"You must be out of your mind..."
Caught in Jiang Li's fierce glare, Sheng Jingxi swallowed the rest of his words. "Let's go, let's go right away."
As soon as they stepped out of the room, Jiang Li quickly let go of his arm without waiting for Sheng Jingxi to shrug her off. She strode ahead briskly.
Sheng Jingxi stood there, stunned. Then, realizing something, he asked in disbelief, "You were just using me?"
"Congratulations. You're right," Jiang Li replied, a faint smile playing on her lips as if nothing had happened just now. "Come on. Since I made you wait so long, I'll treat you to dinner."
On the 19th floor of the Jiangyu Building, a man was standing in front of the broad floor-to-ceiling windows, watching the two figures walking away below.
He felt an indescribable restlessness.
It had been a long time since he last smoked. When he reached for the cigarette case, he found it was empty.
He crumpled the case and tossed it into the trash can.
Xue An happened to enter the room to deliver some documents. Xiao Yanzhi was about to ask him to go out and buy a pack of cigarettes, but then he changed his mind halfway. "Forget it. Don't bother."
Seeing his boss keep changing his mind, Xue An hesitated for a moment and finally asked, "Mr. Xiao, why are you doing all this?"
"Even if you quit smoking and help Sister Jiang Li find her biological parents, there's no guarantee that she'll reconcile with you. What if things stay the same as they are now?"
All his efforts might end up in vain.
She didn't care whether he smoked or not, or whether there was the smell of cigarettes on him. Even if he managed to find her biological parents, all he might get from her was a simple "thank you".
There would be no more emotions.
Xiao Yanzhi fell silent for a moment.
After a while, he twitched the corner of his lips and let out a soft laugh. "I'm not doing these things for anything in return."
He used to be so afraid of losing her. But now that he was sure she wouldn't come back, he felt a strange sense of relief and calmness.
He didn't have any ulterior motives. He just wanted her to be happier.
As for the rest, he would just let nature take its course.
...
After the shooting was finished, Sheng Jingxi offered to show her around the Shengshi Group.
Jiang Li was bored, so she went with him. They wandered around the company for a while. Then Sheng Jingxi attended a meeting on behalf of his father before they finally left the company lazily.
"I'm really not cut out for running a company," Sheng Jingxi yawned and stretched. "My mom should have given me a younger brother or sister back then. Otherwise, I'll surely squander all the family fortune."
Jiang Li advised him, "You should try to learn some management skills. That way, Uncle Sheng will feel more at ease."
Sheng Jingxi shrugged indifferently. "I think you have the talent for it. It would be great if you were my real sister. Or, my dad could adopt you as his daughter, and you could take over the company in the future."
Like father, like son.
Jiang Li just made some casual remarks and changed the topic. When they were about to return to the hotel, a classic Rolls-Royce pulled up in front of them.
Sheng Jingxi didn't recognize the car, but Jiang Li knew the license plate number.
The driver got out of the car first and walked around to the rear door. He bent slightly and opened the door respectfully, inviting the passenger inside to get out.
Xiao Yuanfeng emerged from the back seat. He leaned on his expensive wooden walking stick and was dressed in a solemn suit that suited his age. Despite his dignity, there was a hint of exhaustion on his face.
"Miss Jiang," Xiao Yuanfeng greeted her in a steady voice.
Jiang Li nodded slightly. "Chairman Xiao."
The driver came over to inquire. Xiao Yuanfeng whispered a few instructions to him, and the driver immediately rushed into the Shengshi Group with some documents in his hand.
He had originally come here to discuss a cooperation project with the Shengshi Group, but he never expected to run into Jiang Li here.
"How's your health recently, Chairman Xiao?" Jiang Li asked politely.
"Not bad. It's just that I still have to worry about the company's affairs, which makes me a bit tired."
Jiang Li could guess why.
Originally, Xiao Yanzhi was in charge of the Xiao Group. Now he had washed his hands off it. But with thousands of employees in the company still relying on their jobs for a living, the company had to keep running. So the heavy responsibility had naturally fallen on this old chairman who had planned to retire.
Xiao Yuanfeng looked into her eyes directly and tightened his grip on the walking stick. "If you don't mind, could I have a private word with you?"
His attitude was polite and his tone was gentle. It was hard to find a reason to refuse.
Jiang Li nodded and told Sheng Jingxi to go back first.
She got into Xiao Yuanfeng's car. She didn't feel nervous at all. Instead, she was completely relaxed.
She was neither overawed nor over-deliberate.
"Have you been in touch with A Yan recently?" Xiao Yuanfeng started the conversation. Jiang Li answered naturally, "We've stopped seeing each other."
Her answer was so casual that Xiao Yuanfeng glanced at her with his head down.
"You seem to have moved on from this relationship much faster than A Yan," he said casually. "I never thought he was so serious about you from the very beginning."
Jiang Li remained silent and didn't respond.
Xiao Yuanfeng didn't mind her silence and continued, "He wanted to get real power from me for your sake. And now he's quit his job for you too."
Jiang Li interjected in time, "I didn't ask him to do these things. You can't blame me."
"I'm not blaming you," Xiao Yuanfeng said calmly. He was a man in his fifties and saw things much more clearly. "My son wants to follow in my footsteps. I have no right to stop him. After all, my own story is nothing to be proud of."
After meeting that woman in the hospital ward that day, Jiang Li already knew most of the love-hate relationships within the Xiao family.
The expensive car drove smoothly without making any noise.
"As a father and a man, I shouldn't interfere too much in my son's marriage. But as the head of the Xiao family, I have to consider the interests of the family. Do you understand?"
No wonder he was Xiao Yanzhi's father. Their postures when speaking were so similar.
Jiang Li pursed her lips and smiled. "You may have misunderstood, Chairman Xiao. I have no intention of marrying Xiao Yanzhi, and I'm not interested in being a mistress either."
"I know," Xiao Yuanfeng said. "I didn't want him to follow in my footsteps. You know, this will only ruin his whole life."
"I was too cowardly when I was young. I couldn't make decisions for my own life, which made a lot of people unhappy. I couldn't give Yu Xue an explanation, and I even wasted Jialan's whole life."
Jiang Li remembered this name. It was the woman she met in the hospital ward.
"My life is almost over. But when I think about A Yan following the same path, I, as a father, can't bear it."
Xiao Yuanfeng let out a sigh. His voice was hoarse and low. "I've always been very strict with him. Even his mother has always restricted him. He's been living a life against his will."
"He rarely rebels against the family, except these few times... all for the sake of getting the qualification to be with you openly."
Jiang Li was stunned for a moment when she heard all this.
When the car stopped, Xiao Yuanfeng said the last sentence to her, "He's a very pitiful child. Please, for the sake of this old man, give him another chance, okay?"