Ji Mingyu met his gaze and continued, speaking at an even pace with clear, orderly reasoning.
“Dad, the Sheng family doesn’t have only one unmarried man, Sheng Tianqi.”
She paused, the corners of her lips lifting slightly.
“Isn’t Sheng Xiuwen unmarried too? Besides, Sheng Xiuwen has much better qualifications than Sheng Tianqi.”
As for shares in Shengshi Group, Sheng Xiuwen certainly did not have fewer than Sheng Tianqi. After all, in that book, if Sheng Xiuwen had not voluntarily given up Shengshi Group, how could Sheng Tianqi ever have had a chance?
Counting things out on her fingers, she explained the situation to Ji Zhiyuan:
“Sheng Tianqi is only in charge of a subsidiary under Shengshi Group. To put it nicely, he independently oversees the company’s operations. When you get right down to it, he’s just a highly paid employee.”
“But Sheng Xiuwen works at the group’s headquarters, and he’s already showing signs of becoming Shengshi Group’s successor.”
After Ji Mingyu finished speaking, she looked at Ji Zhiyuan and waited for him to digest her words.
The living room fell silent for several seconds.
Ji Zhiyuan’s expression shifted from scrutiny to contemplation. Leaning back against the sofa, he let his gaze rest on his daughter’s face for a few seconds.
“Mingyu, Sheng Xiuwen is indeed a good choice,” he said unhurriedly. “But he’s already in his thirties, and no one’s even heard of him having a girlfriend. Do you really think he’s a good marriage prospect?”
Ji Mingyu immediately linked her arm through his and replied as though it were only natural, “Dad, that’s exactly why I want to choose him.”
She pursed her lips.
“Sheng Tianqi already has other women outside. I’m not marrying him.”
Ji Zhiyuan did not respond to that. Instead, he shifted the subject.
“I don’t object to you forming a marriage alliance with Sheng Xiuwen.” He paused. “But you need to understand one thing: Sheng Xiuwen is nothing like his elder brother, Sheng Xiuwu, and even less like Sheng Tianqi, who has no real authority.”
Looking into his daughter’s eyes, he enunciated every word clearly.
“He may not be willing to follow someone else’s arrangements and enter into a marriage alliance.”
Ji Mingyu fell silent, waiting for him to continue.
“I don’t care how you do it,” Ji Zhiyuan said. His voice was not loud, but every word carried weight. “But the marriage alliance between the Ji family and Shengshi Group cannot be allowed to go wrong in the slightest.”
Ji Mingyu nodded.
She understood.
Her father’s meaning was very clear. Whoever she chose, he would not object.
It would be best if she could win over Sheng Xiuwen, but Sheng Tianqi would do as well. To put it plainly, it had to be one of those two men.
Fortunately, she did not mind a marriage alliance in the slightest.
Ji Mingyu encouraged herself inwardly.
She had always been the sort who loved easy gains, looked down on the poor, and fawned over the rich. Now that she knew she was a fake heiress, she was even more invested in securing a marriage alliance.
After all, she would be marrying into Shengshi Group under the identity of the “Ji family’s daughter.”
Even if her identity were exposed in the future, based on what she knew of Ji Zhiyuan, whether or not she was truly a Ji, she could only ever be the Ji family’s daughter.
In raising her for more than twenty years, Ji Zhiyuan had invested not only his feelings but also substantial sums of money.
He would not let his investment go to waste.
Seeing that his daughter understood, Ji Zhiyuan’s expression softened. He turned to Su Wanyun as casually as if they were discussing everyday household matters.
“Wanyun, Mingyue will be coming to Nanzhou City after a while.” His tone was casual. “This time, she should be staying here for good.”
The hand holding Su Wanyun’s teacup paused slightly.
Ji Mingyue.
The daughter Ji Zhiyuan had had with his former wife, who had been living with her maternal grandparents in Jianghai City all this time.
Why was she suddenly coming back?
Suppressing the questions in her heart, Su Wanyun showed not the slightest hint of anything amiss and nodded.
“Good,” she said gently. “I’ll have Nanny Wang prepare a room.”
Su Wanyun set down her teacup and adopted exactly the right tone.
“Then I’ll have the room on the fourth floor prepared.” She paused. “I don’t know what kind of room Mingyue likes. We haven’t seen her in so many years.”
Leaning against the sofa, Ji Zhiyuan waved a hand indifferently.
“Just make it look like Mingyu’s room,” he said, in the casual tone of someone deciding what to eat that day. “You handle it. If she doesn’t like it, we can change it after she arrives.”
Su Wanyun lowered her lashes, already reaching her own conclusion.
Ji Zhiyuan did not have much affection for this daughter he had barely seen in more than twenty years. He was even less familiar with her. If familiarity was the standard, he was probably more familiar with Nanny Wang than with his own daughter.
He had plenty to keep him busy every day. Where would he find so much time to think about a daughter who was not by his side? Besides, the girl had never taken the initiative to contact him.
And it was not as though he had no other children. Whatever free time he had was already occupied by the two well-behaved, sensible children at his side.
Su Wanyun did not let any of this show on her face. Instead, she followed the thread of the conversation and continued, “Zhiyuan, did Mingyue say when she would be coming?” Her tone was full of concern.
“When the time comes, let Mingyu and Mingxuan go pick her up. They’re sisters, after all. Though they haven’t spent much time together, they’re still the same age. If they spend more time together, they might become familiar with each other very quickly.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a commotion came from the foyer.
Ji Mingxuan came in wearing sportswear, a fine sheen of sweat still clinging to his hair. He had clearly just returned from exercising. Happening to hear the words “go pick up,” he wandered over.
“Mom, who am I and my sister supposed to pick up?” He picked up the water glass from the coffee table and gulped down some water. “Has the time been set? I need to make room in my schedule. Tomorrow, Dad is sending me to work on the front lines at one of the subsidiaries.”
Ji Mingyu leaned back against the sofa. At that, she raised her brows and quickly cut in.
“Are we about to see the successor conceal his identity, start out as a low-level employee, and work his way up step by step, only to discover that the insignificant nobody beside him is actually the group’s heir?”
She started laughing before she had even finished speaking.
Ji Mingxuan was momentarily rendered speechless. The hand holding his water glass froze in midair as he stared at her with an exasperated expression.
Su Wanyun could not help curving her lips as well. She raised a hand and lightly patted Ji Mingyu’s arm.
“You and that quick mouth of yours.”
Ji Zhiyuan was amused by his daughter’s words, and the fine lines at the corners of his eyes relaxed.
“You’re our Ji family’s little princess,” he teased, a rare note of humor in his voice. “Would you like to put on a little story about a princess making a private inspection tour, too?”
Ji Mingyu waved both hands repeatedly, her expression full of refusal.
“I couldn’t do that. Dad, you know perfectly well that I can’t endure even the slightest hardship.”
She leaned a little closer to Su Wanyun and said with complete justification, “Besides, being a university professor like Mom is pretty good too. The holidays are so long.”
Su Wanyun turned her head and glared at her.
“You can’t endure hardship?” Her voice was neither harsh nor gentle. “Do you intend to remain a mere lecturer for the rest of your life?”
Ji Mingyu immediately sat up straight, her expression becoming earnest.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to work a little harder.”
She turned to Ji Zhiyuan, raising her chin slightly. Her tone was playful, but mostly serious.
“Dad, I’ll do my best to turn the Ji family into a scholarly household as soon as possible. From now on, please address me as Professor Ji.”
After saying that, she turned her head toward Ji Mingxuan and lifted her chin.
“Ji Mingxuan, you’d better treat your sister well. Once I’ve achieved fame and success, I’ll certainly make sure you benefit from it.”
This time, Ji Zhiyuan genuinely laughed. His laughter was not loud, but his eyes shone.
“If you become Professor Ji,” he said, “Dad will give you a grand gift.”
He looked at Ji Mingyu with amusement in his eyes.
And as for his wife, Su Wanyun, he was even more satisfied with her.
Although there were plenty of women outside, not one of them had ever made trouble at his home.
That was not only because she had given him two outstanding children, but also because of her status as an associate professor at one of the country’s top universities.
Now, his daughter was gradually following the same path.
Looking back several generations in the Ji family, they had started out as small merchants and had been doing business ever since.
A scholarly household?
They had never had anything to do with one.
Ji Zhiyuan lifted his water glass and took another sip. The amusement in his eyes had yet to fade.