24 – Chapter 24
You Xin, eating an ice cream, quietly wandered behind Bo Jinye and peeked at his phone screen.
“My wife suspects I’m gay, how to explain… Fourth Brother, why are you searching this?” You Xin asked curiously.
Bo Jinye was startled by him and put away his phone with a cold expression.
You Xin grinned, “Fourth Brother, when Brother Pei came this morning, didn’t Fourth Sister-in-law ask anything?”
Bo Jinye took his ice cream cone and smeared it on You Xin’s face, then stood up and headed to the kitchen.
You Xin whined, “Wahhh, everyone in this house can bully me! Anyone can!”
Ning Yun’ai happened to return from the hospital and saw You Xin moping in the living room. He walked over, pinched his chin to examine him, and said, “Hmm, not bad. That ice cream looks delicious.”
Furious, You Xin wanted to rub his face against Ning Yun’ai’s chest but was dodged. “You little rascal, go wash your face.”
“No! I’m going to wipe it clean on you!”
You Xin chased Ning Yun’ai upstairs as Bo Xiyuan called Shi Yan to ask if he had time to come home for dinner.
At WE Building, in the conference room, Shi Yan looked at the Pei family representative across the table and responded with some regret in a low voice, “I probably won’t have time.”
“Besides, I don’t live in Brocade Garden. You all go ahead and eat. I’m busy.”
After hanging up, Shi Yan took a sip of water from his cup. “Mr. Pei, I assume you can read all the words in the contract.”
“Mr. Pei has received an elite education. Although you appear disinterested in business on the surface, since you secretly started a company overseas to poach Bo’s employees, it seems you’re not exactly consistent in your actions.”
Pei Hanqing took a deep breath, trying to maintain his friendly demeanor. “Shi Yan, we’ve known each other for many years.”
“I don’t understand why you’re making this decision to terminate all cooperation and investments.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Pei, but this decision wasn’t made by me. It was President Bo’s firm order. No matter what you say, it won’t change anything,” Shi Yan replied calmly.
“Jinye and I have been brothers for over a decade! We grew up together! I don’t believe he would do this. It must be you, Shi Yan, conspiring with other members of the Bo family to sideline Jinye!” Pei Hanqing suddenly stood up and paced around the conference room, pointing angrily.
Shi Yan looked at him with surprise. “Mr. Pei, your trip abroad has improved your storytelling skills.”
“Isn’t what I’m saying true? Did you register a company overseas? Did you privately contact all the directors at Bo’s, using President Bo’s cooperation as a pretext to lure them abroad?”
“To my knowledge, no one agreed, right? Bo’s employees must have been quite unexpected for you, Mr. Pei.”
Shi Yan’s gaze behind his glasses was cold and sharp, calm yet carrying a heavy pressure as he looked at the fuming Pei Hanqing.
Pei Hanqing quickly found an excuse for himself. “I did register a company, but there’s no law against that, is there? My family is in business too, so what’s wrong with me registering a company?”
“As for you saying I contacted people privately, if it were truly private, how would you have found out? I discussed this project with Jinye a long time ago, and he will definitely invest. So I’m not really poaching anyone.”
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense when Shi Yan’s phone suddenly rang loudly, shattering the silence.
“What’s up? Didn’t I say I don’t have time to come back?” Shi Yan answered, his tone gentle.
“Hmm? Okay, I understand.”Shi Yan set down his phone and picked up his teacup. “My apologies, Mr. Pei, but there’s no need for us to continue this discussion.”
“Whether you sign this contract or not makes no difference. Even if you were to kneel before President Bo, he wouldn’t change his mind.”
“I’ll take my leave now.”
With a slight nod and a smile, Shi Yan turned and exited the conference room.
“You!” Pei Hanqing’s assistant fumed, making to follow him, but Pei Hanqing stopped him. “Let it be…”
“Don’t waste your breath here. Return to the company immediately and have them prepare the loss assessment report. I need to meet someone.”
Pei Hanqing strode away purposefully.
At the An residence, Pei Hanqing accepted the tea from Yao Manshi with a charming smile. “Every time I see you, Madam, I hesitate to call you Auntie—it makes you sound so old.”
Yao Manshi covered her mouth with a laugh. “You and your sweet talk. Ruyue should be back soon.”
Pei Hanqing swirled his teacup, engaging Yao Manshi in conversation and coaxing occasional soft laughter from her.
“Hanqing, what brings you here?” An Ruyue returned home from her social club and exclaimed in delight at the sight of the man on the sofa. “I didn’t even know you were back in the country.”
Pei Hanqing rose with a smile. “I came to see you as soon as I returned.”
“That’s more like it. Did you bring me a gift?” An Ruyue clung to Pei Hanqing’s arm, asking coquettishly.
In front of Pei Hanqing and Bo Jinye, she, An Ruyue, had to be the most cherished little princess.
“Of course. How could I forget you?” Pei Hanqing replied with a gentle smile.
“Mom, Hanqing and I are going to chat for a bit.” An Ruyue pulled Pei Hanqing upstairs.
In the bedroom, An Ruyue glanced at the necklace Pei Hanqing handed her and set it aside casually, her expression turning serious. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“For some reason, Jinye has brought An Sheng back to Brocade Garden.”
Pei Hanqing frowned. “An Sheng? Hasn’t he always disliked her?”
“Now he practically obeys her every word, ignoring me completely and letting An Sheng humiliate me. I’ve been to Brocade Garden twice, and both times I was turned away. It’s as if Brocade Garden is becoming that bitch An Sheng’s domain!”
An Ruyue’s face was clouded with displeasure and cold anger.
Pei Hanqing suddenly recalled, “So the woman he kissed was An Sheng?”
Who would have thought she possessed such an enchantingly seductive voice?
An Ruyue sneered contemptuously. “Shameless. She seized the opportunity back then for a one-night stand, and now she’s resorting to every trick to seduce him.”
Only An Ruyue knew the full truth of what happened that night; even Pei Hanqing was unaware of the details.
An Ruyue aimed to snag a wealthy husband in the capital, so she had to preserve her purity—she couldn’t give herself to Bo Jinye, let alone to Pei Hanqing, who was merely an illegitimate son.
An Ruyue had only intended to set up An Sheng, using both of them as stepping stones to gradually infiltrate the true circles of power and influence.
Pei Hanqing’s voice deepened. “Not only that, but Jinye is also pulling his investment from the Pei Corporation. He won’t even see me.”
“What?!” An Ruyue was shocked. “Why would he do that?”
Pei Hanqing shook his head. “If I knew, I wouldn’t have brought it up specifically.”
“What exactly has happened to Bo Jinye? You must know more than I do?”
An Ruyue looked at him. “It must be related to An Sheng.”
“I’ll find out as soon as possible. You must not let Bo’s withdraw their investment.”
Otherwise, Pei Hanqing’s standing within the Pei family would diminish significantly.
For now, she still needed Pei Hanqing and couldn’t afford to let him be cast aside by his family so easily.
…In Brocade Garden, An Sheng slowly sipped from her glass of wine. “Since A Ye isn’t here, please be honest with me.”
“What does A Ye want you to do to Pei Hanqing?”
Shi Yan chuckled lightly. “I thought you were going to ask whether President Bo and Mr. Pei have that kind of relationship.”
An Sheng glanced at him and curved her lips. “A Ye would never be in that kind of relationship.”
“You’re so certain?” Shi Yan asked jokingly.
“Of course, because whenever A Ye kisses me, I can feel it.”
Shi Yan coughed violently with a strange expression.
Little Madam is mighty!