His sharp, icy eyes carried a dangerous glint as he looked down at Feng Jiao and her daughter.
Feng Jiao’s expression shifted slightly. She forced herself to appear gentle and composed.
“Mr. Nan Gong, this isn’t what you think. She is my daughter—she already has an engagement. Don’t be fooled by her!”
“You’re saying your judgment is better than mine?”
Nan Gong He’s tone was calm and indifferent, yet the moment he spoke, the entire room fell silent. No one dared to make a sound.
He took Qiao Xi’s hand and turned to leave.
“Either leave, or shut up.”
Feng Jiao was forced to retreat. Qiao Xi felt a surge of satisfaction, unable to hide the joy in her voice.
“Thank you for stepping in. I knew you’d agree to help me.”
“There’s no such thing as a free lunch. If you can’t provide enough value, you know the consequences.”
Businessmen value profit above all else, and Qiao Xi understood this very well.
The Qiao family had always been like this—everyone treated her as nothing more than a tool for profit.
For now, her relationship with Nan Gong He was still acceptable; it was mutually beneficial.
Her expression returned to calm, and she pulled her hand free from his.
“Don’t worry. I will.”
The wedding proceeded as normal. Not only were the guests confused, even Qiao Xi herself was somewhat dazed.
After everything ended, Nan Gong He answered a call and left in a hurry. From his pace, it was clear he was not in a good mood.
Qiao Xi didn’t intend to disturb him. Now that she had completely broken ties with the Qiao family, she needed to retrieve her belongings—otherwise they would only be destroyed in their hands.
She quietly returned to the company, only to find her office had been disturbed. Even the placement of items had been changed.
She quickly turned on her computer and discovered that all her design drafts had been opened.
A trace of mockery flashed in her eyes. The Qiao family truly never missed any opportunity to extract value from her.
Fortunately, she had encrypted her most important draft, so they hadn’t found it.
She quickly transferred her files. Just as she was about to delete everything on the computer, the door suddenly opened and Qiao Qilín walked in with a smile.
“I knew you’d come back. You still can’t let go of the company.”
Feng Jiao and Qiao Ying’er’s actions were something Qiao Qilín could not possibly be unaware of.
Qiao Xi naturally had no good expression for him.
“I’m not attached to the company. I’m attached to what should have always belonged to me.”
“I thought human hearts were already cruel, but I didn’t expect them to be this vile—so vile that even my last bit of value wouldn’t be spared!”
Qiao Qilín still maintained his fake smile as he stepped forward.
“This is your office. As long as you don’t leave, the computer is yours. No one would touch it—you’re misunderstanding.”
As he spoke, he reached out, pretending to take the computer from her.
Qiao Xi quickly dodged his hand and said sharply:
“Don’t touch me. I’m no longer part of this company. I’m taking back what’s mine!”
She moved around him and stood up to leave.
Qiao Qilín’s smile finally broke.
“When are you going to learn to behave properly?!”
“You keep saying we favor your younger sister and don’t care about you—but with that attitude, how are we supposed to care about you?”
“If you want to leave, I won’t stop you—but the computer stays. All the design drafts inside belong to the company.”
“Over the years, we worked hard to raise you. Think of it as repayment!”
Qiao Xi let out a cold laugh.
“Human greed knows no bounds. My designs have made this company countless profits over the years—is that not enough repayment?”
Whenever there was a choice, they always made her yield to Qiao Ying’er.
She could only ever take what Qiao Ying’er didn’t want. Now even her boyfriend had been taken—how could Qiao Qilín say something like that?
Right in front of him, she suddenly exerted force and smashed the laptop onto the ground.
The computer let out a cracking sound as the screen shattered into pieces, and smoke rose from the motherboard.
Qiao Qilín trembled with rage, his lips shaking. He had never been defied like this before.
“Do you think having Nan Gong He backing you means you can do whatever you want?”
“If you take my tolerance as weakness, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
A faint sense of foreboding rose in Qiao Xi’s heart.
“What are you planning to do?”