartily, “what a child says, how can you take it to heart.”
Ye Xinuo naturally knew that Tang Jie would not be so stupid as to sell Ye Sheng now and let his useless son know. But his precious son really is a worry. Not only does he spend all day partying, he can’t keep his mouth shut. If the other directors ask around a little, they’ll find out that it’s not unfounded.
Chairman Lu’s deep voice boomed out, not loud but very intimidating. ‘I’m saying, Tang, you should really teach your son a lesson. Talking nonsense like that out in the open will inevitably affect Ye Sheng’s stock price. If we directors suffer losses for no good reason because of this, it’ll be very unfair!’
‘I will definitely give him a good lecture when I get back. Please rest assured, directors.‘
Tang Jie quickly returned to the previous discussion. “Ye Sheng needs to invest in many areas. You don’t know how expensive things are unless you’re the one doing the cooking. Anything that’s competitive needs a lot of money. I think the search engine marketing expenses can be saved for now, and the money can be used where it counts.”
Several directors discussed it again with one another.
***
’Why buy this stock?’ Qin Moyan’s sharp gaze fell on the man standing with his head bowed. ‘After the management of Tiancheng Real Estate was transferred, the company’s performance was mediocre, with losses for three consecutive quarters. There was no sign of a recovery, and the company was forced to delist some time ago, only to resume trading yesterday. And yesterday, you kept buying from the opening bell, from an opening price of 32.8 to a closing price of 46.6, an increase of more than 42%. Should I say you have an exceptional eye?’
The man’s throat rolled slightly. ‘I have a hunch that this stock will rise.’
‘You have a hunch it will rise.‘ Qin Moyan tapped the table lightly with his hand and said, “With such a confident tone, I can’t think of any other reason except that you already knew someone was going to buy a large amount of this stock. A person who never takes risks not only bought a large amount of this inferior stock, which they normally wouldn’t even look at, for their client, but also encouraged their colleagues to do the same. Are you trying to tell me that a fairy told you this stock would rise?”
’No, I haven’t. I’ve analysed—’
‘Let me tell you why. Because the domestic stock market restricts price increases, but delisted stocks are not subject to price restrictions when they resume trading. This is a great opportunity to make a fortune.’ Qin Moyan’s eyes became more severe as she said sternly, ’HC News received a tip that someone is going to buy a large amount of Tiancheng Real Estate. Coincidentally, the IP address is our company. Whether you know who is behind this move to inflate the stock price or not, I cannot continue to tolerate you here. People’s bottom lines are destroyed little by little. You better watch yourself.’
She was about to dial the phone when the man standing at his desk suddenly knelt down and pleaded, ‘Dione, please give me another chance! Don’t send me to jail! I’ll do whatever you want!’
Qin Moyan shook his head, ‘Stop while you still can. I’ve seen too many people like you. Letting you off this time will only make you complacent and get you deeper and deeper into trouble.’
‘No!‘ The man rushed up like crazy, trying to grab the phone in Qin Moyan’s hand, but was kicked away.
Qin Moyan pressed the security button, and the security guard quickly rushed up and subdued the man.
’Don’t send me to prison, please! So many people want a piece of the pie, why am I the only one being punished!‘ The man was unwilling, but could only humbly beg.
’A few years from now, you will know that you are luckier than all of them.’ Qin Moyan leaned down and looked at the man, his eyes calm. ‘It’s not too late to repent while the devil hasn’t corrupted your conscience.’
The man on the ground wanted to say something else, but Qin Moyan lowered his head and continued, ‘You worked hard for Lu Sheng’s investment in Lu Xingyu, gathering intelligence. In the end, you’re definitely not willing to go to prison yourself. If you give a detailed account, you might be able to redeem yourself for your crimes. Don’t be stupid.’
Upon hearing these words, the man stopped struggling, his face gradually turning pale, and he let the security guard take him out, his mind in a daze.
Qin Moyan returned to the leather seat, closed her eyes, and rubbed her brow. She had seen too much human greed, and by now, she had become numb to such things.
Suddenly, Qin Moyan opened her eyes and glanced around the desk. Her brows furrowed even more as she immediately got up, opened the door, and anxiously asked the secretary at the door, ‘Did you see the things on my desk?’
Secretary Cici was startled by her boss’s appearance. Although she didn’t know what she was missing, she subconsciously replied, ‘The cleaning staff just finished cleaning outside and left with the trash bag. Your room was the first to be cleaned…’
Before the other person could finish speaking, Qin Moyan walked down the stairs quickly.
Chapter 66
The sound of high heels clacking down the stairs, Qin Moyan stopped the cleaning staff who was about to go out the door, and urgently grabbed the large black bag behind her.
‘What?’ The cleaning staff was shocked by the boss’s gaze and was extremely frightened.
‘Have you seen the teddy bear on my desk?’ When Qin Moyan said this, there was no loss of momentum in her eyes.
‘No… I haven’t seen it.’ The cleaning staff looked a little panicked. In fact, she had accidentally spilled coffee on the table, and the teddy bear had been stained. She was afraid that the boss would blame her, so she wanted to secretly throw it away. She thought that the boss, being such a busy person, wouldn’t remember such an old thing.
Qin Moyan caught the evasiveness in the other person’s eyes and gritted her teeth and said, ’Let go.’
This was the first time the cleaning staff had encountered someone with such a powerful aura, and they couldn’t muster any resistance at all. They obediently placed the black bag on the floor.
Qin Moyan squatted down, as if she didn’t care about the filth in the garbage bag, and personally rummaged through it. Finally, she found the teddy bear, half blackened, among a pile of toilet paper balls.
A professional woman with a beautiful face and upright posture was crouching on the floor holding the dirty Paddington Bear doll, which was very incongruous. None of the staff dared to laugh when they saw this scene, and they couldn’t even think of laughing.
Because everyone present could feel that the boss was angry, and very, very angry.
Qin Moyan stood up with a cold face. There was an indescribable emotion in her dark eyes. She raised her eyelids slightly and went upstairs without saying a word.
When she reached the office door, she said coldly, ‘Cici, in the future, whether you watch someone else clean or clean yourself, you are not allowed to let anything go missing in my office, or you can pack your things and leave. The cleaning staff downstairs will be given an extra month’s salary and then dismissed. I don’t need careless employees who make mistakes and try to cover them up with lies.’
Her voice was not loud, but the force was enough to penetrate the entire office area. The traders who were originally staring at the big board all shuddered, and even had the illusion that the words were a warning of their own mistakes.
Qin Moyan closed the door and her eyes fell on the dirty little teddy bear. It turned out that the crooked name was obscured by stains, and most of it was already unrecognisable.
Her brows were tightly screwed together, and she regretted her carelessness.
This teddy bear was almost the only warm support she had before being adopted. The clear eyes of that little girl were also a bright light that she would never be able to forget in her life, lighting up her heart that was gradually fading.
Later, she learned that the bear’s name was Paddington Bear, and like her, it also had no parents.
But anger and regret were the most useless emotions for Qin Moyan, so after closing her eyes to calm down, she wrapped the teddy bear in a paper towel and put it in a drawer.
***
Ye Xinuo finished what she was doing, and her thoughts drifted to Qin Moyan.
‘Ugh, I miss that old fox.’
Ye Xinuo’s chin rested on the table, her arms hanging listlessly at her sides, her eyelids drooping like a pool of rotten mud.
‘Qin Moyan, the big bad guy, hasn’t contacted me in two days.’
“What is Qin Moyan doing right now?’
‘Qin Moyan’s name is so nice and sounds so catchy.‘
’Qin Moyan, Qin Moyan, Qin Moyan…‘
’Xinuo, tonight—‘
’Ah! Are you trying to scare me to death?‘
Ye Xinuo sprang up from the table, patting her chest and gasping for breath.
Yu Qing looked innocent, “I knocked on the door.”
’I didn’t hear you.’ Ye Xinuo cleared her throat, ’What were you saying?’
Yu Qing’s mouth opened slightly, and after some recollection, she said, ‘Do you want to have dinner with us tonight?’
Ye Xinuo rolled his eyes, ‘You two are having a world of your own, why drag me along?’
‘It’s just that I’m afraid you won’t eat properly on your own,’ Yu Qing returned a glare, ‘Isn’t Su Ma busy these days and unable to take care of you?’
‘No, no,’ Ye Xinuo casually waved his hand as he leaned back in his chair, ‘I have an appointment.’
‘Who?‘ Yu Qing asked reflexively, “There’s no dinner in the schedule.”
’I just made an appointment,‘ Ye Xinuo urged, “You should go now, don’t keep your little one waiting.”
’Then be careful and come home early.”
After Yu Qing left, Ye Xinuo was torn between various emotions while holding the phone.
Is it too late to call to make dinner plans? What if she has plans already?
What excuse should I use?
—Why am I so timid? !
Finally, twenty minutes later, she finally got herself ready mentally and nervously dialed the phone number.
‘Doo… doo… doo…’
The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.
‘Hello.’
The voice on the phone sounded weak and a little hoarse.
‘Qin Moyan, what’s wrong?’ Ye Xinuo’s brows furrowed slightly, ‘Are you sick?’
‘I have a slight fever, but it’s not serious.‘ Qin Moyan let out a soft gasp, “What is it that you want, Xinuo?”
Ye Xinuo did not answer the question, but asked, “Are you at home?”
’Yes.‘
’Then I’ll come over now.”
Ye Xinuo immediately got up and told the driver to pick her up.
It was rush hour and the roads were congested, so it took Ye Xinuo an hour to get to Qin Moyan’s house. She was afraid that if she rang the doorbell, the other person wouldn’t be able to hear it, so she just called her directly.
Soon, the door opened from the inside, and Qin Moyan, wearing white loungewear, appeared with a flushed face.
Ye Xinuo quickly ducked inside and closed the door behind her, ‘You go inside and lie down quickly, don’t catch a cold.’
Qin Moyan lightly coughed twice while covering her mouth with her hand. ‘It’s fine, I’ve been lying down for a while.’
‘Don’t be stubborn,’ Ye Xinuo quickly found the place where Qin Moyan had left her slippers last time, quickly changed her shoes, straightened up and pushed Qin Moyan back into the room.
Qin Moyan could not argue, so she obediently went to bed and lay down.
‘The iPad next to the pillow is still on. You really are a worry,‘ Ye Xinuo did not bother to turn off the screen Qin Moyan was looking at before, but only expressed concern, “Have you eaten yet? Although I can’t cook, I can make congee.”
’Not yet,’ said Qin Moyan, ’I’ll do it, you don’t know where the rice is.’
‘Don’t underestimate me, I saw where you put the rice last time.‘ Ye Xinuo pushed Qin Moyan down on the bed, “Just lie back and rest, don’t worry, I won’t set your kitchen on fire.”
’Xinuo has a good memory, it seems that he wants to come and make porridge for me from time to time.‘ Qin Moyan’s slightly chapped lips curved upwards.
’How can you keep getting sick! My porridge-making skills are not easily revealed.’ Ye Xinuo quickly said, ‘But I can come and eat your food from time to time,’ and then ran out.
Qin Moyan smiled as she looked at the closed door, and then turned her attention to the electronic device by her pillow. After a moment of hesitation, she turned off the screen, closed her eyes, and lay down.
Ye Xinuo set the rice cooker to cook congee mode, then retraced her steps, opened Qin Moyan’s bedroom door, and saw the person inside with their eyes closed and breathing very steadily, as if they had already fallen asleep.
She tiptoed over to the bed, sat down on the carpet hugging her legs, and used her gaze to carefully trace Qin Moyan’s delicate features.
How could there be someone so good-looking in the world?
Ye Xinuo rested her head on her knees and tilted her face, infatuated.
After a while, Ye Xinuo, with a strange sense of propriety, lifted one arm and gently touched Qin Moyan’s flushed face with her finger. It was warm and soft and very comfortable.
‘So Qin Moyan’s face is soft,’ Ye Xinuo muttered to himself, staring at his hand that still retained some warmth. “It’s quite nice to feel how smooth and tender it is.”
After sitting next to Qin Moyan for a while, Ye Xinuo scratched his head and thought to himself, ’Should I try to lower her temperature physically? I don’t know if applying ice is going to help.’
With these thoughts, he got up and went to the bathroom, took a white towel and soaked it in water, then returned and placed it on Qin Moyan’s smooth forehead.
When he sat back down, Ye Xinuo’s eyes couldn’t help but drift to Qin Moyan’s not-quite-rosy lips, and his throat rolled a few times. He quickly lowered his head and buried his face in his knees.
After a short while, she looked up again, staring at those two lips, her mouth and tongue dry.
At some point, Ye Xinuo had changed to a half-kneeling position, her hands propped on either side of Qin Moyan’s body. Her breathing was disordered, and her eyes were dazed.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Ye Xinuo suddenly woke up, broke out in a cold sweat, and, in a panic, straightened up and took a few steps back. She closed her eyes and sat on the ground, breathing heavily.
Taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable situation is not the behaviour of a gentleman. How could she have done something so frivolous when the other person was unaware?
She rubbed her face with both palms to regain her composure.
Since Ye Xinuo had nothing else to do here, she took the opportunity to look at Qin Moyan’s sleeping face from left to right, as if she wanted to engrave this face into her bones.
However, soon, a phone ringing broke the tranquility of the room.
Ye Xinuo was at a loss. She didn’t dare to answer the phone on her own, and she didn’t want to wake Qin Moyan up. So she could only stare at the noisy black phone with annoyance.
The phone rang for about half a minute, and Qin Moyan’s eyebrows slightly bulged into a small drum bag. She opened her eyes drowsily, looking displeased.
Ye Xinuo then took Qin Moyan’s phone and handed it to her, whispering, ‘Your phone is ringing.’
Qin Moyan slowly took a breath, rubbed her palms on her eyes twice, and then took the phone and placed it to her ear.
‘What is it?’ Unlike the sound of her conversation with Ye Xinuo, this time, apart from a slight hoarseness, she couldn’t hear the slightest hint of weakness.
“Do I need to teach you what to do in this kind of situation?’
After a long silence, not knowing what was said on the other end, Qin Moyan’s tone eased slightly, ‘Well, come find me tomorrow at two o’clock in the afternoon.’
After hanging up the phone, Qin Moyan coughed violently for a while.
The phone slipped from her hands and fell next to the pillow.
Ye Xinuo hurriedly got up to help her calm her breathing, and patted her chest several times through the quilt.
Qin Moyan removed the cooling towel from her forehead, glanced at it, and didn’t say anything for a long time.
Ye Xinuo thought she was moved by his considerate actions and waved his hand with an embarrassed smile, ‘It’s no big deal, I’m very good at taking care of people.’
Qin Moyan thought for a moment and spoke tactfully, ‘This towel… I used it to wipe the water off the sink, but it’s not too dirty.’
‘…’ Ye Xinuo blushed, ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Thank you.’ Qin Moyan’s head tilted slightly, and tiny stars shone in her eyes. “I’m very happy that you’re here to take care of me.”
Ye Xinuo’s hands were placed on either side of his body, clutching the hem of his clothes. He looked as helpless as a schoolboy being punished by standing in the corner. His face was burning red, and he suddenly stuttered, “The porridge…the porridge should be ready. You can get up…and eat!”
After saying that, he fled out of the room like a rabbit.
Chapter 67
A smile like rippling water slowly spread across Qin Moyan’s eyes, as if stained with the afterglow of the setting sun, making the calm lake no longer pitch black.
He opened the door and went out.
Ye Xinru, like a hardworking little bee, served the porridge in a simple brown porcelain bowl and placed it in front of Qin Moyan. She realised that she had forgotten to take a spoon, so she went to the kitchen again, making a clanking noise, and came back to hand Qin Moyan a ceramic spoon.
Then she stood beside him, her eyes never blinking, ‘Try it, see if it’s good.’
Qin Moyan couldn’t help but laugh. ‘This can’t be Xinuo’s first time making congee, can it?’
‘Of course it is,’ Ye Xinuo said, as if he were proud of himself. ‘I’m very lazy, so how could I possibly do it myself? Eating bread is easier than making congee.’
‘Then I’m honoured,’ Qin Moyan said, raising an eyebrow lightly. ‘But the congee is so hot, and Xinuo is in such a hurry for me to drink it, so won’t you blow on it for me?’
Ye Xinuo froze for a moment, and said coyly, ‘Can’t you blow it yourself?’
‘I’m joking.’ Qin Moyan scooped up a spoonful of porridge, blew it seriously a few times, put it in his mouth, and nodded repeatedly, ‘Mmm, it’s the taste of porridge.’
Ye Xinuo felt a twinge of anger, but she didn’t want to make a scene. Besides…what kind of comment is ‘it’s the taste of porridge’!
Qin Moyan naturally had no idea of the thoughts in the person in front of him, so he asked out loud, ‘Why don’t you sit down and drink with us?’
‘I’ll go get some.’
Overall, Ye Xinuo was very happy at this time, both physically and mentally, so that his pace today was exceptionally light. Compared to the past, he finally had a little bit of the youthful vitality of a young person.
After finishing the plain congee with Qin Moyan, which had no other taste than that of rice, Ye Xinuo felt full, as if he had just eaten a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.
‘The congee you made is delicious,’ said Qin Moyan, who was very polite and finished the rice in the bowl.
Ye Xinuo’s eyes reflected Qin Moyan’s lips, which were full and shiny from the congee, and he couldn’t help but lick his lower lip with his tongue and swallow.
Realising his lewd and wretched appearance, he quickly hugged the bowl, tilted his head back and drank the soup inside, grabbed the two bowls and ran into the kitchen.
Ye Xinuo’s heart was pounding wildly, and her breathing had quickened a little. To her, Qin Moyan was no longer the cold and aloof fairy that she felt was sacrilegious just being near, but an apple full of temptation, one that she could never resist taking a bite of to see what it tasted like.
“What’s wrong? Standing here without moving…’
Ye Xinuo reflexively turned around at the sudden sound behind her, and directly faced a pair of dark eyes. For a moment, the noses of the two of them were very close together.
Her heart, which had been restless, now seemed to be jumping out of her throat, causing Ye Xinuo to feel a little dizzy.
‘Cough, cough, cough!’ Qin Moyan suddenly turned her head, covering her mouth and erupting in a series of suppressed coughs.
‘You go back to bed and lie down, don’t worry about me.’ Ye Xinuo went up to help Qin Moyan pat his back and forcefully pushed him out of the kitchen.
Qin Moyan went to the dining table and poured himself a glass of water, gulping it down, his eyes flickering for a moment.
Ye Xinuo in the kitchen, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed blankly, his mouth open as he took a few sharp breaths, as if the lingering fragrance of Qin Moyan was still around and he didn’t want to waste it.
‘Ah… I feel like a pervert!’ Ye Xinuo squatted down and painfully tugged a few handfuls of hair, losing all trace of her refined lady temperament in front of others.
After washing the pots and pans, Ye Xinuo hesitated to knock on Qin Moyan’s door again, afraid that she would lose control of the beast within her and pounce on him while he was sick and unable to resist.
After sitting on the sofa in the living room for a while, she suddenly remembered that she should take Qin Moyan’s temperature, so she got up again and gathered her courage to knock on the seductive door.
Qin Moyan was very ill, and as soon as his head touched the pillow, he became dizzy and lost consciousness.
Ye Xinuo saw that the person inside was not responding, so she pushed open the door and turned on the night light by the bedside. She saw Qin Moyan curled up under the covers, sleeping very uneasily.
Seeing that there was a thermometer on the bedside table, she disinfected it with the alcohol pad nearby, and carefully put it in Qin Moyan’s mouth, holding the other end without daring to move.
She lowered her head and didn’t dare to look at the person in bed. The breath that belonged to Qin Moyan kept seeping into her nose, and her mind had long since turned into a mush.
After a few minutes, the thermometer made a ‘drip’ sound, and Ye Xinuo took it out and looked at the temperature on the display screen: 38.9 degrees.
She knew that Qin Moyan didn’t like taking medicine and going to the hospital, so she sighed and rummaged in the bathroom cabinet for a while, finding a few unopened towels.
‘This time it’s not a rag, I hope,’ Ye Xinuo muttered, taking out a towel, pouring water on it, and placing it on Qin Moyan’s forehead.
But soon, the temperature of the towel rose along with Qin Moyan’s body temperature.
Ye Xinuo changed the towel, pondered for a moment, then went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. She found an ice pack in the freezer and, with surprise, wrapped the ice pack in the towel and took it back to the bedroom.
She took the ice towel and painstakingly applied it in circles on Qin Moyan’s face, so that the temperature on his face could decrease evenly.
After working like this for an hour, Ye Xinuo took Qin Moyan’s temperature again, and it had become 39 degrees.
Ye Xinuo: …
Although the temperature did not drop, Qin Moyan’s expression had obviously improved a lot. Her furrowed brow had relaxed, and her face was not as red as before.
So Ye Xinuo redoubled his efforts and alternated between applying ice packs to Qin Moyan’s face. The towel wrapped around the ice pack was bone-chillingly cold for someone with a normal body temperature, but it did not stop Ye Xinuo’s actions.
After tossing and turning for half the night, the thermometer finally registered 38.5 degrees.
Ye Xinuo’s eyes kept closing, and she was so sleepy that her eyelids kept fighting with each other. Unable to bear it anymore, she replaced the cold water towel with an ice water towel on Qin Moyan’s forehead, opened the closet and found a pair of pajamas at random, thinking that Qin Moyan would not blame her for opening the closet without consent because she had taken care of her all night.
After changing into the pajamas and washing up briefly, Ye Xinuo thought about it and went to the guest room, where she fell asleep with her head on the pillow.
‘Mmm… mmm…”
Ye Xinru had a light layer of sweat on her body, her breathing was rapid, and her fingers were clutching the sheets.
After a burst of white light, all real sensations disappeared. When Ye Xinru opened her eyes, there was only darkness and the air was cold.
The person in bed closed their eyes again, hugged their knees, and trembled all over, unable to come out of the dream for a long time.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, the truth was that her desire for Qin Moyan had become so strong that she could no longer control it.
This unfamiliar feeling scared her.
She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 4:00 a.m.
Ye Xinuo’s head was in a complete mess, and she couldn’t sleep at all. She simply got up and took Qin Moyan’s temperature again.
This time, however, it scared her a lot, and the number on the thermometer became 39.1 degrees.
‘Qin Moyan, wake up, we’d better take you to the hospital.‘ Ye Xinuo shook Qin Moyan’s shoulder, her voice tinged with a slight hint of tears.
’It’s cold,’ Qin Moyan’s teeth chattered a little, “I’m not going out.”
Hearing Qin Moyan’s tone, which was full of coquettish meaning, Ye Xinuo’s original intention of forcibly dragging the person out and taking them to the hospital wavered in an instant, and she stood there, dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.
‘Cold~”
Qin Moyan’s thick nasal voice coupled with a weak, filmy breath made Ye Xinuo want to commit a crime.
Ye Xinuo frowned helplessly, went around to the other side, gently pulled back the corners of the quilt, and got in. Her tone was soft, “Then I’ll hold you.”
Qin Moyan instinctively got into Ye Xinuo’s arms, and her body trembled violently.
Ye Xinuo tightened his arms around the person who was warmer than he was, but was shaking like a sieve. He was very conflicted, not knowing if his weakness would harm her.
After a while, Qin Moyan gradually calmed down and nestled obediently in Ye Xinuo’s arms and fell asleep.
Ye Xinuo had never seen such a weak side of Qin Moyan before, and his heart had already melted.
Her worries were quickly replaced by a fluttering heart, and her eyes began to water.
The rich fragrance of Qin Moyan’s body surrounded her, causing Ye Xinuo to fall into a sweet torment.
After an unknown period of time, she slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.
In the morning, when Qin Moyan opened her eyes, she felt something soft and warm pressed against her back, and an arm around her waist.
This was the first time she had been held in such a position while sleeping, and she didn’t know what it felt like for a moment. It was as if she had been given a sense of security with all her heart.
But it wasn’t long before that hand started to fidget, pinching and squeezing here and there, all the way up to a bulge.
Ye Xinuo opened her eyes dazedly, a dark back of the head coming into view.
Just as she couldn’t tell the difference between her dream and reality, the alarm clock rang untimely, scaring her and immediately making her come back to her senses. She withdrew her lustful claws and jumped up from the bed.
Qin Moyan closed her eyes again and pretended to know nothing.
‘Hoo~’ Ye Xinuo let out a sigh of relief, slapped the hand that was eating her tofu, and muttered, ‘Luckily Qin Moyan hasn’t woken up yet, this hand is too bold!’
These words fell into Qin Moyan’s ears, and her mouth unconsciously lifted a few degrees.
Ye Xinuo felt Qin Moyan’s forehead, and the heat seemed to be about the same as her own body temperature. After letting her mind down, she sneaked out and poured herself a glass of water.
She felt like she was sick too, a kind of uncontrollable spring fever at the sight of Qin Moyan.
Qin Moyan raised her eyelids slightly, picked up the phone on the bedside table, glanced at her email, cut short a few replies, and got up.
As she left, Ye Xinuo was standing with a long face in the kitchen doorway.
‘Sigh, I can’t just make congee again.’
‘But I don’t know how to make anything else.’
‘If I go out to buy breakfast, I won’t be able to come back in.’
‘Ordering takeaway is probably not hygienic.’
‘Why is this so difficult!’
’…’
After a lot of ranting, Ye Xinuo squeezed her face into a strange shape with her hands and planned to go change first.
As a result of this turn, she saw Qin Moyan suddenly appear behind her like a ghost.
‘Why are you scaring me!’ Ye Xinuo yelled, quickly taking her hands down as she reacted. She secretly cried inside, thinking that what she just did must have been the supreme level of ugliness.
“It’s Xinuo who didn’t hear me call you,’
Qin Moyan’s voice was calm, no longer showing signs of illness.
‘Really?’ Ye Xinuo scratched her nose, recently always unable to hear others call her, should she go to the hospital to have her hearing tested.
In fact, however, this time it was Qin Moyan talking nonsense.
‘Mm,’ Qin Moyan nodded without changing her expression, wanting to say something else, but her phone started to vibrate in her hand.
She glanced at the caller ID, a hint of disgust showing in her eyes.
Chapter 68
Qin Moyan answered the phone with a cold voice, ‘What is it that Mr. Lu does not understand?’
Then, after not knowing what was said on the other end, Qin Moyan added, ‘1:45, the basement coffee shop at 225 Lugang District. I can only give you 15 minutes.’
‘Well, goodbye.‘
’Who was that? You look so upset.‘
Ye Xinuo instinctively thought it was another stalker.
’The son of an intercontinental real estate developer. I’m helping his father with an investment, but the young master always questions my judgment.’ Qin Moyan covered her mouth and coughed a few times. ’I’ll give him a brief report later.’
‘Does he like you?‘ Ye Xinruo’s alarm bells went off. Isn’t this the usual pick-up line of constantly antagonising you to get your attention? !
Qin Moyan’s brow furrowed slightly, but then relaxed. “I haven’t considered that possibility. If that’s the case, it’ll be much easier to deal with.”
’Why?’ Ye Xinruo was stunned by Qin Moyan’s train of thought. It’s still a happy thing when someone likes her!
‘For a customer’s query, out of professionalism, I am obliged to inform him of the analytical logic of the current transaction. If he brings in personal feelings…‘ Qin Moyan looked steadily at Ye Xinuo, “I can feel at ease when I refuse.”
’However, in Xinuo’s heart, am I very sought after? I thought that normally people would ask me where I have not behaved in a way that deserves the other person’s trust.’
Ye Xinuo felt faint at heart when she saw that look, afraid that her petty thoughts would be exposed. She quickly averted her gaze and changed the subject, ‘What do you want to eat? I’ll go buy it.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘No need, I’ll prepare breakfast.’
‘You’re still coughing,’ Ye Xinuo said, rejecting decisively, ‘I can’t let you go into the kitchen!’
Qin Moyan was momentarily stunned. ‘I’ll wear a mask, I won’t bring any germs in,’
‘…‘ Ye Xinuo blinked, speechless, “I’m afraid it will tire you out.”
’It’s okay, I have a very strong body recovery ability.’ Qin Moyan rubbed Ye Xinuo’s head and said, “You go rest for a while first, you had dark circles under your eyes, you worked hard last night.”
Then he walked into the kitchen.
Ye Xinuo’s pink lips parted slightly, staring at Qin Moyan’s back, and she murmured, ’It’s not hard. Well…actually it was quite hard.‘
After breakfast, Ye Xinuo was torn. Should she stay on and continue to take care of Qin Moyan, who didn’t seem to need her any more, or should she leave and not let go?
’Sigh!’ Ye Xinuo sighed heavily as she washed the dishes.
After Ye Xinuo left the kitchen, Qin Moyan waved her over.
‘I am now considered one of the shareholders of Yun Tai Mobile, so shouldn’t you report to me regularly?‘ Qin Moyan raised an eyebrow.
Ye Xinuo’s smile spread across her face, “Sure, I love reporting! But I don’t have any information on hand, so I can only give you a general idea.”
’Mm,’ Qin Moyan moved aside a little to make room for Ye Xinuo.
Ye Xinuo sat down with a smile, her heart pounding. After organising her thoughts, she said, ‘Let me start by telling you about an activity I’m planning to do recently. I want to select people to travel with the first batch of prototype ladders through a lucky draw, and then share their experiences on the Meitu Weibo platform. This way, we can first implant our brand image into the hearts of the public, and if the effect is good, it might even have a positive impact on the company’s recruitment.’
‘Hmm,‘ Qin Moyan nodded, “but other brands have done this before, and the results were not as expected.”
’I’ve researched it, and it’s because they were too tight with the budget, and there was no basic sense of experience, so the fermentation effect naturally wasn’t very good. I’ve calculated that if this activity is done well, the value generated will definitely far exceed the initial investment in travel expenses.’
Xinuo Ye’s mouth curled slightly.
‘As it says in the study of aberrant behaviour, the word “free” has a huge impact on a person’s decision-making, and expectations also have a huge impact on a person’s judgement.
’When we attract consumers’ attention with the gimmick of a free trip, and then prepare a travel event with an extraordinary experience, then subconsciously they will have the brand impression of “Ladder to the Clouds”, and at least it won’t be associated with cheap and shoddy. At that time, we will also contact the media in advance to participate, and release the event in the form of a documentary, which is equivalent to spending money on advertising. I don’t think it’s much different from hiring a celebrity spokesperson. These spokespersons may even recommend our products to the people around them, and the radiation effect should not be underestimated.‘
’I believe you already have an idea of how to develop the event content,’ Qin Moyan picked up a pillow and leaned back against the backrest with ease. ’I’m more concerned about what you plan to present to your investors.’
‘Investors?’ Ye Xinuo froze slightly.
Qin Moyan said, ’Since you are starting a new business and want to expand, you will inevitably face the situation of having to enter the next round of financing. Although you have Ye Sheng behind you, Ye Sheng has its own mature business system, and for a mobile phone brand, the funds it can provide are limited. I know you understand this too. So what is the appeal of this event to investors? It can attract them to buy for you.’
‘Well…‘ Ye Xinuo paused, and honestly said, “I haven’t thought about it.”
’Among young people who have just started their own businesses, you have done very well. You can run a group as big as Ye Sheng, which is better than many people.’ Qin Moyan raised his hand and touched Ye Xinuo’s head, “Little sister is very smart.”
Ye Xinuo hung her head and said coquettishly, “I’m not a little sister!”
She thought, ’Little sisters don’t think about pouncing on you all day.’
‘Compared to me, isn’t Xi-nu a cute little sister?‘ Qin Mo-yan was addicted to it, and with added strength, he smirked and messed up Ye Xi-nu’s hair.
’Little sister is little sister,’ Ye Xi-nu’s eyes were sparkling, and the curve outlined at the corner of her mouth grew larger and larger, “then, Qin Mo-yan, sister, shouldn’t you spoil me?”
The smile on Qin Mo-yan’s face gradually faded, and she stiffened into an indescribable expression.
‘What’s wrong? Did I make you fall for me?’ Ye Xinuo stuck out her tongue, and the hand behind her secretly tugged her clothes down a little, making the neckline a little wider than before. “Qin Moyan…sister?”
It was obvious that she was seducing the other person.
Qin Moyan’s throat trembled slightly, which she covered up with a cough.
Then, with a serious look in her eyes, she said, ‘I’ve seen the list of investors you’ve met and are about to meet. Some of them are not suitable. I’ll go to your company some other day and show you. Right now, we have some important business to attend to.’
‘What?’
Ye Xinru’s heart was pounding rapidly, and she was filled with anticipation. ‘Could it be that Qin Moyan can’t resist my seduction and wants to do this and that to me?’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Give me your hand.’
—Her hand? Her hand!
—I’ve never eaten pork, but I’ve seen pigs running, and I’ve heard Peppa Pig squeal. This, this is the first time I’m getting my hands on it?
—Hey, they say that women in their thirties are like wolves and tigers, and it’s really not false at all.
Ye Xinuo was drooling in a beautiful fantasy, but the next moment she felt a heavy object placed in the palm of her hand that she had extended.
‘A pen?‘ Ye Xinuo looked at the object in his hand and licked his lips. What did this mean?
Qin Moyan spread a cloth on the table and said with a serious face, “Write your name.”
’Huh?’ Ye Xinuo was brought back to reality by a bucket of cold water.
Qin Moyan repeated, ’It’s very simple, just write your name.’
‘Oh.’ Ye Xinuo puffed out her lips in disappointment, “What do you want me to write my name for? To forge my signature on a suicide note? Do you need me to make you an asset list? Do you want to rape and kill me or kill and rape me?”
She cracked a joke full of hidden meanings, as if only in times like these could she express her love that she couldn’t hide.
‘Pay attention.’ Qin Moyan looked at the signature on the cloth, which was written in a flamboyant style, and his brows furrowed as he said, “This is not right, it’s too good-looking.”
Ye Xinruo: “… What’s wrong with Qin Moyan? He can’t have any visual impairments, can he? The ink is smudged, so it’s not good-looking!
”Can you write in a childish way, like a child? In a squiggly way?’
Ye Xinuo originally wanted to ask, ‘Qin Moyan, are you teasing me?’ But when she saw the extremely serious expression on that cold face, the words caught in her throat.
Although she didn’t know what Qin Moyan wanted, she did as she was told and tried her best to imitate a child’s handwriting.
‘It’s still too good-looking,’ said Qin Moyan, with a rare dejected expression on her face, her mouth also tilted downwards, truly pitiful to behold.
Ye Xinuo had already been melted by the person in front of him, but he still couldn’t help but complain, ‘What is your misunderstanding of what is good-looking? This is already the ugliest handwriting I can write.’
‘No, you can write even uglier,’ Qin Moyan seemed to suddenly have a childish temper, got up and walked into the study.
Ye Xinuo scratched his head, looking confused. How had they developed to the point of doing such strange things?
Wait, what does she mean she can write even uglier!
In a moment, Qin Moyan returned with a carbon pencil and handed it to Ye Xinuo, ‘Maybe it’s the tool, you try this one.’
‘Can I refuse?’ Ye Xinuo’s eyelashes fluttered a few times, ‘Are you Qin Moyan? You’re not possessed by a ghost, are you?’
Qin Moyan sat down and stared at Ye Xinuo without blinking, his gaze sinister, ‘If you can’t write, don’t even think about leaving this room today.’
‘I’d be more than happy to.‘ Ye Xinuo hummed in a mosquito-like, weak voice.
Qin Moyan: “What did you say?”
’Nothing, I was just saying that you have a really unique hobby!’ Ye Xinuo made a face at Qin Moyan.
Finally, after Ye Xinuo had written on and discarded more than ten identical strips of cloth, Qin Moyan let out a contented laugh, picked them up, and admired them in the sunlight for a moment before entering her study and closing the door behind her.
She carefully cut off the piece with the writing on it and hung it on the desktop.
Next to it, the teddy bear, which had been lying quietly there with a coffee stain, still faintly showed a crooked ‘诺’ (nuo, meaning ‘promise’ or ‘vow’).
After doing all this, Qin Moyan was amused by herself. This was probably the most childish thing she had done in her life.
Occasionally, she also wanted to be a little selfish.
***
At the same time.
Tang Shikai lay flat on his back, a blissful smile on his face. At that moment, he was enjoying the ‘morning service’ provided by his new lover under the covers.
A few minutes later, a woman’s head poked out of the covers and asked something in Tang Shikai’s ear.
Tang Shikai quickly answered her question, his voice hoarse as he urged, ‘Hurry, keep going, don’t stop!’
The new lover re-entered the covers, hiding her face in the darkness with a fiendish smile.
Chapter 69
Ye Xinuo rubbed his eyebrows hard and couldn’t help but fall into thought. Was she too tired to see things clearly, or had Qin Moyan burnt the night away and fried his brain?
After leaving the study, Qin Moyan’s style of behaviour returned to normal. He glanced at the time and said, ‘I still have some things to take care of at the company. Where are you going? I’ll give you a lift.’
‘You’re still not well, so don’t drive, it’s not safe. I’ll call the driver and send you to the office first.’ With that, he already picked up his phone and dialed.
According to Qin Moyan’s character, he would have mostly refused in the past, but this time, he just went back to his room to change clothes, which was considered a tacit acceptance of Ye Xinuo’s arrangement.
Sitting in the back seat of the car with Qin Moyan, Ye Xinuo’s eyes couldn’t help but drift to the other person’s hands. They looked so white and tender, she just wanted to touch them.
Realising what she was thinking, she quickly averted her gaze and banged her head against the window. She must be seriously ill, completely losing control of her thoughts and actions.
‘What’s wrong with you?‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes were full of surprise, “Do you have a headache?”
’Ah, yes, I have a headache,’ Ye Xinuo hit twice more and smirked, “Using poison to counter poison.”
Qin Moyan frowned, ’Don’t hit yourself silly. Lean over, I’ll rub it for you.’
‘This is embarrassing,‘ Ye Xinuo said, but her body didn’t slow down at all, and she fell into his arms like a weak willow in the wind.
Qin Moyan’s smile at the corner of his mouth was faint, and his fingertips landed on Ye Xinuo’s temples, pressing just the right amount of pressure.
’Qin Moyan, did you learn massage? It feels so good!’ Ye Xinuo leaned her back of the head against Qin Moyan’s shoulder, her eyes closed and a look of enjoyment on her face.
Qin Moyan’s tone was matter-of-fact, ‘Perhaps it’s a gift.’
Ye Xinuo was already used to Qin Moyan’s sudden narcissism, and she raised a smile without saying a word. This brief intimate encounter was the poison she craved. At the moment, she just wanted to quietly be in the breath that belonged to just one person, allowing her thoughts that she was afraid to let her know to be nourished, in the hope that one day, she could grow enough courageous buds to allow this relationship to bear fruit.
When they arrived at Qin Moyan’s company, Ye Xinuo was very reluctant to leave. After saying their goodbyes and getting out of the car, she rolled down the window, put her hands on the window frame like a little dog, tilted her head back, and her eyes widened, looking pitiful as if she had been abandoned by her owner. She said in a particularly soft voice, ‘Drink lots of hot water.’
Qin Moyan lowered her eyebrows and smiled: ‘Okay.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Don’t work too long, get more rest.’
Qin Moyan: ‘Okay.’
‘Also, if you feel uncomfortable in any way, just give me a call.’
‘Okay.’
‘I’ll go then.’ Ye Xinuo retracted her head back into the car, ‘You go on up.’
‘Bye.’ Qin Moyan stood in place, as if she wanted to see Ye Xinuo off before going upstairs.
‘Bye~‘ Ye Xinuo waved his hand, reluctantly shaking the window.
’What to do, I already miss her,’ Ye Xinuo looked up at the car roof and muttered to himself, “Why is my life so miserable? It’s hard to get something to bloom, and I run into another iron tree.”
***
Yu Qing visited Ni Anxin’s detective agency again, but this time, her attitude was different.
‘Miss Ni Er,‘ she nodded slightly, “I hope you will forgive me for bothering you here for something else.”
’Then please go in peace,‘ An Xin Ni made a wave goodbye.
’…’ Yu Qing cleared her throat, ’I’m afraid I cannot do as you wish.’
‘Did Grandpa ask you to persuade me?‘ Ni Anxin sighed, “I really have no interest in your family feuds. Look, I’m fine helping children find their cats and dealing with elementary school students” love problems. Life is much more comfortable that way.’
‘Miss Ni is wrong. It wasn’t Grandpa Ni who asked me to come here.’ Yu Qing gave a wry smile, ‘I do have something I want to say to you.’
‘Are you trying to confess your love to me?‘ Ni Anxin thought, “I know I’m charming and attractive, but no thanks, I don’t want to step out of line.”
Yu Qing suppressed the urge to hit someone and pulled the corners of her mouth, saying, “Miss Ni Er, you really know how to joke. I have no interest in you in that way.”
’What? You’re not attracted to my genius brain and perfect body?’ Ni Anxin shook her index finger, ’You’re not being honest.’
Yu Qing knew that the other party was deliberately changing the subject, so she stopped beating around the bush and went straight to the point, ‘I know that Miss Ni Er doesn’t want to be bound by her family and wants to live a life where she can fly freely, but Ni Anqi’s current crazy behaviour is likely to have a very bad impact on many people’s lives in the future. Can Miss Ni Er be completely guilt-free and just sit back and watch the Ni family become a company that disregards its social responsibilities?’
‘Why not?‘ Ni Anxin took a deep breath, “I’m just one of the many people in the world, and I don’t have the power to save the world.”
’You’re a kind person,‘ Yu Qing looked directly into Ni Anxin’s eyes, “I came here today to discuss a deal, but I can see that this is not the right time.”
’I don’t need to say anything profound, and you understand, Miss Ni Er. Whenever you’re ready to come around, I’ll be here waiting.’
Yu Qing was about to get up when Ni Anxin spoke up, ‘Tell me, why did the late Uncle Ye specifically fund Qin Moyan?’
‘I don’t quite understand what you mean,’ Yu Qing shook her head.
‘One of the reasons why the Ni family has been so influential in Hucheng for so many years is that they have the upper hand over many big shots,’ Ni Anxin revealed two shallow dimples, ‘Ye Qisheng and a few vice presidents kidnapped a lawyer’s daughter back then. Do you know about this, Miss Yu?’
‘I’ve never heard of this.‘ Yu Qing’s expression did not change.
’No, you do.’ An Xin pointed to her temple, “Don’t forget, I’m a detective.”
Yu Qing did not say anything, and decided to wait and see what would happen. She had indeed overheard Ye Laoshou ask if Tang Jieshu’s lawyer’s death was related to him. She had said that she would only scare the other party with the child. At the time, she did not understand what he meant, and it was only after further investigation that she was able to dig up a series of old news.
‘You and I are both smart people, and smart people like to pretend they know nothing,‘ said Ni Anxin, picking up a chocolate bar from the table, removing the foil and putting it in her mouth. “Would you like one, Miss Yu?”
’No, thank you,‘ replied Yu Qing politely.
’Do you think you know my grandfather and my sister? Actually, you don’t,’ An Xin Ni leaned back and closed her eyes, ‘Let me tell you a story, and then you can reconsider whether you want to go to all this trouble to persuade me to get involved in the mess of the Ni family.’
Yu Qing: ‘I’d like to hear it.’
‘You know, many rich people have some kind of mental illness.’ An Xin Ni’s smile was full of mockery, ‘My grandfather’s illness was that he loved my grandmother too much. As a result, the fact that my sister looks like her became a kind of sin.’
Ni Anxin’s brows suddenly furrowed as she took a deep breath and paused for a moment. ‘Do you know what it’s like to see your own grandfather do something so heartless to your own sister?’
Yu Qing’s face was suddenly written with disbelief.
“I’m not trying to accuse him of violating ethics and morality, but I was afraid that he would find out that I had discovered this. From his words, I could tell that it wasn’t the first time.’
Ni Anxin covered her eyes with her hands, ‘I didn’t even have the courage to go out and stop it.’
Yu Qing could no longer say anything, the information she had received at this moment was too shocking.
‘I was in junior high school at the time, and my sister was in high school. I was hiding in her closet trying to play a prank.’ Ni Anxin took a deep breath, ‘I have always blamed myself for not discovering it sooner. In fact, my sister has been like a different person since she went to high school, and I blame myself for not daring to stand up.’
Yu Qing’s mind flashed back to some high school memories of Ni Anqi. The first time they met, it seemed that she had seen a girl sitting on the steps of the playground crying, so she had kindly handed her a pack of tissues.
‘So…’ Ni Anxin said in a low voice, ‘I won’t help you. Whether she takes revenge on hypocrites or society, I’m not in a position to stand up and accuse her. I owe her that.’
Yu Qing let out a heavy sigh. ‘Why are you telling me this?’
‘Because you are someone she likes.‘ Ni Anxin looked at Yu Qing solemnly, “I know you can’t accept what she did, but I beg you, don’t join forces with that person against her, can you?”
’I can promise you that.’ Yu Qing hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, ’But that doesn’t mean I will forgive her. The humiliation Ni Anqi has suffered is not an excuse for her to inflict pain on others. I won’t go easy on her because of that either.’
‘I’ve said it before, a wise person will pretend they know nothing,‘ Ni Anxin held her index finger to her lips, her mouth forming the shape of a forbidden sound, “I’m used to being an outsider, I won’t speak out easily.”
’Then I’ll take my leave.”
Yu Qing nodded slightly and left with a heart that was very different from when she arrived.
***
At 4 pm, after Qin Moyan finished his scheduled meeting with the visitor, he was greeted by an unexpected guest.
‘Old friend, don’t you recognise me?‘ A woman with big brown waves sat in front of Qin Moyan, took off her sunglasses, and her eyes had an electric charge about them, giving her an overall charming appearance.
’How did you get in?’ Qin Moyan frowned, annoyed at her secretary’s negligence of duty.
‘You’re giving me that look because you’re blaming the secretary for letting in strangers? Don’t take it out on her, there’s no place I, Su Ji, can’t go.‘
This person who called herself Su Ji was an old acquaintance of Qin Moyan’s from Wall Street.
’What do you want?”
Out of good breeding, Qin Moyan didn’t directly ask the security guard to drag the person out, but that didn’t mean she would speak nicely.
She rarely disliked someone, and Su Ji was one of them.
If there was one word to describe the woman in front of her, it would be that she could betray everything and climb up the social ladder on the corpses of others for the sake of greedy desires.
Therefore, she did not want to get involved with someone like that.
‘If there is nothing important, you can’t come and visit someone you used to work with?’ Su Zhi sat on Qin Moyan’s desk, ‘I have a good business deal, do you want to talk about it?’
Qin Moyan crossed her arms, ‘I’m sorry, I’m not interested.’
‘Women are all hypocrites.‘ Su Zhi’s two fingers rested on the desktop, tapping out a tap dance rhythm. “I have some very valuable information here. For a small price, you can get unexpected rewards.”
Qin Moyan was not convinced, and said coldly, “With your current behaviour, I can send you to the police station.”
’About the former president of Yesheng Group,’ Su Zhi raised the corners of his mouth, ’you really don’t want to know?’
Chapter 70
‘You really don’t want to know about the former president of Yesheng Group?’
Qin Moyan did not do as the other party wished, casually resting his hand on the table, ‘I’m sorry, not interested.’
‘You really are insensitive,’ Su Ji ignored Qin Moyan’s answer and continued on his own, ‘Ye Xinru was admitted to the Royal College of Art at the age of 18. Before that, there had never been an Asian face at that school. At the time, she was admitted to the school along with the Ni family, who were dominating the city of Hucheng, and the second young lady, Ni Anxin, who didn’t appear often.‘
Qin Moyan said impatiently, “What are you trying to say?”
’Some time ago, there was a rumour about your scandal with Ye Xinuo, and I thought you would be interested in this topic.’ Su Ji smiled playfully, ’But I didn’t come here today to talk about trivial matters.’
‘I admire your ability to turn a blind eye to other people’s disdain.‘
Su Ji was not annoyed by this remark and continued, “From what I know about Dione, whoever you get close to means bad luck for them. Being able to stir up strife in Ye Sheng’s household can’t do you any harm, can it?”
’I’ll give you three sentences to explain your intentions,’ Qin Moyan tapped his fingertips on the table, ’otherwise I’ll have to call security to get rid of you.’
‘Fine. Fine.‘ Su Ji raised his hands in surrender, “Ye Xinuo’s extraordinary sense of colour set her apart in the British art world, and she had her first solo exhibition when she was just 20 years old. It was just a pity that the heavens were jealous of her talent, and there was a fire at that exhibition. Although the young talented painter Ye Xinuo survived, her optic nerve was slightly damaged. It was that slight damage that made her sense of colour no different from that of ordinary people.”
’I really don’t know what kind of feeling that is.’ Su Zi’s smile on her face became even more joyful.
Qin Moyan’s eyes were no longer as calm as before, but the other party failed to notice her change.
‘Why did the fire happen?’ Su Zi lightly tapped her lips with her finger, ‘Because Ye Qisheng originally planned to go to the UK to attend his daughter’s art exhibition, but something came up at the last minute and he changed his plans to go to another country. That fire was originally set by Ye Sheng’s current president, Tang Jie, for him, but it turned out to be a false alarm. Tsk tsk, poor his unlucky daughter.’
‘The reason for Tang Jie’s actions abroad is obvious. Ye Qisheng would not bring too many bodyguards with him, and at the same time, he could distance himself from the incident. It’s reasonable, and I don’t think you should question the authenticity of this matter.‘
’So what?‘ Qin Moyan’s expression did not change at all, and his tone was cold. “What do I have to do with the grudges between Ye Xinuo and Tang Jie?”
’Mingli Airlines conducted an experiment last year that caused public outcry and landed them in trouble. Do you remember?’ Su Ji rested his hands on the table and looked at Qin Moyan without blinking. ‘Mingli Airlines wanted to launch a new model, so in order to get it on the market as soon as possible, they responded to the government’s request to make the escape drill scenario as realistic as possible. Without the knowledge of the passengers, half of them were elderly people and children, and the escape drill was carried out. There were no protective measures on the ground, and many passengers had accidents while sliding down the escape slide, resulting in minor bruises or, in severe cases, paralysis.’
Qin Moyan quickly pulled up news about Mingli Airlines from her mind. She remembered that in order to overturn the results of the experiment, that airline had had an accident in the morning, and then immediately conducted an identical experiment in the afternoon, with no regard for the safety of the passengers.
However, this incident did not cause much of a stir, thanks to the powerful capital behind the airline’s ability to control public opinion.
Su Ji continued, ‘Very soon, the final investigation results will be announced. Not only that, but there will also be a test report for the new model.’
Qin Moyan already had a pretty good idea of what Su Zhi was going to say next. The fact that he had singled this matter out for mention must be because she had somehow learned that the verdict would be in Mingli Airlines‘ favour and that the new model would soon be ready for the market.
’You’re a smart person,’ Su Zhi said, his eyes full of aggression. ’Tang Jie wants to get the joint investment institutions to pump up the stock price of Mingli Airlines. If we can intercept it before the verdict comes out, we can make a lot of money.’
‘At this time, if we tell Ye Xinru that it was Tang Jie who caused her to lose her most proud talent, what will happen to Ye Sheng Group? The stock price will definitely fall as the people turn on each other. That’s not enough. You don’t know, do you? Tang Shikai owes Bimen Bank of the United States a huge debt, which is worth at least a 20-storey building in downtown Hucheng. If you let Ye Xinruo know this, do you think she will take advantage of the situation and attack Qin Han? The mantis preys on the cicada, and the crow takes the worm. Dione, aren’t you interested in Ye Sheng?‘
Qin Moyan said indifferently, “You’re telling me all this, aren’t you afraid the police will come knocking?”
’The police?’ Su Ji sounded as if he had heard something ridiculous. ’Then you tell me, what evidence shows that I have broken the law? The police will only be attracted by evidence, and I am a good citizen.’
‘I have to say, I admire you.‘ Qin Moyan looked at Su Ji with a stern expression. “From the moment I met you, you have been able to get insider information by following government officials and well-known venture capitalists, and you have been able to get a share of the profits when the stock market is manipulated by capital power. After a few years, you are still able to appear in my office. It is really hard to tell whether you are too cunning or the police are too incompetent.”
’I am just like you,’ Su Ji lowered his body and drew closer to Qin Moyan, ’we are actually the same kind of person. Your heartless ambition cannot fool me.‘
’Do you know the biggest difference between you and me?‘ Qin Moyan stepped back a little and sneered, “I’m not a good person, but I know that I can’t even touch anything illegal. When you base your greedy desires on breaking the bottom line of the law, sooner or later you will burn yourself.”
’Your sanctimonious face is really a bit annoying.’ Suji shrugged, ‘You should be grateful to me. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have grown up so quickly.’
‘I’ve met so many people, and I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t know the meaning of shame like you, Maggie,’ Qin Moyan rarely lost control of his emotions like this, and said in a deep voice, ‘I will never forgive someone who has actually hurt me, let alone thank her. If it weren’t for you, I could still succeed. And you, you just remind me how weak I am compared to someone who has no bottom line.’
‘Since you don’t welcome me, I’ll leave first.’ Su Zhi jumped off the table, “If you change your mind, you’re welcome to call me anytime, even in the middle of the night. If you feel lonely at night, I’d be happy to spend the night with a beauty like you.”
Qin Moyan looked at the door that had been closed again, his face as cold as ice. The failed experiences he had with Su Zhi came back to him one after the other.
He sat with calm eyes for a while, gathering his emotions, before picking up his phone.
When she heard the phone connect, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. ‘Xinuo, you wouldn’t let me drive myself in the morning, so now, aren’t you going to be responsible for driving me home?’
***
Ye Xinuo had just finished with her current task and was debating whether to call Qin Moyan when her phone rang, as if it had a mind of its own.
She quickly picked up the phone and, upon hearing the other person’s pleasant voice, immediately put on a smile. ‘If you’re done, I’ll come pick you up now.’
‘…‘
After hanging up the phone, Ye Xinuo twisted the phone in her hands several times on the chair. Bubbles of pink happiness seemed to fill the entire office.
’Xinuo, you’re scaring me a little,’ Yu Qing blinked, ’Did my body suddenly disappear in front of your eyes just now? How did you manage to completely ignore me, a real person, and twist around so…lustily?’
‘Ah!‘ Ye Xinuo suddenly remembered that Yu Qing was still sitting on the sofa in her room reading documents.
She immediately blushed with shame.
’I’m familiar with this behaviour of yours,‘ Yu Qing said, running her hand along her chin. “Zizi does the same thing when she’s in heat.”
’Get out of here! You’re the one in heat!‘ Ye Xinuo said angrily. “This is called ”a young girl’s yearning for love’.‘
’Yes, yes, a young girl’s yearning for love,’ Yu Qing was unsparing in her exposure, saying, ‘I, as an outsider, can see clearly the feelings you have for Qin Moyan.’
‘Is it that obvious?’ Ye Xinuo froze in place.
Yu Qing sighed, ‘Anyone who sees your behaviour in front of Qin Moyan can tell that you like her.’
Ye Xinuo’s eyelids drooped instantly, her eyelashes quivering. She didn’t know if she was asking Yu Qing or talking to herself, ‘What about her? Does she see it too?’
Yu Qing walked closer, looking worried. ‘I’m not Qin Moyan, so I can’t presume to know what she’s thinking. I just want to tell you, “not all love is sweet”. If you really want her, you have to be prepared for the worst. I know you, but I can’t trust her.’
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo’s mood was a little low. ‘As long as she lets me stay by her side like this, it’s enough. Having a memory is also enough for me to think about for a long time.’
‘You silly boy,‘ Yu Qing said, patting Ye Xinuo on the shoulder. “No matter how much I don’t believe in Qin Moyan, this is ultimately your own feeling. In any case, you still have me and Xiaozi.”
’You guys just show off your affection for each other to irritate me,’ Ye Xinuo said, sticking out his nose. ’Don’t worry, I’m not that fragile. What’s more, I’m so outstanding, maybe one day, Qin Moyan will fall at my feet.’
‘I wish you the best of luck.’ Yu Qing gave a sincere smile.
***
In a room with a circle of easels, Ni Anxin sat in the middle on a wooden high chair, palette in her left hand, the end of an oil painting brush in her right.
On each easel was a painting of an exaggeratedly expressive figure, but if you looked closely, you could see the features of a real person in the expression.
Ni Anxin aimed at a painting representing Tang Jie and muttered, ‘Boss Tang ruined Sherry’s talent and talent, damn it.’
Then she used the brush in her hand to dip some paint and ran a red line from top to bottom across the entire picture without any hesitation.
‘Tang Shikai,’ Ni Anxin bit the handle of the brush, ‘Your father is too cautious, so I can only start with you.’
She drew a domino next to the figure representing Tang Shikai.
Ni Anxin scanned the room again, and her gaze settled on a woman’s face.
‘Qin Moyan.’ A faint curve formed at the corner of her mouth. ‘Sherry seems to like you very much, so I will like you too. Don’t let me down.’
Ni Anxin got up and moved the easel representing Qin Moyan to next to ‘Ye Xinruo,’ drawing a connecting red petal between the two. She raised her eyebrows, ‘A match made in heaven.’
Chapter 71
When they arrived at the building where Qin Moyan worked, Ye Xinuo told the driver to park the car somewhere and went upstairs to meet the person personally.
‘Hello, miss, do you have an appointment?’ Cici, the secretary, smiled as she stopped the person.
She had just been dazzled by that woman and let the person in, only to be greeted by the boss’s freezing low pressure. This time, she dared not let the person in so easily.
‘I’m here to pick up Qin Mo…‘ Ye Xinru changed her words on the spot, “to pick up Dione after work.”
When Ye Xinru came last time, she heard the secretary call Qin Moyan’s English name, and guessed that this was how she was called here.
’Please hold on a moment, I’ll call to verify.‘ Cici picked up the landline with a businesslike attitude, “May I ask your name?”
’Ye Xinru.’
‘Okay, Ms. Ye.‘ Cici frowned slightly, always feeling that the lady in front of her looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t quite place her.
’Dione, there’s a Miss Ye Xinuo at the door looking for you.‘
’Please ask her to come in.‘
After saying this, Qin Moyan added, “In the future, when Miss Ye comes to see me, just let her come in directly.”
’Okay.’ Cici put down the phone, smiled, stood up, and opened the door to the boss’s office for Ye Xinuo.
‘Thank you,’ Ye Xinuo nodded in thanks.
After closing the door and exiting, Cici searched the words “Ye Xinuo” on her phone and saw the gossip news from a while ago, and her jaw almost dropped in shock. She
couldn’t have imagined that this person was the boss’s girlfriend.
Upon further thought, it seemed that she had seen her come in once before, but she hadn’t made a point of remembering it, and could only pray that the boss wouldn’t take it out on her for slighting the boss’s wife.
When Ye Xinuo entered the door, she saw Qin Moyan intently looking in her direction.
‘You came quickly,’ said Qin Moyan, glancing down at the time. ‘Are you done with everything?’
‘Yes,’ said Ye Xinuo, who had been thinking about asking Qin Moyan out for dinner since they parted ways, and had been working very efficiently that day.
Qin Moyan nodded, got up and walked over to Ye Xinuo, ‘So, do you want to go to my place for dinner?’
Ye Xinuo blushed instantly, ‘Yes, yes.’
Then she muttered, ‘But you’re still sick.’
‘I’m fine already.’ Qin Moyan took Ye Xinuo’s wrist and placed it on his forehead, ‘The fever has gone down, you’re not coughing much, and your complexion is better than yours.’
Ye Xinuo suddenly touched the smooth, soft skin, and her fingertips trembled, reluctant to take it off.
‘It feels like the fever has subsided, but…‘
’If Xi-nu doesn’t want to go…’ Qin Moyan paused, ’then it’s…’
‘I want to go!’ Ye Xinuo cut off the other person’s next words, not sparing any effort to express her eagerness.
On the way here, she thought about it. If the relationship between the two of them is boiling at 100℃, then she will use 98℃ or 99℃ water to wrap Qin Moyan in it. Even if Qin Moyan never lets this pot of water boil, it will still be considered a way to give herself an answer.
‘Then let’s go to the supermarket to buy the ingredients.”
After saying that, Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo with a faint smile. Ye Xinuo looked back, as if it was a glance of a million years.
Feeling the heat in his heart, Ye Xinuo looked away, “Okay.”
He turned first, “Let’s go then.”
Qin Moyan said, “Wait a minute.”
Ye Xinuo turned his head in confusion and said, ’What’s wrong?’
Qin Moyan walked closer, lifted his hand and tidied the decorative bow tie on Ye Xinuo’s suit, ‘Your clothes are messy.’
Ye Xinuo had the urge to ask Qin Moyan what was going on inside his head as soon as he appeared, but when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he stared into the other person’s ink-coloured eyes and couldn’t say anything.
‘Let’s go,’ said Qin Moyan, helping Ye Xinuo pull open the door.
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo repressed his surging emotions and walked quietly out.
***
This time when they went to the supermarket, Qin Moyan pushed a trolley, but instead of hurrying straight to the target location, he gave Ye Xinuo a gentle smile and asked, ‘What would you like to buy?’
Ye Xinuo thought that he was asking what she wanted to eat, so she replied, ‘I’m not picky, I’ll eat whatever you cook.’
‘Everything?’ Qin Moyan lowered his eyebrows and pondered for a moment, ‘That would be quite expensive to feed you.’
‘It’s not expensive at all,‘ Ye Xinuo wrinkled her nose, “I can eat anything, I can be fed on a bun a day.”
’You’re still growing, a bun a day won’t do,‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes sparkled with a smile, “Is your aunt away these days? How about you come over and eat with me in the evenings?”
’Sure,’ Ye Xinuo nervously scratched the hem of her trousers with her hand, ’Will that be too much trouble for you?’
After hearing the latter part of the sentence, she had completely ignored the former part, ‘Growing up’.
‘It is a bit of a hassle,’ Qin Moyan nodded in agreement.
‘There’s no one like you, always teasing me!’ Ye Xinuo felt a little lost in her heart.
‘I’m a level of super chef, and ordinary people can’t eat it. But I’m embarrassed to ask you for money.’ Qin Moyan pondered for a moment before continuing, ‘Then I can only let you be responsible for checking out at the supermarket every day.’
Ye Xinuo’s mouth immediately spread into a smile, her eyes curved, and her pupils scattered with tiny bright lights like stars. ‘Just help yourself to whatever you want to eat.’
Then she casually took the shopping cart from Qin Moyan’s hands and cheerfully pushed it forward.
‘Be careful, don’t fall.’ A small shadow was reflected in Qin Moyan’s pupils, her gaze extremely gentle, and she wore an expression that had never appeared on her face before.
Ye Xinru fully demonstrated her shopping skills as a woman this time, buying a bunch of things of all sizes and in a mess, planning to take advantage of the chaos later to sneak small objects like drinking cups into the ingredients she was taking to Qin Moyan’s house, secretly leaving some traces of herself in the other person’s home.
Qin Moyan didn’t rush her, just following behind Ye Xinru with a faint smile, even her usual steady pace lightening up.
When they came out of the supermarket, the driver took the bags Ye Xinru was carrying and put them in the trunk.
***
‘Let me help you wash the vegetables.’
After putting the groceries away, Ye Xinru skipped into the kitchen.
‘No need, it’ll be quick,’ Qin Moyan said, holding out an arm. ‘If you want to help, you can help me roll up my sleeves.’
Ye Xinru’s heart was pounding, and without saying no, she followed what Qin Moyan had done last time and helped her roll up her sleeves from behind.
Qin Moyan hid a smile at the corner of her lips and teased, ‘Why did Xinru deliberately go behind me?’
‘That’s how you helped me with my sleeves last time,‘ Ye Xinuo twisted her head around, acting like a bully, “I’ve never helped anyone with their sleeves before, so of course I’m just copying you.”
’Hm,’ Qin Moyan nodded, “little girls like to imitate their older sisters.”
Ye Xinuo: “I’m not little anymore!”
She was annoyed in her heart, ’my soul age is 27, not much different from yours, I’m at the age where I want to eat meat, don’t treat me like a pure young girl!’
‘Okay, go out now.‘ Qin Moyan put his arm around Ye Xinuo’s shoulders and pushed her out of the kitchen.
’Then make something simple, last night’s was so terrible, it was scary!’ Ye Xinuo nagged at the door for a while before sitting down on the sofa, thinking back on her performance just now, which seemed a bit childish.
Qin Moyan made two dishes and a soup, and one of the people who had been begging for food very graciously scraped the bottom of the bowl, leaving not a drop of soup.
Ye Xinuo got up, touched his round belly, and groaned, ‘I’m so full! I feel like a balloon about to burst.’
‘Who told you to eat so much!’ Qin Moyan glared at her and put her hand on Ye Xinuo’s belly to feel.
‘I didn’t want to waste any!’ Ye Xinuo felt a tingling sensation throughout her body like an electric shock. Pretending to be careless, she touched Qin Moyan’s hand a few times, her heart pounding like a drum.
‘Looks like we need to do less next time,’ Qin Moyan said, squeezing Ye Xinuo’s face. ‘How could I have thought that this little pig would be so stupid as to inflate its belly so much?’
Ye Xinuo grabbed Qin Moyan’s hand and stuttered, ‘I… I… I won’t eat so much next time.’
God knows, what she almost blurted out just now was ‘I love you.’
‘Is it painful to lose a talent you’re proud of?”
Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo’s slightly panicked eyes and asked this question without context.
Ye Xinuo was not surprised that Qin Moyan would try to understand her past, nor did she hold a grudge because of it. It was difficult for two people who met by chance to establish a trusting relationship. After all, she had also looked into Qin Moyan’s background.
The person being questioned said indifferently, ‘I did at that time, but I’ve let it go now. One must always look forward, right? Perhaps it was preordained in the heavens. If I hadn’t been allowed to go through all that, I wouldn’t have been willing to come back and take over my father’s lifelong work.’ If I hadn’t come back, I wouldn’t have met you.
Qin Moyan gently swept his thumb across the skin under Ye Xinuo’s eyes, ‘There’s water shining in your eyes, and nowhere in here is the word “willing” written.’
Ye Xinru’s eyes widened slightly, and Qin Moyan was the first person to expose her lie.
Sometimes, if a lie is told for too long, the liar will believe it themselves.
‘No matter how much you gain, it’s not worth the loss.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes suddenly became a little hazy, but she quickly came back to her senses and continued, ‘You’re still young, you don’t need to be so strong.’
‘So I can be wilful in front of you?’ Ye Xinru asked.
Qin Moyan: ‘Mm.’
Ye Xinu swallowed, and with a death-defying spirit, she used both hands to hold Qin Moyan’s shoulders. ‘Actually, I—’
Before she could say what she wanted to say, the phone on the table suddenly vibrated and rang.
So the courage she had worked so hard to muster vanished in an instant.
Qin Moyan looked back at the source of the sound, her eyes thoughtful.
Ye Xinuo walked over and picked up the phone. When she saw Yu Qing’s name, she really wanted to fly over to the other side and throw the phone in her face.
But that was just a thought.
‘Hello, Sister Yu Qing, what’s wrong?’
“Xinuo, watch the news. Tang Shikai’s indecent videos and photos, as well as his gambling and drug use, have been exposed. It has spread so widely that Ye Sheng’s public relations team simply cannot suppress it. It has already reached the top of the trending list on our own Weibo platform, and the platform staff can only delete the pornographic videos for now, and dare not directly withdraw the news.‘
’Let me take a look, I’ll get back to you.”
Ye Xinuo immediately hung up the phone, opened the Weibo app, and searched for “the chaotic private life of the son of President Ye Sheng”. The result was the first one on the list.
She clicked in, and many marketing accounts and KOLs were spreading related news. In the comments below, many netizens who had seen the detailed incident and video were posting screenshots, saying, ‘My imagination is limited by my life at the bottom.’
Ye Xinuo rubbed her eyebrows. No matter how much she didn’t get along with Tang Jie, she didn’t want anything to happen to Tang Shikai. Once a crack appeared in a company’s image, it would take a lot of effort to repair it.
Chapter 72
The following day, Ye Sheng’s board of directors.
‘Chairman Tang, you really disappoint me!‘ Wei Gang was very emotional. “When I supported you becoming the chairman of the board of Ye Sheng, it was because I hoped the company could make a lot of money. But now, before we see any money, you’ve caused a lot of trouble!”
’Yes, although it’s not your personal problem, you should really control your son better. If he’s incompetent, that’s one thing, but he’s also making so much news, what will people think of Ye Sheng!”
Another director chimed in.
‘More importantly, I think we need to find out who is trying to get back at Ye Sheng. It’s obvious that this was all arranged…”
Tang Jie was interrupted by an old director. ’Tang, your son may have offended someone, and they are just getting back at him. It’s obvious that Ye Sheng has been unfairly targeted. You must give an explanation!’
Tang Jie gently tugged at his tie and said gently, ‘Director Jin, don’t worry, I will definitely take responsibility for this. I have already heard that there will be a very good opportunity in the near future, and I guarantee that we will all make money together.’
‘Uncle Tang’s blank cheque is really good,’ Ye Xinuo clapped her hands as she walked in, ‘but after such a big incident, Chairman Tang should reflect on whether he can still hold onto his position.’
Tang Jie’s astute eyes sank slightly. ‘It’s not polite for Nuo Nuo to be late and not knock on the door.’
‘I’m late today, so I should be punished. After the meeting is over, I’ll treat everyone to a VIP service at the Haode Hotel. Please, uncles, relax.’ Ye Xinuo gave the directors at the meeting table a proper smile.
Tang Jie: ‘Director Ye, please sit down first. Let’s continue the meeting.’
“Before we continue, I’d like to switch places with Chairman Tang.’
As Ye Xinuo spoke, Xu Xiao, who was standing behind him, took a few steps forward and placed the stack of folders she was holding in her hands in front of all the directors.
Tang Jie said with a straight face, ‘I don’t quite understand what you’re saying, Ye Dong.’
‘Naturally, I’m moving to replace Ye Sheng Group’s chairman of the board,’ Ye Xinuo raised the corners of his mouth, ‘There’s no reason for me to hand over the position when something happens to me, and then to stay in that position when Chairman Tang causes trouble and refuses to step down.’
‘Hmph,’ Tang Jie sneered, “so Chairman Ye means that the position of chairman should be given to you?”
Ye Xinuo didn’t say anything, and said to the directors present, ’My secretary distributed to you all the data of the projects I have handled during this period of time. Obviously, my ability to make money is no worse than Director Tang.’
‘Director Ye is not so naive as to think that a few statements can lead to a change in the board of directors,‘ Tang Jie snorted, “At this juncture, changing the chairman will only shake the confidence of natural person shareholders and other financial institutions holding Ye Sheng’s shares.”
’Ye Sheng’s current top leader is apologetic and taking the blame, which will not make the situation worse, will it?’ Ye Xinuo’s face turned cold, ’Or does Chairman Tang want all the directors here to be implicated and questioned by the police?’
Tang Shikai’s exposed activities not only involved pornography, but also gambling and drugs. He was bound to be invited to the police station for a chat. If he revealed anything he shouldn’t, none of the old guys in the room would feel good about it. If they investigated him seriously, everyone would have some kind of problem.
The meeting room fell silent.
After a while, Director Lu was the first to support the idea: ‘The internet is the world of young people. A bunch of old guys like us can’t keep up with the trends. Why don’t we take this opportunity and let Chairman Ye do it? This company was founded by Ah Sheng, and I’m sure his spirit in heaven will bless his daughter.’
Wei Gang immediately retorted, ‘But it’s not a good idea to have a homosexual as the top decision-maker!’
Ye Xinuo was not annoyed by this, and his face was calm. ‘It’s already the 21st century, people’s ideas and concepts have been progressing, and there is a high degree of tolerance for personal choices. There are many places that have legalised same-sex marriage. I don’t think my personal life will affect Ye Sheng’s development. What’s more, most ordinary people are forgetful, they won’t remember my scandal, and they won’t even remember who the leader of Ye Sheng is. Such a factor with minimal influence will not become an obstacle to my leading Ye Sheng to become the leader of the internet.’
‘Anyone can say pretty words,‘ Wei Gang had no retort, and could only throw out such a meaningless sentence.
’Then I will give Director Wei another analysis,’ Ye Xinuo’s attitude was very kind, ’A decision-maker who needs to find someone to satisfy their biological needs will inevitably encounter some kind of business spy. If they accidentally let something slip, it will not be good for Ye Sheng. Someone like me, who has a stable partner, does not have this kind of worry. What’s more, Ms Li Ai knows best about Qin Moyan’s abilities. She is much more famous in the international financial community than Ye Sheng. She loves me unconditionally and works hard to make money for everyone. It’s a bargain to have such a good helper, and I’m not going to let it go to waste.”
After she finished speaking, she swallowed imperceptibly, wondering if Qin Moyan would be angry to hear that she had borrowed her name.
It seems that I will have to take a few of my treasured paintings and go to her to apologise.
Li Ai raised an eyebrow and, unusually, spoke up for Ye Xinuo: ‘I think Director Ye has a point. Hessen will also regret losing such a good helper.’
Ye Xinuo continued: ‘Of course, I know that none of this is enough to convince the directors to trust me with their assets. But the most important thing for a company is to look forward, why dwell on the past?
‘From what Chairman Ye is saying, does that mean you have already come up with a response to this incident?‘ Director Lu asked.
’This kind of scandalous image cannot be suppressed by strong-arm tactics. Generally speaking, you can only send an apology letter and do some basic crisis management. However, we can divert everyone’s attention.‘ Ye Xinuo smiled, “I don’t know if any of the directors know about the ”International Human-Machine PK Competition’?’
‘My grandson loves watching robot shows at home, so I followed along and watched that competition, which was quite interesting,‘ a director sitting nearby responded.
’The research and development team that I personally sponsored has already reached the finals, where it will compete against the country’s top criminal sketch artist in face recognition technology. Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, it will increase Ye Sheng’s popularity. If it passes the voting of the expert judges, it can continue to develop the ‘missing person search system’.’
Ye Xinuo’s speech quickened, with just the right amount of emphasis. ‘According to incomplete statistics, nearly 200,000 children go missing in China every year, and the recovery rate is less than one-tenth of one percent. If Ye Sheng can fully fulfil its social responsibility and be at the forefront of using AI to find abducted and sold children, it will not only leave a strong mark in the current society, but also in the whole of history.’
‘Hearing me say this, the directors may not be able to intuitively feel how important this technology is. It takes ten months to give birth to a child, eighteen years to raise a child, but how long does it take to lose a child? Let me tell you a few stories.”
Ye Xinuo slowed down his tone.
‘The mother, who had been doing the housework, fell asleep on the sofa, and the baby was sitting on the floor playing with his toys. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and an uncle in a Kentucky Fried Chicken uniform appeared. He said that the mother had bought him Kentucky Fried Chicken, but that a cup of Coke had fallen on the car, and he hoped that the baby could go down with him to get it. The baby didn’t suspect anything, and didn’t want to wake the sleeping mother, so he followed the uncle out the door.
Fortunately, the mother heard the noise at the door, and, acting on her maternal instinct, immediately ran out and called out to her own baby.
At that time, there was still a hand trying to pull the baby into the elevator. If it had been one second later, the mother would have lost her child in her own home.
“In the hospital, the newborn baby was carefully looked after by four people: the parents, grandparents and a person in a white coat who came to the ward and said he wanted to give the baby an injection. The four people let the person take the baby away without a care in the world, but the “doctor” never returned.’
‘The mother was upstairs drying the laundry and looked at the child through the window. She noticed someone approaching and immediately went downstairs. But when she arrived downstairs, the child was already gone.
The child was five years old when she disappeared. Over the next ten years, the mother never stopped looking for her. Finally, she saw her daughter on the street, her legs amputated and her tongue cut out.
Ye Xinuo’s nose was a little bit sour. Even if she told these stories from an outsider’s perspective, it was hard to bear, not to mention the thousands of similar stories and poor families.
The R&D team that entered the competition was actually unexpected. It was when she heard the team leader’s idea of ‘looking for orphans’ in college that she felt moved and only sponsored them. The funds were not abundant, so she just spent the money to buy hope. She never expected that a few years later, they would really succeed.
The whole meeting room fell silent. These old hands in the business world were also shocked by the young girl in front of them. Her words were so infectious. In particular, the directors who had grandchildren at home could empathise even more.
There was another long silence in the meeting room.
“So, is this my bargaining chip enough to satisfy you, directors?’ Ye Xinru suppressed her emotions and put on an unyielding smile. ‘In the internet industry, only the first person to eat the crab can reap huge benefits. I believe everyone understands this.’
At this point, Director Lu stood up and said, ‘Everyone knows that I, Old Lu, have always had a good eye. The reason I chose to support Chairman Ye is that I admire her youthful drive. What’s more, having a female CEO will actually help Ye Sheng carve out a path, won’t it? In today’s world, where gender equality is highly valued, President Ye will become the most unique spokesperson for our group.‘
’I also support President Ye taking over from Ye Sheng,‘ Han Qiuzi, who had not spoken up until now, promptly seconded the motion.
’I have no objection to President Ye taking over,’ Li Ai shrugged.
Wei Gang angrily said, ’What kind of mind-altering soup has Ye Xinuo poured into each of you? Can you believe the words of a little girl?’
‘Whether you can trust my words or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.‘ Ye Xinuo’s face wore a gentle smile.
’I also agree with Tang Jie that the position of chairman should be returned to Xinuo.’ The director who had chided Tang Jie at the beginning of the meeting spoke up.
Tang Jie still had a smile on his face, ’As long as Ye Sheng gets better and better, it doesn’t matter who the chairman is. Since everyone has said that, I’ll first give up this position to Ye Zi. It’s not a bad idea.’
‘Then Xinuo has to thank Uncle Tang.‘ Ye Xinuo smiled very sweetly, as if he really was a child sincerely thanking an elder for giving him a good thing.
’Now that this matter is settled, there is one more thing.’ Wei Gang’s face revealed a greedy smile, ’Ah Kai caused such a big incident this time, and we uncles can’t just sit by and do nothing. We have to help out. Shouldn’t Director Tang show his appreciation?’
Chapter 73
‘Ah Kai has caused such a big incident this time, and we, these uncles, cannot just sit by and do nothing. We must help out. Shouldn’t Director Tang show his appreciation?’
‘What does Director Wei mean?’ Tang Jie’s eyes narrowed slightly.
‘We have known each other for so many years. Back when you were still an assistant, Director Tang did a lot for Ah Sheng. Now that something has happened to your family, we will have to do our best to help. If that brat Shikai implicates you, it will be a great loss to Ye Sheng. Wei Gang held up five fingers, ‘If you give away 5% of your shares to everyone here, I believe everyone will treat your matter as their own.’
When one of the directors heard this proposal, a gleam immediately appeared in his eyes, and he was very tempted.
Tang Jie suppressed the flames of anger in the depths of his eyes that were still smiling. This was clearly taking advantage of the situation to loot, diluting the shares in his hands. If he did not agree, these people might be afraid to do something to add insult to injury.
Although he is cautious in his actions, his son is really incompetent and has left a mess.
One director patted his head and said, ‘Ouch, I remember a few years ago Director Tang did me a favour, although the means were not very honourable, I still want to repay this favour.’
Several other directors also ‘recalled their memories’, and it was a touching scene of repaying a favour.
Ye Xinuo sneered inwardly. Once someone started, if Tang Jie didn’t agree today, tomorrow these directors might use this opportunity to reveal the evidence of Tang Jie doing things for them in the past. After all, back then Tang Jie did not have the freedom to choose. These directors were really vampires.
She couldn’t help but think that perhaps Qin Moyan had not been able to defeat Tang Jie in a previous life because Qin Moyan had a bottom line for what he would do.
‘Since everyone is so eager to help, it would be unreasonable for me to refuse,’ said Tang Jie, standing up from his chair. ‘As you all know, I have a busy family life, so I will take my leave first. A lawyer will handle this matter.’
After saying this, he suppressed his anger and pushed open the door, walking out a few steps. His face gradually grew gloomy.
After Ye Xinuo sat down, he reopened the topic and directly shifted the focus to the follow-up development of Ye Sheng. Although Xu Xiao was marginalised by Tang Jie, with his outstanding abilities, he still firmly grasped the progress of the projects left behind by Ye Xinuo, so it was not too difficult for Ye Xinuo to take over the company again.
The meeting ended just in time for dinner. Ye Xinuo took out his phone and saw that Qin Moyan had sent him a message an hour ago saying that he would pick her up for dinner that night.
Ye Xinuo called back, anxiously saying, ‘I was in a meeting and didn’t see the message. Qin Moyan, where are you?’
Qin Moyan: ‘The coffee shop downstairs from your office.’
The corner of Ye Xinuo’s mouth curled up unconsciously, and she immediately started walking towards the elevator, saying, ‘I’ll go down now.’
‘Boss, wait!’ Xu Xiao quickly stopped her with a quick action, saying, ‘You need to sign some documents first.’
Qin Moyan heard Xu Xiao’s voice and spoke softly, ‘No rush, I’ve just made an appointment with an old friend.’
‘Okay.’
For some reason, thinking that the other person might just be stopping by to pick her up made Ye Xinuo feel a little lost.
Li Ai immediately saw Qin Moyan sitting by the window. This woman was really too outstanding, and no matter where she was, she would never be lost in the crowd.
Qin Moyan put down the phone in her hand and nodded, ‘Long time no see.’
‘Long time no see.‘ Li Ai pulled out a chair, sat down, crossed her legs, and lightly bit her sexy full lips with her teeth, “Qin, you’ve missed me?”
’I heard that Hessen is looking for a suitable buyer.’ Qin Moyan lifted her eyelids lightly, ’Ye Sheng is a stock listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, not subject to the decline limit of the A-share market. In the future, the market value is likely to continue to shrink severely. My price may satisfy your boss.’
‘Qin,’ Li Ai shot Qin Moyan a meaningful look, and ran her tongue around her lips, “I don’t quite understand, what good will it do you to go to all this trouble to disrupt Hessen’s acquisition plan? In the end, you’ll be making a losing deal.”
Qin Moyan: ’I don’t need a reason to do things.’
‘Qin, you’ve changed.’ Li Ai also laughed, “The most likely reason for a wolf to put its claws away is the appearance of another, stronger wolf, or perhaps a little lamb?”
Qin Moyan ignored the other person’s question and asked in return, ’At today’s board meeting, Ye Xinuo sat back in Chairman Ye Sheng’s seat?’
‘I only said that I was in Ye Sheng Building, but I didn’t say that I had just attended the board meeting. How did Qin know what happened at the board meeting?’ Li Ai showed a thoughtful expression.
Qin Moyan shrugged, “It’s not hard to guess. Something happened to Tang Shikai yesterday, so Ye Sheng will definitely hold a board meeting today.”
Li Ai: “You’re not being nice, you didn’t answer my last question.”
Qin Moyan: “It’s not my obligation to answer your questions.”
Li Ai laughed, ’It’s really the Qin I know.’
Qin Moyan was not carried away by Li Ai’s words and returned to the topic. ‘Today Ye Sheng’s closing price was HK$115.4, and I will only increase it to 165 per share.’
‘I will ask Johnson for advice.’ Li Ai raised an amused smile. ‘Let me guess, Qin is doing this for Ye Xinuo?’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Unfortunately, you are wrong. Every decision I make will not be for the sake of another person.’
‘I don’t think so. It seems that there is hope that Qin will overturn what he has said.‘ Li Ai did not believe Qin Moyan’s words. From what she knew about this person, being able to do so much to cooperate with Ye Xinuo had long since exceeded an ordinary relationship. “Love has come, and it is really impossible to stop it.”
’My thoughts have not changed.’ Qin Moyan looked out the window, “The emotions that arise in love are all very useless, and they can even be a hindrance.”
However, when he said this, his gaze gradually became much softer.
Ye Xinru walked up to the café’s floor-to-ceiling glass windows and saw Qin Moyan and Li Ai sitting by the window talking. She stood outside without going in, and sent a message to Qin Moyan on her phone. However, the next moment she looked up, she locked eyes with the other person.
Qin Moyan said something to the person across from her, then got up and came out.
‘Are you cold?’
Ye Xinru was thinking about what kind of opening line to say when she heard the other person’s naturally concerned voice.
She quickly replied, ‘No, I’m not cold.’
Qin Moyan touched the back of Ye Xinuo’s hand and said, ‘Your hands are so cold, you’re wearing too little.’
It was the beginning of autumn, and the weather was turning cold. Qin Moyan had already put on a windbreaker, but Ye Xinuo was still wearing a thin layer of clothing.
The sweet water in Ye Xinuo’s heart was about to overflow, and she lowered her head bashfully and murmured, ‘Your hands are warm.’
‘Let’s go and get the car,‘ Qin Moyan said, taking Ye Xinuo’s hand and placing it in his trench coat pocket.
Ye Xinuo’s heart started beating uncontrollably again, and she stuttered, “Qin Moyan, I…”
’Hm?‘ Qin Moyan turned around.
’I… I want to eat Japanese food,’ Ye Xinuo let out a sigh of relief, ’can you cook it?’
Qin Moyan nodded, ‘Just the other day, I got a bottle of red wine that goes well with sashimi.’
‘Okay, then I’ll trouble you.’ Ye Xinru cursed herself inwardly for being so hopeless, every time it was just a little bit short.
This is good, in case it seems to the other person that holding hands is just an act that doesn’t have any other meaning, and that it’s just wishful thinking on my part to be so sentimental and blurt it out, wouldn’t I lose even this little chance of being touched?
***
Qin Moyan was very focused when handling the ingredients, and her movements were so graceful that she looked like a noble lady.
Ye Xinru leaned against the kitchen door and watched in fascination. It would be nice to hug her from behind. She must be fragrant and soft, and her neck would be white and tender, which would feel so good to rub.
‘Oh my god! What strange things are you thinking about in your head again!’ Ye Xinru took a few steps back, pulled her hair and returned to the sofa in the living room, where she threw herself down, ‘Snap out of it!’
‘Xinuo, come here.‘
Qin Moyan stood still by the dining table, his gentle gaze falling on Ye Xinuo, who had huddled up into a ball.
’Coming.‘ Ye Xinuo immediately stretched out his body, jumped off the sofa, and slapped the two little people fighting in his head back into submission.
’Xinuo, are you afraid that I’ll put some kind of sleeping drug in this wine for you?’ Qin Moyan said, half teasing and half serious, as he lifted his wine glass.
Every time she thinks of that incident, she still feels a little scared.
‘What could you possibly do if you drugged me?’ Ye Xinuo pretended to know nothing about it, but in fact, she was already seething inside: ‘Go ahead and do it! If you cook the rice while it’s still raw, I won’t have to be so torn up.’
‘Take some nude photos and ask you for money?’ Qin Moyan looked serious, ‘Or…’
‘Or what?’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes lit up with anticipation.
‘Sell you to the mountains as a wife to a fool and have a bunch of little fools.‘
’I won’t do it!‘ Ye Xinuo felt a lump in her throat. “I’m not having any children!”
’Madam, you’ve got the wrong priorities. Being sold to the mountains and marrying a fool, which is scarier than having children? If you meet a pervert, there’s a possibility that they’ll chop off your limbs and make soup out of them.’ Qin Moyan glared at Ye Xinuo, ‘Do you know that you can never be too careful? There are hundreds of times more vicious ways than these, and they can’t all be listed on a piece of paper.’
‘I know you won’t hurt me,’ Ye Xinuo raised her glass of red wine and touched the rim of Qin Moyan’s glass, her eyes shining, ‘You saved me last time!’
Qin Moyan: ‘I’ve seen you drunk more than once. Are you drunk and hugging everyone you see and not letting go?’
‘No! Only you!‘ Ye Xinuo finished, her cheeks flushed, and she quickly tilted her head back and took a sip of red wine.
She thought to herself, “Qin Moyan really is a grudge-holding character.”
***
Tang’s mansion.
’Dad, give me some money, I’m going to go abroad and hide.”
Tang Shikai stood in the doorway with a suitcase, his face sweating from the heat.
Tang Jie, expressionless, pulled a black card out of his wallet and handed it to his son. His voice was low: ‘Don’t get into trouble when you go abroad.’
‘I know, thanks dad!’ Tang Shikai put the card in his pocket and hurriedly got into the car parked at the door.
After watching the car drive away for a while, Tang Jie made a phone call. After a moment of silence, he said, ‘Did you take care of it?’
After getting a positive answer from the other side, his face did not show any joy, but rather a sense of desolation. The hand hanging at his side was clenched into a fist.
Unfortunately, this did not stop him from personally severing his weak points.
[The following is a news bulletin: A major traffic accident has occurred on the airport expressway. A black sedan and a box truck collided fiercely, and the car burst into flames. The scene has been cordoned off, and the expressway is completely congested. To avoid missing the boarding time, citizens and friends who need to go to the airport should switch to the airport express as soon as possible.
Chapter 74
Tang Shikai’s death, no one investigated the cause of death in depth, and it was regarded as his own fault and punishment from heaven that caused the accident.
There was only one person who didn’t believe it was a coincidence at all.
Ni Anxin peeled off a chocolate and put it in her mouth. She gently unfolded the tin foil, placed it under the light, and narrowed her eyes slightly. ‘It is said that even a tiger is not cruel to its cubs. Tang Jie is really interesting. But since he’s the one who did the evil deed, it’s good that he’s taking care of it himself. After all, not causing trouble for others is also a virtue.”
The next second, her gaze moved to the palm-sized screen standing nearby. There were two silhouettes of a man and a woman. After a few words, the man was slapped by the woman, and then he lowered his head as if apologising.
The man and woman were none other than Ni Anqi and Ni Mingxuan.
On another screen nearby, a fat man was lying on a bed, with candles burning on his back, while two women were massaging him together.
‘Sigh, that’s really not aesthetically pleasing,’ Ni Anxin narrowed her right eye, looking disgusted, ‘Mingda Pictures.’ After a moment, ‘Liking to victimise underage girls is unforgivable.’
With a ‘sizzle’, the screen with the indecent content was doused with a glass of water by Ni Anxin, and it instantly went dark.
‘Knock, knock, knock.’
Ni Anxin’s eyes lifted slightly, ‘What is it?’
The voice of the secretary outside the door sounded, ‘Miss, there is a client.’
Ni Anxin extinguished the other screen and walked towards the sofa where she would receive visitors, her voice lazy, ‘Enter.’
“Detective, my toy car has gone missing, can you help me find it?’
A little girl was led in by the secretary and, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, sat down on the sofa with ease.
‘Disappeared again?’ An Xin looked at the little girl in front of her with a smile, ‘It’s really not that you want some snacks?’
‘Of course not,’ the little girl raised her head, ‘I’m not the kind of childish, greedy child.’
‘Well, then, without further ado, let’s go now,’ An Xin pretended to stand up.
‘You’re a detective, you have to ask me about the circumstances and the situation at the time of the incident, collect clues, you can’t be so rash.’ The little girl’s gaze fell on the snack rack in front of her, and she swallowed.
Ni Anxin smiled and handed the little girl a cookie, and then, like a magician, took out a jar of yogurt from the refrigerator under the coffee table. “Well, my young client is right, so tell me, how did it go missing?”
The little girl showed her two big gap teeth and beamed, ’On a dark and windy night…’
Ni Anxin listened to these words and couldn’t help rubbing his temples. He couldn’t help but worry about what kind of toxic language system young children are exposed to nowadays.
***
Before long, the man who had just appeared on the screen was already at the door of the Ladder Studio. He knew that he could find Han Qiuzi here.
After Ye Xinuo regained control of Ye Sheng, he handed over the management of the Ladder Studio to Yu Qing. The initial difficulties had been overcome, and it only needed to continue to develop step by step.
Han Qiuzi would come to have lunch with her every day at noon, and sometimes there would be some work-related communication. Although they had lost some business and the Han family was not as powerful as before, Han Qiuzi had a spiritual pillar and did not feel the least bit hard.
When they saw an uninvited guest, the two of them glanced at each other, and Yu Qing asked Ni Mingxuan why he was here.
‘We were engaged after all, so why are you being so cold to me and not even willing to talk to me?‘ Ni Mingxuan smiled at Han Qiuzi, like a gentle and refined young gentleman.
’Young Master Ni, if you have something to say, just say it.”
There were only the three of them here, and Han Qiuzi didn’t bother with the fake smile and greetings.
Ni Mingxuan laughed gently, ’The Han family’s Hummingbird Express recently poached quite a few supervisors from Li Tong, and my sister is very distressed about it.’
Han Qiuzi gave him a sideways glance, ‘Do you think I would need to report to Angel Ni if I were to poach one of my own long-serving employees? Wouldn’t that make her happy?’
‘Long-serving employee,’ Ni Mingxuan’s mouth curled up slightly, ‘I remember that there was a supervisor at Litong called Gao Wei. As far as I know, he and Qin Moyan were very close. President Han, you must not be mistaken about who your friends are.’
‘Ah, this is the first time I’ve heard of it.‘ Han Qiuzi narrowed his eyes. “Then young master Ni should thank me. It’s not safe to keep someone like her around. She might set her sights on you at any time.”
’Although our marriage contract is no longer valid, I find myself liking Qiuzi more and more.’ Ni Mingxuan blinked a few times, and the shadows of his longer and denser eyelashes than a woman’s fell on his lower eyelids. ’One day, you will see the good qualities in me. Besides, there are some experiences that a woman cannot give you.’
Han Qiuzi laughed instead of getting angry, his eyes fixed on Ni Mingxuan’s face. ‘Young master, it’s because you haven’t met enough women. And besides, what insight could a man have who follows his sister around like a puppy?’
Ni Mingxuan looked as if he didn’t understand what the other person was saying, and curved the corners of his eyes. ‘It seems that Qiuzi is in a bad mood today, I’ll invite you to dinner another time.’ He then stuck his hand in the pocket of his suit pants, turned around and pulled the door open to leave.
Han Qiuzi’s face slowly sank, and behind her, Yu Qing suddenly hugged her waist, and a furry head rubbed against her smooth, pale neck.
‘Ni Mingxuan is so scary, he scared the baby to death!’
‘You’re crazy!’ Han Qiuzi knew that Yu Qing was trying to help her cheer up, so she put on a smile and turned around.
‘Zi is really becoming more and more attractive as a mature woman.‘ Yu Qing put her arms around Han Qiuzi’s waist and pressed her nose against her opponent’s, their eyes locked.
’After going through so many things, of course you have to grow up.‘ Han Qiuzi cupped Yu Qing’s face in her hands, “You have always protected me, but only if I am calm and collected enough can I protect you in the future.”
’I want to…’ Yu Qing lightly bit Han Qiuzi’s upper lip, her tongue teasing.
A warm twig pressed against the curve of the plain, rubbing all the way to the valley outside the jungle, causing sparks to fly.
‘Rogue!’ Han Qiuzi’s voice softened, and he climbed onto Yu Qing’s neck with both hands, ‘There are people outside!’
‘Then let’s go inside.’
Han Qiuzi’s ears were soaked with warmth, and his feet were enchanted, leading him uncontrollably to the inner rest room.
‘Click,’ the lock clicked.
Before long, Han Qiuzi was sinking into the soft bed, her hands clutching the sheets tightly, her neck bent upwards, her honey beans swallowed into her belly by an anaconda.
***
Ye Xinuo became addicted to having dinner at Qin Moyan’s house, and what started out as a few days became more than ten days now. And every day after dinner, she didn’t want to leave, finding all sorts of excuses to stay until nine or ten o’clock. Qin Moyan seemed to be used to Ye Xinuo’s presence and continued to do her own things without being affected.
Ye Xinruo sat on the other side of the sofa and saw Qin Moyan put her hands together and rest them on her chin, presumably thinking about something. Her heart skipped a beat. She sometimes did the same thing herself, but she forgot where she had learned it in the first place. Could this be the legendary fate?
Qin Moyan looked up without realising and met Ye Xinruo’s puzzled gaze.
‘What’s wrong?’
Ye Xinruo asked, running her fingers around the end of her hair. ‘Where did you learn to do that?’
Qin Moyan: ‘When I was little, the dean always prayed like this. Maybe children imitate nature, and over time, I got into the habit.’
Ye Xinuo noticed the undisguised nature of the other person’s words, and her eyes revealed shock.
Qin Moyan’s expression was natural, ‘Don’t be so surprised. If you haven’t figured me out after knowing me for more than a year, then I might have to doubt your intelligence.’
Ye Xinuo laughed dryly a few times, ‘You really are a fox.’
On the surface, she appeared embarrassed that she had been unmasked, but in fact, she could only hide her deep bitterness in her heart. She knew that the only thing that Qin Moyan no longer concealed was the fact that she had grown up in an orphanage. The other person probably could not have imagined that she would accidentally discover something even more secret from that time.
‘Why did you suddenly ask me this question?’ Qin Moyan raised her eyebrows, her mood seemingly very pleasant.
Ye Xinuo stuck out her tongue, ‘You may not believe it when I tell you, but I also occasionally do this little action, and I just forget how I developed it.’
‘Don’t little sisters love to imitate their older sisters?‘ Qin Moyan gave a wry smile, “Maybe you saw some pretty older sister doing this when you were little.”
’You’re right,’ Ye Xinuo looked thoughtful, “I’ll ask Yu Qing if she watched any weird TV dramas when she was little and got me off track.”
Qin Moyan just gave a faint smile and suddenly changed the subject, ’I heard that someone has been courting you recently.’
‘Huh?‘ Ye Xinru almost choked on his own saliva and laughed awkwardly, “What are you talking about? Nonsense.”
’Mr. Wang from Jingran Real Estate. He’s very clever, knowing how to cook a frog in slow boiling water by talking business.’ Qin Moyan had a strange smile on his lips, ’But Mr. Wang is young and accomplished, a talented person, with a strong family background but very hardworking and motivated. He’s a good choice for life.’
‘You know quite a bit!‘ Ye Xinuo instantly broke into an inquisitive smile. “Why are you so concerned about who’s after me?”
’I’ve had some contact with him, just giving you a reference,‘ Qin Moyan lowered her head again, as if she intended to end the conversation.
’So, according to you, I’ll be the one to lose if I don’t say yes?’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was relaxed, but a faint anger rose in her heart, perhaps more of a sour feeling.
‘This is Miss Ye’s own business, not mine.‘ Qin Moyan’s voice carried a slight coldness that even she herself hadn’t noticed.
’If that’s what you say, I’ll say yes, since both of us are single.‘ Ye Xinuo picked up the phone in a huff, “There’s no time to lose, I’ll ask him to go to the mountains to look at the stars now.”
’Take care.’ Qin Moyan’s tone was flat, her eyelids lowered, but her chest was rising and falling several times faster than usual.
Ye Xinuo, who was in a temper, naturally couldn’t notice this. She threw her phone onto the carpet and said, ‘My phone is out of battery, give me the charger!’
Qin Moyan took the charger she was using and threw it to Ye Xinuo, saying, ‘There is a socket under the coffee table.’
Ye Xinuo sat cross-legged on the carpet, connected the charger, and held the phone motionless.
She lowered her head, her long, supple hair spread to the sides, covering her face completely.
Qin Moyan’s emotions were also in a mess at the moment. She had never been so out of control before, and the rhythm of the conversation was also out of control for the first time.
‘Xinuo, I’m sorry,’ she said after a long silence, apologising first.
There was another short silence, and Ye Xinuo put her hands on the ground, changing into a kneeling position, and then moved to Qin Moyan’s feet. With both hands trembling, she supported herself on the edge of the sofa and slowly tilted her head back to meet Qin Moyan’s gaze.
Chapter 75
Under the warm yellow light, an ambiguous undercurrent arose, quietly surging and releasing in the space between the two of them. The long-repressed emotions were like an invisible thin thread, tightly entwining the two hearts, getting tighter with each breath.
Ye Xinuo changed into a kneeling position, moved to Qin Moyan’s feet, and with both hands trembling, she supported herself on the edge of the sofa, slowly raising her head to meet Qin Moyan’s gaze.
In her eyes, Qin Moyan’s eyelids were slightly narrowed, her teeth lightly biting her lower lip, and her eyebrows were tightly screwed together. Her long, dark hair hung down, exuding a refreshing aroma.
Her long, dark hair hung down to the edge of the sofa, and her slender, pale fingers were bursting with veins. When their eyes met, Ye Xinuo’s breathing stopped for a moment, and in a moment, she finally lost her mind. She pushed herself up and kissed Qin Moyan’s seductive, pale lips.
The entrance was slightly cool, and it tasted sweeter than jelly.
After just a brief moment of contact, Ye Xinuo suddenly lost all her courage, and fear seized her entire being.
What if Qin Moyan really only saw her as a little sister? What if Qin Moyan felt disgusted by a kiss from someone she didn’t like?
Noticing Qin Moyan’s pupils, which had widened in an instant, Ye Xinuo hurriedly backed away, averting her eyes and afraid to look at her again. Her voice trembled as she said, ‘I’m sorry, I…’
The rest of the words stuck in her throat. She lowered her head and licked her dry lips. She got up from the ground and turned around, saying, ‘I lost my mind for a moment. If you…if you feel…’
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t say anything that would express her true thoughts. She clenched her hands around the hem of her pants, regretting her rashness.
In this era, it is not easy for the average person to fall for someone of the same gender, let alone the fact that she and Qin Moyan’s previous generations had a complicated relationship.
Suddenly, Ye Xinru felt her wrist grabbed, and then the whole person was forced to turn back.
‘What did that kiss just now mean?’ Qin Moyan’s eyes were full of uncertainty.
Ye Xinuo swallowed a few times in panic. After a long struggle, she was about to risk everything and declare her feelings, when she heard the other person say, ‘I never do anything I’m not sure about.’
Her eyes grew wider and wider as she heard the next words, ‘Although I’m still not 100% sure now, in the future, can you just look at me?’
An electric current shot from her wrist straight to Ye Xinuo’s heart, making her nose tingle and her eyes blur.
Unbelieving her ears, she asked cautiously, ‘Qin Moyan, does this mean you want to be with me?’
Crimson spread from Qin Moyan’s earlobe all the way to cover her entire ear.
‘I will only look at you from now on. I like you, I like you very much. I’m so afraid that you don’t like me, I’m going crazy with fear.’ Ye Xinuo endured the acidity in the tip of her nose, forcing a smile to her lips as she tried to hold back the tears that had inexplicably run out of her eyes from being overjoyed.
‘Xinuo,‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes were focused, like a warm spring, and his warm voice was moving and emotional. “I never thought that there would be someone who could break into my head uncontrollably and make me feel a lot of unfamiliar and troublesome emotions. But if this person is you, it seems tolerable.”
’Confessions are so unromantic,’ Ye Xinuo laughed, and then whispered, ’Qin Moyan, you are so beautiful.’
‘Can we continue what we were doing?‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes suddenly flared with a burning light.
’Huh?’ Ye Xinruo didn’t react to what the other person said for a moment.
Qin Moyan took two steps closer, and Ye Xinruo’s centre of gravity became unstable and she sat down on the sofa. The other person leaned over and placed her moist lips on her slightly open mouth.
The two warm, soft lips met, and instinctively, they both closed their eyes. No one knew who noticed the mystery first, but they both extended their tongues to explore and tease. Soon, the two young, inexperienced lovers were entwined together.
Breaths mingled as Qin Moyan’s hand, which had been hanging down to the side, slowly covered the back of Ye Xinuo’s hand. With her other hand, she supported the back of her lover’s neck, trying to fit even more closely. An experience like no other swept through her sensory nerves.
After two or three minutes, Ye Xinuo surrendered first. Her eyes were filled with misty, confused water, and she looked especially pitiful. Panting, she covered her heart and said, ‘I can’t take it anymore, my heart is going to jump out, I need to slow down.’
Qin Moyan seemed to have opened the door to a new world. His eyes fixed on Ye Xinuo’s mouth, and his tone was clearly one of unquenchable desire, ‘How long do you need to slow down?’
Ye Xinuo looked at Qin Moyan’s pleading expression, and her heart melted. Her body also became limp on the sofa. While her heart was pounding, she secretly exclaimed, ‘Oh no, I’m getting aroused.’
But she had waited so long for today, and she couldn’t let Qin Moyan down. She could only stammer, blushing, ‘Okay, okay.’
Qin Moyan did not hesitate for a moment, and once again closed his eyes and embraced Ye Xinuo’s cherry lips, using his tongue to carefully caress every inch of her territory.
Ye Xinuo, who was being pressed against the sofa, was not enjoying it so much. She could clearly feel heat in the corners of her eyes, and every cell in her body was screaming that this was not enough.
—I wasn’t like this before, but whenever I touch Qin Moyan, I feel like a teddy bear!
As an inexperienced young lady, this is too embarrassing.
After a long time, Qin Moyan finally let go of Ye Xinuo. Both of their chests were rising and falling irregularly, and their breathing sounds were especially clear in the quiet night.
Ye Xinuo was now in a semi-reclining position, with her hands tightly hooked around Qin Moyan’s neck, her neckline revealing a glimpse of her cleavage.
In Qin Moyan’s water-cutting, pitch-black eyes, ripples of surprise were beating, and in his pupils, there was only Ye Xinuo’s two cherry lips, which were bright red and full from being kissed.
‘Can we do it again?’
The other person’s hopeful gaze and slightly hoarse voice were like a drug of love drifting in the air, making Ye Xinuo unable to even think of refusing, and he offered himself up willingly.
***
In the bathroom, Ye Xinuo took a bath and, with a sad expression on her face, looked at her pitiful underwear and rubbed the corners of her eyes. It could only be attributed to the fact that although this body was 23 years old, her soul was already 28. It was a long-awaited blessing!
Unfortunately, Qin Moyan seemed to have no other thoughts about her at all. His collar was open to his shoulders, but he was like he couldn’t see the spring light inside. He didn’t touch the place he shouldn’t, and just kept staring at one place and kissing.
After a long time, they finally came out of the bathroom. Qin Moyan had already blown dry her hair and was sitting on the sofa, closing her eyes to rest.
Ye Xinruo said, ‘Qin Moyan, tonight…er…where am I going to sleep tonight?’
Qin Moyan opened her eyes and saw a small flame jump up in Ye Xinruo’s lips when they met the moisture in the air. She then looked away and looked into the other person’s eyes, ‘Sleep in my bedroom. Don’t worry, I won’t rush into the next stage.’
No rush? I’m quite anxious.
Of course, Ye Xinuo only dared to think about it in her heart, and she still blushed shyly, lowered her head, walked over to Qin Moyan’s side, sat down, tugged on the corner of his sleeve, and said in a soft voice, ‘Then let’s go to bed.’
Although Ye Xinuo considered herself to be a conservative person, she had set her sights on Qin Moyan, and in this life, she only wanted to cook this bowl of cooked rice, so naturally, the sooner she ate it, the better.
So after confirming the other person’s intentions, she became much more daring. As a carnivore, it was impossible not to seduce.
‘Before going to sleep, you should explain why you want to go with President Wang to the mountains to look at the stars,’ Qin Moyan’s tone was a bit stuffy.
‘I didn’t mean what I said! You were the one who asked me to agree to his pursuit!’ Ye Xinuo shrugged her head, ‘You explain why you praised him first.’
She thought to herself, ‘This matter has not really been resolved. I knew that Qin Moyan was petty, so it seems that I can only outwit him.’
“Experimental reports show that when a mother turns her attention to someone else, a three-month-old baby will usually kick and cry. People show signs of jealousy from the age of three months, and obvious jealousy behaviour starts to appear at the age of two. This is a very normal psychological phenomenon.’ Qin Moyan’s light voice drifted into Ye Xinuo’s ears, “It’s also normal for people to say things against their will when they are jealous.”
It sounds like it makes sense? Ye Xinuo turned his head and made a face at Qin Moyan, ’You’re just talking nonsense seriously again.’
‘Don’t let other people’s sweet talk lure you away.‘ Qin Moyan suddenly took Ye Xinuo’s hand and placed it on his chest, “I’ll be unhappy.”
’How could I be lured away by someone else?’ Ye Xinuo curved the corners of her mouth and leaned against Qin Moyan’s shoulder, ’You’re so petty. If I were angry with you, I would have died of anger a long time ago.’
‘Well, I am a jealous person.‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes drifted to Ye Xinuo’s lips, intentionally or unintentionally. “Since you know this, aren’t you going to try to appease me?”
’Are you ashamed of yourself? You’re old enough to be a father, and you still want a young girl to appease you.’ Ye Xinuo’s mouth was already curled up to the ears, and the sudden sweetness and happiness filled her heart.
‘You have a delicious mouth.‘ Qin Moyan’s words were completely devoid of any sexual undertones, and were purely a statement.
’Not only do you love to talk nonsense in a serious manner, you also love to flirt with innocent young girls in a serious manner.‘ Ye Xinuo tilted her head and kissed Qin Moyan on the cheek, “I’m done coaxing.”
’So perfunctory.’ Qin Moyan pinched the soft flesh on Ye Xinuo’s waist, ’I want more.’
‘Your image of being cold sexually has collapsed.’ Ye Xinuo turned her head and cupped Qin Moyan’s face in her hands, her bright eyes reflecting the delicate porcelain doll-like features of the other person.
But before she could kiss him, the phone on the table rang again, as if it were making trouble.
Qin Moyan looked angrily at the inconsiderate box like a child, and Ye Xinuo steadied her breathing before answering the phone.
On the other end of the line was Yu Qing’s voice, full of deep concern. ‘Nono, Xu Xiao has been in a car accident and is still in critical condition.’
‘What happened? How could there be a car accident!’
Ye Xinuo’s emotions suddenly became out of control. Her eyes were red and she muttered to herself, ‘It shouldn’t be now, how could it be now?’
“I’m already at the hospital, I’ll wait until after the surgery is over—’
Ye Xinuo interrupted Yu Qing, ‘I’m coming over now!’
After hanging up the phone, her lips turned even paler, and her body trembled like a sieve.
‘Xinuo, what’s wrong?’ Qin Moyan still didn’t know what had happened, so she could only hug Ye Xinuo and pat her back to calm her down.
“Qin Moyan, I don’t want anything else. Can we go abroad? Let’s just find any island and spend the rest of our lives together on it, okay?’ Ye Xinuo trembled uncontrollably, clutching Qin Moyan’s clothes tightly, tears falling one after the other. She couldn’t bear the possibility that the treasure she had just gained would have an accident. ‘Is it okay?’
‘Xinuo, calm down, I’m here with you, it’s okay, it’s okay.’ Qin Moyan was extremely gentle, not knowing why the person in her arms was like this, but it was as if she felt the same way. Her heart felt astringent pain as if it had been cut by a blade.
Chapter 76
Ning Han was holding a lollipop, his eyebrows twisted into an ‘M’ shape, and he was very annoyed holding the game controller.
It wasn’t because he had encountered an obstacle. On the contrary, after killing the final boss in a long-awaited game, the protagonist only lost one health bar, which was completely unchallenging and gave no sense of accomplishment.
‘I told you, this is the last game in the series, and it’s full of plot holes and bad battle mechanics. You just wouldn’t believe me.‘ Qi Jing sat down next to her with a fruit plate, and put a dragon fruit in Ning Han’s mouth.
’This ending is so rushed!’ Ning Han resisted the urge to throw the controller, angrily grabbed the fruit from Qi Jing’s hand, and stuffed it into her mouth frantically. ’At least tell me what happens next! What does a black screen mean!
‘What flavour can you taste in the sugar-coated fruit? What a waste!‘ Qi Jing took the opportunity to feel Ning Han’s face.
’Don’t take advantage of me!’ Ning Han moved aside a little, wanting to say something else, but an old-fashioned mobile phone in his pocket vibrated, so he hastily put down the fruit plate in his hands, went into the bedroom and locked the door.
He answered the phone, ’What’s up?’
‘Time is running out, I’ll send you a domain name…’ It was Xu Xiao’s voice on the other end of the line. He had discovered that the project manager in charge of Alpha Search was up to no good, so he had taken the opportunity to take his computer and try to crack the encrypted files and copy them back to study.
Ning Han immediately turned on the computer and tapped her fingertips rapidly on the keyboard. However, after a short while, the connection suddenly cut out. After a burst of rapid noise came from the phone, there was no sound. When she called back, it was already in shutdown mode.
She had wanted to locate him using the GPS system, but found that the signal had completely disappeared.
In a hurry, Ning Han hastily sent a text message to Qin Moyan, then came out of the bedroom and grabbed Qi Jing’s hand, pleading, ‘Ms. Qi, you used to be a cop, is there any way you can help me call two cops to find my friend? I suspect something has happened to him, but if I call the police like this, no one will definitely take it seriously.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll help you.‘ Qi Jing took Ning Han’s hand back, “What clues do you have right now, let’s go over there first.”
’Thank you.”
They rushed to Ye Sheng Building, only seeing a few scattered figures of small staff working overtime.
Back in the car, Qi Jing asked, “May I ask, what makes you think that Xu Xiao will have an accident?”
On the way here, Ning Han had already described Xu Xiao’s simple information and basic characteristics to Qi Jing.
‘He…’ Ning Han mumbled, “he is my client, and I suddenly couldn’t get in touch with him just now.”
Qi Jing didn’t pursue the matter, opened his laptop and typed a series of characters. In a moment, he said, “Half an hour ago, there was a traffic accident two blocks away, a pedestrian was hit, and the driver fled the scene.”
Ning Han grabbed the door handle and frowned, “Please take me to the hospital where the victim was rescued.”
***
The various events of the previous life kept changing in Ye Xinuo’s mind like a revolving lantern, and the deaths of Xu Xiao and Qin Moyan felt like two swords thrusting straight into her heart. But in the previous life, all of this had clearly happened two years later.
At that moment, Qin Moyan’s phone also vibrated.
Holding Ye Xinuo in her arms, she was unable to get the phone, and after a moment’s hesitation, she decided to wait until Ye Xinuo’s emotions had stabilised a little before replying.
After a while, Ye Xinuo felt the body temperature of another person next to her, and her senses gradually returned.
‘I’m sorry, I lost my temper,’ she said, closing her eyes and covering her face with her hands.
Qin Moyan waited until Ye Xinuo had calmed down before asking softly, ‘What happened?’
Ye Xinuo replied, ‘Xu Xiao had a car accident,’ but she didn’t know how to explain why she was so emotional.
Qin Moyan’s brows furrowed slightly. He stroked Ye Xinuo’s back a few times gently, and then took out one hand to pick up his phone.
Seeing the name displayed on the missed call, he looked up and said, ‘Xinuo, I need to return a call. Can you sit here for a while?’
‘Yes, I feel much better,’ Ye Xinuo took a few deep breaths.
Before returning the call, Qin Moyan first checked a message, which Ning Han had sent from an online number an hour ago.
She called the number and learned that the other party had already arrived at the hospital. She quickly changed her clothes and went out with Ye Xinuo.
Ye Xinuo didn’t say a word the whole way, not knowing how to explain her unusual behaviour. In terms of intimacy, Xu Xiao was only her secretary, and what’s more, even if there was a car accident, it wasn’t necessarily a big deal, and her reaction was over the top.
Qin Moyan didn’t ask any more questions, just driving in silence.
‘Qin Moyan,‘ Ye Xinuo whispered, “I don’t know how to explain this to you right now, so just think of it as a very real dream. In the dream, Xu Xiao died, and then you died right after. I’m scared that the dream will come true, so promise me that you’ll always let me know where you are, okay? You probably think I’m being paranoid, but…”
’Okay, I’ll let you know where I go in the future,’ Qin Moyan took hold of Ye Xinuo’s cold hand, ’I’m really happy that you care about me so much.’
There was no sign of Ning Han at the entrance to the operating room. After she was sure that the person inside was Xu Xiao, she left without saying goodbye to Yu Qing.
‘Xinuo,’ Yu Qing stood up from the bench, ‘you didn’t need to come here yourself. You don’t know the situation yet, so I can just wait here.’
‘I feel more at ease if I come and take a look,’ Ye Xinuo forced a smile.
Yu Qing sighed, ‘I don’t know how long the rescue will take. It’s said that the injuries are very serious, and Xiaozi is comforting his girlfriend.’
Ye Xinuo looked around, ‘Is the driver here?’
‘He ran away,’ Yu Qing replied, ‘Luckily, a drunk passer-by found him and called an ambulance in time.’
Ye Xinuo had long expected this result and was not surprised.
Xu Xiao was still being resuscitated, so she couldn’t know more, so she told Yu Qing and Han Qiuzi to go home first, there was no need to waste everyone’s time.
Yu Qing understood Ye Xinuo’s consideration and said, ‘Then feel free to call me if anything happens.’
A pretty girl with a small frame was huddled in a chair, sobbing quietly. She looked like a frightened little rabbit.
This was not the first time Ye Xinuo had seen Xu Xiao’s girlfriend; the last time was at the funeral.
Ye Xinuo walked over and comforted her, saying, ‘Xu Xiao will be fine.’
The little girl was very sad, but she still said, ‘Thank you’ in sign language.
The surgery lasted for six hours and ended at 5:00 a.m. Ye Xinuo was leaning drowsily against Qin Moyan’s shoulder, dozing off. When she heard a noise, her head dropped a little and she was caught by Qin Moyan’s hand.
‘Sorry to have kept you company for so long,‘ Ye Xinuo’s eyelids drooped, looking a little embarrassed.
Qin Moyan just rubbed Ye Xinuo’s head and said, “Stand up slowly.”
’Okay.”
The medical staff pushed Xu Xiao into the ICU with a grave expression, indicating that the patient’s condition was not optimistic, and it was currently unknown when he would wake up.
Since they could not go in to visit yet, Ye Xinuo sent Xu Xiao’s girlfriend home after she finished the formalities, telling her to get a good night’s sleep.
After the car started up again,
Ye Xinuo said in a low voice, ‘Thank you for always being there for me. If I had confessed a little later, you wouldn’t have had to suffer with me.’
Qin Moyan teased her, smiling, ‘It wasn’t you who confessed to me. You didn’t even establish a relationship with me before you got so bold as to come on to me.’
‘I didn’t!‘ Ye Xinuo’s face instantly turned red like a boiled crab. She changed the subject, saying, “I have a meeting in the morning, so I need to go home and change. I’m sorry for the trouble.”
Qin Moyan smiled knowingly, stopped teasing her, and said softly, “You can close your eyes for a bit, and I’ll let you know when we’ve arrived.”
’Qin Moyan, why are you so nice?’ Ye Xinuo tilted her head and smiled, staring at the person in the driver’s seat. ’You’ve suddenly become so gentle and patient, so different from how you were at the beginning.’
‘Miss Ye, you’ve asked a question that I can’t answer. If I have to trace the source, to know why I’m special to you…‘ Qin Moyan paused, “I might as well kill this seed in the soil.”
’No, no, you’re fine just the way you are!’ Ye Xinuo turned half of his body around, propped his head up with both hands, and stars seemed to be flying out of his eyes. ’You look good from any angle.’
Qin Moyan’s mouth twitched slightly, and he was very pleased with such superficial praise.
An old man who had got up early to take a walk had a radio attached to his waist. As he walked through the park, everyone along the way could hear the announcements coming from the speaker.
‘Hello, this is First News. Let’s join together and enter the Morning News.’
“Last night, a large number of illegal entries appeared on the American search engine Alpha Search, seriously disrupting online order and social security. The relevant authorities have quickly intervened in the investigation. After replacing the chairman of the board of directors, Ye Sheng Group has suffered another major blow, and its stock price may continue to fall.’
‘Zhang, the president of Mingda Pictures, was exposed for his S.M scandal and committing crimes against as many as 20 underage girls. According to an anonymous employee report, Zhang often forced female employees to perform oral sex on him in the office. The suspect confessed to the crime under police interrogation. It is worth noting that Zhang was in poor mental health before his arrest, and while on bail, he made multiple suicide attempts. We will continue to follow up on this incident.’
***
A dark room, with only a screen glowing. The man inside reported something expressionlessly.
Ni Anxin rubbed her temples hard, ‘I’ve discovered such an interesting person unintentionally, it would be a pity if he died like this.’
She first met Xu Xiao in a café she frequented. That day, a customer molested the mute waitress in the shop, so he staged a heroic rescue. Later, that young man would often appear there.
Unexpectedly, when investigating the matter, she discovered a connection between her and the ‘hero’ from the café. It seems that Xu Xiao, who looks like a fool, is actually a spy planted next to Ye Xinuo.
‘Miss, if there is nothing else, I will leave first.’
The person on the screen is the drunk who helped Xu Xiao call an ambulance.
Ni Anxin gave a light ‘hmm’ and pressed the remote control, and the screen turned into a snowstorm.
The indifferent man leaned back in his chair, pulled a bracelet stained with dried blood from his chest, and his eyes suddenly softened. ‘Baby, you said you like Sherlock Holmes, and I always laughed at you for being obsessed with fictional characters. It’s my fault. Look, am I more like him now?’
But soon, Ni Anxin resumed her cynical expression, bit her tongue with her teeth, and let the blood soak her lips. ‘Who’s next?’
Chapter 77
‘Lu Qiang, the person in charge of the Alpha Search Project, can’t be found? Have you tried all the contact methods?’ Ye Xinru leaned back in his chair and rubbed the corners of his eyes lightly. The dark circles under his eyes could not be completely concealed with makeup.
‘I suspect…he may have fled abroad.’ The person speaking was the secretary, Zhu Li, who had temporarily taken over some of Xu Xiao’s work.
Ye Xinru’s voice was tired, ‘Have you called the police?’
Julie: ‘I contacted the police as soon as the incident broke out.’
Xinuo Ye: ‘Okay, thank you for your hard work, go ahead.’
Julie slightly bowed her head and exited the CEO’s office.
Xinuo Ye picked up the ‘Sharp Search’ information in her hands. This is a search engine company that Tang Jie acquired some time ago. The timing of Xu Xiao’s accident was so coincidental that she could hardly not associate it with him.
***
In the billiards room.
Ning Han tugged at his hair and said angrily, ‘It must be related to that project manager! Xu Xiao must have found something.’
‘You said that Xu Xiao asked you to help him hack the project manager’s computer, and then he lost contact,’ Qin Moyan frowned, ‘It’s just so coincidental that late last night, Alpha Search had a viral security crisis, and the screening system was paralyzed. It’s highly likely that someone on the inside did something. Judging by the time, Xu Xiao got the project manager’s computer before that.’
‘There was a time constraint, and Xu Xiao didn’t go into detail.‘ Ning Han kept rubbing his face, “If only I had stopped him then.”
’Don’t blame yourself,‘ Qin Moyan sighed, “You don’t know his character yet? I’ve told him many times to withdraw when he spots danger, but he never listened to me.”
’He still didn’t give up,’ Ning Han said with a bitter smile, ’Of the four of us, I’m afraid I’m the most heartless.’
At this moment, Ding Qi’s voice suddenly came from the door, ‘Ningning baby, I have a program that I can’t figure out, can you help me?’
‘I’m leaving first,’ Qin Moyan took off the small and exquisite handbag from the hanger.
Ding Qi: ‘You’re leaving just as I’ve arrived, that hurts my feelings!’
‘I’m going to pick up my girlfriend from work,’ Qin Moyan patted Ding Qi on the shoulder, ‘I’m in a good mood today, so I can allow the project to be completed the day after tomorrow.’
‘Did Qin Mo Yan just flash a smug smile?‘ Ding Qi couldn’t keep his mouth shut for long, “Did a ghost possess her?”
Ning Han casually added, “Didn’t you hear her say she was going to pick up her girlfriend?”
’Girlfriend!”
After a few seconds, the two of them exclaimed in unison.
Ding Qi: “Holy shit! That’s amazing! Who is it?!”
Ning Han: “I don’t know!”
Ding Qi: “You’re useless!”
Ning Han: “Get lost!”
***
Qin Moyan parked the car, opened the door and took one foot out, but then suddenly thought of something and pulled it back in. He lowered the sun visor in front of him and looked at himself in the mirror.
After revealing a satisfied expression, he stepped out of the car again.
Ye Xinuo was moving his stiff neck when the secretary at the door, Vivian, knocked and said, ‘Mr Ye, Mr Qin is here to see you.’
‘Please come in.’ The person behind the desk immediately sat up straight and quickly tidied his hair with his hands.
When Qin Moyan came into view, Ye Xinuo could hear only the sound of his own heartbeat.
‘Dongdong’
‘Dongdong’
‘Dongdong’
‘Xinuo, what are you daydreaming about?’ Qin Moyan’s face was beaming with a smile, and all defences were gone.
‘Why are you here?’ Ye Xinuo flashed a sweet smile.
‘To pick you up from work,’ Qin Moyan said softly, ‘are you done?’
Ye Xinuo closed the document in front of her that she had only half read, ‘I’m done.’
Qin Moyan nodded, ‘Xinuo must really like me.’
‘What are you talking about!’ Ye Xinuo blushed, ‘You’re so narcissistic!’
‘Finish what you’re doing before you go, I’ll wait for you.’ Qin Moyan turned around, went to the sofa to sit down, and gave Ye Xinuo a light smile.
‘Old fox!’ Ye Xinuo deliberately lengthened the intonation and made a face at Qin Moyan.
With a sweet smile in the corner of her eyes, she reopened the file and the originally dull text became vivid.
An hour later, Ye Xinuo rotated her neck a few times, opened her arms to the sides, and yawned widely.
Suddenly, a hand reached out in front of her.
‘Get up, let’s go home,‘ Qin Moyan’s irritating voice exploded in Ye Xinuo’s ear.
Ye Xinuo placed a hand on it and teased, “You’re so quick, have you been spying on me?”
’Mm,’ Qin Moyan held Ye Xinuo’s hand, ’but I’m not spying, I’m looking openly.’
‘So you have a thick skin.’ Ye Xinuo took a few steps closer, gently pinched Qin Moyan’s face with her other hand, and her eyes suddenly lost focus. She leaned over and placed a light kiss on the corner of Qin Moyan’s mouth.
Qin Moyan’s fair neck trembled slightly a few times, and she resisted the urge to reach up and hold the back of Ye Xinuo’s head. Her voice was slightly hoarse, ’Do you want to go out to eat tonight or eat at home?’
Ye Xinuo’s heart started racing uncontrollably when he heard the word ‘home’. He said thoughtfully, ‘You didn’t get any rest last night, so don’t cook by yourself, let’s go out to eat.’
Qin Moyan said, ‘Is Xinuo worried about me?’
Ye Xinuo took a step forward and took Qin Moyan’s hand, dragging him along, ‘Cut the crap, let’s go eat!’
Qin Moyan is like a foodie, and every time he takes Ye Xinuo out, he takes her to a restaurant that will blow her mind, and this time was no exception.
Coming out of the restaurant, Ye Xinuo patted her round tummy and muttered, ‘If this keeps up, I’m going to get fat from you.’
‘You have to fatten up a pig before you slaughter it,’ said Qin Moyan, naturally putting Ye Xinuo’s hand in his pocket, ‘shall I walk you home?’
‘I… I have a question I want to ask you. Can we… go to your place first?’ Ye Xinru’s eyes wandered, and she always felt like saying this was like rushing to be eaten up.
Qin Moyan’s eyes brightened, and his tone remained unchanged, “Okay, let’s go get the car.”
In the car, Ye Xinru never took her eyes off Qin Moyan, tilting her head from side to side, and she was just about to drool.
Once they entered the house, Qin Moyan helped Ye Xinuo put away his slippers, then looked up at the infatuated girl and couldn’t help but laugh, ‘Xinuo, you’re a bit like a pervert like this.’
‘Can’t I just look at you a couple of times?’ Ye Xinuo glared at Qin Moyan in embarrassment, then bent down to change her shoes.
When she got up, she was embraced by Qin Moyan, who tickled her face.
Qin Moyan’s breath hit Ye Xinuo’s face as he said, ‘You can look a few times. But you’ve been looking at me for so long, don’t you think you should pay a little compensation?’
Ye Xinuo had a thin face and asked knowingly, ‘What compensation?’
‘A kiss.’ After saying that, Qin Moyan closed his eyes and wrapped his lips around Ye Xinuo’s lips, his tongue slightly curled as he savored it.
Ye Xinuo felt only weak in the knees. The other person, however, was not at all romantic, and focused all his attention on the kiss.
As a result, ten minutes after entering the door, the two were still standing in the entranceway.
‘I’m going to the bathroom,’ said Ye Xinuo, taking advantage of Qin Moyan’s daze to escape.
Qin Moyan’s dazed expression lasted for quite a while. It seemed that her cerebral cortex had never been so excited when she had successfully earned her first pot of gold.
She felt more and more that ‘kissing’ was a very wonderful thing.
Ye Xinle looked at her flushed face in the mirror, unable to laugh or cry. Yesterday at this time, she was worried about what she would do if Qin Moyan didn’t accept her, but today she had to worry about what to do if Qin Moyan became too keen on kissing.
She felt more and more that Qin Moyan was like a child, uncontrollable once she had tasted ‘delicacy’.
When she went out of the bathroom, Qin Moyan was sitting upright. Ye Xinuo sat down next to her and nudged her, ‘You’ve changed your face really quickly.’
‘Didn’t you say you wanted to ask me something?’ Qin Moyan blinked, ‘Ask.’
‘Why do I feel that this expression of yours is very abnormal?’ Ye Xinuo frowned, ‘Are you hiding something from me?’
‘No.’ Qin Moyan crossed her arms in front of her, ‘Ask quickly.’
Ye Xinru suppressed the doubts in his heart and casually said, ‘When the screening mechanism of “Alpha Search” was paralyzed, a large number of shocking news appeared in the search results, and I may have to be invited in for a few drinks. But a lot of money has already been invested in the project, and I don’t know if I should continue now.’
‘When you hesitate, you make a mistake,’ Qin Moyan said sternly. “The Art of War says, ”If the enemy is strong, fight him; if he is weak, flee from him; if he is neither, avoid him. This time it is obviously Tang Jie’s doing. He has just acquired a search engine and will not rest until he has destroyed Ye Sheng’s search business. Although Ye Sheng’s foundation is stronger, you are no match for him in terms of cunning. So there is no need to fight him head-on at this stage.’
Ye Xinle leaned against Qin Moyan, ‘I know that we won’t be able to turn things around in the search engine business for the time being, but I just can’t accept it.’
Qin Moyan put Ye Xinle in his arms and said, ‘People on Wall Street like our country’s Art of War very much, but few of them can actually apply it in practice, because human nature is the biggest variable in investment. The biggest taboo in investment is indecision. Once you have gone past the stop-loss line by even a little, you must make a prompt decision to withdraw from the market, even if you are reluctant to do so, otherwise all that awaits you is even greater losses.
‘Qin Moyan, it’s good to have you.’ Ye Xinuo slid down and lay on Qin Moyan’s lap, looking up at the person she loved. On a whim, she asked, ‘If I wanted your brain, would you give it to me?’
‘No,’ said Qin Moyan without hesitation.
Ye Xinuo: ‘Why? Do you value me more or your brain more?’
‘My brain,’ Qin Moyan said without hesitation x2.
The person who was originally lying flat suddenly sat up, ‘Then why don’t you kiss your brain!’
‘Isn’t Xinuo disgusted?‘ Qin Moyan looked disgusted, “It’s no different from eating pig brains.”
’Pig brains are delicious!‘ Ye Xinuo changed the subject and started theorising, “Don’t you like food? How can you not like pig brains?”
’I——”
Before Qin Moyan could think of what to say, Ye Xinuo licked his lips and swallowed, ’I want to eat grilled brain flowers tomorrow.’
Qin Moyan: ‘…’
‘Right, where were we?’ Ye Xinuo recalled for a moment, and put on a stern face again, ‘Am I not the most important person in your heart?’
Qin Moyan cupped Ye Xinuo’s face in his hands, ‘Consulting me about a problem is expensive, pay up first and then we’ll talk about anything else.’
Ye Xinuo was pushed down onto the sofa, and thought to herself, ‘I was just saying how strange Qin Moyan was acting just now, and it turns out he was waiting here.’ Such an old fox is really cute.
***
‘This morning, the Yuhe River recovered a floating corpse. The police are confirming the identity of the deceased. If there are missing cases around the general public, please go to the police station to file a report in time.”
In the large living room, Tang Jie drained the fuchsia liquid in the red wine glass in one gulp. The lenses reflected white light in the light, making it impossible to see his eyes.
Chapter 78
‘Ye Zong, the body found in the Jade River a few days ago was confirmed by the police to be Lu Qiang. The preliminary verdict is that it was suicide,’ reported secretary Zhu Li.
Ye Xinuo could not help but exclaim in shock, ‘I thought they found out that he booked a flight to Canada?’
‘Maybe…to avoid future trouble,’ Zhu Li lowered her head.
‘I understand. You can go now.’ Ye Xinuo leaned back in her chair, her expression complex. She would never believe that someone who was going to flee the country would choose to commit suicide, but the person who killed him had escaped the police’s attention, which was creepy.
And that person was most likely Tang Jie.
After closing her eyes for a long time, Ye Xinuo rubbed the corners of her eyes and called the driver to take her to the hospital.
***
In the ladder workshop, after a short meeting, Lu Yunqing was about to get up and leave when Yu Qing called her to her office.
‘President Lu, I’ve always felt that you look a bit like Zi,’ Yu Qing didn’t hide her inquisitive eyes at all, ‘Your mother is from California, and your father immigrated to California from China more than 20 years ago. May I ask, who else is in your family?’
‘Why? Sister Yu Qing, you’ve found out so much, do you want to develop an affair with me behind Autumn Zi’s back? But that’s a bit informal.‘ Lu Yunqing smiled and tilted her head.
’From the contact we’ve had over the past few days, I’m willing to believe that you’re a kind person, but when it comes to Xiao Zi, I can’t help but suspect everyone around her with the worst possible intentions.’ Yu Qing’s face was serious. ’How much do you really know about what happened back then?’
‘Yu Qing, don’t be so nervous. It was a coincidence that I went to the same school as Xi Nuo, and it wasn’t until I came to China that I found out she was close friends with the Han family’s daughter,’ Lu Yunqing said. “I heard my father mention that incident without reservation back then, because I wanted to come to China to see it for myself, but he didn’t agree. We had a heated argument, and that’s how I found out about it.”
Seeing that the other person didn’t seem to be lying, Yu Qing’s expression eased slightly. After weighing her words, she asked, ’So, Xiaozi’s mother…’
‘Aunt is a very lonely person, I haven’t seen her a few times,’ Lu Yunqing laughed, “Daddy doesn’t know what kind of people I hang out with in China, Yu Qing sister believes it or not, this may be a destined coincidence.”
Yu Qing could not tell how much truth there was in the other person’s words, she just said, ’The grudges of the previous generation have nothing to do with Han Zizi, I will not allow anyone to hurt her in the slightest, I hope it is really as Yunqing said, that this is just a coincidence.’
However, learning that Han Qiuzi’s biological mother was still alive made her sincerely happy. At least across the ocean, there was another person with the same bloodline, and Qiuzi was not alone in the world, even if they might never meet in their lifetime.
Lu Yunqing didn’t care about the other person’s attitude and continued to smile. ‘Having a lover like you, Qiuzi is very happy. So this is love.’
Yu Qing’s gaze softened, and she held out her hand, saying, ‘After spending time together, Yunqing will discover many of Xiaozi’s good qualities. I welcome you on her behalf.’
As Lu Yunqing extended her hand, the office door suddenly opened, and a woman with a seductive air appeared in the doorway.
‘President Ni, don’t you know that you need to ask someone’s permission before entering?’ Yu Qing’s voice was not kind.
‘I really didn’t expect that Miss Yu Qing has become so cunning. What a good trick to destroy the bridge after crossing the river!‘ Ni Anqi’s eyes were fierce. “Is this your sincerity in cooperating with the Ni family?”
Yu Qing’s eyebrows lightly raised. “President Ni, calm down. In the business world, it is normal for people to come and go. Everything is about profit, so who cares about past ”friendships’?’
Lu Yunqing sensed the tension between the two and knew that she was not welcome here. She said goodbye and left. As she walked past Ni Anqi, she couldn’t help but glance at her. For some reason, she felt an undeniable sadness in the other woman’s eyes.
Ni Anqi didn’t care about the extra person and laughed to herself, ‘I’ve done a lot of things that can’t be seen in the light, but over the years, I’ve never hurt you. Now, the gift you’ve given me is quite substantial.’
‘I’m afraid you have the wrong idea about those two words. I can’t forget the scars that have accumulated over the years.’ A flash of struggle crossed Yu Qing’s pupils. ’My biggest mistake was to have a kind heart and get involved with you. If I had known, I would not have handed you that tissue.’
‘So Qing knows the moment I fell in love with you.‘ A contented smile appeared on Angel Ni’s face. “That’s enough. I just want you to remember me. Isn’t hatred also a kind of love?”
’If Ni is always here to question me, then please go back. Gains and losses in business should be resolved in the business world, and I’m ready to do it at any time.’ Yu Qing thought about what Angel Ni Anxin had said. Although she would feel sad, she would not relent.
‘Qing guessed wrong. I came today because I have a new business opportunity that you will be happy about.’ Ni Anqi had already changed her expression. She sat down on the sofa consciously, with no intention of leaving.
Yu Qing narrowed her eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and then sat down on the sofa next to her. “I’d like to hear more.”
***
Qin Moyan’s eyebrows rose slightly, and her index finger was pressed against her nose. Her voice was nasal and hoarse. ’Did Lin Cheng show any signs of being different?’
Ning Han idly twirled the lollipop in his mouth and said indistinctly, ‘No, the kid is pretty honest. Apart from being a bit of a jerk, there’s nothing strange about him.’
‘The only witness is dead, and Ye Sheng will have to eat the bitter fruit this time. Why hasn’t Lin Xiwu made a single move? Have I guessed wrong?’ Qin Moyan was at a loss for an answer.
Ning Han put his foot on the chair and said doubtfully, ‘Why would you think that the president of Yunhai Bank is in the same gang as Tang Jie? It seems that they have no direct contact.’
‘Intuition,’ said Qin Moyan. ‘Almost all the companies that Tang Jie has made major acquisitions of have loans from Yunhai Bank. There are too many coincidences, so it must not be a coincidence.’
‘Then you let her son join Ye Sheng,’ said Ning Han in disbelief. ‘A treacherous businessman.’
Qin Moyan gave Ning Han a quick glance, ‘If you know yourself and your enemy, you will never be in peril in a hundred battles. Keeping an unscrupulous person under your nose saves time and effort.’
Ning Han: ‘But Lin Cheng is only 18 years old, his mother can’t be that ruthless, can she?’
Qin Moyan: ‘I don’t know. Lin Xiwu gives me a strange feeling. She is too perfect in the way she treats people and deals with things, and it even makes me feel that my suspicions about her are wrong.’
‘Forget it, I don’t want to hear anything that makes my brain hurt.‘ Ning Han slowly closed his eyes, “I’ll take a nap for a while.”
’You can fall asleep just sitting here?‘ Qin Moyan’s brows gradually relaxed.
’I’m really sleepy, fighting with people every night…’ Ning Han’s voice grew quieter and quieter, and soon, he was breathing steadily.
Qin Moyan helplessly covered Ning Han with a blanket and left the billiard room to go to the hospital.
***
Ye Xinru looked outside the ward through the glass and saw Xu Xiao’s girlfriend’s gentle and focused expression. She let out a soft sigh.
Although many things were different in this life from the last, in the end, everyone’s life trajectory seemed to have not changed much. What was meant to be would come.
‘Xinru,’ Qin Moyan walked over to the person who was in a daze and stopped, ‘don’t worry too much, he will wake up.’
‘Qin Moyan,‘ Ye Xinuo turned her head, her expression dazed, “do you love me?”
Qin Moyan sensed that Ye Xinuo’s mood was different, and she said in a daze, “What’s wrong?”
’Do you love me?‘ Ye Xinuo muttered, “Xu Xiao’s girlfriend knows you, right? Her eyes don’t lie.”
’Xinuo,’ Qin Moyan took hold of Ye Xinuo’s hand and said anxiously, ’Listen to me.’
‘Xu Xiao came to Ye Sheng with an ulterior motive. I should have thought of it earlier.‘ Ye Xinuo let out a long breath.
In the past two days, the doubts about her past life and this life had always been on her mind, and the details she had previously ignored were surfacing one after the other.
’I’m sorry.’ For the first time, Qin Moyan felt a sense of panic at being at a loss for words, and he didn’t even know how to explain it. ’I do know Xu Xiao, but—’
‘Do you love me?‘ Ye Xinruo suddenly turned around, tightly embraced Qin Moyan, and placed her ear closest to her heart, repeating only this sentence.
’I love you.’ Qin Moyan felt Ye Xinruo’s trembling, and tightly embraced her shoulders, the dense fine needles causing her heart to ache. ’Xinruo, I love you.’
‘That’s enough.‘ Ye Xinuo closed her eyes, a faint smile on her lips, “I know there’s no way to make you end everything right now, it’s okay, I’ll stay with you. I’ll stay with you no matter what you want to do. But you have to remember, if you die, I’ll be with you too.”
’Xinuo.‘ Qin Moyan’s pupils suddenly dilated, “You…”
’I never understood why you always seemed to be against me and yet helping me at the same time. Now I’ve figured it out. From beginning to end, your goal was always Tang Jie.’
Ye Xinuo never believed that her father would deliberately get two people killed. But a series of recent events have made her realise that perhaps Tang Jie’s ruthlessness began when he was an underling.
Qin Moyan hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, ‘You asked me what I told your father the day he had a heart attack.’
“Mm.’
‘I also gave him a sum of money, the money he used to support my studies. Tell him that in less than a year, I will definitely make Ye Sheng disappear.‘ Qin Moyan tightened her arms carefully, “I didn’t know he would have a heart attack that day, and I don’t know if it was because of me, I’m sorry.”
’Qin Moyan,’ Ye Xinuo looked up and cupped the person in front of her face, ’I don’t want our relationship to be based on misunderstanding and resentment. I was once worried and afraid that you were only approaching me to take advantage of me, but even if I am being used, I don’t want to lose you.’
‘I should be the one to say sorry to you. I know that my father’s hurt to you is not something that can be fixed with just an ‘I’m sorry’, but I’ve fallen in love with you, so I want to ask for your forgiveness, and even your equal love.”
A thin layer of mist appeared in the eyes of the person speaking.
Qin Moyan lowered his eyes, ’For a moment, I really wanted to make Ye Sheng collapse.’
Ye Xinru sniffed, gave a smile, and rubbed Qin Moyan’s face hard, ‘If you really wanted to do it, I would have lost everything a long time ago. Thank you.’
No matter if it was the last life or this life.
‘If this wasn’t a hospital, I would definitely kiss you.’ Qin Moyan suppressed the panic in her eyes and her eyes were once again filled with a bright smile.
‘Do you know that you are like an old rascal?‘ After letting go of a huge stone in her heart, Ye Xinuo’s face relaxed a lot, and her gaze at Qin Moyan was even more overflowing with sweetness.
’The patient’s condition is deteriorating, prepare for cardiopulmonary resuscitation!”
The surroundings suddenly became noisy, and several medical staff members immediately appeared in Xu Xiao’s ward.
Chapter 79
Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan’s nerves were suddenly strained by this sudden situation. The former was extremely nervous and pale.
It can be said that Xu Xiao still carries all of Ye Xinuo’s hopes. If he survives, it means that Qin Moyan’s death can also be avoided.
Three hours later.
“Hello, the patient has temporarily escaped danger.’
The doctor’s words sounded like music to Ye Xinuo’s ears. She nearly faltered and fell over, but fortunately Qin Moyan was quick and immediately caught her.
The doctor who had just spoken saw the beautiful woman’s reaction and looked at Xu Xiao’s girlfriend confusedly, saying, ‘This guy is a lucky guy!’
Ye Xinuo took a while to react and hurriedly waved her hands, ‘I’m just his boss!’
The doctor’s face became even more subtle, and he looked sympathetically at the little mute girl who had been guarding Xu Xiao’s bed for a few days.
Ye Xinruo: ‘…’
Although she had acted a little exaggeratedly, did she look like a female boss who kept her subordinate?
As if he had heard her thoughts, Qin Moyan whispered in her ear, ‘Very much so.’
Ye Xinruo scolded, ‘You planted a bug in my heart?’
Qin Moyan took the opportunity to eat tofu, ‘You wrote it all on your face.’
‘You’re so annoying!’
Ye Xinru glared at Qin Moyan, walked over, patted Xu Xiao’s girlfriend on the shoulder, scratched his head and asked Qin Moyan, ‘I still don’t know what this little sister’s name is.’
She knew that the girl’s name was Tian Yu, but she didn’t know how to explain her rebirth yet, so she could only pretend that she didn’t know.
“She’s older than you.’
Qin Moyan went up and signed a little, and Tian Yu quickly signed back.
‘How come you know sign language!’ Ye Xinuo felt deeply that in front of Qin Moyan, he was like an ignorant second-generation master.
Qin Moyan replied, ‘I know a little. There were also some children in the orphanage who couldn’t speak.’
‘So, little sister…’ Ye Xinuo corrected himself, ‘What did little sister say?’
Xu Xiao’s girlfriend was small, and Ye Xinuo subconsciously always felt that she was younger than him.
‘She said thank you for all your hard work,’ Qin Moyan said, ‘and also, to tell you not to covet her boyfriend.’
‘It’s really a misunderstanding!’ Ye Xinuo waved his hands, pointed at Qin Moyan again, and made a heart shape, ‘She, my girlfriend.’
Tian Yu revealed the first smile she had had in a while.
Qin Moyan covered her mouth with her hand and turned her face away.
Ye Xinuo reacted, wrinkling her nose in annoyance, ‘Qin Moyan, are you lying to me?’
‘This little sister is called Tian Yu,’ Qin Moyan straightened her face and answered Ye Xinuo’s initial question, adding in passing, ‘Miss Tian can hear.’
Ye Xinuo gave a sinister smile. She really didn’t know this, as she hadn’t interacted much with Tian Yu in her previous life.
‘Then why did you compare sign language with her!’
‘Because I just wanted to tease you,’ Qin Moyan blinked a few times, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
‘Qin Moyan,’ Ye Xinuo gritted her teeth, ‘I’m going to ignore you for an hour!’
Then he turned his head and smiled sweetly at Tian Yu, ‘Tian Tian, the doctor should be almost ready, let’s go see Xu Xiao.’
Tian Yu nodded and followed Ye Xinuo to the new ward.
‘I was joking.’ Qin Moyan, for the first time, got a cold shoulder for his warm face, and chased after Ye Xinuo a few steps, but got no response at all.
Although Xu Xiao still hadn’t woken up, the doctor said that the surgery had gone relatively well and there was a high chance that the patient would wake up.
***
A room full of teddy bears, two women lying opposite each other, their long hair scattered and intertwined.
If this was a dream, the next step would be to do something embarrassing. Ye Xinuo sighed with regret in her heart.
Qin Moyan grabbed Ye Xinuo’s hand, playing with it as she asked softly, ‘When did you find out?’
Ye Xinuo knew that Qin Moyan was asking about what had happened at the hospital that day, and replied, ‘The last time I suddenly hugged you and went crazy.’
As she spoke, her eyes unconsciously drifted to Qin Moyan’s slightly open collar.
Qin Moyan didn’t notice the other person’s gaze, curling the corners of her mouth, ‘After you know who I am, aren’t you afraid of me?’
‘I’m afraid,‘ Ye Xinru lowered her eyes, “I’m afraid that you’ll hate me, that you won’t want to see me, and that you’ll really never see me again.”
Qin Moyan put his arms around Ye Xinru and pulled her a little closer, “Thank you for being willing to trust me and not keep these things inside.”
’I’m not the heroine of a TV drama, the white lotus. One day, if a bad guy stirs things up a bit, I’ll be left with one misunderstanding after another, harming both myself and others.’
Ye Xinuo said this with a guilty conscience. If it weren’t for the fact that God had given her another chance, she would be the kind of person she described, blind in both eyes and heart.
However, she knew that one had to look forward, and dwelling on past mistakes would not help. Those confessions would just become more love for Qin Moyan. Every day in the future, she would be a little better to him.
***
Ni Mingxuan was being pressed against the bed by a woman, and a hint of impatience appeared in the corner of his eye.
‘Mingxuan, you’re not concentrating.’
The person undulating on top was Su Ji, who had appeared in Qin Moyan’s office before.
Ni Mingxuan’s voice was dark and gloomy, ‘Didn’t you say that you could definitely get Qin Moyan to buy into Mingli Airlines?’
“Playing the long game to catch the big fish. Qin Moyan is a cautious person, it would be abnormal if he took the bait so easily.’
Su Ji’s breathing trembled, but it did not have the slightest effect on Ni Mingxuan.
‘It had better be like this, otherwise there is no need for us to meet.’
Su Ji’s sharp fingernails pressed against Ni Mingxuan’s shoulders, leaving several red marks. She was hysterical but tried hard to suppress her emotions, ‘Mingxuan, I love you so much, why are you doing this to me!’
Ni Mingxuan frowned, pushed Su Ji away, and got up neatly before walking into the bathroom.
In the darkness, the woman kneeling on the bed had an inexplicable look in her eyes.
The next day, as soon as Ni Mingxuan saw Ni Anqi, he bowed his head and apologised, ‘Sister, I’m sorry, please give me some more time.’
‘No need,’ Ni Anqi’s expression was impassive, ‘I have other plans.’
Ni Mingxuan: ‘Sister—’
‘If there’s nothing else, go.’ Ni Anqi’s unemotional gaze fell on Ni Mingxuan’s face, ‘And, don’t call me sister.’
“Got it, President Ni,’
Ni Mingxuan slightly leaned forward, the angles of his jaw suddenly tightening. After turning around, his face was full of disappointment.
***
Tang Jie sat on the leather sofa in the private club. His eyes, hidden under the gold-rimmed glasses, were full of cunning, and his mouth gradually lifted. ‘The news has been released?’
Sitting to his left was also the person who had appeared in front of many people—Su Ji.
‘Of course,‘ Su Zhi said, shaking the wine glass in his hand. “That brat Ni Mingxuan, I’m afraid he thinks I’m crazy about him. A good-for-nothing who’s accomplished nothing.”
’Between him and my son, who satisfies you more in bed?”
Tang Jie’s question caused Su Zhi’s face to freeze for a moment, but the latter quickly shook his head and said, ’To be honest, neither is very good. You’re well-informed.’
‘Why did you let her get close to A-kai at that time? She wanted to know what she could ask me herself.‘ Tang Jie’s face fell. “She doesn’t trust me.”
’Don’t think about it. You’re her most capable helper.‘ Su Zhi gave a reassuring smile and changed the subject. “I never thought you would do something like this to your own son.”
’A man who wants to achieve great things doesn’t worry about trifles.’ Tang Jie’s eyes showed no emotion. ’With him around, I don’t know how much trouble he’ll cause me.’
Su Zhi raised her glass, her smile widening, ‘I really envy you, having such courage. No wonder she trusts you the most.’
Tang Jie symbolically raised his glass, emptying it into his stomach absentmindedly, wiping the remnants from the side of his mouth with a paper towel, ‘Are you sure Yu Qing has agreed to cooperate with Ni Anqi?’
‘I don’t like it when people question my decisions.’ Su Zhi raised one leg and rested it on the other, leaning back. Her face suddenly lost all expression. “In the end, they will both be finished together.”
After a while, Su Zhi asked again, ’But how can you be sure that Angel Ni will definitely work with Yu Qing?’
‘Because Ni Anqi is also a cunning person. She doesn’t completely trust you as a source of information that comes to her door, so she is gambling. If I really want to take Mingli Airlines into my pocket, then she can buy it when Mingli’s stock price has fallen to its lowest point and make a fortune from me.”
Tang Jie paused for a moment and said, ’If this is a trap, she also has to drag someone to jump with her. Tell me, with her personality, who would she drag?’
***
Ni Anqi glanced at the negative news about Mingli Airlines on the webpage, frowned and pondered. According to the news that Ni Mingxuan had passed on, the verdict against Mingli Airlines would be announced soon, and the next two days would be the best time to get started.
She took out a box of mints from the drawer, took out a few and put them in her mouth. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, not opening them slowly until her nasal passages were filled with coolness.
After taking care of some other trivial matters, Ni Anqi went to a go-karting centre and showed her racing kart licence.
Soon, the staff helped her put on her helmet, opened the fence gate to lead her to the kart, and started the engine.
There weren’t many people at this time, and there was only one leisure kart starting with her.
The maximum speed of a racing kart is higher than that of a leisure kart, and only by driving a leisure kart here with a lap time of less than 40 seconds can you get a racing kart licence. So the other person was probably a rookie.
As soon as Ni Anqi started the engine, she pressed the accelerator to the floor, only applying the brakes hard at the corners, quickly turning the steering wheel, drifting for a moment, and accelerating again.
But just at that moment, the leisure car immediately overtook her.
This ignited Ni Anqi’s fighting spirit, and she went into the next corner at a much higher speed than before.
The recreational vehicle, however, deliberately blocked Ni Anqi’s path and suppressed her unbreakably.
Ni Anqi tried to overtake several times, but failed. She also nearly hit the rubber tyre next to her at a sharp turn, and the distance with the recreational vehicle suddenly increased.
Although she caught up later and the two cars reached the finish line at the same time, Ni Anqi’s car started first, which meant that the rookie car, which she had not taken seriously, was faster than her in a single lap.
This was a sport that Ni Anqi used to relieve stress, but at the moment, not only did it not achieve its purpose, it made her even more irritated.
‘Congratulations, Miss Lu, I will now issue you with a racing car driving license.’ A pretty staff member put her hands in front of her, showing eight teeth and giving a high standard service staff smile.
Lu Yunqing took off her helmet, her gaze attracted by Ni Anqi, and she walked up to her, saying, ‘Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?’
Chapter 80
Lu Yunqing stared at Ni Anqi’s face for two seconds and asked, ‘Have I seen you somewhere before?’
Ni Anqi glanced at Lu Yunqing and turned away without saying a word.
‘Hey! Do you have any manners!’ Lu Yunqing chased after her and blocked her way.
‘What’s the matter?’ Ni Anqi couldn’t remember where she had seen this person before, and she just took it as a pick-up line.
‘I remember now,‘ Lu Yunqing raised an eyebrow, “I met you in Sister Yu Qing’s office.”
’Yu Qing,‘ Ni Angeli chewed on these two words, a flash of sadness and unwillingness in her eyes.
’You don’t like me mentioning Sister Yu Qing,’ Lu Yunqing shrugged, “then I won’t mention her, let’s have a casual meal together.”
Ni Angeli surveyed the situation for a moment, and said without mercy, ’If you are of some use to me, I might consider it.’
Lu Yunqing narrowed her eyes, her smile looking very harmless, ‘Without knowing more about you, how do I know you’re not useful?’
‘Really?’ Ni Anqi raised her interest a little, ‘What’s this lady’s name?’
‘My name is Lu Yunqing, you can call me Yun Yun, Qing Qing, or darling.’ Even though she was saying something flirtatious like this, Lu Yunqing still looked very pure.
Ni Anqi let out a sneer in her heart, but her face revealed an ambiguous smile. She took Lu Yunqing’s outstretched hand, pulled her over, and whispered in her ear, ‘My name is Ni Anqi, I’m your sister Yu Qing’s mistress.’
Lu Yunqing cooperatively made a surprised expression, then tilted her head and laughed, ‘But it seems like sister Yu Qing doesn’t like your type.’
Ni Anqi asked in return, ‘Isn’t it normal to occasionally change your taste in people?’
Lu Yunqing shook her head, ‘It seems that Sister Yu Qing’s tastes have always been the same.’
Ni Anqi’s face turned cold, ‘I don’t think Miss Lu is being sincere, so I’ll pass on this meal.’
Lu Yunqing innocently pouted, ‘If Kiki doesn’t like it when I tell the truth, I can tell a lie to please you. You’re not completely without a chance, after all, even the most dedicated person will have their moments of distraction!’
Ni Anqi stared at Lu Yunqing’s face for a long time, unable to discern her true attitude, and changed her mind: ‘Miss Lu is really an interesting person. I know of a pretty good restaurant nearby, we can go try it.’
‘After getting to know each other better, Kiki will discover that I am the perfect person for you. What is the word for someone who is particularly loyal?’ Lu Yunqing’s fingers waved by her head, ‘That’s right, a young and loyal dog.’
Ni Anqi could tell from the moment the other person started chatting that she had a thing for her, but she didn’t expect it to be so blunt, and she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. If she was someone who could be used, it wasn’t a wasted trip.
***
[The Mingli Airlines case was announced today. Due to the airline’s gross negligence, which resulted in multiple passengers becoming disabled, the state will not tolerate this kind of behaviour that lacks social responsibility. A restraining order has been issued against those responsible, and they have been ordered to make rectifications.
[Mingli Airlines‘ stock price has plummeted, and its market value has shrunk by 20 billion so far.
[…]
Ni Anqi’s chest was rising and falling, not only because of the financial losses, but also because she had been completely outwitted by Yu Qing and Lu Yunqing.
***
’I helped you, how are you going to thank me?‘ Lu Yunqing crossed her legs, and two dimples appeared on her baby face.
’Yunqing is good at taking credit,’ Yu Qing said with a light frown.
‘If I hadn’t been attentive, stuck with Qi Qi at the table every day, and let slip the news on purpose, how would she have believed that you would really buy into the shares of Mingli Airlines?‘ Lu Yunqing propped her head up with her hand. “Sigh, I really fell in love with her at first sight, and I don’t know if she can ever forgive me.”
’You sound quite affectionate,’ Yu Qing said, shocked. ’In that case, it’s really unfortunate to have fallen in love with you at first sight.’
Lu Yunqing shook her index finger, ‘No, no, no. I only sacrificed my love because I saw how deeply you loved my cousin. One should be grateful for kindness.’
‘Cousin also sounds quite natural,’ Yu Qing said, stroking his chin. ‘With your acting skills, I’m now a little suspicious of whether you’re really on Zi’s side.’
Lu Yunqing pursed her lips slightly, ‘Don’t be so slanderous. I only have one sister, of course I won’t harm her.’
At this moment, Han Qiuzi pushed the door open, and the voices inside stopped abruptly.
‘What were you talking about? Why are you all looking at me?’
The two tacitly kept quiet about the topic they had just been discussing. Lu Yunqing pouted in grievance, ‘Qiuzi, Qing is bullying me.’
‘What did you do?’ Han Qiuzi pinched Yu Qing’s face and leaned in, ‘You’ve grown up, bullying little sisters.’
For some reason, the longer they spent together, the more of a sense of intimacy she felt towards Lu Yunqing. She no longer felt the dislike she had felt when they first met.
‘You protect other people like this, and I’m going to be jealous.’ Yu Qing put her arms around Han Qiuzi’s waist and pouted like Lu Yunqing.
‘You’re old enough to stop acting like a child,’ Han Qiuzi glanced at Yu Qing with a seemingly disgusted look, but a warm smile was on the corner of her mouth.
***
On a weekend afternoon, in a simple yet functional kitchen.
Ye Xinruo put his arms around Qin Moyan’s waist from behind. His soft voice was full of coquettish charm, ‘I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, to hug you from behind while you cook, and then you feed me a piece of freshly cut carrot or sweet potato, it must be especially sweet and delicious.’
Qin Moyan smiled, ‘So you’re hugging me now, and you want me to feed you a piece of dough?’
‘Can you be any more of a killjoy?!’ Ye Xinru gently bit on Qin Moyan’s neck, but didn’t want to really hurt him, so he only gave it a gentle nip.
This action was ambiguous, as if it were a seduction. In fact, it was indeed a premeditated seduction.
It’s just that…
Qin Moyan immediately stopped stirring, put down the glass container, turned around, and pushed Ye Xinru out of the kitchen, ’If you mess around again, you’ll have to eat the dessert for dinner.’
Looking at the door in front of her, which had been closed without mercy, the expression on Ye Xinuo’s face instantly disappeared. Qin Moyan proved with her actions that she could be even more of a spoilsport.
As night fell, Ye Xinuo finished blow-drying her hair, rested her head on Qin Moyan’s lap, and played with the hair that had fallen down the other person’s back listlessly. ‘Tell me, if Ni Anqi has suffered such a great loss, will she settle the score with Tang Jie first, or will she settle the score with Yu Qing first?’
Qin Moyan quickly replied, ‘I guess she’ll go after Han Qiuzi first.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Why?’
‘Because it’s already started.’ Qin Moyan habitually stroked the top of Ye Xinuo’s head. ‘There was a minor dispute over a Han family property development, which wasn’t difficult to resolve. But somehow it quickly made it online, and now netizens are all denouncing the Han Group.’
‘I didn’t know about it,’ Ye Xinuo said, eyes wide.
‘It has already been suppressed by Han’s public relations team,‘ Qin Moyan said, “In fact, the main responsibility for the dispute lies with the property owners, but because everyone subjectively perceives the developer as the stronger party, many people indiscriminately joined the scuffle, and some just took the opportunity to vent their grievances. Han’s Group could only suffer in silence.”
Ye Xinuo asked again, “How do you know it was done by Ni Anqi?”
’Why should I tell you?’ Qin Moyan’s eyes drifted to Ye Xinuo’s lips.
Ye Xinuo’s heart tightened. She was familiar with this scene. The old fox was once again coveting her lips and tongue. However, every time they kissed and couldn’t part, this insensitive fox didn’t have any other impure thoughts. If this continued, she would explode and die.
‘If you don’t want to say it, just forget it, hahaha,’ Ye Xinuo laughed while waiting for an opportunity to get up and escape.
‘You’ve already asked.‘ The flame of expectation in Qin Moyan’s eyes became more and more obvious, and his hand predictably pressed against Ye Xinuo’s shoulder.
Ye Xinuo had no choice but to cooperate and say, “So just tell me?”
Qin Moyan said, “Why would I tell you so easily?”
’Then I beg you to tell me?’ Ye Xinuo knew she couldn’t run away, and she wanted to cry but had no tears. How was she supposed to tactfully and without embarrassment tell this person in front of her that there were many things that could be done after kissing!
Qin Moyan replied very readily: ‘Ning Han found it by checking the IP address of the post.’
Ye Xinuo grasped the key point, ‘Are you thinking of me confessing my relationship with Ning Han?’
Qin Moyan didn’t say anything, and looked away with her head raised.
‘Do you know that the way you’re acting right now is a big “tsundere”?’ Ye Xinuo reached out and scratched Qin Moyan’s chin like she was scratching a puppy.
Qin Moyan grabbed someone’s mischievous hand and glared at her coquettishly.
‘Don’t you need to be paid?’ Ye Xinuo asked with a sense of disappointment, only realising what he had just said.
‘You don’t seem to like that way of being paid,’ Qin Moyan paused, ‘I don’t want to force you.’
“No force!’
Ye Xinuo answered, feeling a little embarrassed, and muttered as she looked away, ‘I quite like it.’
Qin Moyan then used one hand to hold Ye Xinuo’s face and kissed her, not hiding the joy in his eyes in the slightest.
After the kiss, Ye Xinuo opened her mouth and gasped a few times, and her legs, which had unconsciously rested on Qin Moyan’s body, had lost feeling.
‘My legs are numb,‘ she said, her eyes watery, as if she had just been bullied by the other party.
’Let me rub them for you,‘ Qin Moyan said thoughtfully, holding Ye Xinuo’s calves. Before he could apply any pressure, he heard a gasp.
She nervously asked, “What’s wrong?”
’No, don’t!’ Ye Xinuo would rather her legs be numb than be massaged by Qin Moyan’s hands, which did not carry the slightest trace of lust.
Because she felt that she was the only one who was that sensitive, she really couldn’t hold her face.
Qin Moyan showed a puzzled expression, and before he could speak, Ye Xinuo’s phone suddenly received a message.
[President Wang: President Ye, are you free to have dinner together tomorrow night?
Ye Xinuo glanced at the phone, scared out of her wits, quickly locked the screen, threw the phone on the table, and pretended that nothing had happened.
‘Xinuo, you look like you’ve done something wrong.‘ Qin Moyan had no intention of prying into Ye Xinuo’s privacy and did not look at the other person’s phone screen.
’No.‘ Ye Xinuo averted his gaze and looked at the sky sheepishly.
’Really?’ Qin Moyan turned Ye Xinuo’s face back.
‘Okay, okay!’ Ye Xinuo muttered, “Mr. Wang from Jingran Real Estate asked if I could have dinner with him tomorrow night.”
Qin Moyan’s eyelids drooped, and the shadows of her eyelashes fell on her lower eyelids, making her look pitiful.
Ye Xinuo’s two fingers moved a little to Qin Moyan’s leg, poking at the other person’s hand, and she said in a soft voice, ’I swear, I have already handed the project over to someone else to follow up, and I haven’t gone out with him again.’
‘Oh.‘ Qin Moyan lowered her head. If Ye Xinuo hadn’t been so flustered at that moment, she would have definitely noticed the mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth.
’Really! I’ll tell him I have a girlfriend right now!’ Ye Xinuo hurriedly got up to reach for her phone, forgetting about the numbness in her legs. She lost her balance and fell to the sofa with Qin Moyan, with the two soft pieces in front of her crashing into the other two.
Chapter 81
‘Is Xinuo deliberately throwing herself at me?’ Qin Moyan circled Ye Xinuo’s waist, unable to hide the smile on her face any longer.
‘You’re playing with me again!’ Ye Xinuo was ashamed and annoyed, and was too embarrassed to put all her body weight on Qin Moyan. She propped herself up on the sofa with her hands, in a very awkward position.
Qin Moyan raised his hand and caught Ye Xinuo’s wrist, placing it by his side, and said gently, ‘Relax.’
In Ye Xinuo’s world, there was only the ice-skinned beauty in front of him with watery eyes and a peach-colored face. For some reason, he leaned over and tasted the corner of the beauty’s lips to see if they were cool and delicious.
The taste in the mouth was truly wonderful.
Qin Moyan felt a mischievous little fellow poke at the edge of his mouth, and immediately retreated, a pretty fold forming between his eyebrows as he stared pitifully at Ye Xinuo.
‘Why are you acting like I’ve bullied you!’ Ye Xinuo said, but her heart was melting. The thought that Qin Moyan would only pout and flirt in front of her made her want to jump for joy.
‘More,’ Qin Moyan’s voice was completely devoid of its usual coldness, and had become warm and endearing.
Ye Xinuo glanced at the delicate collarbone of the person beneath him, swallowed a few times with difficulty, closed his eyes, and suppressed the images in his head that he didn’t want to think about. He still satisfied the wishes of some kissing maniac, and took the initiative to walk into the tiger’s mouth.
***
A coffee shop.
Ni Anqi was looking down at the tablet in her hands when she suddenly felt a shadow fall across her face. Then she heard a voice that she hated with a passion.
‘Hey, beautiful, is this seat taken?’
‘Stay away from me,’ Ni Anqi replied curtly.
Lu Yunqing, who had sensibly sat down directly opposite Ni Anqi, said, ‘Don’t be so heartless!’
Ni Anqi looked up, her eyes full of gloom, ‘How did you know I was here?’
‘Of course it’s because of a kind of…‘ Lu Yunqing smiled ambiguously, “a special fate.”
Ni Anqi sneered, “I was wrong about you before. I didn’t think that you looked innocent and gullible on the outside, but were actually sinister and cunning on the inside.”
’Innocent and gullible is not a good thing to be,’ Lu Yunqing propped her head up with both hands and stared directly at Ni Anqi’s face, ’strictly speaking, you weren’t wrong about me. I really like you.’
Ni Anqi sounded as if she had heard something ridiculous and sneered, ‘You set me up so badly and you have the nerve to say you like me? Should I say you have a thick skin or that you like to do this kind of perverted things to the people you like?’
‘Of course not,’ Lu Yunqing looked innocent, ‘You don’t have good intentions towards Yu Qing either, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to help her. Is this a contradiction to the fact that I like you?’
‘I’m busy, so don’t try to test my patience, especially not by waving your annoying face in front of me. ‘ Ni Anqi’s face wasn’t looking good, “You know, it’s not cheap to play with me.”
Lu Yunqing pouted her lips and said coquettishly, “You scared me.”
Ni Anqi’s impatience in her eyes became more and more obvious, ’You’d better leave my sight immediately.’
Lu Yunqing got up and shrugged, helplessly saying, ‘Okay then.’
Ni Anqi ignored the other person and lowered her head again.
Without warning, the two soft lips suddenly met.
Ni Anqi reacted quickly and pushed the person away. Her eyes seemed to be about to spit fire, and she said almost with gritted teeth, ‘What the hell do you want?’
‘You told me to get out of your sight, but you didn’t say I couldn’t kiss you. I’ll try kissing you to see if it will put a spell on you.‘ Lu Yunqing blinked her big, watery eyes, “That’s how princes and princesses get together in fairy tales.”
’You’d better be careful in the future!’ Ni Anqi stood up, pushed Lu Yunqing away fiercely, and walked out of the coffee shop with her high heels clicking on the ground.
Lu Yunqing sighed as she watched the disappearing back, ’I really like you.’
***
They had been together for a while, but for various reasons Ye Xinruo had not yet had a proper date with Qin Moyan. So when they both had some free time, Ye Xinruo took the initiative and suggested going out to do the things that normal, in-love couples did.
They ate, shopped, played claw machines, and watched movies – everything.
Qin Moyan readily agreed and drove Ye Xinruo to the Juntian Shopping Centre, a building owned by the Han Group.
With the advent of the 4G era, people’s online lives have become increasingly rich, and various live streaming platforms have also begun to compete fiercely, with ‘internet celebrities’ appearing more and more in people’s lives.
This shopping centre has also become a sacred place for internet celebrities to check in.
As soon as they entered the door, Ye Xinuo really wanted to naturally hold Qin Moyan’s hand, but after struggling for a long time, he was embarrassed to do so. He pretended to scratch his hair again and again, and pretended to scratch his face, lifting his hand several times, but never placing it in the right place.
In the end, he scratched his nose and sneezed several times.
‘What’s wrong? Are you allergic? Is the perfume in the mall too strong?’ Qin Moyan noticed that Ye Xinuo had been scratching his ears and face next to him, and his tone was full of tension.
‘It’s fine.’
Ye Xinuo averted his gaze, embarrassed to look into Qin Moyan’s eyes, and said coyly, ‘All couples hold hands when they go out.’
Towards the end, it was almost impossible to hear what he was saying.
Hiding his confusion and shyness on this first date, Qin Moyan took Ye Xinuo’s hand in his own and, looking casually in another direction, said, ‘Let’s go over there and have a look.’
‘Okay,’ Ye Xinuo beamed, tightening her fingers to hold onto the hand that belonged to Qin Moyan.
They walked into a shop where a cute girl was trying on clothes. The man next to her waved his hand airily and said, ‘Don’t bother trying on any more, just wrap them all up.’
‘Husband, you’re so nice!’ The girl immediately beamed and embraced the man’s arm, snuggling up to him like a little bird.
Ye Xinuo thought to herself, “What kind of straight man’s shopping style is this? Isn’t the fun of shopping to try things on first? Who knows if you’ll wear them again after you buy them. Modern young girls are so easy to please.”
Qin Moyan’s eyebrows lightly raised, looking like a model student who had encountered a difficult point in class.
Not really interested in this shop, Ye Xinruo gave it a quick glance and then dragged Qin Moyan out of there.
They wandered into an Italian handmade shoe store, where Ye Xinruo was attracted by a pair of casual shoes. She didn’t really like wearing high heels unless it was an essential occasion.
‘Hello, madam, may I help you?’ The tall salesperson nodded slightly at them.
Ye Xinuo pointed at the shoes and said, ‘Could you try on this style in size 37 for me, please?’
‘Sure, just a moment,’
said the sales assistant, and as soon as she had finished speaking, a pair of hands were the first to land on the shoes. The woman cooed, ‘Honey, don’t you think these shoes are nice?’
The man replied adoringly, ‘You look good in anything.’
Upon taking a closer look, they realised that it was the young man and woman they had just met in the clothing store.
“I’ll try them on then,’
The girl glanced at the shoe size and said happily, ‘It’s a 37.’
The salesperson who had just spoken to Ye Xinuo showed an apologetic expression, ‘I’m sorry, this area is limited edition in our store, and there is only one pair of each size.’
Ye Xinuo nodded and didn’t care about this trivial matter, she didn’t lack shoes to wear anyway.
However, when she glanced over, it seemed that she saw the girl flash a smug smile at herself.
‘What a boring girl, what’s there to brag about when she’s just grabbed a pair of shoes?‘
Ye Xinuo had just mocked the girl’s childish behaviour when she heard Qin Moyan say, “Hello, in addition to that pair, wrap up the other 37 sizes.”
Ye Xinuo turned around and saw Qin Moyan’s hand pointing at the limited edition area.
’Okay, please wait a moment.’ The salesperson immediately broke into an even bigger smile when she received such a large order.
At this moment, Ye Xinuo finally understood why idol dramas like to show overbearing CEOs buying an entire store for Cinderella. Although she didn’t really need those shoes and could afford them herself, it was indeed a very pleasant feeling to be cherished.
At this moment, she felt that Qin Moyan was glowing as a whole.
However, at his age, naturally, he would not show it as obviously as a young girl.
‘Why are you so cute!’ Ye Xinuo tilted her mouth, poking Qin Moyan’s face with her finger.
Qin Moyan looked at the couple and then at Ye Xinuo, without saying a word. It seemed to be a different reaction than she had imagined.
The girl who was trying on the shoes heard the commotion and suddenly lost interest in the shoes. She frowned and dragged her boyfriend out of the store.
The man seemed to have no idea what had happened, and said blankly, ’Why aren’t you trying them on, baby?’
The girl turned back and said angrily, ‘It’s ugly!’
‘Young girls these days are really fussy,’ Ye Xinuo sighed and shook his head. When he looked at Qin Moyan again, he noticed that the other person’s eyes were full of thought.
‘Miss, your shoes are all wrapped up. Would you like to leave them at the store and come back for them later, or take them with you now?’
The voice of the salesperson sounded again.
‘I’ll come back for them later, thank you.’ Qin Moyan went to swipe the card and then took Ye Xinuo’s hand and left the shoe store.
Combining Qin Moyan’s series of actions, Ye Xinuo roughly guessed that the other person thought she would also act like the little girl and pout, and suddenly felt very amused.
In order not to upset her precious girlfriend, she had to smile and hug Qin Moyan’s arm, rubbing it, and lowering her voice, ‘Qin Moyan, you’re so nice!’
Qin Moyan said unnaturally, ‘Don’t pretend, I know this operation was unsuccessful.’
‘It’s not like buying stocks, where every move has to be carefully calculated. Why be so serious?‘ Ye Xinuo rested her head on Qin Moyan’s shoulder. “I know you’re trying to make me happy. I’m very happy, really.”
’Am I being childish?’ Qin Moyan’s tone was unusually dejected, and he was a little awkward. ’I heard that being in love will make people happy. I have no experience, so I don’t know what to do to make you feel happy.’
Ye Xinru slid his hand down Qin Moyan’s arm, through the other person’s fingers, and their fingers interlocked.
The corner of his mouth involuntarily curled up, ‘I’m already extremely happy.’
Qin Moyan unconsciously followed suit, raising a shallow smile, ‘Then let’s go eat.’
‘Okay.’ Ye Xinru stuck out his tongue, like a childish ghost, ‘I want to eat duck blood vermicelli soup, spicy wok-fried food, soup dumplings, sushi, sashimi…’
Qin Moyan said, ‘None of these are from the same cuisine. Can you eat that much?’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘I can think about it, can’t I? You really aren’t romantic at all. At a time like this, you should say that you’ll book all these restaurants for me, and serve me alone, and eat a bite of everything.’
Qin Moyan looked at Ye Xinuo for three seconds, then turned her head away, ‘Let’s go to a sukiyaki restaurant instead. There are vermicelli and vegetables, and you can also order sushi and sashimi.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…’ Her girlfriend is really a practical person.
‘Dione!’
They had just taken a few steps when a female voice with a tone of surprise came from behind them.
Chapter 82
‘Dione!’
Looking back, they saw a short-haired woman wearing fashionable clothes and exquisite makeup not far away, her face full of joy, quickening her pace towards them.
Next to her was a woman with long wavy hair in a similar style, who looked like a celebrity trained by a wealthy family.
‘I never thought I’d run into you here!’ The short-haired woman quickly walked up to them.
Qin Moyan politely nodded.
The woman in front of her gave the impression of being very capable, and her every move exuded sexiness.
She used her hand to push her bangs behind her ear, “Since it’s such a coincidence, why don’t we go have dinner together?”
Ye Xinuo’s good mood vanished in an instant. She could attract admirers just by casually strolling down the street, was there no one else in the world she could like?
Qin Moyan bluntly refused, saying, ‘I’m on a date, so it’s not convenient.’
Without waiting for the other person to say anything else, he took Ye Xinuo’s hand and continued walking.
‘Who is she?’ Ye Xinuo muttered, ‘She’s quite pretty.’
Qin Moyan: ‘I don’t know.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Do you think I’m three years old? She obviously knows you and is interested in you!’
‘I really don’t remember,‘ Qin Moyan innocently winked at Ye Xinuo.
Ye Xinuo laughed, “Then why did you talk to her?”
Qin Moyan said, “It’s rude to say it directly, and I won’t see her again anyway.”
’You’re quite considerate,‘ Ye Xinuo said disdainfully, “In the past, when you were with me, you didn’t say anything that would lose face.”
’You’re different,’
‘Why is that?‘ Ye Xinuo looked forward to some sweet words from Qin Moyan.
Qin Moyan’s eyes were smiling like a curved spring, “You seem to like being bullied.”
’I don’t want to talk to you!‘ Ye Xinuo snorted, and walked quickly in a huff.
She hadn’t walked two metres when the person behind her tugged her back with a forceful hand.
’Xinuo,’
Hearing this voice that seemed to contain a lot of deep feelings, Ye Xinuo’s heart softened, thinking that Qin Moyan was trying to coax her. But the next second…
‘Where are you going? We’re here.’
Ye Xinuo subconsciously looked up, and the signboard on the right side above her right hand did indeed say ‘Bo Ying Dian’ in traditional Chinese characters, which was the Japanese restaurant they were going to.
Ye Xinuo huffed irritably, ‘You’re so annoying!’
“Really?’
‘No!‘
Ye Xinuo quickly conceded defeat, gave Qin Moyan a coquettish glare, and then glued her eyes back to his.
’You like me that much?‘ Qin Moyan couldn’t help but raise the corners of her mouth.
’Mm,’ Ye Xinuo readily admitted, “that’s how much.”
A brief expression of daze appeared on Qin Moyan’s face. She knew why everyone said that when you fall in love, it’s like being struck in the heart by Cupid’s arrow.
She now felt as if something had pierced her heart.
After the food was served, Qin Moyan helped Ye Xinuo crack an egg into the bowl, set the chopsticks in place, and looked like the perfect girlfriend.
Ye Xinuo was surprised. Usually when they ate together, Qin Moyan didn’t go to such lengths.
‘What’s wrong?’ Qin Moyan saw Ye Xinuo’s mouth slightly open and wondered why the other person was surprised.
Ye Xinuo shook her head with a smile, ‘It’s nothing, I just feel like this happiness is too unreal.’
‘Then feel for yourself, am I real?’ Qin Moyan mischievously leaned her face over.
‘You’re really getting more and more adorable!’ Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but pinch the tip of her heart, ‘It must be because you’ve become my girlfriend and you’ve turned back into a child.’
Qin Moyan grabbed Ye Xinuo’s hand that was not behaving itself and said angrily, ‘Don’t call me old.’
‘Okay, okay, I’m not old. My Qin Moyan is young, beautiful, and still able to work. I must have accumulated good karma over many lifetimes to find such a girlfriend.’ Ye Xinuo’s face was smiling, but the feelings in her eyes did not escape Qin Moyan’s heart.
Even Qin Moyan, who was good at putting on an air of nonchalance, could not help but blush at the moment, and quickly picked up the chopsticks to distract himself. ’It’s ready, eat.’
Ye Xinuo dipped the beef in the whisked raw egg and brought it to her mouth. It was tender and silky, fully opening up the taste buds.
But while she was enjoying the food, she noticed that Qin Moyan’s gaze kept darting behind her. After each glance, he would pick up a piece of food, hesitate for a moment, and then put it in her bowl.
Ye Xinuo was very curious, so she pretended that her neck was sore and twisted it up and down and around. Then she took the opportunity to look back and saw that there was a young couple sitting diagonally behind her. The girl was opening her mouth wide, waiting to be fed by her boyfriend.
‘Cough cough!’ Ye Xinuo saw this scene and accidentally choked a few times. Thinking about Qin Moyan’s previous look of distress, she burst into laughter.
Qin Moyan immediately got up and went over to help Ye Xinuo calm her breathing by patting her back. Nervously, he asked, ‘Are you okay?’
Ye Xinuo covered her mouth with a tissue and said, ‘I’m fine.’
After Qin Moyan sat back down, Ye Xinuo smiled and pointed behind her, saying, ‘That’s how a boyfriend pampers his girlfriend. You, on the other hand, can be a little princess, no, you should be the queen, who is being pampered by me.’ Ye Xinuo raised her arm and showed off her biceps, ‘I’m very girlfriend-like!’
Qin Moyan wiped the corner of Ye Xinuo’s mouth with a tissue, her eyes full of laughter, ‘Little sister, when you can wipe your mouth clean, then you can say things like pampering me.’
‘Annoying!’ Ye Xinuo opened her mouth, ‘Then you feed me.’
Qin Moyan instinctively felt that the other party was making fun of her, glared at her, and then lowered her head and vented her anger with food.
Ye Xinuo, on the other hand, was so charmed by the fierce glare in her eyes that she could hardly catch her breath, and almost let her saliva drip into her bowl.
***
After Qin Moyan led Ye Xinuo away, the short-haired woman’s companion asked, ‘Who was that person just now? Her attitude was so cold.’
The short-haired woman’s eyes were still full of nostalgia, ‘She’s a senior from our school. She got her master’s degree and left when I was in my third year.’
Da Langbo gossiped, ‘From the way you look, are you interested in her? You never stop seeing boyfriends.‘
’No boyfriend has ever made me feel the way I felt when I saw Dione, and I can’t find a girl who can compare to her.‘ The short-haired woman sighed, “Unfortunately, I only mustered the courage to say a few words to her, and she probably doesn’t remember me anymore.”
’Come on, don’t let this ruin your mood, we’re out to relax today!’ Big Wave took the short-haired woman’s arm, ’With your family background, it’s not hard to get a woman, right? Think about it later!’
***
Ye Sheng Group Board of Directors.
‘But in just one year, “is there WiFi?” has become the first thing everyone asks when they go to a restaurant or hotel. Our internet communication software Xmate already has the advantage of being free of communication fees, and it is in a leading position in the industry, which is enough to prove that the money was not wasted.’
The confidence that naturally shines in Ye Xinuo’s eyes when she speaks makes her whole person seem very infectious and charming, with the unique charm of a beautiful entrepreneur.
‘This product of ours has really developed well. Everyone around me has the app on their phone, so when I don’t have my business card with me, I can just scan it to add friends instantly. It’s very convenient.’ Wei Gang, who had always sung the opposite tune, responded for the first time.
Ye Xinuo continued, ’The main purpose of today’s meeting is to propose that a wealth management section be set up under Ye Sheng Finance’s Xmate series, and that the two securities companies under Ye Sheng be used to test the water, so that our users can manage their wealth flexibly in the Xmate wallet.’
Director Lu said, ‘That’s a good idea, but our securities company mainly invests in risky ventures, and I’m afraid most people won’t take that risk.’
Ye Xinuo nodded, ‘That’s why we also need to find a few familiar banks to cooperate with, sign a strategic cooperation agreement, and carry out multi-dimensional cooperation to provide users with some diversified financial products. Based on the social attributes of the Xmate wallet, it will mainly focus on short-term products that can be transferred back immediately, and the interest rate will have to be higher than that of bank demand deposits in order to be attractive enough.’
Lu Dong said, ‘I don’t have any objections, Mr Ye can go ahead and do it.’
The other directors didn’t have any objections either, seeing that Chairman Lu had already given the nod. So this time, the agenda was quickly concluded.
After the meeting, back in the office, Ye Xinuo pushed Qin Moyan onto the sofa, squinting her eyes like a little tiger about to pounce.
‘When did you buy the shares from Hessen? Why didn’t you tell me!’
Qin Moyan put her arms around Ye Xinuo, righteous and unapologetic, ‘You never asked.’
‘You have to take the initiative to confess things like this!‘ Ye Xinruo cupped Qin Moyan’s face and rubbed it a few times, “You’re my girlfriend, of course you have to report everything to me.”
Qin Moyan thought about it for a moment, and covered the back of Ye Xinruo’s hand, “Then I’d rather not have such a troublesome girlfriend.”
’Don’t you dare!’ Ye Xinruo made a face, ’Be careful, I’ll make you lose money.’
‘I see.‘ Qin Moyan stared at Ye Xinuo for a few seconds, and then said, “In that case, you can pay off the debt.”
After saying that, he grabbed the back of Ye Xinuo’s head and leaned in to kiss the other person’s soft lips.
’Ugh.’ Ye Xinuo was startled by the sudden stimulation, but after reacting, he closed his eyes and gently bit the tongue that Qin Moyan had invaded first, sucking a few times hard to show his anger.
However, this stimulation caused Qin Moyan to tighten his grip, sending wave after wave of sensations sweeping through Ye Xinuo’s fragrant and smooth mouth.
After the kiss, Ye Xinuo’s heart rate was frighteningly fast, and she panted heavily, her eyes watery as she looked at Qin Moyan.
Her face was flushed, and her mind had lost its usual clarity. She just wanted to pounce on Qin Moyan and devour him alive.
However, before she could take the next step, the phone on the table started dancing again at the ‘right time’.
Ye Xinuo frowned, her face full of displeasure. She pursed her lips and answered the phone.
However, in a moment, her expression suddenly changed, and her tone was full of surprise, ‘Xu Xiao woke up? !’
***
In a room without windows, there was only the faint light from the wall lamp. The four walls were covered with oil paintings in a slightly childish but very artistic style, with colourful but not messy colours. It was obvious that the artist was a young person with a natural talent for using colours.
An Xin was clutching the bracelet she treasured like her life, half-bent over and lying on the ground sideways, her eyes red.
She muttered, ‘Why didn’t you come to see me? Why didn’t you come to see me?’
That person hadn’t appeared in her dreams for a long time.
After an unknown period of time, the person on the ground slowly stood up, and her long hair, which had fallen down, covered her eyes.
‘You said you really like Ye Xinuo’s paintings and admire her talent, but unfortunately she is not your student. I have brought back all of her paintings, why don’t you come back and take a look?!’
Ni Anxin’s emotions became more and more agitated.
Soon, she calmed down again.
‘Is it because she can no longer paint like this? I’ll find her the best doctor, okay? Just come back and see me.’
Anxin Ni stood in the middle of the room, tears streaming down her face. Her voice was like a pool of stagnant water, resonating in the small room.
Chapter 83
When Ye Xinru and Qin Moyan arrived at the hospital, Xu Xiao’s girlfriend Tian Yu was helping him moisten his lips with a cotton swab dipped in water.
Xu Xiao saw the two of them and said weakly, but with a desperate expression, ‘Has Lu Qiang been arrested for betraying the company?’
Ye Xinru sighed and answered truthfully, ‘He’s already dead.’
‘Dead?!’ Xu Xiao’s dry eyes were full of shock.
Qin Moyan spoke up, ‘You should rest well and not think about anything else.’
‘I’ve finally found the incriminating evidence, but it’s gone, and the witness is dead. Why?!’ Xu Xiao was very emotional and breathing rapidly.
‘Calm down!’ Qin Moyan said sternly, ‘Nothing is more important than life. If someone dies, everything is meaningless!’
Tian Yu looked anxious and at a loss, not knowing what she could do.
Ye Xinru took Qin Moyan’s hand and said gently to Xu Xiao, ‘You just woke up, so you shouldn’t get too excited. Get some rest, and we’ll come back to see you another day.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Xu Xiao said after a long silence, closing his eyes in pain.
After they left the ward, Ye Xinru asked, ‘Why was Xu Xiao so agitated?’
‘His father used to be the owner of a company. More than ten years ago, Tang Jie used illegal means to bankrupt him and make him incur huge debts. Later, unable to bear the pressure, he turned on the gas and tried to commit suicide with his family of four. Xu Xiao was lucky and survived. However, his father, mother, and younger sister all passed away. As a result, he was sent to an orphanage.’ Qin Moyan’s eyelids drooped, ’Xu Xiao, Ning Han, Ding Qi, and I were all children raised in an orphanage.’
Ye Xinruo squeezed Qin Moyan’s hand harder, his eyes serious, ‘I’ll always be there for you in the future.’
‘Xinruo,’ Qin Moyan raised a faint smile, ‘thank you.’
Ye Xinruo raised his hand and rubbed Qin Moyan’s head, his smile indulgent, ‘I own you, so don’t say thank you.’
Qin Moyan felt uncomfortable being touched on the head by someone seven years younger than him, and his face tightened as he said, ‘You should respect your elders.’
‘Ouch, still an arrogant brat.’ Ye Xinuo didn’t care about dying and rubbed his head again, “You’re not an elder. What’s wrong with me touching the head of my girlfriend?”
Qin Moyan gave Ye Xinuo a white look and quickened her pace.
Ye Xinuo happily raised her eyebrows, Qin Moyan’s expressions were really becoming more and more varied. She shamelessly believed that it was all thanks to the love of her girlfriend.
***
That evening, they attended a business reception together.
After resuming control of Ye Sheng, Ye Xinuo needed to attend social occasions in the internet industry more often.
‘Hey, isn’t this our Chairman Ye? What a coincidence.’
The person approaching was the mild-mannered Tang Jie.
Ye Xinuo gave a business smile and said, ‘How have you been, Mr Tang? The Qinhan Group has been going from strength to strength recently, and I’m very impressed with the sudden rise of “Cutting-Edge Search”.
Tang Jie laughed and shook his head, “It’s just a small business. It’s nothing compared to Ye Sheng. I, as a small shareholder, am itching to get my dividends.”
Qin Moyan came over with two cups in his hands and also smiled and greeted Tang Jie, ’Mr Tang really is looking more and more spring-like every day.’
‘Hahaha, you’re making me laugh, President Qin.’ Tang Jie’s eyes revealed his admiration, which he did not hide at all, “Seeing a beauty like you naturally makes me feel like the spring breeze is caressing my face.”
Not to mention that Qin Moyan’s body length ratio and waist-hip ratio are almost perfect in the eyes of a professional fashion designer, her own unruffled aura is enough to make many people’s eyes unconsciously follow her. On the contrary, the last thing to be noticed is her delicate but cold face.
‘Thank you for the praise, Mr Tang, but I don’t like people calling me Ms Qin.’ Qin Mo’s tone was detached, but her smile was just right.
Tang Jie pushed his gold-rimmed glasses up his nose and said, “If you don’t like it, I’ll just call you Dione like everyone else.”
Ye Xinru said to Tang Jie, “We’re going to go over there to say hello to some acquaintances. If you want to catch up, you can meet up with me separately later.”
Tang Jie nodded, ’Please do.’
After taking a few steps, Ye Xinuo took the wine in Qin Moyan’s hand and took the opportunity to stroke the other person’s small hand. In a strange voice, he whispered, ‘Dione is really charming! That old bastard Tang Jie is drooling over you, and you’re still chatting with him so happily. Huh huh huh!’
‘Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you avoid disaster in every battle.‘ Qin Moyan hooked Ye Xinuo’s fingers with his own, and said, “If you want to know more about him, you have to communicate more.”
’You’re the best!’ Ye Xinuo wrinkled her nose, ’No one has ever come up to me and told me I’m a beauty.’
Qin Moyan let out a ‘puff’ of laughter, leaned close to Ye Xinuo’s ear, and said in a light, airy voice, ‘Why not? My Xinuo is of course a beautiful woman.’
‘You really are getting worse and worse!’ Ye Xinuo’s ear turned red immediately, and she secretly pinched Qin Moyan’s waist.
‘President Ye,’ a deep, magnetic male voice came from behind the two of them.
‘Mr Luo,‘ Ye Xinuo greeted with a nod.
The person who had arrived was Luo Ming, the chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Tianjun Group, and also the second richest man in Hucheng. The richest man in Hucheng was Lu Guohao, the old master of Lutai Real Estate. Lu Guohao’s son was Lu Tiancheng, who had embarrassed Tang Jie in the past.
’Dione, I didn’t expect you to come to this kind of boring reception, too,’ Luo Ming said with a relaxed smile, as if he and Qin Moyan were somewhat acquainted.
‘You’re joking, Mr Luo,‘ Qin Moyan replied. “A philistine like me will go wherever there’s money to be made.”
’With Ye Zong and Dione acting so intimately, could it be that the rumours from earlier are true?’ Luo Ming said. “I don’t mean to be rude to the both of you, I’m just simply curious.”
Ye Xinru subconsciously glanced at Qin Moyan, only to see her looking back at her, as if seeking her opinion.
‘Well,‘ Ye Xinru acknowledged generously, “we are indeed dating.”
’Hahaha, don’t look at me, I’m over forty, but my thinking is actually still very avant-garde,’ Luo Ming laughed, “I admire Ye’s courage. Not many entrepreneurs dare to come out of the closet directly.”
Ye Xinru smiled, ’Going public is just a matter of when, not if. You can’t hide it forever.’
Qin Moyan felt a warm feeling in his heart. Such an unplanned promise was even more touching than a solemn oath of eternal love.
Luo Ming did not continue to discuss the topic in depth, but simply said, ‘Dione is now enjoying success in both her career and love life, so are you really not considering coming to work as my investment consultant?’
‘President Luo is flattering me. There are many predecessors who are more outstanding than me, and I still need to gain more experience,’ said Qin Moyan, raising his glass, ‘Thank you, President Luo, for your kind offer.’
Luo Ming clinked glasses with Qin Moyan and said cheerfully, ‘In that case, I won’t force the issue. I hope that in the future, we can cooperate more in other areas if there’s an opportunity.’
Ye Xinru muttered to herself, ‘Although Qin Moyan is amazing, with her qualifications, she’s not qualified to be Luo Ming’s investment advisor. How could Luo Ming, who has become the second richest man in Hucheng, want to hand over his assets to someone so young?’
‘Dad,’ an unfamiliar figure walked over.
Luo Ming flashed a kind smile at the approaching figure and introduced, ‘This is my daughter, Luo Ziyi. If I remember correctly, Dione and Ziyi are alumni.’
Luo Ziyi’s joy was evident, ‘Senior, I didn’t expect to run into you here again.’
Ye Xinuo’s earlier doubts were answered. Wasn’t the person in front of her the short-haired girl she had met in the mall before? Could it be that Luo Ming was that open-minded and wanted to help his daughter woo a woman?
‘Hello, Miss Luo,‘ Qin Moyan greeted in a formulaic tone and then stopped talking.
’So you two know each other. That’s great. You young people chat away, I’ll leave you alone.‘ Luo Ming said, and then went to greet another acquaintance.
’Senior, do you remember me? Once when you finished your speech, it started raining outside, and I gave you an umbrella and slipped it into your hands.’ Ziyi Zhao blinked coquettishly, ’I ran back in the rain and caught a high fever.’
Ye Xinuo was furious. How could there be another white lotus flower in the world, using moral blackmail to gain sympathy? This Qin Moyan guy really is a charmer, and he can casually go out and bump into his former admirers, and someone even gave him an umbrella!
I’m also a delicate flower, why don’t I have so many admirers?!”
Qin Moyan recalled that there was indeed such a person, but there was no change in his expression, and he remained very detached. ’Although Miss Luo’s high fever seems to have nothing to do with me, you mentioned it specifically, which makes me feel apologetic. Besides, I didn’t use that umbrella at the time. I don’t like help that comes at the expense of others. This kind of forced way of giving people things will cause trouble for both sides.’
Luo Ziyi’s originally expectant gaze dimmed, and she forced a smile, ‘I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I won’t bother you anymore, I hope we can have dinner together sometime in the future, I wonder if you could leave me your contact information?’
‘I didn’t bring my business card today, Luo always has my contact information,’ Qin Moyan said politely, ‘Goodbye, Miss Luo.’
Ye Xinruo hadn’t reacted yet, and the potential rival had already left dejectedly.
‘You really didn’t use someone else’s umbrella?‘ After a long pause, Ye Xinruo asked such a question.
’I’m not stupid,‘ Qin Moyan shot Ye Xinruo an inexplicable look, “the owner of the umbrella is gone, and I have to get wet in the rain. It’s completely illogical.”
’You’re quite skilled at lying!’ Ye Xinruo pulled a professional fake smile, ’does your conscience hurt?’
‘You’ve known me for a long time. A little white lie can save a lot of trouble. It’s not cheating, it’s following the principles of economics.‘ Qin Moyan’s eyes twinkled, “Besides, who am I doing it for? You know that, don’t you?”
’I don’t know!’ Ye Xinuo controlled her facial expression and said sourly, ’I didn’t attract him here.’
‘Oh.‘ Qin Moyan nodded, “then I will be an honest person and go confess to Miss Luo now and invite her to dinner to apologise.”
’Annoying!’ Ye Xinuo glanced around, gave Qin Moyan a quick kiss on the cheek, and then ran off with her cup.
Qin Moyan watched Ye Xinuo’s back grow further and further away, slowly fading her gentle smile, looking around like she was hunting for prey, quickly locking onto a target and walking up to it.
***
The café downstairs in the Ni Jin Group.
‘Good morning, Kiki.’
Seeing Lu Yunqing, who was smiling with a face full of sunshine, suddenly sitting across from her, Ni Anqi, who was having breakfast, took a deep breath, her knuckles holding the knife gradually turning white, her tone full of suppressed anger, ‘Seeing you in the morning will make me feel bad all day.’
Chapter 84
Lu Yunqing shrugged, ’Don’t keep breaking people’s hearts like this! I fell in love with you at first sight.’
On hearing the words ‘love at first sight’, Angel Ni frowned and said in a bad-tempered tone, ‘Did Yu Qing deliberately find you to annoy me?’
‘I’ll be sad if you talk to me like that.’ Lu Yunqing’s mood dropped a little, but soon she raised a smile again, ‘But the greatest virtue of my character is optimism, so I will definitely win you over.’
‘Suit yourself.’ Angel Ni put down her knife and fork, wiped her mouth and got up to leave.
Lu Yunqing immediately chased after her, ‘You’ve only taken a few bites, are you full? Or is it because I’m so beautiful that you’re not hungry after just a few looks?’
Ni Anqi took even faster steps and warned, ‘Stay away from me!’
‘Your heels are so high, be careful you don’t fall!’ Lu Yunqing didn’t care about the other person’s attitude and also quickened her pace.
‘Ah!’ Ni Anqi exclaimed, and was caught by a fragrant and soft embrace.
‘See, I told you to be careful,‘ Lu Yunqing’s face was full of genuine concern, “Did you sprain it?”
’It’s all your fault for being so nosy,’ Ni Anqi glared at Lu Yunqing fiercely, took a cold breath in pain, and crouched down to cover her ankle.
Lu Yunqing crouched down in front of her, patted her on the shoulder, and said, ’Come up, I’ll take you to the hospital.’
‘No need.’ Ni Anqi endured the pain and felt the bone with her hand, and it wasn’t dislocated.
Lu Yunqing looked back helplessly and said, “It was wrong of me to jinx you. I apologise. You’re suffering because you’re angry with me. It’s not worth it. Be good and come up here.”
Ni Anqi looked at her contemptuously, put her other foot down hard, stood up from the ground, and limped towards the Ni Jin Building.
‘Hey, do you have to be so stubborn?‘ Lu Yunqing got up again and chased after her, “What if your leg breaks, then I’ll be the guilty one.”
’Even if my leg breaks, it’s got nothing to do with you. As long as you stay away from me, I’ll be able to live a few more years!’ Ni Anqi shook off Lu Yunqing’s hand as she tried to help her up.
Lu Yunqing sighed, ’Why do you have to be so stubborn and suffer so much?’
When they reached the turnstile, Ni Anqi swiped her card to enter, leaving Lu Yunqing outside.
The person on the inside of the turnstile turned around and said coldly, ‘Security, throw this person out.’
‘You’re so heartless and shameless!’ Lu Yunqing’s voice was loud. ‘Last night in bed you said you loved me, and today you’ve turned your back on me!’
It was the morning rush hour, and many office workers rushing against the clock could not help but stop and turn around. This was equivalent to catching a live broadcast of the gossip of a big boss.
Ni Anqi’s face grew blacker and blacker, ‘Don’t you dare say such nonsense!’
Lu Yunqing muttered to herself, ‘If I had known you were the type of person who enjoys one-night stands, I would have tried a few different tricks. There are still a lot of props I haven’t used yet! I even went out of my way to learn them just to please you—’
Ni Anqi yelled, ‘Security! Are you deaf? ! Tell this person to get out of here right now!’
‘I’m a delicate young lady, you can’t treat me like this just because you’re guilty!”
Lu Yunqing looked as if she were about to burst into tears, so the security guard didn’t know what to do. But he couldn’t disobey the boss’s orders, so he had to go over and persuade her politely, ’Miss, just leave on your own, don’t make things difficult for me.’
‘Okay, in that case.‘ Lu Yunqing seemed to be giving up, hanging her head. “I can only express my love for you by holding a banner at the door.”
After saying that, she immediately turned around and walked out.
’Come back here!’ Ni Anqi felt her qi and blood rushing to the top of her head. Who knew what nonsense this guy would say when he went out.
Lu Yunqing suddenly straightened her back, turned around and went back in, flashing a sweet smile, ‘I knew you wouldn’t want to let me go.’
Ni Anqi swiped her card to let her in and gritted her teeth, ‘Come with me!’
Lu Yunqing walked over happily, grabbed Ni Anqi’s wrist, put her arm over her shoulder, and wrapped her arms around the other person’s waist, ‘You have bad legs, I’ll help you.’
There were a lot of people here, and Ni Anqi was afraid that Lu Yunqing would do something even more outrageous, so she let her go.
Once the office door closed, Ni Anqi pushed Lu Yunqing onto the sofa, grabbed her by the neck, and glared viciously at her annoying face. ‘Since you’re getting close to Yu Qing, you should know that I’m not a kind person. If you challenge my bottom line like this, be careful, I won’t be nice to you.’
Lu Yunqing’s face flushed a little, and she struggled to hook her calf at the leg that Ni Anqi was applying force to. Seizing the opportunity when the other person’s centre of gravity was unstable, she grabbed the other person’s collar and brought her down.
‘To die under the peony flower, even as a ghost, is still a romantic death!‘
Her voice was hoarse, full of teasing, but also full of deep feelings.
Ni Anqi didn’t expect that the other person, who seemed delicate, actually had quite a lot of strength. As a result, after she was held, she completely lost control.
’Don’t resist me,’ Lu Yunqing said, pressing her ear, “if you don’t try, how will you know that you won’t fall in love with me?”
Ni Anqi’s emotions suddenly changed, and her voice was close to breaking, ’Don’t touch me!’
Lu Yunqing felt the difference in her partner’s mood and immediately let go of her hand, nervously asking, ‘Kiki, what’s wrong?’
Ni Anqi closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling rapidly a few times. When she opened her eyes again, she once again overpowered Lu Yunqing. Raising the corner of her mouth, she said, ‘Let me give you some advice: “Don’t trust a woman just like that.
”I give up, okay?’ Lu Yunqing said, ‘Let me see your feet first.’
‘Don’t bother. I just want you to get out of my sight right now.‘ Ni Anqi straightened up, took off her high heels, and limped to her desk.
Lu Yunqing stood up right after her, but instead of going out the door, she went to the bathroom to find a towel, then to the pantry to get ice from the refrigerator, ignoring Ni Anqi’s warnings.
’Stick out your foot.’
‘I said it’s none of your business.‘ Ni Anqi grabbed Lu Yunqing by the collar and said, “What are you really up to?!”
’I told you, I just fell in love with you at first sight,‘ said Lu Yunqing sincerely. “My plan is to woo you.”
’You’d better ask your sister Yu Qing what kind of person I am before saying things like that,’ said Ni Anqi, her impatience obvious. ’I’m not in the mood to play with you.’
‘I can tell without asking, you’re not a good person.‘ Lu Yunqing winked, “So what?”
Ni Anqi: “It’s as easy for me to crush you as it is to crush an ant.”
’You haven’t really told anyone about Qiu Zi’s background all these years, so it doesn’t seem that bad.’ Lu Yunqing ran her hand up the neckline of her shirt. ’If you really are that bad, I can pretend I don’t know, and it won’t affect the spark of love between us. Even if you go to prison, I can wait for you to get out.’
‘Shut your big mouth!‘ Ni Anqi pushed Lu Yunqing to the ground. “I don’t care what you want, but don’t be a bitch in front of me. After wearing down my patience, you won’t even know how to write the word ”regret’!”
Lu Yunqing got up unconcerned, her tone firm. ’I’m the type of person who, if I like something, I have to get it. We have a long life ahead of us.’
She took hold of Ni Anqi’s calf and placed an ice towel on it. Before the other person could react, she said, ‘If you don’t like me touching you, then hold it yourself. Be a good girl and I’ll leave.’
Ni Anqi took the ice towel with a scowl.
Lu Yunqing kept her word and walked to the door, turning her head and saying, ‘Don’t take your body lightly. Only with a healthy body can you enjoy life.’
***
‘Almost all of Master Ni’s trusted subordinates have been purged from the Ni Jin Group. I always feel that he won’t let it go. I don’t know what impact the internal struggle within the Ni family will have on the economic situation of Hucheng. After all, the Ni family is one of the four major families, and a single hair can move the whole body.”
Yu Qing’s face showed no lack of worry.
Ye Xinruo rubbed the corner of his eyes, ’It’s useless to think about this kind of thing. It’s uncertain who will win or lose. It’s better to save your brain and think about something meaningful.’
Yu Qing: ‘What do you mean by meaningful?’
‘How can I make Qin Moyan interested in my body?’
‘Puff!’ Han Qiuzi, who was holding a cup, sprayed all the water in her mouth when she heard this.
Water droplets ran down Ye Xinuo’s hair, and she wiped her face expressionlessly, ‘Is this such a big reaction?’
Han Qiuzi’s pupils were filled with shock, ‘Is this what you call a meaningful thing?’
Ye Xinuo said seriously: ‘Cultivating one’s moral character, governing one’s family, ruling the country, and then peace in the world. Governing the country and ruling the world are both before peace in the world, so you can see how important it is!’
Yu Qing unmercifully dismantled the stage: ‘Don’t talk nonsense. When people govern their families, they govern a family. Yours is at best called a matter of the bedroom.’
‘As the ancients said, food and sex are natural.’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes were lifeless. ‘I feel my natural instincts suppressed every day. How can I do great things?’
Han Qiuzi gave her a disgusted look and turned to Yu Qing, asking, ‘Has this guy always been like this since he was a child?’
Yu Qing shook her head, ‘When he was little, he was still soft and cute. I don’t know how he grew up to be so crooked.’
‘You’re just talking without any real understanding of the situation!’ Ye Xinuo heaved a sigh, ‘You don’t understand the daily torment of a person who is hungry and horny.’
Han Qiuzi: ‘Oh my, my partner has gone crazy. Should I take my shares back now?’
Yu Qing suppressed a laugh, cleared her throat and said, ‘Tell Qin Moyan directly to sleep with you, it’s much better to be simple and rude.’
Ye Xinuo immediately retorted, ‘Am I the kind of shameless woman? !’
‘Aren’t you?’ the remaining two said in unison.
‘I’m embarrassed to say such things in front of you, so how could I possibly say it in front of her!’ Ye Xinuo slumped on the stool, ‘None of you know how proper Qin Moyan’s hands are when she kisses me.’ The point is, that guy just happens to love kissing.
Yu Qing: ‘Why don’t you try to win her over first? She probably won’t.’
Han Qiuzi covered Yu Qing’s mouth, ‘Don’t give bad advice. After experiencing the taste of being taken down, how can she still have the self-awareness to learn?’
‘What are you talking about?’ Ye Xinuo looked at the two people in front of him confusedly.
‘Cough cough cough.’ Yu Qing pulled away Han Qiuzi’s hand and said, ‘It’s a world of adults, and it’s normal for children not to understand.’
Han Qiuzi solemnly said in a tone of a person who has been around the block: ‘In short, in front of a woman at Qin Moyan’s age, you must not strike first, otherwise you will regret it. You must remember what your sister said.’
‘What nonsense are you all talking about? Can you give some advice that can be used in practice?’ Ye Xinuo’s brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
‘Yes,’ Han Qiuzi revealed a sneaky smile, ‘two words, seduce.’
Chapter 85
[Breaking News] Ms. Ni Anqi, Chairman and CEO of the Ni Group Board of Directors, was sentenced to two years in prison for suspected insider trading.
All news apps are pushing this news, and social media platforms are being flooded.
When Ni Anqi had an accident, everyone thought that Mr. Ni would return to take charge of the situation, but unexpectedly, Mr. Ni actually lost the board vote to Ni Mingxuan and was sent back to the nursing home.
Ni Anxin’s detective agency.
Ni Mingxuan stood respectfully at a desk. ‘Thank you, second sister.’
Ni Anxin: ‘Have you gone to see your eldest sister?’
‘Yes,’ Ni Mingxuan nodded, ‘she is very calm.’
Ni Anxin’s tone contained no particular emotional fluctuations, ‘I heard that the old master will be unable to get out of the wheelchair in the future?’
‘When people get old, they are prone to getting angry easily,’ Ni Mingxuan’s tone was also very indifferent, ‘or perhaps it is because he was heartless to his own granddaughter, and God couldn’t bear to watch it.’
Ni Anxin’s eyelids lifted slightly, ‘Go back to work. Next time you see my eldest sister, please give her my regards.’
‘See you later, second sister.’
Ni Mingxuan bowed at a 45-degree angle and turned to leave.
Ni Anxin lightly twisted her eyebrows. More than a year ago, if it weren’t for Ye Xinuo’s unexpected visit, she might have already left this city and even this world.
I don’t know if it was because of Ye Xinuo, but after that, she began to dream about the person she longed for often, which made her crave it immensely.
In the visiting room:
Lu Yunqing was holding the phone and still had that same smile on her face.
“You said I was a crow’s-foot, and it really came true. But I will keep my word and wait for you outside.’
‘No need.‘ There was no trace of the former reluctance in Anqi Ni’s eyes. Lu Yunqing’s appearance made her realise how annoying her one-sided feelings were in Yu Qing’s eyes.
Moreover, the old man had completely lost the most important thing to him, the Ni Jin Group, and would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. She was only going to be here for two years, so it wasn’t a big loss, and she felt a sense of relief.
’I know you hate me, but I’m still unable to control my feelings for you, no matter how hard I try.’ Lu Yunqing stared intently and earnestly into Ni Anqi’s eyes, ‘I will come and visit you often, and I hope that one day, you will give me a chance.’
‘As you wish. I’m tired,’ Ni Anqi stood up, signalled to the caretaker, and left the room.
Lu Yunqing muttered, ‘I will wait for you, Ni Anqi.’
***
Hearing a noise, Qin Moyan put down the magazine in her hands and slowly looked up, ‘Xi Nuo, I just watched your interview in HC Entrepreneur Magazine, it was fascinating.’
‘Is it the content of the interview that is charming, or is it my photo?‘ Ye Xinuo had just come out of the bathroom, wrapped in only a towel, with water dripping from the ends of her hair and steam hanging on her face, as if she were a water lily.
’The positive development of ‘AI search for people’ that you have advocated is very touching. If one day in the future, it is really possible to use artificial intelligence to do facial matching between parents and children or even between generations of relatives, it will bring hope to many families.”
After saying this, Qin Moyan got up and walked over here.
Ye Xinruo thought that the other person had been seduced by his sexy appearance, and before he could gloat, the next second, he was pushed back into the bathroom.
‘I’ve told you many times, blow your hair dry, otherwise you’ll catch a cold,’ Qin Moyan’s voice was very gentle, but there was a hint of reproach in his tone.
Ye Xinruo looked at the person in the mirror who took out the hair dryer and blow-dried his hair, and sighed, ‘Qin Moyan, after being with me, your wolfish nature is almost gone.’
‘You’re thinking too much. I’ve never been soft on anyone.‘ Qin Moyan’s hand was stuck in the wet hair, and he turned on the hairdryer. A comfortable breeze blew out of it.
Ye Xinuo muttered, “Then I beg you not to be soft on me either.”
’Huh?’ Qin Moyan turned off the hairdryer, ’What did you just say?’
‘It’s nothing, just keep blowing.”
Ye Xinru looked straight ahead, admiring her own narcissistic image in the mirror: her snow-white swan neck, creamy skin, flawless face, and faintly visible cleavage. Faced with such a beauty, did this old fox not show any signs of animalistic desire?
After blowing Ye’s hair, Qin immediately turned on the air conditioning and gave her a thin shirt to wear.
Ye Xinruo gave a stiff smile and said, ‘Qin Moyan, you really are like my mother.’
Qin Moyan gave a disdainful response, ‘I don’t want a daughter this old.’
If Qin Moyan were a man, Ye Xinruo would probably suspect that there was something wrong with her. Seeing a beautiful woman after a bath, the first thing to do is blow-dry her hair, and the second thing is to get dressed?
Qin Moyan noticed the four words ‘no reason to live’ written on Ye Xinuo’s face and asked in puzzlement, ‘What’s wrong? Are you unhappy because I’m not giving you maternal love?’
‘Who wants your maternal love!’
Ye Xinuo said, but then thought, ‘Isn’t all the behaviour Qin Moyan just displayed an expression of maternal love?’
‘You’re such a cute little girl,’ Qin Moyan said, suddenly reaching out and running her hand over Ye Xinuo’s head. A faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
Ye Xinuo’s heart tightened, and she licked her lips. She cupped Qin Moyan’s face in her hands, kissed her hard, and then pushed her down on the sofa.
Qin Moyan’s tongue touched another body temperature and immediately entwined uncontrollably.
The pink wonderland created in her mind during the kiss was the most relaxing and comfortable paradise in the world.
Ye Xinuo, contrary to his usual manner, was full of aggression as he stirred around in the other person’s mouth, just not letting the little guy in Qin Moyan’s mouth come over for a visit. His hand also boldly explored the unexplored highlands.
Qin Moyan’s hand stroked the steaming bathrobe, rubbing it without any method. After being suppressed for a long time, he finally turned over, and his tongue successfully reached Ye Xinuo’s teeth.
Ye Xinuo’s body temperature suddenly rose, and he took a few sharp sniffs through his nose in a row, thinking that he was about to fire his gun. However, Qin Moyan suddenly retreated and leaned against her forehead, saying, ‘Did I make you uncomfortable?’
Ye Xinuo replied in a voice that was almost crying, ‘No.’ She was so comfortable that she couldn’t even speak, so why did this person stop?
‘Are you tired then?’ Qin Moyan straightened up and stood up, ‘I’ll go get you a glass of water.’
Ye Xinuo helplessly covered her eyes with her hands, unwilling to face the reality that her partner was emotionally cold.
After drinking the ‘loving hot water’ that Qin Moyan brought her, Ye Xinuo’s legs were still weak. She had been so proactive, so why didn’t this old fox understand?
Qin Moyan didn’t know about all these twists and turns in her heart, so thoughtfully he turned off all the electronic devices, drove Ye Xinuo into the bedroom, and pushed her onto the bed to lie down.
“Tomorrow is the first day of pre-sales for the Ladder Mobile Phone, so you should be very busy. Go to bed early today.’
With the lights out, Ye Xinuo snuggled into Qin Moyan’s embrace, her toes lightly brushing against the other person’s leg under the covers. Little by little, she wrapped her leg around the person next to her, and her lips rested against the other person’s smooth neck, her tongue making a few light taps.
Qin Moyan fixed Ye Xinuo’s head in place and said in a trembling voice, ‘It’s a little ticklish.’
Ye Xinuo simply spoke up, ‘Qin Moyan, can’t you tell that I’m seducing you?’
Qin Moyan froze for a moment, and after a while, shook his head honestly.
Ye Xinuo pulled the other person’s disciplined hand into her unbuttoned robe, hiding the slight embarrassment in her heart, and said in a soft voice, ‘Don’t you want to touch me?’
Qin Moyan’s fingers subconsciously contracted, his throat rolled a few times, his breathing became increasingly rapid, and tentatively, he touched the smooth, tender skin. An electric current ran down his fingers and reached his heart.
Ye Xinru leaned forward, and his tongue hooked onto Qin Moyan’s earlobe, exhaling a wave of heat.
Qin Moyan really liked the feeling of having his ears wrapped in warmth, and unconsciously moved a little closer, and his hand more boldly began to explore places that he would never have touched before.
With just a simple physical contact, Ye Xinru was stimulated by wave after wave of tingling, and he couldn’t help but gasp.
Chapter 86
The temperature of the air kept rising, Ye Xinuo’s breathing became disordered, and she let out a low moan.
However, Qin Moyan once again stopped, his tone full of uncertainty, ‘If you’re not feeling well, just tell me.’
Ye Xinuo’s small flame, which had just risen, had not yet become strong, and it was extinguished by a bucket of cold water. She couldn’t help but ask, ‘Why do you think I’m not feeling well?’
Qin Moyan, who was rarely coy, said, ‘Didn’t the fire in the past leave you with respiratory sequelae?’
Ye Xinuo’s heart was filled with a warm current, but he couldn’t help but laugh. ‘I only have a little cough when the seasons change, and I’m usually fine. As for breathing rapidly when kissing, it’s because you kiss too comfortably and I want more.’
Qin Moyan learned that he had misunderstood, and his old face couldn’t hold it, so he answered with a muffled ‘oh,’ and then bashfully turned his body to the other side.
Ye Xinuo stuck to Qin Moyan from behind, breathing on the slightly warm ear by the side of his mouth, ‘Qin Moyan, are you going to leave me hanging like this?’
Qin Moyan instinctively shivered, and the next second, an restless little hand appeared on the high ground in front of him.
The two knuckles were slightly twisted, and the little hand was growing vigorously.
‘Xinuo, stop it.’ Qin Moyan grabbed Ye Xinuo’s hand, and the warmth spread from bottom to top.
Ye Xinuo’s soft lips landed on the nape of Qin Moyan’s neck, her toes lightly sweeping the soles of his feet, her hand burrowing out of his palm and unfastening the straps of Qin Moyan’s robe.
Her voice was as light as a feather, ’Qin Moyan, I love you.’
Qin Moyan suddenly turned around, pinned Ye Xinuo beneath him, one arm resting by his side. His voice was hoarse with lust, ‘You just said you were seducing me.’
‘Well, I am seducing you.’ Ye Xinuo wrapped his hands around Qin Moyan’s neck, pushing upwards, tilting his head to wrap his lips around the other person’s red lips and suck for a moment. When his head fell back onto the pillow, his breathing became a little heavier.
Qin Moyan immediately pursued, engaging in a battle of words with his lips. When the other person was about to run out of breath, he looked up and, treating her like a treasure, gently placed a kiss on Ye Xinuo’s forehead.
Thinking about the wonderful touch on his ear just now, he tried to lightly bite Ye Xinuo’s small earlobe and stick out his tongue.
‘Qin Moyan,‘ Ye Xinuo’s tone was gentle and charming, like a delicate flower waiting to be plucked.
Qin Moyan was a natural talent, and although he had little experience, he quickly grasped the essentials. By touching different positions to get sound feedback, he learned which parts of Ye Xinuo were sensitive, and then stimulated them with emphasis.
’Little Qin Moyan’ worked hard like a diligent gardener, trying very hard to reclaim his own secret garden.
After a burst of white light, Qin Mo Yan returned to reality and merged with the person in bed. At this moment, she was holding a beautiful girl in her arms, who was curled up and convulsing.
A few hot tears welled up in the corner of Ye Xinuo’s eyes. For the first time, she knew that apart from joy and sadness, there was another situation that would make people shed tears.
Everyone said that it would hurt the first time, but under Qin Moyan’s palm, she didn’t feel any discomfort at all, and she just felt like floating up to heaven to become a fairy.
‘Xi Nuo.’
Qin Moyan’s magnetic voice sounded from behind.
‘Hm?’ Ye Xinuo’s voice went out of tune as soon as it came out, and her body was still trembling.
“You just said “I love you” ten times and “please” twenty times.’
A flood of embarrassing memories returned, and Ye Xinuo’s face flushed as she buried her head in Qin Moyan’s arms without saying a word.
Qin Moyan wickedly leaned into Ye Xinuo’s ear and said, ‘Next time, if you can last longer, will you be able to hear more?’
‘You’re so naughty! I’m too lazy to deal with you, I’m going to take a shower!’ Ye Xinuo tried to get up, but her legs were weak and she fell back onto the bed.
‘Xinuo is always trying to be tough,‘ Qin Moyan said, putting his arms around Ye Xinuo’s sweaty shoulders and lifting him up. “Since I’m the one who made you unable to get out of bed, I’ll take responsibility for it.”
***
’The pre-sale results today were really good!”
Han Qiuzi jumped up from the sofa excitedly as he looked at the pre-sale closing data.
Yu Qing turned her attention to Ye Xinuo, ‘Major shareholder, shouldn’t you invite all the staff to go out and have a good time?’
‘Please, you decide,’ Ye Xinuo’s face was flushed, and the smile on her face could not be hidden.
‘Wait, there seems to be something wrong,’ Han Qiuzi frowned and surveyed Ye Xinuo, ‘I always feel that Nono looks exceptionally good today.’
‘No way,’ Ye Xinuo grinned, as if she was afraid that others didn’t know she had good news.
Lu Yunqing looked surprised and seriously suggested, ‘It seems that young people these days like to go to party rooms, where they can play board games, go karaoke, play billiards, and even order takeaway hot pot and barbecue…’
‘Did you succeed in having sex last night!’ Yu Qing pointed at Ye Xinuo as if she had discovered a new continent, ‘This expression is exactly the same as when Zi had sex for the first time!’
‘Can you be more subtle!’ Ye Xinuo jumped up from the sofa, but ended up nearly falling back because her back hurt and her legs were weak.
‘I didn’t realise you were so quick!‘ Han Qiuzi looked intrigued. “Tell me, how did you seduce him? Did you use the method I taught you?”
’I thought we were going to celebrate? Let’s do it now, I’m off work early.‘
Ye Xinuo said to Lu Yunqing, “Just do what you suggested and quickly ask the administration to book a place.”
’Don’t be so shy!’ Han Qiuzi smiled wickedly and leaned in towards Ye Xinuo, ’Congratulations on entering the ranks of young wives.’
‘Get lost, if you want to be a young wife, do it yourself, don’t drag me down!‘ Ye Xinuo threw a pillow at Han Qiuzi.
’Don’t talk about this in front of a single girl,‘ Lu Yunqing frowned in disgust.
’Knock, knock, knock.”
The three of them said in unison, “Enter!”
Qin Moyan pushed open the door, and Han Qiuzi was dragging Ye Xinuo’s arm, planning to take revenge.
‘I’ve come to pick you up.’ She walked unobtrusively between the two people playing, her eyes lightly falling on Han Qiuzi’s hand.
Han Qiuzi was originally very afraid of Qin Moyan’s kind of stormy eyes, but at this moment, something suddenly came to mind, and she leaned over to Qin Moyan’s ear and said something.
Qin Moyan raised an eyebrow and looked at Han Qiuzi with a much kinder expression in her eyes.
‘We’re going to celebrate the victory of the first stage. Do you want to come, Mo Yan?‘
Since Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan had established a relationship, Yu Qing had also regarded Qin Moyan as someone close to her, and her address had quietly changed.
’Okay,’ Qin Moyan returned with a smile, ’where are we going?’
An hour later, they arrived at the destination, and the staff of Ladder Studio also arrived one after another.
Since it was a start-up company, the entire team only had 20 people, and Ye Xinuo could call everyone’s name. Everyone was usually laughing and joking around, and the atmosphere was very good.
It was just the first time she had been in close contact with Qin Moyan, and she couldn’t help but feel awkward. Not to mention the company employees, even Yu Qing, the acting president, rarely had the opportunity to come to such a place of entertainment with Qin Moyan.
‘We’re all young people, why are we so dull? Everyone has been working hard recently, so let’s let loose and have fun today, and tomorrow we’ll have the day off, no need to get up early for work!’ After Ye Xinuo had finished speaking, it seemed that everyone’s enthusiasm still hadn’t been ignited.
Knowing the usual dispositions of these employees, Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but feel a little strange. After thinking for a few seconds, he thought that the problem might lie with Qin Moyan, so he tugged the other person’s sleeve and whispered, “Smile.”
***
[Tianjun Group’s e-commerce platform ‘Haowu Selection’ was hit by a large-scale hacker attack: During the year-end shopping festival, which has the most diverse promotional activities each year, the ‘Haowu Selection’ server was hacked, paralysing it for nearly 20 hours. According to rough estimates, this has caused losses of over 10 billion yuan.
Tianjun Group CEO Luo Ming seemed to have aged ten years overnight. Originally, after this shopping festival, he would have announced that he would be handing over the position of CEO to his favourite disciple, but who would have thought that someone would be able to bypass Tianjun’s impenetrable defences.
Because of this accident, many orders in progress were frozen, and many users paid but the order was shown as abnormal, so they could not get the goods and could not get a refund. The merchant had originally been on high alert, hiring many customer service and loading staff at short notice, but they were unable to put them to use. Not only was a large sum of labour costs lost, but the original plan was completely disrupted.
For a time, the Tianjun Group triggered public anger.
Chapter 87
Ni Anqi didn’t know what kind of special relationship Lu Yunqing had, but that annoying person always found a way to visit her.
However, there was usually no one else to talk to, so as long as she had someone to talk to and not go crazy from being locked up, she was fine with it. So whenever Lu Yunqing started to ramble on, Ni Anqi would sit there quietly and listen.
‘Kiki, let me tell you, the pre-sale of the mobile phone we developed has exceeded its target. I feel like I’m on the fast track to the top of my career.‘
’Tianjun Group was actually brought down overnight, with tens of billions of market value disappearing without a trace.‘
’Who do you think did it? Although Tang Jie is the most likely candidate to take over the e-commerce platform under Tianjun, can he really destroy the number one internet company in Hucheng with his own strength?‘
’…’
Lu Yunqing said to herself, not at all concerned about Ni Anqi’s indifferent attitude.
Half an hour later.
‘Time really flies,’ said Lu Yunqing, stretching like a kitten. ‘I’ll come back to see you next time. If you could smile at me, I’d be happy.’
Ni Anqi still didn’t say anything, and quietly left with the prison guard.
***
Under the warm yellow light.
Ye Xinru puffed up her cheeks, looking like a little hamster.
She looked at Qin Moyan’s face, her tone sour, ‘My looks are no worse than yours, so why did you smile and become the office goddess of Yun Ti? I smile every day, but no one treats me like a goddess!’
As the night passed, recalling the scene from last night, Ye Xinru still felt aggrieved.
‘You made me laugh,‘ Qin Moyan poked Ye Xinuo’s face, and the soft feel of her hand attracted her full attention, and she couldn’t help but get addicted to playing with it.
’I was hoping they could relax a bit, but who knew that everyone was like drunk on your charmed potion. Usually a group of crazy people in private, they all started acting like gentlemen together, and there wasn’t even a drunk fool.’ The more Ye Xinuo thought about it, the more angry she became, ’You really don’t make it easy for me!’
‘Then I won’t go out anymore, you support me.‘ As Qin Moyan spoke, his hands began to get unruly.
’What are you doing?‘ Ye Xinuo’s alarm went off.
’You’re acting cute, don’t you want to seduce me?’ Qin Moyan’s expression was serious and proper.
Ye Xinuo blushed and said, ’I’m not acting cute with you! And I didn’t seduce you today!’
‘Then I misunderstood,‘ Qin Moyan said regretfully, “when are you going to seduce me again?”
’Are you sick!‘ Ye Xinuo was extremely ashamed and annoyed, “Why would I seduce you!”
’You yesterday—”
Ye Xinuo covered Qin Moyan’s mouth with one hand and said viciously, ’Don’t mention yesterday! I only seduced her that one time!’
Qin Moyan grabbed Ye Xinuo’s hand and turned her around, pinning her down. ‘But Qiuzi said that if you want to keep a woman’s heart, you have to keep her body first, and keep her feeling fresh by changing things up, and that you’ll like it.’
‘Don’t listen to her nonsense!’ Ye Xinuo’s face was as red as a steamed shrimp.
‘It turns out that it’s not necessary,‘ Qin Moyan said with regret, smacking his lips. His eyes were focused, his voice seductive, “You looked very beautiful last night.”
’If you want to see it, you can do so at any time,‘ Ye Xinuo said in a mosquito-like hum, unable to hear what he had said himself.
’What did you say?’ Qin Moyan straightened up wickedly, pretending to be fine, ’I can’t hear you clearly.’
‘You did that on purpose!‘ Ye Xinuo wrinkled her nose, “You’re getting worse.”
’I’m just a strong learner,’ Qin Moyan’s thin lips curled slightly, “Through practice, I’ve discovered your preferences.”
Ye Xinuo grabbed a pillow and covered Qin Moyan’s face, exasperated, ’I’m going to bed! You really are an old pervert!’
With that, he jumped off the sofa and ran into the bedroom.
Qin Moyan’s eyes flashed, his eyebrows and eyes tinged with a smile, transforming into a crescent moon over a clear spring.
After lying down together, Ye Xinuo regretted it. The old fox next to him seemed to be doing it on purpose. Obviously, in the past, although he wouldn’t do anything inappropriate while lying in bed, he would also hug her and kiss her a few times. Today, however, there was an arm’s length between them, and he didn’t show any intention of leaning over.
After a few minutes of deadlock, Ye Xinuo could no longer hold back and curled up next to Qin Moyan, wrapping his arms around the warm body in front of him.
‘Xinuo, I thought you were going to sleep,’ Qin Moyan couldn’t hide the teasing tone in his voice.
‘Old fox, I miss you.’ Ye Xinuo buried her head in Qin Moyan’s neck. “Even though I’m lying right next to you, I still miss you. I miss the feeling of you holding me, the feeling of you kissing me, I miss you…”
Qin Moyan felt her heart suddenly freeze for a moment. Never before had anyone made her want to playfully tease someone in a bad way, and yet because of a few tender words, she wanted to give her heart to the other person.
‘I love you.”
Qin Moyan rarely expressed her emotions directly. The last time she said those three words was to appease Ye Xinuo’s outburst, but this time, she didn’t know how to hide the overflowing love in her heart as she had done before. She could only face her true feelings and express them.
Ye Xinuo pressed her lips against his, licking his upper and lower lips almost reverently, inviting the little guy in his mouth to come out and dance with her.
When breathing became more and more difficult, Qin Moyan fully demonstrated the excellent manner of a good student, consciously reviewing the content of last night’s practice.
The fire slowly grew, advancing with a left and right stroke, gently sweeping and slowly twisting, and finally penetrating to the core.
The dumpling, like a small boat, floats up and down in the clear stream. When a strong current passes, it is swept into a whirlpool and cannot escape its fate of ‘crunching and cracking’ and falling apart.
The person in the darkness breathed with a suppressed air cavity, like a young girl crying in the middle of the night, but also like a contented goblin singing low, accompanied by the opening and closing of the ten toes under his feet, playing an exuberant finale.
The room was filled with the sweet smell of sweat, and it was even more soul-destroying than yesterday.
***
After a period of recuperation, Xu Xiao was finally able to live like a normal person. Although there were still some aftereffects, with proper treatment, there would be no major problems.
The reason for his accident is something that everyone can only keep to themselves. After all, the only witness is dead, and there is simply no evidence to prove that he was harmed by Tang Jie.
‘Ah, I’m finally discharged from the hospital!’ Xu Xiao opened his arms in the sunlight, closed his eyes, and seemed to be embracing the breeze and sunshine.
‘Hurry up, my time is precious,’ Qin Moyan said expressionlessly, urging, ‘If it weren’t for Xi Nuo, I wouldn’t be the chauffeur.’
‘Seeing that the boss has a crush on me, you’re jealous!’ Xu Xiao made a face.
Ye Xinuo rolled his eyes and said to Xu Xiao’s girlfriend, “Don’t keep this kind of boyfriend for the New Year.”
After the car started, Xu Xiao was like a different person again, anxiously saying, ’I watched the news. After Tang Jie stepped down as the chairman of the board of directors of Ye Sheng Group, Qinhan Group successively acquired many companies that were not small in scale, and the methods were strikingly similar. Isn’t anyone stopping him?’
Chapter 88
‘Tang Jie used such despicable means to acquire companies and disrupt the economic structure of Hucheng, and no one stopped him?’
Qin Moyan said, ‘You should know how cautious and cunning Tang Jie is. For all transactions in the grey area, he uses different offshore company activities. In the business world, although everyone dislikes him, they have no substantive evidence and can only go around the detour.’
‘Why is it that someone like him can still call the shots after all these years!‘ Xu Xiao slammed her fist down on the seat.
’To achieve great things, you must first learn to remain calm and not let your emotions rule you. The reason you care about Tang Jie’s origins is because you fear him. This will only make you lose the ability to think. And fear and greed are essentially no different, both of them can make people lose their way. As long as they are human, there will be a time when they show their flaws. Tang Jie’s flaw is his greed.’
Qin Moyan spoke at a normal pace, giving the listener enough time to think.
But after just a few seconds, she added, ‘You’ll have to pay for the damage to my car.’
Xu Xiao: ‘…
Ye Xinuo in the passenger seat looked out the window in a daze. Qin Moyan was always so rationally terrifying in front of other people. In her previous life, she had also thought that Qin Moyan was an emotionless robot.
However, when they were alone, Qin Moyan was tender, delicate and sometimes even passionate.
Just thinking about it made her feel like she was the favoured child of the heavens.
After dropping Xu Xiao and his girlfriend home, Qin Moyan took Ye Xinuo to the snack street they had been to before. It was still two bowls of noodles and a plate of fried pork chops.
This time, Ye Xinruo’s state of mind was completely different. She felt that Qin Moyan was actually a very simple person, and she would remember anyone who was kind to her, even if she would never say so. Just like at this noodle stall, she discovered that Qin Moyan actually didn’t like noodles or fried food, and despite how good they tasted, he would often come here to eat things he didn’t like just because the owner’s aunt had looked after him before.
‘What are you thinking?‘ Qin Moyan saw Ye Xinuo hadn’t moved her chopsticks for a long time, so she playfully poked the other person’s face with her finger.
’I’m thinking about you,’ Ye Xinuo said without any more shyness, “I must have been a koi fish a thousand years ago, so that I could find such a good daughter-in-law in this life.”
The expression on Qin Moyan’s face froze for a moment, and a blush quickly crept up her ears. ’To be precise, we are only legally cohabiting at the moment.’
After the two got together, no one mentioned cohabitation. It just happened naturally, and Qin Moyan’s home unknowingly became filled with more and more of Ye Xinuo’s things. Ye Xinuo couldn’t remember how to write the words ‘my home’.
‘You don’t know? Daughter-in-law is just a term of endearment, and you can’t really call someone that unless you’re married,’ Ye Xinuo gave a wicked smile. ‘That’s right, the world of young people like us, an old person like you wouldn’t understand.’
Qin Moyan finished eating the noodles in his bowl in a few mouthfuls, curling the corners of his mouth. ‘We old people should go back and soak our feet and go to bed at this hour. You eat slowly.’
‘Hey? No!’ Ye Xinuo quickly grabbed Qin Moyan’s hand with lightning speed, blinking, ‘I was wrong.’
Qin Moyan looked serious, ‘What were you wrong about?’
Ye Xinuo answered honestly, ‘I shouldn’t have laughed at you.’
Qin Moyan: ‘What shouldn’t you have laughed at?’
Ye Xinuo: ‘I shouldn’t have laughed at you for not being able to keep up with trends.’
Qin Moyan’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. ‘What else?’
Ye Xinuo’s mind went blank. What else could there be? Is the old fox going to dig up the past?
She tentatively asked, ‘I shouldn’t have piled my clothes on the sofa last night?’
Qin Moyan’s eyes twitched slightly. ‘Am I the kind of woman who likes to dig up the past?’
Isn’t she?
Ye Xinru dared only to complain in her heart, and pretended to be pitiful on the surface, saying, ‘Then what else is there? You tell me?’
‘Don’t say the word “old” to me.’ Qin Moyan said that he was leaving, but in fact, his butt never budged. Now that he saw Ye Xinru’s cute and soft appearance, he took her hand back without a trace and rubbed his thumb against the tender back of her hand.
‘You’re not old.‘ Ye Xinru held back a smile and nodded seriously, “You’re clearly a little kid in kindergarten.”
***
It got dark.
Ye Xinru rested her head on Qin Moyan’s lap and said lazily, “I really want to just lie here forever and not work anymore.”
’Then just lie there,’ Qin Moyan said in a matter-of-fact tone, ’Have you gained weight recently?’
‘Nonsense! I haven’t gained any weight!‘ Ye Xinuo rolled over and bit Qin Moyan’s thigh through his trousers.
Qin Moyan twitched and said angrily, “Are you a puppy?!”
’It didn’t hurt,’ Ye Xinuo said, lying back down again, lazily closing his eyes. ’What do you say, I go talk to President Luo and ask him to invest in Ladder Mobile? Although Tianjun Group has suffered a heavy blow, the company’s DNA is an e-commerce platform. If a new team can be brought in to sell online, Ladder can reach new heights.‘
’Ladder Mobile is a good investment opportunity, and Mr. Luo shouldn’t refuse it,‘ Qin Moyan said honestly. “But with a small company like this, I usually sell my shares after a year to cash out.”
’…’ Ye Xinuo forced an awkward but polite smile at the corner of his mouth. ’When the year is up, I won’t stop you from selling.’
‘But I think Ladder is a potential stock that can be held for the long term.’ At some point, Qin Moyan’s hand had run to Ye Xinuo’s neckline, “and the added value is huge.”
Ye Xinuo’s lower abdomen tightened, and she blurted out, “I’m getting my period.”
Qin Moyan’s eyebrows were smiling, ’Xinuo, did you misunderstand something? Your button is open, let me help you button it up.’
‘You bastard!’ Ye Xinuo jumped off the sofa in embarrassment, “I’m going to take a shower!”
After saying that, she stormed into the bathroom.
Qin Moyan kindly reminded her, “Remember to bring everything with you, or I’ll see things I shouldn’t.”
Ye Xinuo: ’Don’t worry, it’s not every day that you get to see such a good-looking body!’
Qin Moyan pursed her lips, and in her pupils was only the back of Ye Xinuo.
***
Mu Xin Club.
Han Qiuzi was nestled on the sofa, ‘I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t had time to enjoy my own place.’
‘Every day I have to fetch you tea, water and cut fruit, so you’ve been enjoying yourself, haven’t you?’ Yu Qing gave her a dirty look.
Han Qiuzi immediately raised his eyebrows, ‘You’re being mean to me!’
Ye Xinuo: ‘…don’t want to talk.’
Yu Qing ignored the drama queen in front of her and turned to her, saying, ‘Have you heard any rumours about a new mayor coming to Hucheng?’
Ye Xinuo fed a piece of fruit into her mouth, ‘I heard Qin Moyan mention it yesterday. It seems to be a female mayor, and she is said to have been transferred from Jincheng.’
‘I don’t know what kind of person the new mayor is either.’ Yu Qing rubbed her brows, ‘The economic situation in Hucheng has been too chaotic lately.’
Chapter 89
Ye Xinuo absent-mindedly said, ‘The new female mayor seems to have an impressive family background. She is also very decisive and efficient, and is only in her early forties.’
Han Qiuzi lamented, ‘Because of this change of mayor, I have to pull out all my hair. I have held several board meetings. Traditional industries are difficult to do!’
Yu Qing was very disrespectful, ‘You said that yesterday.’
Han Qiuzi was annoyed, ‘I’m talking to other people now, are you looking for trouble?’
Yu Qing stared at Han Qiuzi, ‘Are you threatening me?’
Han Qiuzi: ‘So what if I’m threatening you?’
Ye Xinruo ignored the two arguing, her eyes vacant, remembering what Qin Moyan had said about the new mayor being an older sister from the orphanage when they were children.
In the previous life, this person never appeared at all. Was it because her rebirth caused the original time to deviate from its course, or was it because something in the future happened early?
***
‘I never thought that the little bean sprout from back then would have grown up so much.’
In the tea room, a middle-aged woman with a smile in the corner of her eyes, exquisite and elegant makeup, gave a very soft and kind impression. If she didn’t say it, no one would have guessed that she was 42 years old.
Qin Moyan curved the corners of her mouth, ‘Sister Jianing still looks so young.’
‘You were only five years old when I left, and you were already much more mature than other children. Now it seems that you really are extraordinary.‘
This is the new young female mayor of Hucheng, Li Jianing.
’I also have to thank you for looking after me back then,’ Qin Moyan revealed a rare childlike side.
Li Jianing took a sip of tea and teased, ’I heard that you are dating Ye Sheng Group’s Ye Zong?’
Qin Moyan only gave a calm smile like the surface of a placid lake, ‘We just need each other.’
***
A week later, at a large symposium for entrepreneurs in Hucheng.
‘I have gathered you all here today to thank you for your contributions to the economic development of Hucheng.’
Li Jianing stood on the stage, every gesture exuding the air of a leader.
“Our goal for the next five years is to enable Hucheng to gain a pivotal economic position on the international stage. To achieve faster economic growth, we must rely on everyone’s joint efforts.’
‘…”
The meeting was very long, and even a few government officials turned up to say some officialese. Even though the people in the audience were all composed, many of them started to daydream. The atmosphere was comparable to that of a student assembly in the auditorium.
Ye Xinuo sighed lightly: ’Mayor Li is really well-maintained. I wonder if my skin will be this smooth when I’m 40.’
Qin Moyan’s brows creased imperceptibly, and she whispered back, ‘Do you care about this?’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘Of course, I think a woman’s face is more important than her life.’
Qin Moyan stopped talking, and it seemed from her expression that she was not very happy.
Ye Xinuo glanced at her, thinking that she had been too superficial, and quickly said, ‘It’s not just the face, there are many things more important than life, and besides, they say that appearances reflect the heart.’
Qin Moyan was silent for a while, before turning her head rather annoyed, ‘I’ll be 47 when you turn 40.’
Ye Xinuo chewed on these words for a few seconds before the corner of her mouth unconsciously raised in an arc, ‘Are you afraid I’ll find you unattractive?’
‘How dare you!’ Qin Moyan glared at Ye Xinuo angrily.
‘Why are you so cute!’ Ye Xinuo instantly turned into a flower-crazy face.
‘I don’t want to talk to you.’ Qin Moyan’s gaze turned to the stage, and a blush slowly crept up her ear lobes.
After the meeting, Li Jianing did not accept the invitations from the real estate tycoons, but instead, together with a few subordinates, invited the CEOs of several Internet companies, and in turn invited these people to dinner, which was being held in the ballroom downstairs.
Ye Xinuo was on the list of invitees, so Qin Moyan left first.
Arranging the seating order was always a headache. As soon as they entered the room, Li Jianing smiled and said, ‘I invited everyone here today to have a casual meal together and look ahead to the future of the internet. As I’m new here, you can all sit where you like.’
Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, Tang Jie happened to be sitting next to Ye Xinuo.
Tang Jie smiled and said hello first, ‘Xinuo, it’s been a long time since we last had dinner together.’
Ye Xinuo smiled back, ‘Uncle Tang doesn’t come back to attend board meetings anymore, so we don’t get to eat together as often.’
Tang Jie said, ‘It’s gratifying that Xinuo can now stand on her own and doesn’t need Uncle Tang to keep her company.’
Ye Xinuo said, ‘Compared to Uncle Tang, Xinuo still has a long way to go.’
In the culture of drinking at the table in China, it is inevitable to have toasting sessions. So, halfway through the meal, it became a situation where everyone was toasting everyone else, and everyone else was responding to the toasts. Although not much policy-related content was discussed at the table, everyone there was a sharp person, and they knew that the opportunity for rapid development of the internet was here.
Ye Xinuo was almost the youngest person there, and not only did she have to toast the others, but her seniors also wanted to drink with her, and she couldn’t refuse, so she had to drink quite a lot.
After being surrounded for a while, Li Jianing noticed that Ye Xinuo’s face was a little flushed, so he walked over and said thoughtfully, ‘You’re still a little girl, you don’t have to force yourself like this. I’ll call Mo Yan for you and have her come pick you up.’
Ye Xinuo waved her hand, ‘It’s fine, don’t trouble yourself.’
‘No trouble.’ Li Jianing took out his phone and said, ‘We still have to do Mo Yan’s face saving.’
Ye Xinuo’s heart sank when she heard this, wondering why the other person would say the words ‘face-saving efforts’.
Li Jianing smiled the whole time he was on the phone, with a gentle expression, making Ye Xinuo very uncomfortable.
After hanging up the phone, Li Jianing cordially took Ye Xinuo’s hand and said, ‘Let’s go over there and chat, and it’ll also help you avoid drinking.’
‘Hm,’ Ye Xinuo nodded politely with a smile.
Li Jianing had no airs of authority, and he told Ye Xinuo a lot about Qin Moyan when she was a child. At the end, as if he had said the wrong thing, he hastily said, ‘Not many people know about her background, you…’
‘It’s okay, I know.’ Ye Xinuo forced a smile, her heart full of mixed emotions. Maybe she was being paranoid, but this new mayor, who was obviously perfect, made her feel very uncomfortable. She always felt like he was deliberately creating a certain atmosphere.
After more than 40 minutes, Ye Xinuo received a call from Qin Moyan, saying that she had already arrived downstairs.
Ye Xinuo wanted to say hello and go downstairs by herself, but she never expected Li Jianing to offer to personally escort her downstairs.
Ye Xinuo declined, saying, ‘It’s too much trouble for you, I can go down by myself.’
Li Jianing was very insistent and insisted on entering the elevator with her.
Ye Xinuo’s unease grew stronger and stronger. She always felt that Li Jianing had done all this deliberately.
Seeing Qin Moyan, she no longer felt the joy she had felt in the past, but rather a little anger.
‘I’ll leave her in your hands,’ Li Jianing’s voice was very gentle, ‘Drive safely tonight.’
After saying this, she helped Qin Moyan push her hair, which had been blown about by the wind, behind her ears.
Qin Moyan didn’t even look at Ye Xinuo once, only staring at Li Jianing and saying, ‘I will, thank you, Jianing.’
‘Goodbye.’ Li Jianing smiled at the two of them.
Qin Moyan also broke into a smile and watched Li Jianing go inside.
Ye Xinuo suppressed her emotions, which were at the peak of displeasure, waiting for Qin Moyan to take her hand, but the other person simply turned around and got into the car.
Her feelings of grievance continued to grow, her eyes gradually moistening, but there was no reason to vent her anger. These interactions seemed very natural between ordinary people, but Qin Moyan’s attitude was also very unusual, so it was hard for her not to think too much about it.
Once in the car, Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, waiting for Qin Moyan to notice that something was wrong with her.
However, the entire way, the other person treated her as if she didn’t exist, not saying a word.
“Xinuo, we’re home.’
After parking the car, Qin Moyan spoke to wake Ye Xinuo up.
Ye Xinuo opened her eyes silently, gave Qin Moyan a cold look, and got off the car and went upstairs.
However, this silent protest did not work. Once inside the house, Qin Moyan poured a glass of honey water for Ye Xinuo as if nothing had happened. The screen of her phone lit up, and the notification bar displayed that she had received a message, but she didn’t know who had sent it.
Ye Xinuo’s voice was cold, ‘I’m sleepy, I’m going to bed first.’
Qin Moyan rubbed Ye Xinuo’s head and held up the cup, ‘Then drink the honey water and go to sleep first. I still have a few pages of the book left to read, so if you don’t feel well, just call me.’
Ye Xinuo drank the water that Qin Moyan handed him, and after a brief wash, went to bed.
This was how Qin Moyan was like: very disciplined in his routine. He got up early to listen to the news, and in the evenings, after dinner, he would read. He would only sit on the sofa with her after he had finished all his study tasks.
On second thought, it seemed that her own appearance had not really changed Qin Moyan’s life.
The more she thought about it, the more Ye Xinuo felt that she might not be that important in Qin Moyan’s heart.
She couldn’t help but shed a few tears. Now, the sense of grievance seemed to have opened the floodgates, and the flood was getting more and more intense. Soon, her face and pillow were both wet.
It was about an hour before Qin Moyan climbed into bed quietly, still smelling faintly of the shower.
Ye Xinuo turned her back to Qin Moyan, her heart aching so badly that she had to bite her lips to force herself not to make a sound.
She hated the way she felt now. There was nothing extraordinary about it, but she couldn’t help caring about it.
Afraid of disturbing Ye Xinuo’s sleep, Qin Moyan didn’t make too much noise. After lying flat for a while, she felt that she still couldn’t sleep, so she crept up behind Ye Xinuo like a thief and snuck around her waist.
Ye Xinuo pretended to be sleeping with a steady breathing, but her emotions were becoming more and more volatile.
Seeing that he had not woken her, Qin Moyan plucked up his courage and began to feel her up, first here, then there, until he finally reached her face and realised something was wrong.
‘Xinuo, are you asleep?’
Hearing her shallow voice, Ye Xinuo could no longer hold back her grievances, and she said in a trembling voice, ‘I’m asleep.’
‘What’s wrong? Did you suffer today?‘ Qin Moyan panicked for a moment. From the dampness on Ye Xinuo’s face and pillow, she could tell that the other person had been crying for a while.
’I haven’t suffered.‘ Ye Xinuo was acting like a stubborn child at this time, speaking in a nasal tone and saying the opposite.
Qin Moyan wiped Ye Xinuo’s face a few times, and more tears came down the corners of her eyes.
’Xinuo, be good and tell me the truth.’
Ye Xinuo turned around and hugged Qin Moyan, burying her head in her arms and murmuring angrily, ‘You’re not treating me well!’
‘Where’s the problem? I’ll change, don’t cry,’ Qin Moyan stroked the back of Ye Xinuo’s head helplessly, softly saying, ‘Did I do something to make you angry these past few days?’
She thought Ye Xinuo was drunk and taking the opportunity to vent her anger, so she patiently coaxed her.
‘When we got back, you didn’t even hold my hand. You didn’t talk to me in the car, and when we got home, you just read your book and ignored me.’ Ye Xinuo’s crying got more and more intense. “Mayor Li is beautiful and has a great temperament. Her career prospects are bright, and she’s not married yet, so she must be very attractive. Although she’s more than ten years older than you, it’s very common these days to be a decade apart in a relationship.”
Qin Moyan suddenly grasped the key point and became nervous. ’Xinuo, what did she say to you?’
‘Nothing.‘ Ye Xinuo felt a little unreasonable after saying that, and her heart was tangled up, but she kept her mouth shut.
’I’m sorry, I didn’t notice your emotions earlier.’ Qin Moyan’s hand continued to gently comfort the person in his arms. ’I didn’t speak on the bus because I thought you were tired and wanted you to get some sleep. It was my fault for letting you go to bed first when we got home. You are more important than books, I’m just used to having a planned life. As for not holding your hand, it’s because I didn’t want Mayor Li to think that I cared too much about you.‘
’Why?‘ After Qin Moyan’s patient explanation, Ye Xinuo’s emotions had calmed down a lot. In fact, compared to that little grievance, what she was more entangled in was that she shouldn’t have lost her temper over such a trivial matter, but she just couldn’t control herself.
’Li Jianing is not as simple as you see him. I don’t want to show my weak points.’
Chapter 90
Ye Xinuo was so embarrassed that she had to bury her head and wait quietly for Qin Moyan to continue.
‘Li Jianing’s current adoptive parents were going to adopt another, younger child, but then there was a fire at the orphanage and the child had an accident, so she took the child’s place and was adopted instead.’
Qin Moyan briefly fell into childhood memories and remained silent for a long while before speaking again.
‘But six months later, her biological grandfather found her. It turned out that when Li Jianing was a child, she was taken away by someone hired by her grandfather’s political enemy.‘
Ye Xinuo was captivated. “She went with her grandfather?”
’Not only that,‘ Qin Moyan said in a deep voice, “Li Jianing’s foster parents were very good to her. Her grandfather felt that it was safer for her to stay in that family than to follow him, so he didn’t want to take her home.”
’Her grandfather was a politician?’
‘Well, he’s a figure who can make the city tremble with just a single stamp of his foot.‘
’What happened then?‘ Ye Xinuo was more and more curious.
’Then, there was a fire at Li Jianing’s house, and her adoptive parents died. She had no guardian, and at that time, she still had two months before she turned 18.’ Qin Moyan didn’t continue.
Ye Xinuo’s mind raced, and she blurted out, ’Could it be that she set the fire on purpose in order to make her grandfather take her back?’
Qin Moyan sighed and said, ‘I don’t know either, I just feel that it’s all too coincidental.’
‘Then why is she so close to you? Could it be that she has a crush on you?’ Ye Xinuo wiped her tears on Qin Moyan’s collar.
“I don’t know what she wants yet, but she is perfect in the way she treats people. Often, the more impeccable someone is, the more they need to be guarded against.’
Qin Moyan wiped the tear that remained in Ye Xinuo’s eye corner with his thumb and said softly, ‘Crying so sadly, it’s as if I’ve bullied you.’
‘Because everyone around you is so outstanding, I’m a little afraid,’ Ye Xinuo answered honestly, ‘If it weren’t for the company that Dad left me, I would never be able to keep up with you. No, even if I had Ye Sheng, I still couldn’t keep up with you.’
Qin Moyan cupped half of Ye Xinuo’s face in one palm, ‘Hasn’t my Xinuo always been very confident?’
‘Because you’re Qin Moyan,’ Ye Xinuo tightened her arms and buried her head in Qin Moyan’s neck, ‘I’m afraid that I’m not good enough and will be outshone by others.’
Upon thinking about it, she did seem a little unusual tonight. She wasn’t usually someone who got into such a tizzy, but she had been provoked into losing control by Li Jianing.
Qin Moyan suddenly rolled over, pinning Ye Xinuo underneath her, and whispered, ‘Changing partners is too costly for me, it’s not cost-effective. A good stock needs to be held for a long time to achieve maximum economic benefits.’
Ye Xinuo felt the other person’s thigh pressing against an unspeakable part, and her voice suddenly softened, ‘Didn’t you say you wanted me to sleep well?’
Qin Moyan lightly touched Ye Xinuo’s forehead with his lips, ‘Xinuo still has the energy to cry, which proves that you are still full of energy. I’m afraid you need to exercise a bit before you can sleep soundly.’
‘Looking at a serious person, how is he an old lecher!’ Ye Xinuo said with his mouth, but his heart was actually beating out of rhythm, just waiting to enjoy the blessings of the union with half-persuasion.
‘Since Xinuo doesn’t want to, that’s fine, I’m tired anyway.’ Qin Moyan rolled over, closed his eyes and lay down, his movements swift and seamless.
The duck in his mouth had flown, and Ye Xinuo was annoyed that she had spoken out of turn. She immediately climbed onto Qin Moyan’s body and coaxed softly, ’I like perverts too. You obviously know that I say that but I don’t really feel that way.’
Qin Moyan felt the weight on his body, his body temperature rising quietly. His body, which had never been cultivated, was very hot.
However, Ye Xinuo didn’t seem to realise that she was also a woman.
Qin Moyan had a limited amount of face skin, and even though he was annoyed, he could only hold it in.
‘I’ve been drinking, and I get thirsty easily.’ Ye Xinuo was drunk and didn’t know what she was saying. ‘Your mouth is sweet and soft.’
After saying that, he didn’t go for his mouth, but instead licked Qin Moyan’s ear.
Qin Moyan’s throat rolled a few times, and he forcibly stopped Ye Xinuo’s actions, and instead served the drunken ancestor, and when the person fell asleep, he took a shower.
***
Ni Anxin’s eyes were full of anger and pain when she saw the photo of the new mayor.
She clenched her fists, and didn’t feel any pain when her fingernails dug into her flesh.
Seven years ago.
‘This child’s paintings are really spirited. If only he were my student,‘ a beautiful woman in a white dress stood in front of a painting, exclaiming from the bottom of her heart.
’One mountain cannot hold two tigers. You already have a talented student like me, why are you still thinking about her?’ The one speaking was the sixteen-year-old An Xin.
‘As a teacher, naturally I hope to have many talented students.‘ The woman in the white dress had an unoffensive face, which was considered the face of a first love.
’Hmph, forget it, you don’t stand a chance,’ Ni Anxin said with a little smugness, ’this person signed as Ye Xinuo is already a student of Teacher Mu.’
‘You just love to go against your teachers, don’t you?‘ The woman in the white dress frowned slightly, “Next time I won’t bring you to see other school work exhibitions.”
’Okay, okay, I was wrong, can’t I?’ Ni Anxin reluctantly gave in.
That was the only unrequited love she had in her life, and it was also the last time she saw that person.
Ni Anxin still clearly remembered seeing the beloved person being hit by a car and flying in the air with her own eyes, and she also remembered the face of the driver.
More clearly, the corner of the driver’s mouth that twitched after the collision.
Ni Anxin’s wandering thoughts returned to reality, staring at Li Jianing’s photo, her eyes not blinking. Seven years ago, this person even had someone else take the place of the prison sentence, and now he has become the mayor of Hucheng. Is it the way of the world?
Her mouth slowly curled up, a smile that was a replica of Li Jianing’s.
‘Even if the law cannot judge you, hell will not let you go.”
***
Ye Sheng, the board of directors.
Ye Xinuo is holding a laser pointer, trying to convince the directors to agree to her proposal for an internal entrepreneurship competition.
The reason is that Ye Sheng plans to set up a new subsidiary, and the person in charge has not yet been decided. Each director wants to recommend a candidate, so every board meeting ends in endless disputes.
“The original intention of this entrepreneurship competition is to select a leader who can charge forward and run the subsidiary. I propose that the employees of the companies participating in the competition contribute to the shares. The amount of money contributed can be used to acquire a corresponding number of shares. They can freely form teams of at least three and at most five people, and the team leader must hold at least 51% of the shares.’
Ye Xinuo paused to give the directors present time to digest it.
‘Then other colleagues will vote based on a series of measurement criteria such as the degree of innovation of their project plan and the reasonableness of the budget. And they must put up money to become shareholders in order to have the right to vote. The winning team and the employees who support them will become shareholders of the new company. Even if other people want to put up money, they won’t have the opportunity.’
One director questioned, ‘I’m afraid asking employees to put up money for the competition will provoke discontent among them.’
Ye Xinuo shook his head with a smile, ‘This is not like buying and selling. Participating in the competition is voluntary. Those who are willing to take the risk and put their money on the line are people who trust Ye Sheng and have an adventurous spirit. As for those who vote, they will definitely be very cautious and really vote for people who are capable at work. Colleagues who work together day and night know each other better than the boss.’
“This competition sounds a bit interesting, but I’m worried that if the enthusiasm for signing up is not high, it will have a negative impact on management authority instead,’ Lu Dong worriedly said.
‘Yes, if no one signs up, we’ll be so embarrassed,’ Wei Gang picked up the conversation in due course.
‘Mr Ye’s corporate culture has always been to encourage employees to question management in order to develop and progress together. If this approach proves to be a failure in practice, then we will actively correct it.’ Ye Xinru’s eyes scanned the directors present, ‘Does any director have a better suggestion?’
Chapter 91
Ye Xinuo scanned the expressions of the directors present and decisively said, ‘Instead of wasting time on endless arguments, we might as well give it a try. It’s decided.’
Hearing her say this, no one really questioned it. Every director had the feeling that this young decision-maker was different from more than a year ago, and that she had a kind of force that made people unconsciously convinced.
After the meeting, the other directors left, and only Ye Xinuo and Qin Moyan were left in the large meeting room.
A faint look of pride could be seen on Qin Moyan’s face, ‘Little sister has grown up, and now she is becoming more and more like a leader.’
‘Thanks to your efforts, I have grown up in some ways,’ Ye Xinuo said, looking down.
Qin Moyan’s facial expression froze for a moment, and she flicked Ye Xinuo’s forehead with her finger, ‘Why are you full of foul language? Did you learn to be bad with Han Qiuzi?’
‘It says in the book, don’t be stingy with encouragement. Positive stimulation will give the other person more confidence and make them do better.’ Ye Xinuo patted Qin Moyan on the shoulder, ‘I’ll try and see if it’s true.’
Qin Moyan pinched Ye Xinuo’s nose tip, and there was a hint of shyness in her eyes, ‘I still have things to do, so I’ll go first, and I’ll pick you up after work.’
‘Then be careful on the road.’ Ye Xinuo quickly gave Qin Moyan a kiss on the cheek.
Qin Moyan glanced at the camera, teasing, ‘Mr Ye, aren’t you afraid the security guard will see?’
Ye Xinuo was indifferent, ‘If they see it, so be it. It’s not illegal for me to be affectionate with my wife.’
‘Now you’re being smooth. I’m leaving.’ After Qin Moyan turned around, she revealed a girlish, coy smile.
‘See you tonight.’ Ye Xinuo raised the corners of her mouth. She liked more and more the look on Qin Moyan’s face when she took the initiative, which was obviously shy but pretending to be calm.
After Qin Moyan left, Ye Xinuo went to have afternoon tea with Qi Jing to discuss matters related to the launch of the new game.
As soon as they sat down, Ye Xinuo didn’t go straight to the point, saying, ‘Miss Qi, you’ve been at Ye Sheng for a while now, are you still getting used to it?’
‘The entire game department has a very good working atmosphere,’ Qi Jing laughed, ‘and this is inseparable from the management model reform carried out by General Manager Ye, which is very admirable.’
“I’m proud to receive such praise from Miss Qi,’ Ye Xinuo smiled.
‘Dad told me to learn more from you, but I can’t.’ Qi Jing shook her head helplessly, ‘You guys have such a heavy burden on your shoulders. I just want to enjoy life and do what I like.’
Ye Xinuo: ‘Miss Qi is being modest. The closed beta of the mobile game “Luosheng”, which will be fully launched next week, was a great success.’
Qi Jing’s eyelashes fluttered, ‘This game is related to the happiness of the rest of my life.’
She has made a bet with Ning Han that if her game can become the number one domestic mobile game, she can go on a date with him. This is already a leap forward in their relationship.
Ye Sheng’s latest big move is not just the full release of the new game.
As expected, the facial recognition AI research team funded by Ye Xinuo came in first place in the robot PK competition, which means that it can receive support from the state and attract more outstanding talents to work together to solve the problem of finding lost children.
Because of this, Ye Xinuo’s image has once again become deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Children are the greatest hope for many people, and most people are buying into the entrepreneur’s act of giving back to society in this way.
Unbeknownst to Ye Xinuo, she has quietly accumulated a lot of goodwill, and Ye Sheng Group has greatly improved its public awareness compared to the Ye Qisheng era.
In order to strike while the iron is hot, Ye Xinuo has no choice but to take the trouble to give similar interviews and attend public forums to project the image of a young female entrepreneur.
These were not things she liked to do, but for the good of the entire group, she had to follow the plans of the brand team and public relations team.
In the evening, Ye Xinuo flipped through a few magazine interviews and casually threw them on the coffee table. She sighed and said, ‘I feel like an actress right now.’
Qin Moyan lightly raised his eyebrows and said, ‘Don’t think like that.’
Ye Xinuo thought that the other person was trying to comfort her, and the next second she heard, ‘Your popularity is not that high yet.’
She pouted her lips and acted coquettishly, ‘You don’t even spoil me anymore!’
Qin Moyan glanced at her and quickly returned his gaze to the paperback in his hands. He said with a sigh, ‘There are many people waiting to spoil you.’
‘Qin Moyan, you’re not secretly jealous again, are you? Just say it, so I can comfort you.’ Ye Xinuo went over and hooked her neck around Qin Moyan’s, her smile full of mischief.
‘I’m not jealous,’ Qin Moyan put down the book in her hands, took the ankle of Ye Xinuo, which was resting on her lap, and slid it across the tender skin like milk, “There are many things that are better than jealousy.”
***
Nowadays, the most common topic of conversation in Hucheng after dinner is the new mayor’s series of actions. In fast food restaurants, on buses, and in the subway, the words “Mayor Li” can always be heard from different people from time to time.
‘Li Jianing has personally visited many orphanages, not only paying for school supplies himself, but also teaching the children to recognise Chinese characters and playing games with them, without a care in the world as their hands crumple up his clothes.‘
’Not only that, but when he visited the nursing home, he didn’t just go through the motions, but spent time chatting with the elderly and even helped clean up after them.‘
’…”
In just one month, all the ordinary people of Hucheng have been full of praise for the new mayor.
In a room filled with sunlight, Ni Anxin browses the internet for news praising Li Jianing. She has an expressionless face, but after closing the screen, she curls up the corners of her mouth with her two index fingers to make a smile, then gets up and goes out.
She buys lots of delicious food and goes to the orphanage where Li Jianing was.
A lively little boy is the first to spot her and shouts with joy, ‘Detective sister is here!’
‘Detective sister!’
“Detective sister!’
‘You haven’t been here for a long time, I’ve missed you!‘
Soon, a crowd of children surrounded An Xin.
An Xin teased, “Do you miss me, or the delicious snacks I’m holding?”
’Of course we miss you!‘
The children chattered excitedly around An Xin, but she didn’t show any impatience. After she had distributed the snacks, she went to chat with the orphanage director.
’Miss Ni is here,’
The director is in her fifties, with a benevolent face. Although she is gradually growing grey hair, her voice is still full of energy.
‘Director Hao,’ Ni Anxin’s eyes slightly curved, ‘Mayor Li was once a child in our orphanage. The citizens all have high hopes for her, you must be very happy.’
Director Hao beamed, saying repeatedly, ‘She was a good child before, very popular with the other children. She was also very brave. When the orphanage caught fire, she, a teenager at the time, didn’t hesitate to rush in to save people, and she even got burns on her back.‘
Ni Anxin looked sad. “What happened then?”
’Unfortunately, the child trapped inside couldn’t be saved in the end because she had inhaled too much smoke. A couple had already been planning to adopt the child.’ Dean Hao couldn’t help but sigh.
Ni Anxin sighed in agreement: ’That couple must have been very sad too.’
‘Yes,‘ Dean Hao recalled, “but they were also kind-hearted people. Knowing that Jinning had been injured because he rushed in to save someone, they decided to adopt Jinning.”
’Then this can be considered Mayor Li’s good fortune,’ An Xin Ni said with a sincere smile.
Dean Hao shook his head, “Alas, this child also has a hard life.”
An Xin Ni casually said, ’It’s really sad that someone as outstanding as Mayor Li was also abandoned by his parents.’
‘She wasn’t abandoned by her parents,’ Dean Hao said. ’Jianing was sold by human traffickers to a couple when she was very young. The family seemed to be doing well, but then they went bankrupt, and the creditors came to the house every day demanding payment. Her adoptive father couldn’t stand the pressure and committed suicide by turning on the gas. But Jianing was lucky, she happened to be sleeping in the room farthest away from the gas, and survived. She was later sent to us.’
Ni Anxin smiled lightly, ‘To be honest, Mayor Li is also a person blessed by the heavens.’
President Hao gave a kind smile, ‘It is said that good people have good rewards, and everything has a cause and effect.’
‘Yes, everything has a cause and effect,’ Ni Anxin murmured softly.
After chatting for a while, she bid the president farewell. She regularly came to the orphanage to bring the children gifts and chat with the president, just to get to know Li Jianing a little better, but the more she got to know him, the more she shuddered.
***
[Entertainment Briefing: The spokesperson for Ye Sheng Group’s mobile game ‘Luosheng’ has finally been revealed. Popular star Xu Xiaoxi appeared at the press conference and publicly confessed his love for President Ye Sheng.
Chapter 92
‘I am honoured to be the spokesperson for the mobile game Luo Shen. I tried the game ahead of time when I got the internal beta account.‘ Xu Xiaoxi winked, her well-defined eyelashes glistening in the lights, “Even I, who doesn’t play games much, can’t stop playing, so you can see that this game is really very well made.”
’Thank you Xiaoxi for sharing,’ the host said with a smile, taking over the conversation, ’Next, we’ll invite the creators to come up on stage and share the highlights and behind-the-scenes stories of this game with Xiaoxi.’
Xinuo Ye couldn’t help yawning under the stage, thinking to herself, ‘It’s all that bad guy Mo Yan Qin’s fault, always seducing me and making me so sleepy.’
In fact, last night after taking a shower and going to bed, Mo Yan Qin naturally put Xinuo Ye in his arms, and Xinuo Ye smelled the fragrance and became aroused.
‘Today’s press conference is coming to an end. At 20:08 tonight, everyone will be able to download the official version of ‘Luosheng’ from the app store. The first 1,000 players to enter the game will receive a surprise gift pack worth 1,888 yuan, and all players will receive a novice gift pack worth 99 yuan.‘
The host put down the hand holding the hand card and looked at Xu Xiaoxi.
’Xiaoxi, is there anything else you want to say to your fans?’
Xu Xiaoxi curled her eyes, and dimples appeared on her face. ‘I hope that all my fans who like me can support the mobile game “Luosheng”. Actually, I also have something I want to say to Ye Zong, who is sitting in the audience.’
‘Oh?’ The host’s expression and tone of voice showed that he was very curious.
Xu Xiaoxi looked at Ye Xinuo and said, ‘I’ve watched many of your interviews, so I’m kind of a fan. You’re about the same age as me, but you’re really much more mature and wise than I am. I really admire you. I hope that this collaboration will bring us closer together.’
Ye Xinuo stood up, took the microphone handed to him by the staff, and politely responded, ‘Miss Xu Xiaoxi is an outstanding young idol, and her temperament is very in line with our company’s positioning of the mobile game “Luosheng”. I’m also looking forward to our future cooperation.’
After the press conference, Ye Xinuo dialed Qin Moyan’s phone number. Immediately, she seemed to be a different person, her voice soft and sweet, ‘Qin Moyan, where are you? Didn’t you say we were going to the movies tonight?’
“Wait ten minutes for me, I’m almost there.’
‘You’re coming to pick me up?‘ Ye Xinuo’s mouth curled up at the corners. “It’s not on the way, and you’re coming from so far away, you don’t need to come pick me up specifically.”
’So I’m going back?‘
’Annoying!‘ Ye Xinuo said, exasperated. “Then just concentrate on driving, I’ll wait for you at the door.”
After hanging up the phone, Ye Xinuo couldn’t stop smiling, and muttered to herself, “My Qin Moyan is really cute.”
’President Ye.’
Ye Xinuo looked up at the sound of her name and saw Xu Xiaoxi walking towards her. She put on a serious expression and nodded, greeting her, ‘Ms. Xu.’
Xu Xiaoxi smiled, ‘Is it convenient for you, Mr. Ye, to have dinner together tonight?’
Ye Xinuo smiled lightly and said, ‘We will be working together for a long time, and there will be plenty of opportunities to have dinner together in the future. You have worked hard today, Ms. Xu, so go home early and get some rest.’
Xu Xiaoxi teased, ‘Could it be that Mr. Ye has an important appointment?’
‘Miss Xu is right.’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes drifted behind Xu Xiaoxi, instantly softening, “I’ll go first. I hope we have a pleasant working relationship in the future!”
After saying that, he bypassed Xu Xiaoxi, walked quickly to Qin Moyan’s car, and just as he was about to open the door, the person in the car got out.
Ye Xinuo glanced at the watch on his wrist and smirked, ’I thought you said you weren’t going to be here for another ten minutes? It’s only been five minutes, is it because you missed me?’
Qin Moyan walked up to Ye Xinuo, put his hand on her waist, and whispered, ‘I’m here to see if there’s any red apricot trying to leave the wall.’
Ye Xinuo pinched Qin Moyan’s face with both hands, grinned, and raised her eyebrows, ‘I’m very marketable, it depends on how high your wall is built, whether I can get out or not.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes crinkled with laughter, and he let go of Ye Xinuo, ‘Then go ahead.’
‘Hmph, I am a red apricot with a sense of responsibility and justice.‘ Ye Xinuo felt that it was not right after he said that, and nudged Qin Moyan’s nose, “You are the red apricot!”
’Get in the car.’ Qin Moyan helped Ye Xinuo open the car door, shielded her head with his hand, and waited until she was seated in the car before sitting back in the driver’s seat.
Ye Xinuo narrowed her eyes, ‘What’s wrong with you? I don’t usually see you being so attentive, did you do something to upset me?’
Qin Moyan tapped Ye Xinuo on the head, ‘Someone confessed to my girlfriend in public, is that reason enough?’
‘Who confessed to you?’ Ye Xinuo scratched his head.
Qin Moyan glanced at Ye Xinuo’s phone screen, ‘Take a look at the news.’
Ye Xinuo read the headline news with disgust and exclaimed, ‘The media really writes nonsense.’
‘Really?’ Qin Moyan said, ‘I saw love in her eyes.’
‘Heh heh heh,’ Ye Xinuo rubbed his hands together, ‘Qin Moyan, are you jealous?’
‘Not jealous,’ Qin Moyan paused, ‘she’s not as good-looking as me.’
‘You’re so narcissistic!‘ Ye Xinuo couldn’t help but laugh, “If her fans hear this, they’ll definitely rally against you.”
Qin Moyan slowly turned his head, “So Xinuo thinks she’s prettier than me?”
’Look ahead!’ Ye Xinuo pushed Qin Moyan’s face back, ’Drive safely!’
Once Qin Moyan’s gaze had moved away, Ye Xinuo unconsciously fanned the air with her hand, thinking to herself, ‘Qin Moyan must be the reincarnation of a fox spirit. How come just from her glance, my heart is beating so fast!’
Xu Xiaoxi watched the car carrying Ye Xinuo gradually recede into the distance, her eyes thoughtful, her mouth slightly curled up, a look of determination in her eyes.
***
The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
“Aaah! It hurts!’
Such a cry is very misleading, but…
Ye Xinuo covered her nose and squatted down, tears quickly streaming down the corners of her eyes.
Qin Moyan immediately put down the kitchen utensils in his hands and squatted down after her, ‘Xinuo, why didn’t you make a sound? I didn’t know there was someone behind me. Does it hurt a lot?’
‘It’s okay,’ Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and took a breath, ‘I’ll be fine in a while.’
She just wanted to steal a kiss, but she didn’t expect the price to be so high.
‘Then let me help you sit down.’ Qin Moyan’s eyes were full of concern as he put his arm around Ye Xinuo’s waist and helped her up.
After a while, Ye Xinuo let out a laugh, ’Qin Moyan, do you remember when we first met, I hit you in the nose on the plane and you cried, your face was so puffy and watery, it was so cute.’
‘I wasn’t crying, it was a natural physical reaction.‘
Suddenly, Qin Moyan tightened his arms around Ye Xinuo’s waist, his tone ambiguous, “So what did you want to feel love for at that time?”
’I was just talking, you’re taking it seriously. I was thinking, how come this old fox is so calm, wiping away his tears and acting like nothing happened.’ Ye Xinuo took his hand off his nose and stuck out her tongue at Qin Moyan.
‘Mmm~”
Qin Moyan grabbed the little thing Ye Xinuo hadn’t had time to put away, and pushed the person down on the sofa next to him. He treated it like a delicacy, sucking on it carefully before stirring it up fiercely for a while before giving up.
Ye Xinuo’s hand had, without knowing when, gripped the fabric sofa tightly, and her palm was full of sweat.
Her slightly open lips, which had been kissed slightly swollen, still had tears in her eyes, and she looked pitiful.
‘Qin Moyan, it’s daytime.’
‘I didn’t want to do anything.’ Qin Moyan’s breathing was still a bit unsteady. Ever since she had been with Ye Xinuo, she had become increasingly unable to control herself.
Ye Xinuo swallowed, wrapped his arms around Qin Moyan’s waist, which was easy to hold, and said in a voice like hot spring water under billowing light smoke, ‘But I can’t hold back anymore.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes were filled with intoxicating desire, her mouth slightly tilted, and she whispered in Ye Xinuo’s ear, ‘People in China have the habit of taking naps.’
‘Do you want to?’ Ye Xinuo asked, her face flushing with shame.
Qin Moyan was no better than she was. Her face, which usually showed very few expressions, was full of excitement, and her jawline was tensed. She wanted to say something but stopped several times. Although she didn’t end up saying anything, her expression betrayed her.
Ye Xinuo’s mind felt like it had exploded, and her heart was pounding like a drum. Just thinking about Qin Moyan being moved for her and being under her pleasure made her gasp for breath.
She managed to steady her heartbeat before stuttering, ‘I’m going…going…going to wash my hands.’
Although she didn’t know how it had suddenly developed to this point, since Qin Moyan hadn’t rejected her, she didn’t mind ‘taking it all.’
Chapter 93
Qin Moyan looked at the running figure, which looked like a rabbit, and gave a faint smile. Her daughter had really grown up.
At that moment, the doorbell rang, and it was followed by another ring, very urgent.
Qin Moyan frowned slightly. Normally, no one would be let in without an appointment. Who could it be?
She looked down to fix her collar, went to the bathroom to wash her face, and then opened the door.
‘Hello, we are the police officers from the second team of the Hucheng Economic Investigation Brigade. Are you Ms. Qin Moyan?’ The two men in police uniforms showed their badges together.
‘I am.’ Qin Moyan had a bad feeling, ‘What is it?’
“We suspect you of involvement in a financial crime case. Please come with us to assist in the investigation.’
‘Okay.‘ Qin Moyan knew she had no choice but to agree.
’What’s going on?’ Ye Xinuo heard the commotion outside and hurriedly came out, not caring about anything else.
Qin Moyan turned her head and slightly curled her lips, “Wait for me at home.”
Ye Xinuo stood still in the same place until Qin Moyan had gone with the police for a long time. This was the first time she had experienced something like this, and she didn’t know what to do.
After a while, Ye Xinuo finally came back to her senses and immediately dialed Yu Qing’s phone, her voice anxious, ‘Yu Qing, it seems that Qin Moyan has been taken away by the people from the Economic Investigation Department. I…’
Before she could finish speaking, Ye Xinuo had already lost her composure and started to choke up.
When it comes to the most important person in her life, all her reason and composure vanished into thin air.
Yu Qing: ‘Xinuo, don’t worry. Where are you right now? I’ll come over to find you.’
Ye Xinuo gave an address and then sat dazedly on the sofa.
When she saw Yu Qing, Ye Xinuo’s emotions calmed down a lot. She grabbed Yu Qing’s hand and said, ‘Let’s go to the public security bureau and bail Qin Moyan out first.’
Yu Qing returned Ye Xinuo’s cold hand and comforted her, ‘Don’t be too nervous, Moyan will be fine.’
Although she didn’t know what had happened, she was invited to go by the Economic Investigation Department, which could be serious. To be honest, she didn’t really know what to expect.
Ye Xinuo forced a smile, ‘She’s so cunning, she’ll definitely be fine.’
The two of them didn’t speak the whole way. Ye Xinuo closed her eyes and suddenly realised that she didn’t really know much about Qin Moyan’s career. She had never taken the initiative to ask how much Qin Moyan had in assets, what she usually did, and in the last life, the other party was even more mysterious.
But she believed that Qin Moyan would never do anything illegal. No matter what the outside world thought of Qin Moyan, at least the Qin Moyan she knew was a principled and kind person.
However, their trip was not going well.
Yu Qing called everyone she could to ask for help, but the response she got was that the case involved confidential information and not much could be disclosed.
Ye Xinuo’s bail application was also rejected.
As night fell, Ye Xinuo lay alone on the large, empty bed, feeling a sense of suffocation in her heart.
She felt utterly incompetent, and wondered what was the point of living a whole life if she was still powerless to change many things. Perhaps Qin Moyan had been taken away by the police because of the butterfly effect, and the incident had only happened because of that.
In the previous life, and in this life, Qin Moyan had always been someone who stood at the top of the pyramid. It seemed that it was she who had always been holding Qin Moyan back.
After a long time of tossing and turning, Ye Xinruo fell into a daze and fell asleep.
The next day, Ye Xinruo woke up early and went to the Public Security Bureau again, but still got nothing.
It had been 24 hours since Qin Moyan was taken away, and she knew what that meant. After this time limit, if Qin Moyan went in, it would not be as simple as assisting in the investigation.
What’s more, after asking many people, they had not been able to find out anything related, which showed the severity of the situation.
At Ye Sheng Building, the people at Qiyue Game Studio were cheering. Since the game went online, the number of downloads has broken the App Store’s record, and the number of rechargeable users has also reached an all-time high.
Ye Xinuo received a phone call from the director Li Bin with the good news, and she just took a breath and said, ‘You’ve worked hard. Take the people under you out to celebrate. As for how to reward the team, you can decide.’
After hanging up the phone, Ye Xinuo buried her head in her knees and muttered, ‘Qin Moyan, what should I do? It seems like I can’t do anything.’
Suddenly, a person flashed through Ye Xinuo’s mind. She suddenly remembered when she was looking at Xu Xiaoxi’s information before, she vaguely remembered her father’s name was Xu Yi. When she went to the public security bureau today, on the wall of glory, the new director also had that name.
This is not a common name, and the rate of duplicate names should not be high.
Ye Xinruo called Yu Qing with a try-it-out mentality, asking her to check Xu Xiaoxi’s family situation. At this point, she could only grasp at the few straws that could save her life.
After receiving a positive reply, she rubbed her face and dialed Xu Xiaoxi’s phone number.
‘Hello.’
After ringing a few times, there was an answer on the other end of the line.
Ye Xinruo’s voice was slightly hoarse, ‘Hello Miss Xu, this is Ye Xinruo from Ye Sheng Group.’
‘Sorry, I didn’t recognise your voice,‘ Xu Xiaoxi laughed lightly, “I didn’t expect President Ye to call me.”
Ye Xinuo didn’t want to waste time, so he came straight to the point: “Sorry to bother you. Your father is Director Xu of Hucheng Public Security Bureau, right?”
’Yes,’ Xu Xiaoxi paused, ’President Ye, what’s the matter?’
Ye Xinru was a little hesitant. Although they were in a cooperative relationship, she and Xu Xiaoxi had only met once and were not familiar with each other, so it would be rude to speak out of turn.
‘Ms. Ye?’ Xu Xiaoxi said, ‘If you’re not comfortable speaking on the phone, can we meet in person?’
Ye Xinru rubbed her brow with her hand and said, ‘That’s fine. Ms. Xu can decide where it’s convenient to meet, and I’ll go there.’
Xu Xiaoxi quickly replied, ‘I just finished shooting for the magazine and I’m over at the Lukang Industrial Park. Let’s meet at the ST Café.’
‘Okay,’ Ye Xinuo mentally estimated the distance, ‘is an hour later okay?’
Xu Xiaoxi: ‘No problem.’
Ye Xinuo called the driver, then went to wash her face and put on a little makeup to make herself look less haggard.
She stood in front of the mirror, feeling aggrieved, and murmured, ‘Qin Moyan, I miss you so much. You’re such a bad person, didn’t you say you were going to take a nap with me? I’ve finished washing my hands, where are you?’
In a dim interrogation room, Qin Moyan panted, her eyelids lowered, with specks of blood around the corners of her mouth.
‘Qin Moyan, I’m going to ask you again, are you in any way involved in the 712 major illegal fund-raising case?!’ The interrogating policeman slammed the table hard.
‘It has nothing to do with me,‘ Qin Moyan gasped a few more times.
’What do you people want?’ She raised her head with difficulty and stared at the police officer in front of her with sharp eyes.
Qin Moyan had already realised that this was not the usual case-handling process. Obviously, someone was deliberately targeting her.
Chapter 94
Ye Xinuo entered the café and saw Xu Xiaoxi sitting in the corner at a glance.
Anyone who can be a star will definitely stand out among the crowd of passers-by.
‘What would you like to drink, Mr Ye?’
Xu Xiaoxi had a half glass of lemonade in front of him, and it looked like he had been sitting here for a while.
‘Latte, please.”
Ye Xinuo saw the waiter leave, and then lightly pursed her lips and said, “I know it’s very rude to directly ask Miss Xu for help the first time we sit face-to-face, but this matter is very important to me, so…”
Xu Xiaoxi smiled faintly, ’You don’t need to be so polite, Mr Ye. Just ask, and if there’s anything I can do to help, I won’t refuse.’
‘A friend of mine was taken away by the economic investigation team and told to assist in the investigation, but it’s been a day and there’s still no news.’ Ye Xinuo let out a heavy breath and said, “I hope that Miss Xu can help me find out what happened.”
After saying this, he added, ’We can re-sign the spokesperson contract, and Mr Ye will fulfil any request from Miss Xu. Our social media platforms are a great promotional channel, if Miss Xu has any needs—’
‘No need,‘ Xu Xiaoxi interrupted Ye Xinuo with a smile, “Mr Ye is being too formal. It’s just a favour, I won’t be greedy.”
’Thank you,‘ Ye Xinuo raised the corners of his mouth, “so what can I do for Miss Xu?”
’Just invite me to dinner,’ Xu Xiaoxi winked, ’being able to eat with my idol would be the greatest gift to me.’
‘Then I’ll trouble you.‘
Ye Xinuo naturally didn’t believe that the other party was really as innocent as they appeared, but there really was no other way at the moment.
Xu Xiaoxi: “What’s the name of Mr Ye’s friend?”
’Qin Moyan,’ said Ye Xinuo, “Qin as in Qin Han, Moyan as in ink and Moyan as in smiling and chatting.”
As if just saying the name of that person once, Ye Xinuo’s thoughts were like a flood that couldn’t be held back by the sluice gates, pouring out.
She couldn’t help but blush, but she didn’t dare show it in front of outsiders, so she could only hide her emotions with a smile.
‘This must be a very important friend of General Manager Ye.’ Xu Xiaoxi curved her lips, picked up her phone, and said, ‘I’ll call Dad right now.’
Ye Xinuo nodded and quietly turned her gaze to the window.
After about two or three minutes, Xu Xiaoxi sweetly said, ‘Bye, Dad.’
Ye Xinuo’s gaze then turned back, hidden with expectation.
‘It seems that Mr Ye’s friend is involved in a very serious case. Dad said that he is not in a position to disclose too much, and that we may have to wait and see.’ Xu Xiaoxi looked very apologetic, ‘I’m sorry, I couldn’t be of any help. But I will pay more attention to it for you, and I will let you know as soon as I get any news.’
‘Miss Xu has already helped me a lot, thank you.’ Ye Xinuo stood up, ‘Then I will go home today, and I will treat you to dinner some other time.’
Xu Xiaoxi waved her hand, ‘Well, don’t worry too much, good people will be helped.’
After leaving the café, Ye Xinuo’s mood settled down instead.
If everyone is of this caliber, then waiting like this is definitely not a good idea.
Qin Moyan has been taken away for interrogation for more than 24 hours, but he has not been transferred to a detention center nor has he been able to post bail. There must be something wrong.
Ye Xinru looked up at the sign for the detective agency and gave a wry smile. It seemed that she could only turn to her old classmate and use extreme measures.
‘Welcome, my old customer, 20% off.’ Ni Anxin grinned, looking as carefree as ever.
‘Detective Ni,’ Ye Xinru forced herself to smile, ‘I came to see you today because I want you to help me find someone who can get the police to talk.’
Ni Anxin nodded knowingly and said cheerfully, ‘No problem. The police are happy to help and will definitely answer questions for good citizens.’
‘Thank you.’ Ye Xinuo’s expression was not relaxed. If she could, she would not want to use this method.
‘What do you want to know?’ Ni Anxin asked.
Ye Xinuo picked up the main points of what had happened in the past two days and the other party quickly sorted out the ins and outs.
Ni Anxin patted her chest, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it, I’ll keep my mouth shut.’
She said, and even made a zipper-pulling motion with her mouth.
‘Thank you.’ Ye Xinuo, like someone who has grabbed the last piece of floating wood, finally revealed some joy. She pursed her dry lips and said, ‘I’m not in the mood today, so I’ll go home first. I’ll invite you to dinner some other time, and the great detective will have to accept.’
‘Have some water before you go. Your health is important too.‘ Ni Anxin got up and poured Ye Xinuo a glass of warm water. “If Qin Moyan knew that you weren’t taking care of yourself, she would feel bad.”
’Mm.‘ Ye Xinuo raised the glass as she was told and gulped it down.
’Go home and get some rest.‘ Ni Anxin smiled warmly, “Wake up after a good night’s sleep and all your worries will be gone.”
’Okay, I’ll go then. Goodbye.’
After Ye Xinuo’s figure disappeared in the doorway, Ni Anxin’s eyes narrowed slightly, and she muttered, ‘Soon, you will be able to continue living a happy and peaceful life with the one you love. I will help you, I promise you.’
***
On the other side.
‘Miss Qin, what does that have to do with this? If you had confessed the truth, why would I have bothered? I’m tired from staying up all night with you.’ After saying this, the interrogating policeman yawned.
‘What exactly are you trying to do by framing me and keeping me here?‘ Qin Moyan straightened his neck. Even though he looked extremely dishevelled at the moment, his aura was still very fierce.
’I’ve seen many prisoners like you who refuse to admit their crimes. Which one of them would tell others if they had done something bad?’ The interrogator sniffed and scratched his eyebrows with his hand, ’So you can’t blame me for not feeling sorry for you.’
After saying this, the interrogator grabbed Qin Moyan’s hair and slammed him down on the table, shouting, ‘I’ll tell you! We didn’t arrest you without evidence! Some officials have already admitted to taking your bribes and helping you suppress the matter, but you’re unlucky. After the mayor was replaced, all those old debts have been dug up one after the other!’
Qin Moyan felt his head buzzing, and his scalp and face were burning with pain.
She must be worried about me right now, she thought.
‘You’re starting to play dumb with me, aren’t you?!’ The interrogator gave Qin Moyan a hard kick in the stomach, ‘Speak to me, damn it!’
Qin Moyan’s eyes were full of mockery, and he managed to force three words out of his throat, ‘I’m not guilty.’
At that moment, the sound of high heels hitting the ground came faintly, and soon, the interrogation room door was opened.
Qin Moyan was pushed hard onto the stool by the interrogator, and coughed violently a few times. His eyes were a little blurry from the bloodshot. It took a while for him to raise his eyelids.
Seeing the person who came, his dry throat rolled a little, accompanied by a burning pain. ‘It’s you.’
Chapter 95
The interrogator saw the person who came and immediately stood respectfully, ‘Mayor Li.’
‘How can you treat the people like this?‘ Li Jianing frowned and gently rebuked, “Why are you the only one here?”
’This…‘ The interrogator just now had large beads of sweat on his forehead and stuttered, “This case is too big, there aren’t enough people… so…”
’Ridiculous!’ Li Jianing said sternly, ’At least two police officers should be present during the interrogation. As public officials, you have acted so wantonly!’
‘Mayor Li, calm down. This is my fault.‘
There was another person standing next to Li Jianing, and that was Xu, the director of the Hucheng Public Security Bureau.
’I heard that the previous witness retracted his confession. Ms. Qin has nothing to do with this case. Is this how you public security organs work?!’ Li Jianing’s air pressure was getting lower and lower.
Director Xu’s voice was loud and clear, ’We have set up a special investigation team and will definitely investigate the whole matter clearly and give everyone an explanation.’
Li Jianing’s face was full of anger, ‘Why aren’t you taking him to the hospital?!’
‘Yes!’
Qin Moyan’s head grew heavier and heavier, as if everything around her was drifting away, and she was finally left in a white world.
***
After learning about Qin Moyan’s current situation through Ni Anxin, Ye Xinuo immediately consulted a team of legal advisors and contacted many of her father’s old friends. As long as she could get Qin Moyan out first, she could meet any conditions.
However, before she could take action, the news came that Qin Moyan had been confirmed to be framed and had been sent to the hospital for medical treatment.
Ye Xinuo was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her hair messy, and she didn’t look at all like her usual delicate self.
Although Qin Moyan was now off the hook, she was still not allowed any visitors, and even the hospital she had been taken to was kept secret.
Yu Qing didn’t know what to say to comfort her, so she could only hold Ye Xinuo’s hand and quietly stay with her.
‘Why was Qin Moyan taken to the hospital? She’s always been in good health, and she doesn’t get sick often. She must have been injured in there!‘ Ye Xinuo closed her eyes helplessly, her body shaking violently. “I don’t even know where she is right now. Why am I so useless?!”
’It’s not your fault, Nuo Nuo,‘ Yu Qing said with a heart full of worry. “I’ve already asked Brother Sen to find someone to investigate. I’m sure we’ll get some news soon.”
’I shouldn’t have let the police take her away in the first place!’ Ye Xinuo became more and more agitated, her eyes red with anger. She hadn’t slept for a day and a night.
***
When Qin Moyan woke up, it was still dark, and her hands and feet were bound, unable to move.
‘Moyan, you’re awake.’
She heard Li Jianing’s gentle voice.
‘Why?’ Qin Moyan was very weak, and it took all her strength to say those three words. Since being taken from her home, she hadn’t drunk a drop of water.
‘Why?‘ Li Jianing repeated the words, shaking his head gently, “I just don’t want to see you fall.”
Qin Moyan opened her mouth, but couldn’t say a word.
’I know, you don’t feel like you’re falling.‘ Li Jianing’s tone was extremely lamenting, “You’re obviously such an outstanding person, why let yourself be dominated by useless emotions?”
’You…’ Qin Moyan’s chest heaved a few times, and she took several breaths of oxygen before continuing, ’I want…
‘I thought we were the same, people born with top-level genes. Now it seems that you still need to work hard.’ Li Jianing’s eyebrows rose, giving the impression of a pitiful Xishi frowning. ’Five years ago, before the Wall Street economic collapse, you were one of the few geniuses who held credit default swaps in advance. When the banks went bankrupt, you took more than four times the return and decisively exited. At that time, I was ecstatic like I had discovered a treasure. But now, how have you become such a mediocre person swayed by emotions? ‘
Qin Moyan exhaled heavily, and with each breath, she could feel the pain of her throat being torn.
’You think I don’t know about you and Ye Xinru? You’ve already made a lot of decisions because of her mistakes,’ Li Jianing revealed a nearly paranoid smile, ’Luckily, I’m here, and you’ll become an outstanding person again. Mediocre people are all doomed.’
‘I also met someone as outstanding as you. When I discovered her, she was young but had a genius mind. I liked the indifference in her eyes the most. But it was all ruined by a woman.’ Li Jianing didn’t know if he was talking to Qin Moyan or to himself. He said such things without any emotional fluctuations. “She actually wasted her brain, chosen from thousands, on a man who taught art, and wasted her life painting.”
Qin Moyan didn’t try to speak again, knowing that there was no point in saying more.
From what she had just said, Qin Moyan had already gained a deep understanding of Li Jianing’s personality.
This person is very similar to Hitler, with a pathological paranoia about the merits of people. The inferior people she considers are all people who are ruled by their emotions.
‘As a little punishment, I’m going to keep you here for a few days,’ Li Jianing laughed lightly, ‘I wonder how long you can last without being deprived of all your senses?’
Soon, Qin Moyan felt something stuffed into her ears, and she could no longer hear any sound. Her eyes, on the other hand, had been dark since just before, probably because something had been tied over them before she regained consciousness.
Qin Moyan immediately began to focus on thinking of a countermeasure, because she knew that in this kind of sensory deprivation, after just a few days, concentration would become scattered, thinking would be disturbed, and it would be impossible to think clearly. She had to figure out what was happening before that happened.
***
Ye Xinuo curled up on the bed with vacant eyes, hugging Qin Moyan’s pillow tightly, as if there was still the scent of Qin Moyan left on it before she left.
She never imagined that the person she cared about most would disappear without a trace. She had thought that facing Qin Moyan’s death would be the most painful thing, but now she realised that not having the slightest news from the other person was even more painful.
‘Qin Moyan, what should I do? If the one who disappeared was me, how wonderful it would be. You’re so capable, you’ll definitely be able to find me.’ Ye Xinuo buried her head in the pillow, tears streaming down her eyes. ’The investigators involved in this case all said they saw you being discharged from the hospital. Where the hell are you?’
I don’t know how long it took, but after her tears had used up all their strength, Ye Xinuo was given a chance to drift off to sleep.
It was that dream she had had many times before. This time, she saw clearly that the little girl was giving the older sister in front of her a teddy bear. The bear had the three words ‘Ye Xinuo’ written on it in a crooked hand.
Chapter 96
One month later.
‘Xinuo, my people saw Qin Moyan leaving in a car from the international airport and have followed him.’
Ye Xinuo heard what Ni Anxin said on the phone, as if she were dreaming. She was stunned for a while before she stood up shakily and ran out.
During the time when she couldn’t find Qin Moyan, she couldn’t sleep peacefully for a single day. Even though she was anxious, she couldn’t show it too obviously. Apart from being Qin Moyan’s girlfriend, she was also Ye Sheng’s leader.
Ye Xinuo reminded herself every day that if she gave up, what would happen to the thousands of employees below her? Therefore, even if these days were painful, she still kept her responsibilities in mind.
After getting confirmation, Ni Anxin told Ye Xinuo that Qin Moyan had gone to Qinshu Securities. Just after hanging up the phone, she had doubts in her heart. There was no previous record of Qin Moyan leaving the country, so why was she at the international airport?
Thinking about this, Ni Anxin immediately asked someone to investigate. Strangely, the immigration records showed that Qin Moyan had two flights added to her record for no reason, and both were in the status of having personally taken the plane, the time of which coincided exactly with the time she disappeared.
‘It seems to be more difficult than I thought.‘ Ni Anxin peeled off a chocolate and put it in her mouth, leaning back in the leather seat, crossing her arms against her chin, “What on earth does Li Jianing want?”
***
’I’ve finally found you!‘
Ye Xinuo rushed into Qin Moyan’s office and tightly embraced her waist, as if she was afraid that she would disappear again.
’Mm,’ Qin Moyan answered, ’I went to Canada to take care of some business.’
In fact, Ye Xinuo should have noticed something was wrong before coming here, but she had been so excited to hear from Qin Moyan that she had ignored the strangeness. Regardless of where Qin Moyan had appeared, after disappearing for a month in such a way, according to his character, he should have come to her first, so why had he come straight to the company without even calling?
Ye Xinuo let go of her arms and gently took Qin Moyan’s hand. ‘Where have you been all this time? I couldn’t find you anywhere, and I thought something had happened to you. I was so worried. Why didn’t you tell me you were going out?’
‘It was a last-minute decision,’ said Qin Moyan, pulling her hand away. ‘I think you’re capable of finding out for yourself that I’ve already left the police station safely.’
Ye Xinuo looked blankly at Qin Moyan’s expressionless face, unable to say anything for a moment.
‘I heard that the new mobile game your company launched has received a very positive response. Congratulations.‘
Qin Moyan ignored Ye Xinuo’s emotions and walked over to the desk, sat down, and said, “I still have some things to take care of. If Xinuo doesn’t have anything else to do, you can go ahead and get started.”
’Qin Moyan, what’s wrong with you?’ Ye Xinuo looked at a loss. She really couldn’t understand the current situation.
‘I’m a businessman, and Xinuo has known me for a long time, so you should know that I don’t like to waste time.‘ Qin Moyan frowned slightly. “At this hour, doesn’t Ye Sheng’s president need to deal with work matters?”
’I’ve been worried sick for a month for you, but it turns out that I was worrying for nothing!’ Ye Xinuo laughed and took two steps back. ’Do you know how much effort I’ve gone to to find you? !’
‘Sorry, I thought it would be fine if someone else informed you,‘ Qin Moyan said gently, “I’ll be more careful next time.”
’I know,’ Ye Xinuo said coldly, ’I was being naive to think that as my girlfriend, you would keep me informed of everything. I was ridiculous, worrying about you and losing my mind for many days. Don’t worry, I won’t be so stupid again!’
‘Okay, don’t be angry. I should have told you in advance, and I’ve worried you. Qin Moyan changed his attitude, ‘I’ll take you out to dinner tonight to apologise. I’ll pick you up at 6 o’clock.’
‘No need!’ Ye Xinuo’s tone was full of anger, ‘I was naive enough to think that I could change you, but now I know that this idea is a big mistake!’
Qin Moyan got up, walked over to Ye Xinuo, put his arms around her waist, and let his lips fall on her earlobe, whispering, ‘It was my poor consideration. I’ll do whatever you want to make amends.’
Ye Xinuo suppressed the anger in her heart and gritted her teeth, saying, ‘Qin Moyan, what do you really think of me? I gave you my heart, and this is the result? I’m not a pet that you can just coddle and forget about what happened before!’
Qin Moyan used his lips and tongue to block Ye Xinuo’s next words, ignoring the other person’s resistance and kissing very intensely, until the person in his arms surrendered.
After the kiss, Ye Xinuo lowered his voice and said, ‘If this happens again in the future, I won’t forgive you.’
Qin Moyan stroked Ye Xinuo’s face lightly, his breath ambiguous, ‘Then I’ll pick you up tonight.’
‘Okay.’
After Ye Xinuo left, Qin Moyan picked up the phone. ‘Mr Tang, are you interested in cooperating with me?‘
Tang Jie laughed a few times, “I have been taken advantage of many times by Miss Qin.”
’This time, I will definitely satisfy you,’ Qin Moyan said, “I know that you are very interested in Ye Sheng, so perhaps I can help you.”
After getting into the car, Ye Xinuo’s lips gradually turned pale. She didn’t know what Qin Moyan had been through, but there must be a reason for such an unusual move.
After confirming Qin Moyan’s safety, Ye Xinuo was finally able to calm down and think about the problem. However, no matter how many possibilities she thought of, she could not sort out a reasonable line of reasoning. For now, she could only cooperate with Qin Moyan and take things one step at a time.
Ye Xinuo bit her knuckles and tried her best to hold back her tears. Although her heart was filled with pain and thoughts of Qin Moyan, she must not allow herself to give in to weakness at this time. At this moment, what Qin Moyan needed was someone who could fight alongside her.
***
‘Hey, kid, I heard your mom is the bank president. I’m short of money recently. Are loans easy to get from the bank?’
Ning Han sat on a swivel chair, using his foot to push the wheel and move it to Lin Cheng’s face.
Lin Cheng replied absentmindedly while playing games: ‘It’s easy. As long as you fill out a business proposal, you should be able to get a few hundred thousand yuan.’
Ning Han raised an eyebrow, ‘You make it sound easy. Don’t loans require some kind of guarantee or collateral? I don’t really know much about that.’
“That was before. After Mayor Li came to power, he implemented a lot of local economic policies to support emerging Internet companies. As long as you have a reason, now all you need to get a loan is to find another bank president to act as a guarantor. If you offer a little something to the bank president, you’ll definitely be fine. It’s just that the interest rate is a little high.’ Lin Cheng yawned, ‘My mother’s bank has made a lot of these loans, and I don’t know when they’ll be able to collect them back.’
Although Ning Han didn’t have a deep understanding of financial matters, after spending a long time with Qin Moyan, he was able to understand a little. Doesn’t this mean that as long as you give a little gift, you can easily get a loan for a substantial amount of money. And the bank actually bears a great risk. As long as one link goes wrong, it will have a huge impact on the entire economic environment.
Chapter 97
‘Ye Zong, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Lin Cheng. It seems that he didn’t hide anything about the matter you asked me to find out about.’
Although Ning Han didn’t know why Ye Xinuo suddenly asked her to do this, she didn’t refuse out of friendship for Qin Moyan.
‘Thank you.’
Ye Xinuo put down the phone and pondered.
Qin Moyan had previously said to be on guard against Lin Xiwai, the president of Yunhai Bank, and her son Lin Cheng, who had interned at Ye Sheng some time ago. Ye Xinuo then conducted an in-depth investigation of Lin Xiwai and discovered that she had a lot of intersections with Tang Jie. Although none of them were direct connections on the surface, after a few transfers, these two people were always connected.
Tang Jie has hardly made any moves recently, which makes him seem very suspicious. This may mean that he is planning something big.
After a while, Ye Xinuo picked up the landline on the table and said, ‘Xu Xiao, how many points did Ye Sheng’s stock rise yesterday?’
After hearing the answer, his eyebrows locked together. ‘Then keep an eye on it. If there is a sharp drop in a few days, you must enter the market as soon as possible to stabilise the stock price.’
Ye Xinuo leaned back in her chair and pinched her eyebrows together. Ye Sheng had announced a change in senior management the other day, and the stock price should have fallen accordingly, but instead it had risen. She was afraid that it would be another tough battle.
More than that, what worried her even more was Qin Moyan. Ever since that incident, she had noticed that Qin Moyan was extremely sensitive to the slightest movement, like a frightened rabbit.
Ye Xinruo told herself every day to be patient, but she was afraid that one day if she wasn’t careful, she wouldn’t be able to control her emotions.
While investigating Qin Moyan, Ye Xinruo also accidentally discovered a lot of other things. However, the deeper she investigated along the existing clues, the more Ye Xinruo felt her heart grow cold.
In order to obtain higher returns, credit rating agencies issue higher ratings for companies in order to obtain larger loans. In order to issue more loans, banks borrow from one bank and lend to another, and then borrow from another bank to repay the debt owed to the first bank. As long as the central bank raises the reserve requirement ratio, they will face the dilemma of being unable to turn over funds.
She didn’t believe that the government and other business leaders would fail to notice a problem that she herself was aware of. However, those people’s indifferent attitude clearly showed that they did not care about the current risks at all.
Ye Xinuo thought about what Qin Moyan had told her about Li Jianing, and couldn’t help but wonder if it was all about Li Jianing.
Although it was Li Jianing who ordered a thorough investigation into Qin Moyan’s case, and severely punished the police officers involved for extracting a confession through violence, Qin Moyan had completely lost contact with her after being sent to the hospital. In that case, Li Jianing was suspected of directing and acting out the whole thing himself.
‘Qin Moyan, I miss you so much.‘ Ye Xinuo tilted her head, and a tear rolled down her eye.
These days, it was as if there was a veil between her and Qin Moyan. Although they could see each other, they could never truly touch. Sometimes Ye Xinuo would even wish upon the moon that if they were both ordinary people, how wonderful it would be.
***
’Several of Ye’s senior executives have loosened up and agreed to go to Qin Han.’
Qin Moyan’s face was calm and unruffled, as she elegantly fiddled with the tea set in her hands.
Tang Jie’s appraising gaze fell on Qin Moyan’s face, ‘I heard that you used all your assets to short the market value of several banks?’
‘Either you don’t gamble, or you gamble big. The evolution of history is always strikingly similar. If the companies fail to repay on time and the banks declare bankruptcy, my assets will increase by several hundred percent.’ Qin Moyan lifted her teacup and took a light sip, raising the corners of her mouth slightly.
Tang Jie: ‘If what Miss Qin said is true, then the entire Hucheng economy will collapse. Won’t Miss Qin be worried?’
‘What does this have to do with me?’ Qin Moyan narrowed her eyes slightly, ‘An economic collapse is just a process of eliminating the inferior.’
‘Good, I hope we can work together happily.’
At the other end of the city, Li Jianing, who was wearing headphones, gave a satisfied smile. ‘I hope this time, you won’t let me down.’
A psychologist had conducted a hypnosis test on Qin Moyan some time ago and found that Qin Moyan’s subconscious hatred for Ye Sheng had not dissipated, and her emotional value for Ye Xinuo was not high. So after just one month of ‘special treatment’, Li Jianing let Qin Moyan go with confidence.
***
Night.
Ye Xinuo approached from behind and lightly touched Qin Moyan’s shoulder, causing a ‘crackling’ sound due to static electricity.
Qin Moyan’s body trembled violently a few times, but soon calmed down, and she said, ‘What’s wrong?’
Ye Xinuo suppressed the pain in her heart, wrapped her arms around Qin Moyan’s neck, and whispered into her ear with an ambiguous breath, ‘We haven’t done it in a long time.’
Hearing Ye Xinuo’s unusual words, Qin Moyan shook for a moment, and then led Ye Xinuo to sit on her lap. ‘I’m sorry, I’ve been too busy with work lately and I’ve neglected you.’
Ye Xinuo cupped Qin Moyan’s face and asked, ‘What have you been busy with lately?’
‘Just some boring stuff,’ Qin Moyan replied, tightening his arms around her. He asked in return, ‘Ye Sheng has been on the front page a lot recently. The profits of those projects you buried before have started to grow substantially. Are you happy?’
Ye Xinuo inserted his fingers into Qin Moyan’s hair and placed delicate kisses on the other person’s smooth neck. He whispered, ‘As long as you treat me well, I can give you everything I have.’
‘I’m a bit tired today.‘ Qin Moyan tried to push Ye Xinuo away, but failed, as the other person clung to her like an octopus.
’You’ve been so cold to me recently, is there another woman?’ Ye Xinuo kept up the action with his mouth, kissing all the way from the neck to the earlobe, “I want it.”
Qin Moyan tilted his head and glanced at Ye Xinuo’s eyes, and before he knew it, the other person’s lips had already invaded.
After a passionate kiss, he picked her up and carried her towards the bedroom.
Li Jianing listened to the indescribable sounds in her earphones, her brows knitted and her eyes full of disgust. However, she was also relieved. Qin Moyan would satisfy Ye Xinuo’s needs, proving that she didn’t care if their bedroom antics were heard by others. It seemed that her transformation had had some effect.
***
‘Miss, have you earned any money today?’
‘How do you know I’ve made money in the stock market again today? Never mind, I’m going to buy a bag to celebrate.’
‘Sir, have you earned any money today?’
‘What, are you trying to rob me? Watch out, I’ll chop you!’
‘…Have you earned any money?’
“I’ve just set up my own company. Although I haven’t earned any money yet, I’m confident. Thanks to the government’s policies, Mayor Li is truly a blessing for the citizens of Hucheng!’
…
Recently, a street interview called ‘Have you made any money?’ has become popular. The reason is that the economy of Hucheng is booming, and the public sentiment for starting a business or making an investment is high. Most citizens are boasting that they can make money just by lying around.
In the programme, apart from various unexpected situations that trigger frequent laughers, the most common thing that appears in the interview is the words ‘Mayor Li’.
Chapter 98
Ye Xinuo imitated the sound of moaning while watching Qin Moyan’s unpredictable face, trying hard to hold back her laughter.
Qin Moyan was initially surprised that Ye Xinuo had guessed the situation he was in, and later, he was stunned by the other party’s vivid and lifelike performance.
During this time, Ye Xinuo was not honest either, with his hands all over the place, and Qin Moyan did not dare to resist.
The next day.
Ye Xinuo opened her eyes and saw news articles constantly being pushed to her phone screen. The content was mostly about Ye Sheng losing several business lines to Qin Han and the stock price plummeting.
She took a breath, rolled over and pinned Qin Moyan down, yelling, ‘Why did this happen just a few days after I showed you Ye Sheng’s development plan?!’
‘It has nothing to do with me,‘ she answered coldly, gritting her teeth as she looked at Ye Xinuo’s sly eyes, because the other party was teasing her with her feet.
’Do you take me for a fool?!’ Ye Xinuo’s voice cracked with tears, “I love you so much, why are you doing this to me?”
Qin Moyan: ’Believe it or not.’
‘Qin Moyan, you bastard!’ After scolding him, Ye Xinuo gently bit Qin Moyan’s lips before running away “crying”.
Qin Moyan suppressed a smile, a little annoyed by Ye Xinuo’s behaviour, but her eyes were very gentle.
She should be grateful that Xinuo believed in her and understood her.
In the near future, the news that Ye Xinuo, the president of Ye Sheng Group, was drunk every night, took the headlines of various apps one after the other, and it was frequently revealed that he returned to his residence late at night with Xu Xiaoxi, the spokesperson for the games under the group.
Li Jianing sat in front of Qin Moyan, his inquisitive gaze falling on the other person’s face, and he said softly, ‘It seems that your little girlfriend is not some kind of infatuated seed either. I heard from the Xu family’s maid that they had sex several times.’
“Anyone who is unfaithful to me deserves to die, and she is no exception,’ Qin Moyan said these words calmly, looking Li Jianing straight in the eye, his expression devoid of emotion.
‘Then I’ll give you a gift to help you create an opportunity to send her on her way yourself.’ Li Jianing’s mouth curled up, ‘Don’t worry, there will be no evidence of a crime.’
‘I’ve never killed anyone before.’ Qin Moyan showed a hint of nervousness, then added, ‘But that’s good, having me send her on her way will be the perfect end to our relationship.’
Ye Sheng Board of Directors.
‘Xiao Ye Zi, we meet again.‘ Tang Jie smiled as he walked into the meeting room on the top floor of the Ye Sheng building.
’Tang Jie, you are truly a shameless villain!’ Ye Xinruo’s usual smile had disappeared, and he glared at the man in front of him.
Tang Jie leaned closer and said, “In this world, only villains live the most carefree lives.”
After saying this, he laughed loudly and took his seat.
The topic of today’s meeting was once again a vote on whether to remove Ye Xinruo from his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
However, compared to the past, Tang Jie was confident this time, and he could hardly hide his excitement. Qin Moyan did not attend the meeting, but instead entrusted his people to vote on his behalf. The result was hardly in doubt.
After thinking about it for so long, he finally got the Ye Sheng Group that he had been obsessed with for so long. For him, Ye Sheng did not represent just a company, but a new beginning. By getting Ye Sheng, he could get rid of the title of Ye Qisheng’s assistant. He wanted to prove that he was a hundred times better than that old fool and his worthless daughter.
It seems that he didn’t have high expectations. Ye Xinuo didn’t even canvass as usual, but said, ‘I think everyone has seen what has happened over the past period of time. Justice is in the hearts of the people, so let’s just start voting.’
However, as time passed, Tang Jie’s face grew increasingly ugly. The votes were evenly split, which was far from the result he had expected. Several directors with whom he had already reached an agreement actually voted against him.
Since it was an open ballot, the directors expressed their opinions one by one. After one round, when it came to the last director, Wei Gang, it was a tie.
‘Ouch! This is going to be difficult for me. How can I be the bad guy?’ Wei Gang shook his head with a smile, and looked at Ye Xinuo with a sinister smile, ‘What do you think Uncle Wei would give me if I helped you keep your position?’
Ye Xinru’s mouth curled slightly, ‘A junior like me can’t give you any benefits.’
Wei Gang then turned to Tang Jie, ‘Director Tang, what benefits would you give me if I advocated the removal of Chairman Ye?’
Tang Jie laughed, ‘Director Wei is joking. Whether or not to remove him depends on your own thoughts. If I promise you benefits, won’t people think that I want to seize power?’
‘So Director Tang doesn’t have this thought.’ Wei Gang bowed, ‘Then I was being petty.’
He leaned back and rested his hands on the table. ‘Everyone knows that I have never liked young people who rely on the assets left behind by their fathers to do immature things.’
Just as everyone thought he would make a decision to support the dismissal of Ye Xinuo, he added, ‘But in the past period, Ye Xinuo has proven with her actions that she can take on this important task. The company’s recent revenue is the best proof. Therefore, I oppose the dismissal of Ye Xinuo from the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.’
In fact, as early as the beginning of Ye Xinru’s rebirth, she went to see several veteran directors and told them about her plans for the future of the company, including Wei Gang. No one is a pushover when it comes to becoming a member of Ye’s inner circle of directors. What they showed during the meeting was just a division of labour between the red and white faces. Tang Jie’s intentions were never hidden from these veteran and cunning directors.
Compared to the treacherous ministers who usurped power, they would rather work with the upright heir apparent.
‘Congratulations to Chairman Ye,’ Tang Jie laughed, standing up and clapping his hands, ‘hahahaha, I underestimated you and let you fool me for so long.’
Ye Xinuo raised an eyebrow, ‘Uncle Tang, I’m unfortunately going to inform you that the auditors will arrive at Qin Han tomorrow to conduct an investigation.’
‘You!‘ Tang Jie’s face changed drastically, but he still stubbornly said, “I have done nothing wrong, so what am I afraid of?”
’I hope that’s true.’ Ye Xinuo smiled, “No matter how many offshore accounts there are, there will be times when there is a loophole, don’t you think so? By the way, you don’t know, Director Cai’s son was just released from prison a while ago, and he has committed something again. Fortunately, it was committed by my friend, so I showed mercy and helped him plead for leniency.”
She didn’t continue.
Tang Jie’s facial muscles tensed. Director Cai, as Ye Xinuo called him, was his chief financial officer. If what the other party said was true, it would indeed be troublesome.
That night, Tang Jie hid in the path that Director Cai must take home. When he saw someone coming, he pounced on her and grabbed her neck, saying, ‘Don’t blame me, it’s all your worthless son’s fault, he let someone catch him.’
Out of distrust of others, Tang Jie decided to take matters into his own hands and eliminate the problem forever. If he hadn’t been so provoked during the day, he might not have come to this.
‘Let…let go of me!’ Director Cai’s face turned purple, ‘I’ve never…never…’
At this moment, a siren sounded, and the lights were so bright that Tang Jie couldn’t open his eyes.
Two policemen immediately opened the car door and went up to restrain Tang Jie, shouting, ‘Be honest, don’t move!’
‘Cough cough cough!’ Director Cai’s tears and snot were streaming down her face as she knelt on the ground, unable to accept the fact that Tang Jie wanted to kill her.
She followed Tang Jie, not for the money, but because she deeply loved the man. That was why she didn’t betray him even when Ye Xinru threatened to reveal his identity as her son.
Unexpectedly, Tang Jie had even thought of killing her. All those years of unrequited love had turned out to be a futile dream.
In the moonlight, in a black car.
Ye Xinru was sitting in the passenger seat, her hands and feet bound with soft silk straps, with adhesive tape over her mouth.
Next to him in the passenger seat was Li Jianing, looking strangely expressionless.
‘Hey, Mo Yan, I’ve changed my mind. I think it’s better if I send your little girlfriend on her way.’
The phone was on speaker, and Ye Xinuo could hear Qin Mo Yan’s voice.
There was a moment of silence, and then he said, ‘This is my own business, I can handle it myself.’
Li Jianing said, ‘After all, you were married for a hundred days, and I’m worried that Mo Yan won’t be able to do it.’
Qin Moyan remained calm and said, ‘It’s just a toy, there’s no problem with killing it.’
‘Sigh, Moyan, I almost fell for it,’ Li Jianing sighed, ‘Although I don’t know what method you used to change your subconscious, it seems that you are indeed a rare genius. What a pity.’
‘Jianing, you really hurt my feelings,’ Qin Moyan’s tone was full of an undeniable sense of loss, ‘Then I can only prove it to you after I kill Ye Xinuo.’
‘Mo Yan, do you know what your biggest problem is? It’s that you’re too obedient to me.‘ Li Jianing’s eyes drifted to Ye Xinuo’s face. “You should know that Ye Xinuo never drives himself, but when I asked you to create the illusion that Ye Xinuo died in a car accident while driving, you didn’t raise any objections.”
’I just didn’t have any experience doing something like this for the first time.‘
’I have your little girlfriend in my hands, so let me help you with this matter.’
Li Jianing tore off the tape from Ye Xinuo’s mouth and ran his fingernails lightly across her smooth face.
Ye Xinuo didn’t make a sound, keeping her eyes closed, so as not to give Qin Moyan away.
‘Your little girlfriend really loves you dearly,’ Li Jianing’s hand suddenly grabbed Ye Xinuo’s throat. ‘But you should know that I’m not lying.’
The voice on the other end of the phone trembled, ‘What do you want?’
‘Since Ye Xinuo can’t use it, I’ll have to give it to you.’
Li Jianing turned his head and looked at Ye Xinuo, ‘Let’s play a game of one life for another, and let Qin Moyan die in your place, okay?’
Ye Xinuo finally spoke, anxiously, ‘Moyan, don’t listen to her! Even if you die for me, she will definitely not let me go. You just live well, and go as far away as possible!’
Qin Moyan took a deep breath and made up her mind. ‘Okay, I’ll die for her. I hope you won’t go back on your word.’
Ye Xinuo turned to Li Jianing and begged, ‘I’ll do whatever you want. I’ll listen to you!’
Li Jianing crooked his mouth and murmured, ‘That’s interesting.’
Chapter 99
A moment later, Li Jianing said while helping Ye Xinuo untie the ribbon on her hand, ‘Since you want to die so badly, I’ll grant your wish.’
“There are surveillance cameras at the pier 200 meters away, I hope you will willingly jump off. The headline of the news, “President Ye Xinsu Commits Suicide for Love, Corpse Floats in the Jade River,” is a bit corny, but it’s eye-catching enough. But I don’t know if you’ll still be recognizable when you’re found.‘ Li Jianing’s tone was slightly regretful, “After all, you’re also a rare beauty.”
’Okay, I also hope you’ll keep your word and let Qin Moyan go.’ Ye Xinuo glanced at Li Jianing, opened the car door, and walked towards the pier.
Li Jianing leaned back in his seat and heard a cold-blooded voice ring out on the other end of the phone: ’You see, I told you, she’ll die for me.’
She watched Ye Xinuo stand on the shore and hesitate for a while, but eventually take the step. She suddenly felt bored, as this kind of drama of sacrificing oneself for love was not her cup of tea.
After investigating Ye Xinuo, Li Jianing knew that Ye Xinuo could not swim, and this was a place she had chosen on a whim, so she was not worried that the other person would escape.
The next day, although Ye Sheng had blocked the news, rumours of the group’s president going missing spread like wildfire.
At the same time, Yunhai Bank took the lead in revealing that it had internal funding problems and declared bankruptcy. The bank’s president, Lin Xiwu, was unable to bear the huge blow and committed suicide at home.
Tang Jie, who was in prison, was hoping that Li Jianing would get him out, but what he got instead was the news that his underground assets had instantly vanished due to the bankruptcy of Yunhai Bank. Qin Han was also on shaky ground due to the change in management. Without financial support, the business he had originally stolen from Ye Sheng had become a burden.
‘Why?!’ Tang Jie painfully smashed his head with the handcuffs, ‘Why did she do this to me? I did so much for her!
Soon, several other banks fell into crisis. Those companies that relied on loans and financing to maintain operations all collapsed one after the other, and the stock prices of many companies that had just gone public plummeted.
In just one night, Hucheng went from paradise to purgatory.
Li Jianing watched the live news, and the smile on her lips grew wider and wider.
Yes, what she wanted was never just the position of mayor of Hucheng, what she wanted was to see Hucheng go crazy because of her.
It was really comical to see a group of people dancing and prancing for a bubble that could burst at any time.
However, things did not seem to go as she wished. Almost at the same time, Li Jianing got the news that there had been a change of government in Jincheng.
Within a matter of hours, the government had introduced regulatory policies and funded measures to relieve the pressure on the banks. Although a large number of small businesses went bankrupt, the large enterprises, led by Ye Sheng, only suffered minor injuries and their foundations were not destroyed.
The leaders of those enterprises all took a personal debt of gratitude for Ye Xinuo in their hearts. If she had not warned them earlier, they would not have prepared for the rainy days and started to rectify their businesses and hedge their risks in advance by focusing on cash flow.
‘Li Jianing, you are under arrest!’
Director Xu personally led the police. The people who used to bow and scrape to Li Jianing stood up straight at this time.
‘You have been a dog at Grandpa’s side for twenty years, really admirable!‘ Li Jianing knew that she had lost the game.
’Grandpa Li coveted that position and had the ambition to take his place, but he shouldn’t have used despicable means that sacrificed the interests of the country,’ Director Xu’s voice was sonorous and powerful, “I am a people’s police officer, and I consider serving the people to be my duty. The country can only prosper and the people can live in peace and contentment.”
One month later.
The Supreme People’s Court announced: Li Jianing was sentenced to 30 years in prison and stripped of his political rights for life. Other officials and private entrepreneurs involved were sentenced to 15-25 years in prison, with confiscation of illegal gains and stripped of their political rights for life.
***
Xu Xiaoxi placed a fruit basket on Qin Moyan’s bedside table, sat in the chair next to Ye Xinuo, shrugged, and said, ‘Looks like my attempt to take advantage of the situation was unsuccessful. All you can see is Miss Qin.’
Ye Xinuo did not withdraw the gentle gaze that fell on Qin Moyan’s face, and said, ‘Thanks to Director Xu, Qin Moyan and I are safe and sound.’
During the days when she went in and out of Xu Xiaoxi’s house, the police had installed a locator in her watch and formulated a detailed protection plan.
“It’s because you were smart and had good chemistry. If it wasn’t for Miss Qin finding my father to cooperate and distract Li Jianing’s attention, we might not have been able to collect evidence of her crimes so quickly.’ Xu Xiaoxi gave a relieved smile, ‘I’m convinced that I lost to Miss Qin.’
‘Wait until Qin Moyan wakes up before you say that, she’ll be very happy.’ Ye Xinuo’s eyes flashed with a hint of pain. She couldn’t imagine how painful it was to have the bug and positioning device removed from her body. And according to the doctor, there were also traces of electric shocks on the roots of Qin Moyan’s hair.
During that dark time, she wondered how the person in front of her had managed to persevere.
One week later.
Qin Moyan sighed as he looked at his empty account, ‘Xinuo, I’m a pauper now.’
‘Then I’ll support you,’ Ye Xinuo said, squeezing Qin Moyan’s face. This person was really cute in his current appearance.
Qin Moyan ran a hand over Ye Xinuo’s face, ‘Xinuo, do you know? When I was fighting against Li Jianing, I almost believed it myself that I didn’t love you. But knowing that you were taking risks, there was no way I could calm down. I was thinking at the time that if anything happened to you, I would follow you in death. This was a ridiculous thought that I would never have before.‘
Ye Xinuo buried her head in Qin Moyan’s arms, “My Qin Moyan is so awesome, he will definitely defeat the big devil and rescue the princess. I believe in you.”
’That’s right!’ Ye Xinuo seemed to suddenly remember something, quickly jumped up from the sofa, ran into the study, and ran out with a tattered teddy bear.
He lowered his head and asked Qin Moyan with a wicked smile, ‘This is a present from me, right?’
Qin Moyan’s cheeks flushed, and he looked away, ‘I’ve never seen this before.’
‘The old fox looks so cute when he’s lying!’ Ye Xinuo gushed, then added triumphantly, ‘This patch was added later, wasn’t it? I knew there was a reason why you asked me to write my name like a lunatic, and it was because of this. There are so many stains on it, and you haven’t thrown it away yet, so you must really like the owner of this teddy bear.’
Qin Moyan looked back at Ye Xinuo again, his eyes full of affection. After a long pause, he said gently, ‘Yes, I like the bear’s owner very, very much.’
Ye Xinuo was stunned for a moment, her eyes uncontrollably moistening. She tried to pull the corners of her mouth up, revealing a warm, sunny smile, and said, ‘Qin Moyan, will you marry me? If I can, in this life, in future lives, in all lives, I want to tie you with a red string. You have shown me that loving someone is such a happy thing.’
Qin Moyan’s eyes also glistened with tears. ‘Don’t proposals always involve flowers, a diamond ring, and a candlelit dinner?’
‘If you must put it that way, you’re allergic to flowers, and this bear is more meaningful than a diamond ring. It’s time for you to cook dinner now.’ Ye Xinuo wrapped her arms around Qin Moyan’s neck. ‘But you didn’t say the most important thing, and that’s my deep kiss full of love.’
***
During the transfer to the prison, Li Jianing suddenly fell ill and was carried into the ambulance. This was the escape route she had left herself, planning to secretly flee abroad.
She just didn’t count on Ni Anxin.
After the ambulance drove a short distance, the engine stalled. When the driver got out to check, he was stunned by a stun gun by someone who looked like a paramedic. In no time, two unconscious people rolled out of the back of the ambulance.
Ni Anxin took off her mask, stuck a needle into Li Jianing’s body, and said solemnly, ‘Li Jianing, do you not remember me anymore? Many years ago, you drove your car and killed the person I loved the most. Do you know how long I have been waiting for this day?’
‘How could I not remember you?’ Li Jianing did not show any signs of panic, but instead laughed, ‘Killing the person you love has made you like this, it was really worth it.’
Ni Anxin grabbed Li Jianing by the collar, ‘What do you mean by that?’
‘I deliberately ran your art teacher over. It’s all your fault, you wasted too much time on her.‘ Li Jianing raised his chin, “If you’re capable, kill me and become as cold-blooded and ruthless as me, and see if your precious daughter will forgive you. But she’s already dead, what would a dead person know?”
’You’re cold-blooded enough, but you’re not a genius after all.’ Ni Anxin’s nostrils quivered a few times before her lips curled up slightly, and she said word by word, ’That’s why you’re destined to lose.’
On the bridge across the river, an ambulance broke through the guardrail at high speed. In a matter of seconds, a huge splash accompanied by a loud noise, and all grudges sank to the bottom of the river, unknown to anyone.
***
Two years later.
Ni Anqi was released from Hucheng Prison No. 2 after serving her full sentence. As soon as she got out, she saw the smiling face in the sunshine not far away.
Lu Yunqing leaned against a flashy red sports car.
‘Miss, the young master asked me to pick you up. He had a last-minute important meeting and couldn’t come himself,‘ said the chauffeur in a black suit, who quickly approached.
Ni Anqi nodded, averted her eyes, and walked over to the black car.
’Ni Anqi, you’re so cold-blooded and heartless! I’ve been reporting on time for almost three years, and you didn’t even say hello to me. That’s really mean!’ Lu Yunqing stormed over in her high heels, grabbed Ni Anqi’s wrist, and said angrily,
Ni Anqi swept her gaze over Lu Yunqing’s face and then settled on the back seat of the car. ‘Get in.’
‘Huh?’ Lu Yunqing didn’t understand what this meant for a moment.
‘Get in the car,’ Ni Anqi repeated impatiently and forced the person to go in.
‘You’re not going to sell me, are you?’ Lu Yunqing muttered after sitting down. ‘What if my car is towed away if I leave it here? That would be troublesome.’
‘You talk too much, and I find you annoying when we’re inside.”
Ni Anqi finished, then used one hand to hold Lu Yunqing’s head in place as her lips and tongue attacked.
Lu Yunqing first widened her eyes, and after realising what Ni Anqi was doing, she wrapped herself tightly around the other person and melted all her love into this incredibly passionate kiss.
When she closed her eyes, a single tear slipped down her eye corner. She had waited far too long for this day.
In the warmly decorated living room, Ning Han and Qi Jing are twisting around each other, fighting over a game controller.
Ning Han: ‘Asshole! Don’t touch my game!’
Qi Jing: ‘Am I more important or is the game more important?!’
Ning Han: ‘Of course it’s the game!’
Qi Jing gets up in anger, ‘Then you can live with the game!’
Ning Han reluctantly coaxes, ‘Okay, okay, you’re important, okay?’
Qi Jing snatches the controller from Ning Han’s hands with a smile of triumph, ‘You fall for it every time, idiot.’
‘Qing, do you like this one or this one better?’
Yu Qing doesn’t even look up, ‘The one on the left.’
Han Qiuzi is annoyed, ‘Yu Qing! All you care about is work, can’t you look at me for once?!’
Yu Qing mutters, ‘I’m still working overtime, isn’t that because you think my secretary keeps leering at me and told her to leave?’
‘Are you blaming me?‘
’No, no, I also think that secretary is up to no good with me.‘ Yu Qing put down her phone, got up and hugged Han Qiuzi, “You are naturally beautiful, you look good in any outfit.”
The story ends here.
Not quite… there’s still our protagonist.
’Ms Ye Xinuo, HC’s latest rich list has been announced, and you are at the top, becoming the youngest female billionaire. I would like to interview you on behalf of the general public, what is your next goal?’
In response to the reporter’s question, Ye Xinuo gave an elegant and serene smile, but gave a jaw-dropping answer, ‘To make more money to support my daughter-in-law.’
‘Pause.’
The producer came over with a smile and said tactfully, ‘Ye, this is a serious financial programme, don’t you think…’
‘I’m joking.’ Ye Xinuo gave an “ok” sign and replied again, “Ye’s goal for the next stage is to give back more to society and take a leading role in public welfare…”
Ye Xinuo pouted in Qin Moyan’s arms as she watched the programme, ’I’m just trying to earn money to support my daughter-in-law.’
‘I’m very good at making money.‘ Qin Moyan put the tablet aside and put his arms around Ye Xinuo’s waist. “Just feed me.”
Ye Xinuo swallowed and muttered, “It’s still easier to make money.”
’What did Xinuo just say?‘ Danger flashed in Qin Moyan’s eyes.
’I said…’ Ye Xinuo hooked her neck around Qin Moyan’s and broke into a smile, ’Qin Moyan, I love you.’