Sweet words reached her ears, and Jiang Mian’s earlobes began to heat uncontrollably, a smile blooming in her eyes.
“I am very satisfied with Mr. Ji’s performance, please continue your efforts.” She said with a smile.
Ji Zixiu chuckled, lowering his gaze to the documents on the desk, his fingertip tracing the surface of the table. He hummed, “We can let Fan Cheng return tomorrow.”
Jiang Mian nodded, “Okay, he has worked hard during this period too.”
“I’ve also worked very hard,” Ji Zixiu’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he replied.
“Yes, you’ve worked hard too.”
“No, I mean I’ve missed you terribly,” Ji Zixiu smiled, his lips curving into a serious expression.
Jiang Mian’s heart pounded violently. Was this the effect of distance creating beauty? She had never heard this man speak so sweetly before.
“I, I’m going to sleep!”
Saying that, Jiang Mian yawned, as if on cue.
Ji Zixiu seemed to be able to imagine the young girl’s teary, drowsy appearance. His heart softened, and he said gently, “Sleep.”
Jiang Mian closed her eyes and placed her phone on the pillow, “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, sweet dreams.”
......
As soon as Fan Cheng returned to the capital, he first took a bath. The trip back had been truly arduous. Fortunately, he had a good constitution, otherwise he would have been shaken to pieces.
Following that, he slept soundly.
It wasn’t until the next day that he came to the company to report to Ji Zixiu.
At that time, Ji Zixiu was sitting in his office. Alice was by his side, reporting on recent business collaborations.
Fan Cheng came in, glanced at Alice, and then quickly withdrew his gaze, announcing loudly, “President, I’m back.”
Ji Zixiu looked up. Alice put away her documents, suppressing the urge to look at the man.
With great perceptiveness, she said, “Then I’ll leave first, President Ji.”
After she left, the man finally spoke, “How is she there?”
“That place has simple folk customs and a simple life, returning to nature. Young Madam is doing well,” Fan Cheng paused, cautiously glancing at the man’s expression, “she just misses you a lot… but now that there’s a signal, these are no longer issues.”
Ji Zixiu’s expression was unreadable. He tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers, and suddenly changed the subject, “How is the matter I asked you to investigate coming along?”
“President, you mean Young Madam’s mother, Jiang Yumei?” Fan Cheng collected his thoughts.
President Ji had instructed him to investigate this matter before, but he hadn’t found any leads.
Fan Cheng chose his words carefully, “President, Jiang Yumei is a difficult person to investigate. Currently, I only know that Young Madam was raised by her maternal grandmother from birth. Jiang Yumei would only visit her child two or three times a year, and always in a hurry each time.”
“According to the neighbors, Jiang Yumei seemed to be working in the capital. As for Young Madam’s father, no one has ever seen him.”
“After Young Madam turned ten, no one ever saw Jiang Yumei again. This person just vanished as if they had disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“Then start the investigation from the capital,” Ji Zixiu said coldly.
He had to find out the cause of the young girl’s headaches.
Also, how could a living person, with elderly parents and young children at home, simply disappear without a trace? The only possibility was…
Ji Zixiu’s eyes darkened. The possibility he least wanted to consider was that one.
Fan Cheng stiffened, “Yes, please give me some more time, President. I will do my best to uncover the truth.”
He gestured, “You may go out.”
Fan Cheng rushed into the office in the afternoon.
His brows were tightly furrowed, and his face carried a hint of seriousness, “President, I’ve found something.”
“Speak.”
“The public security system’s information indicates that Jiang Yumei’s personal information was canceled fourteen years ago.”
Fourteen years ago? That was when Jiang Mian was ten years old.
That was when he was still in Jiangnan.
But during that time, the young girl seemed carefree and showed no signs of sadness.
This meant that Jiang Mian did not know about this matter. Or, it happened after he left Jiang Mian and returned to the Ji family.
Ji Zixiu removed his glasses with one hand and leaned back in his chair, his voice deep, “Cause of death?”
“Suicide.”
Fan Cheng was equally serious, “Also, her identification information always listed her as unmarried.”
Ji Zixiu rubbed his forehead, “Anything else?”
Fan Cheng shook his head, “I can’t find anything else for now.”
“Continue investigating,” he ordered coldly.
“Also,” Ji Zixiu rubbed his mouth, pondering, “If Young Madam doesn’t ask, you know what to say if she does.”
“Of course,” Fan Cheng was taken aback, then nodded, “I’ll take my leave now, President Ji.”
He was left alone in the office, Ji Zixiu’s brow furrowed. A rare hint of doubt appeared on his usually calm face.
His intuition told him that the young girl’s occasional headaches were definitely related to this matter.
It was actually quite simple. A woman, without a man in her life, yet giving birth out of wedlock, either had a child with an ex-lover, or… an illegitimate child.
Regardless of which situation, the suffering should not be borne by the young girl. She was innocent.
......
Luo Corporation Building.
Shen Tingyu stood before Luo Fei’s desk, her usually gentle face now so overcast that water could drip from it. “The drama ‘Nine Heavens Immortal’ is so popular now, President Luo really has good taste.”
This drama was invested in by Luo Corporation, and its ratings were now so high, with constant trending topics on Weibo. A simple interaction between the leads was enough to make CP fans ecstatic. Luo Corporation was naturally raking in profits.
Within the Luo family, he had received no small amount of praise from the elder.
Thinking of how his eldest brother was useless and could only vent his anger with empty words, Luo Fei felt a surge of satisfaction.
How wonderful it was. Step by step, he was moving steadily, and sooner or later, Luo Corporation would belong entirely to him.
Hearing this, Luo Fei grinned, his tone filled with self-satisfaction, “My taste is indeed good.”
Shen Tingyu became even angrier. Jiang Mian’s popularity was now very high; even a guest appearance had garnered her many fans.
She truly hated Luo Fei for giving this role to Jiang Mian!
“We agreed to deal with Jiang Mian together, didn’t we?” she gritted her teeth.
“Stop,” Luo Fei held up his hand, “Let me correct your wording. You are jealous of Jiang Mian, you can’t stand her, and you want to steal her man. I don’t. I just want to obtain her. How can that be called dealing with her?”
Luo Fei’s blunt words made Shen Tingyu’s face burn.
“What do you mean I’m stealing her man? Ji Zixiu is originally my man!” Shen Tingyu was enraged.
In her eyes, how was Luo Fei any nobler? He was just an illegitimate son, and an illegitimate son with a chaotic private life!
Luo Fei fiddled with a flower petal on the desk, “Don’t be unconvinced. Who told her she’s prettier than you?”
Shen Tingyu closed her eyes, calmed her emotions, and then reopened them, “I’m here today for something serious to discuss with you.”
“You speak, I’m listening,” he said casually.
“I plan to leak that video.” She had endured it for too long, letting Jiang Mian be elevated so high, only to be brought crashing down.
She wanted to see who would still like this woman!
Luo Fei’s brows furrowed, and he immediately cursed, “Are you crazy, Shen Tingyu?”
What was this damned woman doing?
“I think you’re truly insane. ‘Nine Heavens Immortal’ is currently airing. If you leak negative news about an actor, aren’t you harming me? I’m warning you, without my permission, you absolutely cannot act rashly.”
Luo Fei was truly frustrated. This drama was only halfway through its broadcast. If anything went wrong, the old man would never forgive him.
Not to mention that woman. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes. He decided he wouldn’t make any mistakes that would give that woman an opportunity to seize power.
Shen Tingyu was stunned, she had almost forgotten.
She had truly been blinded by anger.
“Did you hear me?” he said impatiently.
If there were any mishaps because of Shen Tingyu, he would not let this woman off.
A look of disgust flashed in Shen Tingyu’s eyes, and she said faintly, “I understand.”
Then, for now, let you be smug for a while longer. After ‘Nine Heavens Immortal’ finishes airing, I’ll deal with you.
Shen Tingyu walked out of the office and ran into Liang Qiao head-on.
“Oh, who the hell is walking without looking where they’re going?” Liang Qiao cursed. Upon seeing who it was, a cold sneer curved her lips, “What a coincidence, the enemy meets on a narrow path.”
Shen Tingyu also frowned. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Liang Qiao for a long time.
Luo Fei was no longer pampering Liang Qiao. Since that was the case, she didn’t need to spare Liang Qiao any face.
Shen Tingyu stopped and sneered, “You bumped into someone, shouldn’t you apologize to me?”
Liang Qiao didn’t know what patience was. Seeing that Shen Tingyu still dared to challenge her, her anger flared.
“Shen Tingyu! You have some nerve, relying on Luo Fei’s backing to be so reckless, right? You expect me to apologize to you? Do you even deserve it?”
The little assistant behind Liang Qiao tugged at Liang Qiao’s sleeve, signaling her not to be impulsive. Unfortunately, Liang Qiao was in a fit of rage and paid no attention.
Shen Tingyu, who caught a glimpse of her movement, looked on with a mocking expression, “In what capacity are you lecturing me now? Mrs. President of Luo Corporation? Or… the cash cow of our company?”
Saying that, Shen Tingyu pretended to ponder, “Speaking of which, I recall Sister Qiao hasn’t filmed any scenes for two months now. Is it that she doesn’t want to film… or that she can’t find any work?”
“You…” Liang Qiao was burning with rage and raised her hand to slap her, “You dare to insult me? I’m telling you, Shen Tingyu, even if I’m nothing, I’m still your senior, you have to show me some respect!”
Shen Tingyu did not expect this crazy woman to actually dare to hit her in front of so many people. She covered half of her face, her eyes narrowed, filled with anger.
“When I debuted, you didn’t even know where you were playing in the mud! How dare you yell at me, don’t you even look at what you are!”
Liang Qiao truly hated Shen Tingyu. If it weren’t for her, how would she have been kicked aside by Luo Fei!
She hadn’t received any acting jobs for two months!
Good resources weren’t coming her way, and she disdained to film mediocre ones.
Was she, Liang Qiao, going to go back to square one after so many years in the industry? She was unwilling, why?
She came today to ask Luo Fei, whether this man had any heart!
She hadn’t expected to run into Shen Tingyu coming out of his office. With old grudges and new ones combined, Liang Qiao felt like tearing Shen Tingyu apart right now.
The little assistant was dumbfounded. Sister Qiao was truly… as fierce as ever.
People were coming and going in this area, and no one dared to step forward.