Xu Shichu stepped out of the bathroom in her robe and opened the walk-in closet. The moment she saw what was inside, she stopped dead.
The entire closet was packed with this season’s latest styles, all from the brands she used to love. Every piece was her size, just as if she had never changed.
Looking around, Xu Shichu finally noticed a row of men’s clothes squeezed into a far corner. There were quite a few of them, but compared with her clothes, they looked especially pitiful there.
For a moment, she almost thought the woman of the house had never left.
Xu Shichu’s feelings were too complicated to name. Once again, she thought of Jiang Li as she remembered him: a man who had gradually changed from a frivolous playboy into someone steady and mature.
Putting those tangled thoughts aside, Xu Shichu went into the closet and casually chose a simple, crisp white knit top to pair with high-waisted, wide-leg trousers that draped smoothly.
As she passed the men’s clothes in the corner, she paused briefly, then quickly looked away and changed into her own clothes.
Downstairs, Xu Jingheng had been waiting for a while. He held a laptop, his expression serious as he seemed to be taking care of business.
When he saw Xu Shichu, his cool expression softened and his eyes brightened. “Mom.”
Xu Shichu looked at him too. “Busy?”
Xu Jingheng nodded. “I’ll be done in a moment.”
He quickly tapped a few keys, then closed the laptop and put it away. “All done. Shall we leave now?”
Xu Shichu gave a quiet affirmative. “Are you settling in at the company? Has anyone been giving you a hard time?”
Xu Jingheng still wore his usual cool, composed expression. His tone was calm, with a hint of deliberate maturity.
“I’ve been learning how to manage the company from Maternal Grandfather since I was little. I practically grew up in the Xu Corporation building. Most of the employees there know me, and no one would give me a hard time.”
He glanced sideways at his Mom, a trace of barely concealed hope for praise in his eyes.
“My experience may be limited, but with Maternal Grandfather overseeing things, I’ve never made a mistake in the company’s operations.”
He pressed his lips together and fell silent. Xu Shichu could see at once that he was fishing for praise.
She couldn’t help smiling. “My Tuantuan is amazing!”
Xu Jingheng blushed, a little embarrassed.
He wasn’t a child anymore. Why was he acting so childish all of a sudden?
Xu Shichu could guess what her father was thinking. He’d learned his lesson from raising her!
She had been raised as the heir, too, but she hadn’t been brought into the company from childhood. Instead, she’d been allowed to pursue her own interests.
Then, when it came time to apply to university, Xu Shichu rebelled. She chose pharmaceutical research rather than the financial management Old Master Xu wanted for her.
In the end, Old Master Xu was so furious that he cut off her allowance. Xu Shichu had no choice but to start a business while she was at university.
Once she had a child, Old Master Xu took the lesson he’d learned from her to heart. He brought Xu Jingheng into the company when he was still a little boy, so he could grow up immersed in it.
Before long, the car reached the Xu Family Old Residence.
The elderly butler hurried out to greet them. The moment he saw Xu Shichu, his eyes reddened. “Eldest Young Miss, you’ve finally come home!”
Xu Shichu stepped forward and gave the butler a big hug. He had watched her grow up, and she had long since come to think of him as half a member of the family. “Uncle Wang, I’m home.”
“Ah, good, good. You’re home.”
The butler gazed at her through tear-filled eyes. “Come inside. When Old Master Xu heard Eldest Young Miss was coming back, he got up early and changed his clothes goodness knows how many times.”
Xu Shichu burst out laughing. “Dad’s still the same as ever.”
Then she and Xu Jingheng followed the butler inside.
But as soon as they entered, they saw a mother and daughter sitting on the sofa.
The middle-aged woman was decked out in jewels and looked remarkably well-preserved. She was ingratiating herself with Old Master Xu, who sat on the sofa.
The young woman sat quietly beside her with her head lowered, saying nothing.
The moment Xu Shichu saw them, the corners of her mouth drooped.
“Well, look at this lively scene!” she said sarcastically. “I seem to have picked a bad time to come. If I’d known she was coming, I wouldn’t have come at all. No need to make myself unwelcome for nothing.”
Old Master Xu had been looking impatient, but when his daughter and grandson walked in, the corners of his mouth lifted at once.
He had barely had time to feel happy before he heard that unmistakable tone.
Yes. That was definitely his own daughter!
He pretended to be cross. “You’ve only just come home, and already you’re talking nonsense!”
“Older Sister really is home!” Xu Man sprang up as soon as she saw Xu Shichu and hurried over. “Where have you been all these years? Dad and I have been worried sick about you.”
She had just reached for Xu Shichu’s hand when Xu Shichu quickly stepped back. “Don’t, don’t. I’m not your Older Sister.”
Then Xu Shichu took her son over and sat down on the sofa, no longer even calling him Dad. “Old man, did you call me back just to deliberately annoy me?”
Old Master Xu was at a loss, too.
This was all the result of his youthful affairs!
Truth be told, he and his first wife hadn’t married for love, either.
He had wanted her family’s scholarly background and exceptional intelligence, hoping she would bear him an outstanding heir.
She, in turn, wanted someone who would pour money into research, as well as his handsome, refined face.
They had been perfectly suited to each other.
Xu Shichu had lived up to their hopes. From the moment she was born, she seemed to have inherited the best of both parents: her mother’s intelligence and her father’s good looks. Old Master Xu had been immensely proud of her.
Unfortunately, not long after their daughter was born, his first wife, worn out from years of hard work, died suddenly in the laboratory.
After that, Old Master Xu let himself go. He never remarried, but he had plenty of affairs and attracted a string of troublesome women.
Quite a few showed up at his door, pregnant, trying to force his hand and marry into the Xu family on the strength of their unborn children. He sent them all away with a check.
But some refused to give up and had their babies anyway. Over time, Old Master Xu ended up with a whole brood of illegitimate children, though he acknowledged none of them.
In his eyes, he already had the best heir he could ask for. As for the foolish children born to those foolish women outside, he wanted nothing to do with any of them.
But Xu Man was the one exception. Her Mom had died of an illness, and with no one to take care of young Xu Man, she had no choice but to send her to the Xu family.
The Old Master felt nothing for her. He settled her in a villa elsewhere, sent her money, and otherwise left her alone.
With no one to guide her, she spent her school years hanging around with hooligans and gave birth to fraternal twins before she was even an adult.
The hooligan she had been with died in an accident during a fight a few years later.
Of the twins, Big Brother entered the entertainment industry and became a popular young star. His younger sister continued her studies as usual and would be attending university locally once the term began.
After Xu Shichu disappeared more than ten years ago, Xu Man seized the opportunity to curry favor with the Old Master, hoping to get the company shares into her own hands.
And she wasn’t the only one. Over the years, many of his illegitimate children outside the family had entertained the same idea, but the moment their ambitions surfaced, the Old Master stamped them out.
Only Xu Man had managed to conceal her intentions. She was like a patient wolf, edging closer and closer to her prey, waiting for the chance to swallow the entire Xu Corporation whole.