Ji Mingyu met his gaze and continued speaking, her pace unhurried, her reasoning clear.
"Dad, the Sheng family doesn't only have Sheng Tianqi as an unmarried man."
She paused, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
"Isn't Sheng Xiuwen one? Besides, Sheng Xiuwen's qualifications are far better than Sheng Tianqi's."
As for the shares in Shengshi Group, Sheng Xiuwen surely held more than Sheng Tianqi too. After all, in that book, if Sheng Xiuwen hadn't voluntarily given up Shengshi Group, it would never have been Sheng Tianqi's turn.
She counted on her fingers, laying out the accounts for Ji Zhiyuan:
"Sheng Tianqi is just the head of a subsidiary under Shengshi Group. To put it nicely, he independently manages the company's operations—but at the end of the day, he's just a senior employee."
"And Sheng Xiuwen? He's at the group headquarters, quietly showing the momentum of becoming Shengshi Group's successor."
When Ji Mingyu finished, she looked at Ji Zhiyuan, waiting for him to digest her words.
The living room fell silent for a few seconds.
Ji Zhiyuan's expression shifted from scrutiny to contemplation. Leaning back on the sofa, his gaze lingered on his daughter's face for a few seconds.
"Mingyu, Sheng Xiuwen is indeed good," he said in an unhurried tone. "But he's over thirty and there's never been any word of a girlfriend. Do you think he's a good candidate for marriage?"
Ji Mingyu immediately took his arm, her tone matter-of-fact. "Dad, it's precisely because he doesn't have a girlfriend that I want to choose him."
She pursed her lips.
"As for Sheng Tianqi, he already has someone else. I'm not marrying him."
Ji Zhiyuan didn't pick up on that thread. Instead, he changed the subject.
"I don't object to you choosing Sheng Xiuwen for the marriage alliance." He paused. "But you need to understand one thing—Sheng Xiuwen is not like his older brother Sheng Xiuwu, and even less like Sheng Tianqi, who holds no real power."
He looked into his daughter's eyes, speaking each word clearly.
"He won't necessarily follow someone else's arrangements into a marriage alliance."
Ji Mingyu went quiet, waiting for him to continue.
"I don't care how you do it," Ji Zhiyuan said, his voice not loud but heavy with weight, "but the marriage alliance between the Ji family and Shengshi Group cannot go wrong in any way."
Ji Mingyu nodded.
She understood.
Her father's meaning was clear: no matter who she chose, he wouldn't object.
Landing Sheng Xiuwen would be best, but Sheng Tianqi would do too. In plain terms, it had to be one of these two men.
Fortunately, she had no aversion to a marriage alliance at all.
Ji Mingyu quietly cheered herself on inside.
She was born to be someone who loved reaping without sowing and despised the poor while favoring the rich. What's more, now that she knew she was a fake heiress, she would only be even more invested in the marriage alliance.
After all, she would be entering the alliance with Shengshi under the identity of "the Ji family's daughter."
Even if her true identity were exposed someday, judging from her understanding of Ji Zhiyuan, whether or not she was his biological child, she would still be the Ji family's daughter.
Over these twenty-plus years, Ji Zhiyuan had invested not only affection but real money.
He would never let his investment go to waste.
Seeing that his daughter understood, Ji Zhiyuan's expression softened, and he turned to Su Wanyun as if making casual conversation.
"Wanyun, Mingyue is coming to Nanzhou City soon," he said offhandedly. "This time, she'll probably settle here permanently."
Su Wanyun's hand holding the teacup paused slightly.
Ji Mingyue.
The daughter of Ji Zhiyuan's ex-wife, who had always lived with her maternal grandparents in Jianghai City.
Why was she suddenly coming back?
She pressed down the doubt in her heart, showing not the slightest hint of anything amiss on her face, and nodded.
"Alright," she said in a gentle tone. "I'll have Wang Ma tidy up the room."
Su Wanyun set down her teacup, her tone pitched just right.
"I'll get the fourth-floor room ready." She paused. "I have no idea what kind of room Mingyue likes—we haven't seen each other in all these years."
Ji Zhiyuan leaned back on the sofa and waved a hand carelessly.
"Just make it like Mingyu's room," he said, as casually as if he were deciding what to have for dinner. "You decide. If she doesn't like it, we can change it when she arrives."
Su Wanyun lowered her lashes, already forming her judgment.
Ji Zhiyuan didn't have much feeling for this daughter he'd barely seen in over twenty years. Let alone familiarity—if anything, he knew her less well than Wang Ma.
He had plenty to occupy his days; how could he spare time thinking about a daughter who wasn't around? Besides, the girl never reached out to him either.
And it wasn't as if he had no other children. What little free time he had was already taken up by the two well-behaved, sensible children at his side.
Su Wanyun let none of this show on her face. Instead, she picked up the thread of conversation.
"Zhiyuan, did Mingyue say when she's coming?" she asked with concern. "We should have Mingyu and Mingxuan go pick her up. They're sisters, after all. They may not have spent much time together, but they're the same age. If they spend time together, they might get close quickly."
Just as she finished speaking, there was movement at the entryway.
Ji Mingxuan was in athletic wear, his hair still damp with light sweat—clearly just back from working out. He'd happened to catch the words "go pick her up" and wandered over.
"Mom, who am I and my sister supposed to pick up?" He grabbed a glass of water from the coffee table and took a swig. "Has the date been set? I need to clear my schedule. Dad's having me work at the grassroots level of a subsidiary tomorrow."
Ji Mingyu, lounging on the sofa, raised an eyebrow and jumped in without missing a beat.
"So we're staging 'The Heir in Disguise'—starting as a lowly clerk, working his way up step by step, until everyone discovers the invisible nobody among them is actually the group's crown prince?"
She cracked up before she even finished.
Ji Mingxuan choked, his hand frozen midair with the glass, staring at her in speechless exasperation.
Su Wanyun couldn't help but smile too, reaching over to swat Ji Mingyu's arm.
"Such a smart mouth."
Ji Zhiyuan was amused by his daughter's remark, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes smoothing as he smiled.
"You're the little princess of our Ji family," he said, with rare teasing in his tone. "Shall we have you play princess incognito too?"
Ji Mingyu waved her hands frantically, her face a picture of refusal.
"Not for me. Dad, you know I can't handle hardship. Not even a little."
She leaned toward Su Wanyun and said matter-of-factly, "Besides, being a university professor like my mom is nice enough. The vacations are so long."
Su Wanyun shot her a sidelong glare.
"Can't handle hardship?" she said, her voice neither loud nor soft. "So you're planning to be a mere lecturer your whole life?"
Ji Mingyu sat up straight at once, all seriousness.
"Well, I'll have to work hard for that, then."
She turned to Ji Zhiyuan, chin lifted slightly, her tone three parts joking and seven parts earnest.
"Dad, I'll do my best to make our Ji family a true scholarly household. From now on, please address me as Professor Ji."
Then she turned to Ji Mingxuan and lifted her chin at him.
"Ji Mingxuan, you'd better treat your big sister well. Once I've made my name, you'll definitely benefit from it."
Ji Zhiyuan actually laughed this time. It wasn't loud, but there was a light in his eyes.
"If you become Professor Ji," he said, "then your father will give you a big gift."
He looked at Ji Mingyu, his gaze carrying a smile.
As for Su Wanyun, his wife, he was even more than satisfied with her.
Even though he had plenty of women outside, none of them had ever caused a scene at home.
It wasn't just because she had borne him two outstanding children, but also because of her status—an associate professor at one of the country's top universities.
And now, his daughter was slowly walking down that same path.
Going back several generations, the Ji family had started out as small merchants, always in trade.
A family of scholars?
They had never come close.
Ji Zhiyuan picked up his glass of water and took another sip, the smile in his eyes not yet faded.