Chen Lingqian tapped her fingers on the table, observing that Jiang Minghua’s every smile and expression seemed different from usual.
“Tsk tsk, so this is what a woman looks like after getting some. No wonder you’re so confident when you talk—that skill really gives you leverage.”
Jiang Minghua lifted her chin slightly, the air of a pampered young miss showing through, with a hint of pride in her tone:
“That’s right. I’ve had to eat all that couple’s dog food from you and Jiang Shaoyan for so long—it’s about time I got my turn.”
Chen Lingqian saw right through her act:
“Stop showing off. I bet your legs are still weak right now.”
She knew Jiang Minghua all too well—those slender little arms and legs, skin that turned red at the slightest touch. She was impossibly delicate. There was no way she could have gone through a whole night of activity and come out completely unscathed.
Her secret exposed, Jiang Minghua’s composed facade instantly crumbled. She stopped pretending and, under Chen Lingqian’s teasing gaze, began massaging her still-weak legs.
She stopped dancing around the topic and sighed, a hint of bitterness in her voice:
“My legs really are sore and weak. Qianqian, was it the same for you and Jiang Shaoyan?”
Jiang Shaoyan and Chen Lingqian had gotten together in high school, and they’d long since been intimate.
At her question, Chen Lingqian let out a fake cough. The first time she and Jiang Shaoyan had been together, she couldn’t even get out of bed the next morning. She had to admire Jiang Minghua for dragging her sore, weak body to class.
Chen Lingxi helped massage Jiang Minghua’s legs and asked:
“Minghua, you don’t know him, but you at least remember his face, right?”
Jiang Minghua thought of that man’s stunningly handsome face, his perfectly defined chest and abdominal muscles that felt wonderful to touch. He clearly worked out regularly and lived a disciplined life—he looked as polished as a male model.
She had to admit, if it weren’t for the fact that the presidential suite was exclusive to premium members and reserved year-round, not something ordinary people could afford, she really would have thought his profession was something shady, given his face, his body, and his incredible skill.
Jiang Minghua’s hand paused briefly as she massaged her legs, her voice a little muffled:
“I do remember him, but I don’t know him. What’s the point of remembering? I can’t find him. Besides, we only slept together—we don’t even know each other. Even if I found him, what then?”
Chen Lingxi tapped her lightly on the head, looking confident:
“You’re so silly. Have you forgotten what Jiang Shaoyan does for a living? Finding things out is child’s play for him. We’ll just have Jiang Shaoyan hack into the hotel’s system and check who was staying in that room last night. Finding him would be that simple.”
“Can you really just walk away and pretend you never knew the man who took your innocence?”
Chen Lingxi understood Jiang Minghua. She’d never been in love, never had anyone who caught her heart, but a woman’s first time was always special. She was certain Jiang Minghua wouldn’t forget that man.
Jiang Minghua hesitated. Xizhen International was under the Xie family’s umbrella, and while her family did have some connection with the Xies, hacking into their system so brazenly was really quite inappropriate.
She wavered:
“Is that okay? Xizhen International is a seven-star hotel—their security system must be very sophisticated. What if we get caught? If the Xie Group finds out, we’ll really be in trouble.”
She was genuinely worried about the Xie family finding out. Why would they be snooping around the hotel’s system for no reason? If the Xies became suspicious and word got back to Jiang Yekun, given how meticulous their Chairman Jiang was…
He would definitely demand a clear explanation, and when that time came, she wouldn’t be able to hide it even if she wanted to.
Chen Lingxi patted Jiang Minghua on the shoulder:
“Relax, relax. With Jiang Shaoyan’s skills, what are you worried about? The Xie family definitely won’t find out.”
Jiang Minghua felt slightly reassured—Jiang Shaoyan’s skills were indeed widely recognized.
But she had a faint feeling that things really wouldn’t go so smoothly.
The Xie residence was located in the Second Ring Road of the capital. It had been built into an antique-style mansion as early as the Ming Dynasty.
Its neighbors on both sides were retired officials from the capital who had their hands in everything, or old-money families with generations of heritage.
The Xie family was deeply rooted, with a long family history dating back several hundred years.
This residence had endured through successive dynasties and was now used by the Xie family as their ancestral home for Xie family members to live in.
It occupied an entire alley. The walls were uniformly gray, covered entirely with ivy.
If one didn’t know about the Xie family, they would probably think this was just an ordinary old courtyard home.
The Xie residence was located in a bustling area, yet somehow secluded from the world.
Ordinary people would never come into contact with it, and presumably would never suspect anything.
Even less would they know that this was the residence where Xie Jinchen—the new head of the renowned and awe-inspiring Xie Group in the capital—had lived for nearly thirty years.
The extended Maybach wound through turns before finally reaching its destination. If not for the driver’s superb skills, the nearly six-meter-long body of the car would have been difficult to maneuver.
The car came to a steady stop. Xie Jinchen rubbed his brow. A day of busy work had left him somewhat foggy-headed, and for a moment there was no work at hand.
Uncle Fu glanced at the rearview mirror and softly reminded: “Young Master, we’ve arrived.”
In the passenger seat sat Xie Jinchen’s assistant, He Yan, holding a tablet and flipping through documents that needed to be reviewed and approved.
Suddenly, with a “ding,” a message from the Public Relations Manager appeared in the notification bar.
Reading its contents, He Yan’s pupils contracted slightly. He quickly turned to report:
“Young Master, someone has breached the systems of one of our company’s hotels. The other party was very meticulous—they left no traces behind.
However, no core data was lost. They just looked through the data and left.”
What shocked him was that the other party had actually breached the Xie Group’s systems.
This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. Every industry sector under the Xie Group had its own security systems.
But all the security systems followed the same model—breaching them was incredibly difficult. Some people might have the nerve, but they didn’t have the skills.
All of the Xie Group’s defense systems were developed by top-tier experts. Breaking through was simply impossible.
Although the other party hadn’t taken any critical materials, the hotel guest information had been compromised.
What this meant for the Xie Group went without saying.
Uncle Fu was also alarmed on the side. The Xie Group was deeply rooted.
With tens of thousands of employees up and down, something like this happening was already the R&D department’s incompetence.
Uncle Fu figured those smug experts needed their egos taken down a peg.
Xie Jinchen didn’t even furrow his brow. He still wore that composed, unruffled demeanor as he spoke calmly:
“Which hotel?”
He Yan noticed his thumb rubbing the coral bracelet on his wrist.
Having been by Xie Jinchen’s side for so long, he understood his boss’s subtle cues inside and out.
Xie Jinchen was impatient.
He Yan braced himself and spoke:
“Xizhen International.”
Uncle Fu’s eyes widened as something occurred to him. This was too much of a coincidence.
“Young Master, isn’t this the one you went to last night…”
“That’s enough.”
Xie Jinchen took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with a clean cloth.
He was perfectly clear-headed. He hadn’t expected that girl to be quite resourceful—breaking into the system to investigate him. She was certainly eager. He hadn’t even gotten around to looking into her yet, and here she was, delivering herself to his doorstep first.
He instructed He Yan, “I’m aware of this matter. No need to pursue it further.”
He Yan was baffled. He looked over at Uncle Fu, who gave a subtle wink, signaling he needn’t worry about it.
He Yan: “??”