Secretary Qian said there wasn't.
On that day, Xu Jianmin met with the debt collectors in his office. The group had a long discussion, and Secretary Qian was right there beside them.
"General Manager Xu said that he had already sought help from the Qi family. Once the project turned around, he would immediately pay off the debts," Secretary Qian recalled.
Knowing the relationship between the Xu and Qi families, those people also thought that Qi Shifeng wouldn't just sit back and watch his father-in-law's company go bankrupt and be liquidated.
So they agreed.
Who would have known that right after they left, Xu Jianmin told Secretary Qian that he wanted to take a rest and asked him to leave first.
No one knew when he went up to the rooftop.
"I don't know why General Manager Xu did this. There was clearly a turning point. As long as the Qi family helped and our capital chain recovered, we could turn things around," Secretary Qian said, his voice choked with sobs.
He had been with Xu Jianmin for over twenty years and had seen all kinds of storms.
He just couldn't understand why that humorous and kind - hearted boss would take such an extreme step.
But Xu Tingyu was shocked. "So, the last hope of the Xu Corporation was on Qi Shifeng?"
Secretary Qian nodded.
Thinking that she didn't know the details, he explained further, "General Manager Xu borrowed five hundred million from the Qi Corporation, and General Manager Qi agreed. But for some reason, General Manager Xu didn't wait any longer."
Xu Tingyu's face changed slightly.
She didn't know that her father had borrowed money from Qi Shifeng. Her father had never mentioned it.
A bad premonition welled up in her heart, draining all the color from her already tired face.
"Secretary Qian, could you please go to the hospital and take care of my mother? I need to go home now," she said.
She wanted to ask Qi Shifeng what was going on.
Seeing how exhausted she was and thinking of the scandal, Secretary Qian patted her on the shoulder compassionately.
"Go ahead. Don't worry about the hospital."
When Xu Tingyu returned to the Qi family's mansion, she didn't see Qi Shifeng.
Instead, her mother - in - law, Liu Ning, was sitting on the sofa, glaring at her sharply.
"You don't even know how to greet people. No wonder you can't win your husband's heart," Liu Ning sneered.
"Now you can't even control your own reputation. You let those vulgar news spread everywhere."
Liu Ning was a conservative and rigid person. She had suffered a lot from her husband's infidelity when she was young.
But instead of blaming the man's low character, she blamed the so - called "foxes" outside for being shameless and herself for not working hard enough...
Years of distorted psychology had made her paranoid and strict.
Since Xu Tingyu married into the family, she seemed to have found a new hobby and would often come to scold and torment her.
In the past, Xu Tingyu might have just kept silent to end the conflict as soon as possible.
But today, the grievance in her heart was ignited, and she couldn't help but retort, "Mom, an outstanding person will always have many suitors. It's not the spouse's responsibility to prevent that. Adults should know how to keep their boundaries."
Whether before or after marriage, she had many suitors.
But she had always abided by the rules, especially after marriage. She had never been alone with a man.
She thought this was the basic principle of being a decent person.
Seeing her retort, Liu Ning flew into a rage.
She immediately stood up, walked up to Xu Tingyu, and snatched the white flower from her chest, throwing it on the ground.
"Your father jumped off a building and died, and you're taking your anger out on me? Let me tell you, your Xu family is now in a huge debt. Even if you were sold, you couldn't pay it off," Liu Ning said viciously.
"I heard that even your Xu family's old mansion is going to be seized. Let me make it clear to you. You haven't had a job since you got married. Don't even think about using the Qi family's money to fill your family's hole."
Only then did Xu Tingyu realize that Liu Ning didn't really come today to scold her about the scandal between Qi Shifeng and Xie Yu.
She came to warn her that as a full - time wife with no income, she was not allowed to use money to support her natal family.
The eldest daughter of the Xu family, who had always been doted on by her father, had never suffered such humiliation because of money.
Her eyes were red, and her whole body was trembling. She couldn't help but defend herself.
"Before I got married, I had a job. It was you who said it was indecent to show myself in public and asked me to quit."
She used to be a famous genius dancer in the capital.
At the age of 16, her self - choreographed dance "Flowers in the Mirror, Moon on the Water" won the gold medal in a dance competition.
If she hadn't gotten married, she would have had a broader world.
Instead, she was trapped in this so - called wedding room, which was actually a gilded cage.
Even worse, with her father's body not yet cold, she was being scolded to her face.
"Is that even a real job? Dressing like a vixen and dancing around in front of everyone. How much money could you earn? In the end, you still have to rely on a man," Liu Ning scoffed.
"Also, if your Xu family hadn't been well - matched with our Qi family back then, do you think you could have married into the Qi family?"
"Now that your Xu family is bankrupt and your father is dead, do you still think you're a young lady?"
"I'm here today to tell you that if any reporters interview you, you'd better watch your words. If it affects the Qi family, you'll be in big trouble."
Every word was like a knife stabbing into Xu Tingyu's heart.
It was common for a daughter - in - law and mother - in - law to have conflicts, and it was even worse in her family.
Because the old master of the Qi family really liked Xu Tingyu and had praised her for being smart, well - behaved, and beautiful more than once at family gatherings.
Liu Ning was jealous of her.
To be precise, except for her own daughter, Liu Ning was jealous of all young and beautiful girls.
If she couldn't torment others, couldn't she torment her daughter - in - law?
After saying what she wanted to say, Liu Ning finally left contentedly, seeing Xu Tingyu trembling all over and pale - faced.
The nanny beside her finally dared to come and help Xu Tingyu, but she slumped to the ground and stared blankly at the trampled mourning flower.
Liu Ning's words were venomous, but there was one thing she said right. She didn't have a job, and the Xu family was bankrupt.
From now on, she would have to live under someone else's mercy in this family.
Also, if she hadn't given up her job back then and made some achievements in her field, would her father have thought she was ignorant and discussed things with her more?
"Madam, General Manager Qi just called and said he'll be home soon. Do you want to take a bath and change your clothes first?" Nanny Zhang supported Xu Tingyu's arm and said softly.
This young second Mrs. Qi had a gentle and quiet personality and never made things difficult for them servants.
In the past three years, they had never seen her get angry. She was always so elegant and calm.
But now...
She had also seen those news on the Internet and didn't know how to comfort her.
She just clumsily remembered that the madam would always make herself look beautiful and clean when General Manager Qi came back.
Now that General Manager Qi was coming home, she should take a bath and rest.
They could talk after dinner.
But Xu Tingyu seemed not to hear. She still stared at the mourning flower on the ground.
Suddenly, she wondered if her father had really gotten Qi Shifeng's promise to borrow five hundred million for the company's turnover.
If he had really promised,
then why did he turn a deaf ear when she tried to talk to him about the Xu family's situation the day before yesterday?
Everyone knew that the Xu family was in crisis. With his sharpness, how could he not know?
Then why had he never mentioned it?
Now that her father had an accident, instead of showing up, he had grandly supported another woman?
Qi Shifeng, are you just indifferent?
Or is there your hand behind all this?