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Psst! We're moving!
Ji Qingyuan received the news immediately after Yu Jingxin and Leng Wenning finalized the agreement.
The lawyer sent him a text: [Mr. Ji, everything went smoothly. Mrs. Ji has left the building.]
Ji Qingyuan was worried about Yu Jingxin’s personality—seeing Leng Wenning might make her feel awkward for a while. If Leng Wenning said anything further, she might feel hurt.
He wasn’t sure if she had been humiliated, so he asked the lawyer: [What did they talk about? Tell me in detail.]
The lawyer: “...”
This was embarrassing.
Being verbally disparaged by two women like that was rare.
[They just exchanged greetings—polite formalities. When leaving, Leng Wenning escorted Mrs. Ji to the elevator. Mrs. Ji said she would cooperate well with Leng Wenning in managing the media company and added that, after all, she only loves money and you.]
He reluctantly fabricated a white lie to save face for his boss.
When Ji Qingyuan read that line—”only loves money and you”—a faint smile appeared at the corners of his mouth. He began considering what gift to give Yu Jingxin next.
________________________________________
After leaving Wenning Media, Yu Jingxin’s palms were damp with sweat. Facing Leng Wenning directly made her nervous; she feared losing in terms of confidence.
Deep down, she felt不甘.
Fortunately, Leng Wenning hadn’t pressed further, and she had won this round.
Once in the car, Yu Jingxin quickly called Yu Qing.
Yu Qing wasn’t working overtime today and was sitting on the waterside platform enjoying the view.
Her phone was always within reach, waiting for Yu Jingxin’s call.
“It went very smoothly. Leng Wenning didn’t gain any advantage.”
Yu Qing asked, “Did she imply anything?”
“Mm,” Yu Jingxin admired Yu Qing even more. The mocking words from Leng Wenning that Yu Qing had anticipated weren’t exactly the same but conveyed a similar meaning.
Yu Qing had listed several points where Leng Wenning might target her, letting her decide how to respond.
She had thought about it during the entire ride to Wenning Media, but the phrases “little trash” and “turning waste into treasure” were improvised on the spot. After delivering the comeback, she felt an immense sense of accomplishment.
She reflected on where her newfound confidence came from—it was Ji Qingyuan.
Yu Qing: “Congratulations. You’ve transformed from being overly stubborn to slightly less so, and are now striving to become adorable.” She shared a favorite quote with her sister: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
________________________________________
On the weekend, Yu Qing had originally planned to take a satisfying nap, but Zou Lexiao’s call disrupted her plans.
Zou Lexiao invited her shopping and asked if she had time.
Yu Qing didn’t have much to buy—she had splurged with Yu Jingxin the other night and temporarily lost her shopping urge.
She knew Zou Lexiao’s true intention wasn’t shopping but gathering information about Yu Jingze through her.
Zou Lexiao had been looking forward to this day for months, and Yu Qing couldn’t bear to disappoint her.
Fighting off drowsiness, Yu Qing gave up her nap time and agreed to meet at a designated spot.
In the yard, the housekeeper and staff were setting up a barbecue grill on the lawn near the lakeside. A few steps away was the waterside platform.
The small wooden table on the platform had been replaced with a long table.
Yu Qing remembered that the family was having a dinner tonight to celebrate Children’s Day tomorrow.
Several of her father’s cars were parked in the driveway—a rare sight for him to return so early on a weekend.
She asked the housekeeper if her father was upstairs.
Housekeeper: “Chairman Yu personally went to buy barbecue ingredients and took the business car.”
Yu Qing nodded. Her father was truly changing—he no longer solely expressed his affection for her and Yu Jingxin through money.
Of course, money was still part of it.
On this point, she and Yu Jingxin had reached an agreement.
Yu Qing and Zou Lexiao met at the café in the mall. By the time she arrived, Zou Lexiao’s coffee cup was nearly empty, indicating she had waited quite a while.
Inside the café, the distinctive aroma of coffee wafted through the air.
Yu Qing hadn’t drunk coffee for over four months and missed it terribly.
For the sake of her little fishling, she had given up many habits.
Zou Lexiao ordered two drinks for her—one coffee and one chilled lemonade. She pointed to the coffee, “This is for you to smell to satisfy your craving, then you can pack it for Second Brother to drink.”
Yu Qing smiled. “Thank you.”
Now she could only rely on the scent of coffee to keep her going.
Zou Lexiao rested her chin on her hands, staring at her. “You haven’t gained any weight.” There was a resemblance to Yu Jingze in her features, making it hard for Zou Lexiao to look away.
“Maybe I’m picky about food and don’t eat much.”
After exchanging a few casual words, Yu Qing asked about her situation at the law firm and which lawyer team she was assigned to.
“Yu Fei.” Zou Lexiao asked her, “Are you familiar with her?” Shuoyu Law Firm had hundreds of lawyers, and Yu Qing had only worked there briefly—perhaps they hadn’t even crossed paths.
Upon hearing it was Yu Fei, Yu Qing replied, “More than familiar—she’s also Lemong’s legal advisor.” Working with Yu Fei’s team meant no shortage of cases, though Yu Fei was strict with her team members.
Coincidentally, Yu Fei had taken on SZ’s acquisition case.
“What cases are you handling?”
Zou Lexiao: “I’m just a junior assistant. Big projects haven’t come my way yet—I’ve been assigned by Lawyer Yu to handle a labor dispute case with a particularly small claim amount.”
Her car consumed a lot of fuel, and after a few trips, she even had to cover some costs herself.
Yu Fei suggested she take the subway—it saved money and allowed her to think about the case during the commute.
Zou Lexiao initially thought Yu Fei wanted her to tone down her flashy car, but later Yu Fei explained, ‘For morning court sessions, I usually take the subway. If there’s traffic on the road, the trial won’t wait for you.’
Zou Lexiao mentioned taking the subway. “Now you know why I arrived early today—I took the subway. It’s actually faster than driving, and I didn’t have to search for parking.”
But one downside was that she couldn’t see Yu Bank’s headquarters or branches along the way.
It felt as though the distance between her and Yu Jingze had grown significantly.
She looked at Yu Qing, calculating silently. “Today’s the weekend—none of your family members are working overtime?”
Yu Qing laughed at the obvious intent. She teased Zou Lexiao, “Some family members are working overtime, and some aren’t.”
Zou Lexiao responded with an “Oh,” feigning concern. “Which family members are so diligent?”
Yu Qing suppressed a laugh. “For instance, Fu Jichen, Yu Jingxin, my brother-in-law, etc.”
Zou Lexiao: “...”
This “etc.”—did it include Yu Jingze?
“And which family members aren’t working overtime?”
Yu Qing: “My grandfather, my grandmother, and me... etc.”
Zou Lexiao: “...”
She burst out laughing and raised her hands in surrender. “I admit defeat.”
Then she asked directly, “Is Yu Jingze at home? He’s always so busy—he should take a break and rest.”
Yu Qing wasn’t sure if Yu Jingze was working overtime today or had plans with friends, but seeing how eager Zou Lexiao was to know, she decided to help her check.
She took out her phone. “Let me see where your idol is.”
Zou Lexiao quickly reached out to stop her arm and pleaded, “Can you put it on speaker? I want to hear his voice—it’ll be like he’s talking to me. I haven’t seen him in almost four months.”
Yu Qing hadn’t experienced the pain of longing and didn’t fully understand the depth of Zou Lexiao’s feelings, but her heart still stirred.
She was touched.
How humble must love be to yearn for just the sound of someone’s voice and imagine it as a personal conversation?
She had no reason to refuse, and besides, it wasn’t confidential dialogue.
Zou Lexiao moved from across the table to sit beside her, pressing close.
Yu Qing lowered the volume and dialed the number.
Zou Lexiao leaned over the table, her lips curled upward, inching closer to the phone.
Yu Qing gazed at this bright and lively girl. From her angle, it seemed as if Zou Lexiao wished she could crawl into the phone and travel via waves to reach Yu Jingze.
The call connected, and the other end greeted, “Awake already?”
A perfectly ordinary sentence, but to Zou Lexiao’s ears, it stirred her heart.
Even though those words weren’t directed at her, the magnetic, pleasant voice tinged with concern surpassed any beautiful melody in the world.
As his family member, how happy one must be.
If she were to be with him in the future, would he also speak to her in such an affectionate tone?
She let her imagination run wild.
Yu Qing asked casually, “Still at the company?”
After a pause, Yu Jingze replied, “Mm, busy. What’s up?”
Yu Qing heard some background noise on his end—it didn’t sound like he was at the office. In front of Zou Lexiao, she didn’t call him out. “Nothing much. The barbecue grill at home is set up—come back early.”
“Mm.”
Without further conversation, Yu Qing hung up.
Zou Lexiao felt satisfied and returned to her seat across the table.
She had originally planned to pick out a Children’s Day gift for herself, but now she no longer needed one—no gift could make her happier than hearing his voice.
She pictured Yu Jingze diligently working, overflowing with happiness.
Seeing this, Yu Qing teased, “Is hearing his voice really worth being this happy?”
“You’re someone who’s full and doesn’t understand the hunger of others,” Zou Lexiao called the server to settle the bill. “Let’s go shopping.”
________________________________________
Yu Jingze wasn’t working overtime—he was having afternoon tea with Zhou Siyuan.
After lunch, Zhou Siyuan called him, asking if he was busy and wanting to consult him about a few issues related to SZ.
Zhou Siyuan brought along a lot of materials, even her laptop.
“Take a look at this.” She handed him a stack of documents.
SZ had several hundred million yuan in loans with Yu Bank, and its next owner would also affect Yu Bank’s interests. Yu Jingze took the documents and carefully reviewed them.
Zhou Siyuan drank coffee to stay alert—she had worked overtime until 3 AM last night and attended a project discussion meeting at the company early this morning. She was severely sleep-deprived.
In their WeChat group, notifications kept buzzing, flooded with messages from Leng Wenning and Yu Jingxin.
During lunch, she had indulged in some gossip and found it unbelievable.
She heard that Yu Jingxin, accompanied by Ji Qingyuan’s lawyer, had gone to Wenning Media. Leng Wenning had received her, and they spent quite some time in the reception room.
Then all sorts of speculations emerged.
Just moments ago, they learned that Yu Jingxin now held 32% of Wenning Media’s shares, second only to Leng Wenning’s stake.
They weren’t interested in Wenning Media itself—they were more curious about when the love-hate entanglement between Ji Qingyuan, Leng Wenning, and Yu Jingxin would conclude and who would emerge victorious.
She knew that the women in Leng Wenning’s small circle were waiting to see her downfall.
Zou Lexiao had returned, determined to pursue Yu Jingze, yet she also held SZ shares.
If Zou Lexiao refused to transfer her shares, she would end up like Leng Wenning—co-owning a company with someone she disliked.
She was determined not to let Leng Wenning’s misfortune repeat itself in her case.
Compared to Leng Wenning, she had more advantages. Yu Jingze didn’t like Zou Lexiao, but she could always seek his help whenever she needed.
Halfway through reading, Yu Jingze commented, “I heard SZ has a promotional event coming up soon.”
Zhou Siyuan snapped back to attention and responded with a faint “Mm.” “They’ll follow their process. I’ve already submitted a confidentiality commitment letter, and due diligence will begin next.”
She wanted to seize the opportunity while it was close at hand.
She looked at Yu Jingze. “SZ said they’ve communicated with several individual shareholders. Most are willing to sell their shares as long as the price is right. Some are stubborn and refuse to negotiate altogether.”
Yu Jingze’s attention was on the project materials, and he absentmindedly replied, “That’s normal.”
Zhou Siyuan cradled her coffee cup with both hands. Right now, there were two troublesome shareholders: Zou Lexiao and the legal entity shareholder, Lemong Drinks.
The success or failure of fully acquiring SZ hinged on Zou Lexiao and Yu Qing.
Previously, she wasn’t worried about failing to secure Lemong Drinks, but now that Yu Qing was in charge of operations, she suddenly felt uncertain.
Leng Wenning’s recent streak of bad luck was all because of Yu Qing. If relying on Yu Jingxin to win over Ji Qingyuan, Leng Wenning would never stand a chance in this lifetime.
Since confronting Yu Qing directly wasn’t advantageous, she decided to learn from the experience. She could completely bypass Yu Qing and let Yu Jingze handle it instead.
“Hey,” she called out to Yu Jingze.
“What?”
Zhou Siyuan: “I’m not very good at negotiations. When we encounter tough issues, can you help me handle them?”
Yu Jingze raised his eyes. “Do you think I have nothing to do all day?”
Zhou Siyuan smiled. “Whenever you’re free. I’ll adjust according to your schedule—I’m flexible.”
If Zou Lexiao refused to transfer her shares, she would let Yu Jingze approach her and see what choice Zou Lexiao would make.
Regarding the issues with SZ and potential conflicts during the acquisition process, Yu Jingze and Zhou Siyuan discussed for nearly two hours.
Unknowingly, it was already 5 PM, and the sun was setting.
Yu Jingze organized the materials and returned them to Zhou Siyuan. He glanced at the time. “I’m heading back.”
“Got another appointment?” Zhou Siyuan looked at him.
Yu Jingze: “Going home.”
“It’s not like it’s something urgent—you can return early or late, it’s all the same,” Zhou Siyuan suggested. “Let me treat you to dinner.”
Yu Jingze declined and briefly explained, “Family dinner tonight.”
________________________________________
Yu Qing was also preparing to head home. Her father @everyone in the group chat: the barbecue would start at 6:30 PM, and they should take advantage of the baby not being sleepy to spend more time playing with him.
The baby was tonight’s star—the one most entitled to celebrate Children’s Day.
After shopping for several hours, Yu Qing only bought a few outfits for her nephew, and Zou Lexiao picked out a toy set for the baby, asking her to bring it along.
After reading the group messages, Yu Qing apologized to Zou Lexiao. “I need to head back. Let’s shop again when we have time.”
“No problem.” Zou Lexiao linked arms with her. “You’ve kept me company all afternoon—are you tired?”
Yu Qing shook her head. “This level of activity is nothing. I swim regularly, practice prenatal yoga, and juggle endless work every day. I’m used to it.”
Outside the mall, the car was already waiting by the roadside.
Yu Qing waved goodbye to Zou Lexiao. “If you have questions about cases, feel free to ask Yu Fei. If she’s busy, you can call me—I’m not overloaded with work right now.”
Zou Lexiao reluctantly waved back.
As Yu Qing walked toward the car, she hesitated for a few seconds before quickly rushing after her. “Yu Qing, wait a moment!”
“What is it?” Yu Qing turned around.
Zou Lexiao had a knot in her heart. After pondering for an entire afternoon, she decided to ask Yu Qing. “You definitely know that Siyuan Holdings wants to acquire SZ, right?”
Yu Qing nodded, signaling her to continue.
Zou Lexiao spoke sincerely. “I don’t want to transfer my shares. I didn’t even consider selling them when I was studying abroad, let alone now that I’ve decided to work in Beijing and dine regularly at that restaurant.”
She sighed softly. “I feel like Zhou Siyuan will ask Yu Jingze for help and send him to talk to me.”
At this thought, she couldn’t help but feel upset.
The person she liked helping someone she disliked advance their career—it was infuriating.
She admitted she was extremely petty and simply didn’t want to transfer her shares to Zhou Siyuan. Seeing Zhou Siyuan so close to Yu Jingze made her jealous.
If she refused to transfer her shares, who knows what nasty things Zhou Siyuan might say about her in front of Yu Jingze.
She felt trapped.
“Yu Qing, if you were me, what would you do if Yu Jingze came to negotiate with you?”
Yu Qing didn’t hesitate. “Since Zhou Siyuan is using this tactic, kick the ball back to Yu Jingze. Tell him that, for his sake, transferring the shares isn’t impossible—but with conditions. Haven’t you always wanted him? Ask him to spend an entire day on a date with you and give you a French deep kiss. Ask him if he’s willing.”
Zou Lexiao: “...”
This move was ruthless.
But she loved it.
It was incredibly satisfying.
Thinking about the French deep kiss, she blushed furiously, her ears turning red.
“I actually look forward to transferring my shares now. I hope Zhou Siyuan hurries up and pressures your brother to come negotiate with me.”
Yu Qing: “...”
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