Facing the expectant looks of Zhang Qiu and Xu Jia, Xu Tingyu really couldn't bring herself to speak.
She couldn't tell them that the Qi family was already preparing to dump her as a "burden".
It would be too cruel.
So she forced a smile and said casually, "Trust me. I will definitely earn enough money to redeem the house."
She understood better than anyone that the Qi family wouldn't help.
The old man liked her and treated her well.
But now he was recuperating abroad. Not only was his health condition not optimistic and couldn't be stimulated, but also the other members of the Qi family were already dissatisfied with this marriage and wouldn't tell him about the Xu family's troubles.
However, she just couldn't bring herself to tell her mother and brother these things for the time being.
When she asked them to pack their luggage, Secretary Qian walked over and whispered, "Miss Xu, the hole in Xu Corporation is too big. I'm afraid..."
He didn't finish, but his haggard face said it all - Xu Corporation was surely doomed.
The efforts of the family for generations and all of Xu Jianmin's lifelong efforts had all crumbled.
This time, Xu Tingyu was only in a daze for a short while before she recalled some rumors.
"Uncle Qian, I don't understand business matters, but I'd like to ask, was Xu Corporation's bankruptcy due to my father's wrong strategic planning or was it a scheme set by someone?"
The words she heard that day when she was with Chen Chunyao at No. 1 Repulse Bay came back to her mind clearly.
Was the encroachment on Xu Corporation by that man named Cai Lan legal?
And what role did the Qi family, or rather, Qi Shifeng, play in it?
Secretary Qian was startled. His look was rather complicated. After a moment, he chose his words carefully and said, "Have you heard something?"
Hearing this, Xu Tingyu knew that there was more to Xu Corporation's bankruptcy than met the eye.
She looked at Secretary Qian. It took her a long time to find her voice. "Is it really related to Qi Shifeng?"
During this period, she had been busy trying to save the house and hadn't had time to look into many things.
But she had heard the rumors.
Secretary Qian seemed to have made a great decision and said, "Before Mr. Xu passed away, he suspected that someone had set a scheme against us. There were several business deals that someone took advantage of."
"At first, it was just a bit of a cash - flow problem and we could still keep the business running. Especially at the end of last year, we launched a new product and the market response was very good."
"But after the launch, a company started a price war at all costs. We had a lot of inventory piled up, and they didn't gain any advantages either."
"Later, they used sub - standard products to continue the price war, which made consumers lose trust in domestic products and we completely lost the market."
"Xu Corporation's reputation was affected. We suffered setbacks one after another in other projects, which led to the break of the capital chain."
...
Although Xu Tingyu didn't understand much about business, she could sense something unusual.
In business, competition was normal, but it was rare for both sides to end up losing in a price war where one side suffered as much as the other.
In other words, the other side might not be aiming to seize the market, but to bring down Xu Corporation.
"However, there is no evidence that this has anything to do with Mr. Qi. When Mr. Xu asked him for a loan, he agreed."
Seeing her pale face and absent - minded look, Secretary Qian comforted her.
But these words of comfort had no effect at all.
Actions speak louder than words. The end result showed that whether the Qi family had a hand in it or not, they had stood by and watched.
Just as Xu Tingyu was about to speak, she saw Zhang Qiu and Xu Jia coming downstairs.
She swallowed back what she was going to say and walked towards them in a hurry.
On the way from the Xu family's old mansion to the apartment, no one said a word.
They could only take a limited amount of luggage with them. The rest would be handled by a moving company arranged by Secretary Qian.
When they arrived at the apartment, Zhang Qiu looked around at the decoration and her expression softened a bit.
As a dowry from Xu Jianmin, the location, decoration and area of this apartment showed that he had put a lot of thought into it.
"Your father always favored you the most. He was afraid that you would have a hard time in the Qi family, so he left you such valuable property."
"It's a pity that he didn't know before he died that his good daughter could be so cold - hearted towards her natal family."
"As the saying goes, a married daughter is like spilled water."
Zhang Qiu said these words in a sarcastic tone. She was still angry that Xu Tingyu hadn't been able to save the house.
Xu Tingyu pretended not to hear and just led Xu Jia to choose a room.
Emotions needed an outlet. If Zhang Qiu could feel better by scolding her, she could accept it.
Xu Jia, after choosing the south - facing side bedroom, closed the door and grabbed her hand.
"Sister, Mom is just having a hard time accepting it for the moment. The things she said were not from the heart."
"Dad always taught me that I'm the man of the family and I should protect you and Mom. Now that Dad is gone, I'll do as he said."
"Sister, there are many things I don't understand. I need your help. Let's support this family together, okay?"
Probably because of his poor health, Xu Jia was much more sensitive and mature than his peers.
Xu Tingyu looked at the young boy with red - rimmed eyes but a straight back.
She remembered when they were kids, whenever Zhang Qiu got angry with her, he would always stand in front of her.
"No one is allowed to bully my beautiful, generous and charming sister."
Every time, everyone would be amused by him.
Even Zhang Qiu, who was angry at first, would laugh so hard that she couldn't straighten up, and then pretend to hit him.
"Fine, fine, you both have the surname Xu. You're a family. You protect your beautiful, generous and charming sister, and just leave me, an outsider, to be sad alone."
Then Xu Jia would jump into Zhang Qiu's arms and say, "Mom is the most beautiful mom. Both sister and I love you."
It could be said that Xu Jia was the best mediator in the sometimes delicate mother - daughter relationship between Xu Tingyu and Zhang Qiu.
"Okay, let's support this family together. But you're still a student. You just need to focus on your studies."
"Don't worry about other things. I'll handle them."
She patted her brother on the shoulder and held back her tears.
After settling her mother and brother, Xu Tingyu gave her mother a bank card separately.
"There's some money in it. You can use it first, Mom. I will really find a way."
"I'll stay here with you and Jiajia for the next two days."
She squatted in front of Zhang Qiu, her tone almost pleading.
During this period, Zhang Qiu's emotions had been very unstable. She was afraid that something bad would happen to her.
Zhang Qiu looked at the card and then at her daughter, but her expression didn't change much.
"Got it. But Mrs. Qi the Second, you'd better go back early."
Calling her like this meant that she was still angry.
She probably didn't want to see her here.
Xu Tingyu lowered her eyes and quickly adjusted her mood, pretending not to hear.
"Mom, Jiajia's regular check - up is next month, right? I'll take him there then. You can also have a physical examination by the way."
"I'll go back today. Call me if you need anything."