“You think so, but have you considered Xiu’er’s feelings?” Grandpa Ji asked gently.
As one grows old, their desires diminish, leaving only the wish to see a harmonious family and prosperity.
He knew that it was his wayward son who had wronged his daughter-in-law and this family years ago, so he was willing to agree to anything that could compensate her.
Even the Ji Corporation, which he had bypassed his wayward son to directly hand over to Xiu’er, was his greatest sincerity.
“Shuhua, with me here, the Ji Corporation will always belong to Xiu’er. I will give you peace of mind today. But think carefully, if you do this, it will inevitably damage Xiu’er’s relationship with you. That child has always been emotionally detached, dedicating all his focus to work. He finally found someone he adores, why must you be the one to break them apart?” he said earnestly.
Mother Ji shook her head, her mind already made up. “Dad, you don’t need to persuade me anymore. I only wish that our family will have no connection whatsoever with that mother and son! As for Xiu’er, I am his mother, why would he not listen to me? I will find him a suitable helper again then.”
That was why she had taken advantage of Xiu’er’s business trip to specifically print this divorce agreement and summon Jiang Mian back.
She absolutely could not tolerate that child having even an iota of a relationship with the Ji family!
As long as they were divorced, it wouldn’t matter what Jiang Mian did with him! Nor would she be an eyesore to her!
Mother Ji’s gaze gradually became firm. It was fine if they didn’t agree today; she would definitely find a way to make Jiang Mian agree.
Completely absorbed in her thoughts, Mother Ji didn’t notice that the study door was not tightly closed, leaving a gap.
A figure peeked in, glanced at the documents on the desk, and then quietly tiptoed back to the room.
...
Jiang Mian couldn’t understand why Mother Ji insisted on breaking up her and Ji Zhixiu.
She knew she wasn’t the suitable daughter-in-law in Mother Ji’s eyes. Her acceptance was only due to Ji Zhixiu.
But that was enough for her.
As long as they coexisted peacefully, and she fulfilled her duties as a daughter-in-law, it was sufficient.
But… why was she so determined to force her to sign the divorce agreement, disregarding Ji Zhixiu’s feelings?
Jiang Mian couldn’t figure it out.
On the way back, Xiao Bai noticed that her mood was clearly different from when she had arrived.
Xiao Bai, who was usually so talkative, didn’t know what to say. What exactly had the Madam said to the Young Madam!!
How could she make the Young Madam so silent all of a sudden!!
He opened his mouth, intending to say something amusing, and racked his brain. “Young Madam, shall I tell you a joke?”
Jiang Mian snapped back to attention and smiled. “No, thank you.”
“Alright, Young Madam. If the Madam said anything to upset you, please don’t be sad. We’ll find the President, he will surely protect you.”
Find Ji Zhixiu…
Jiang Mian looked down at her phone. They hadn’t contacted each other since they parted that day.
Only when she had free time did she realize how much she missed him.
Ji Zhixiu, please come back soon.
...
Oslo.
In a hotel ballroom with a rich medieval architectural style.
Ji Zhixiu crossed his legs, his expression stern. His charcoal grey suit made him appear meticulous, his handsome features sharp as if carved.
Sitting opposite him was a Norwegian Chinese man in his thirties, who was also the head of Ji’s Oslo branch.
It was just past nine in the morning.
Outside the transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, pedestrians strolled by in twos and threes, making the small city appear tranquil and leisurely.
The branch manager’s name was Orris.
He broke the heavy atmosphere first. “Mr. Ji, this was an accident.”
“An accident?” His pair of long, narrow phoenix eyes narrowed, making him appear even more sharp without a smile.
The faint question struck him, causing his heart to skip a beat.
Orris licked his lips, trying to ease the tension. “Mr. Ji, have you had breakfast? There are many specialty dishes here…”
“Why was there a shortage of supply, leading consumers to complain to the Chinese headquarters?”
He cut straight to the chase, unwilling to waste words.
Orris’s mind raced. Although he had prepared his explanation, he had never imagined that the President himself would come to investigate!
In front of this terrifying man, he still didn’t dare to offer excuses, fearing he would reveal a flaw.
A mocking smile flickered in Ji Zhixiu’s eyes. “The limited edition season bags were already out of stock, yet why was the official website not updated? This led consumers to place deposits on the website, only to wait for months without receiving their goods.”
“Even further, Oslo has a factory. If you wanted to appease consumers and calm their anger, you could have obtained approval from headquarters to invest in mass production.”
“Why did you play dead?” His gaze was like a blade, directly at Orris, as if he had seen through his trick.
Orris quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze.
His heart pounded violently. Did Mr. Ji’s words mean… had he already investigated the factory?
Did that mean… he knew?
No, that wouldn’t do!
He suddenly raised his head, his expression a mixture of regret and accusation, and began to defend himself. “Mr. Ji, this was a mistake by the technical department, which resulted in the website’s inventory not being displayed correctly. I know I was foolish to conceal this! I shouldn’t have hidden it privately. I thought I could resolve the issue! It’s all my fault, and I apologize for damaging the company’s reputation!”
“Please, Mr. Ji, give me another chance! I have been with the company for so many years! No one understands it better than I do!”
Ji Zhixiu’s lips curved slightly, his indifferent actions like watching a clown.
Orris had poured out everything, but there was no response for a long time.
He lowered his voice timidly, his eyes pleading. “Mr. Ji, you can punish me however you wish for this matter, but please don’t let me leave the company! Can you?”
Ji Zhixiu leaned forward slightly, observing his nervous demeanor, afraid to even breathe.
After a long moment, he curved his lips into a cold smile that was almost cruel. “You dared to use the company for illegal financial gain, and you still expect to stay?”
Hearing this, Orris’s face turned ashen, and his body seemed unable to bear the weight, sliding to the floor from the sofa.
He knew! This man knew everything!
Nothing could be hidden from this man!
One wrong step, a misjudgment, led to irreversible regret and immeasurable losses for the company…
Orris’s emotions shifted continuously, and he offered no further rebuttal.
The tea on the wooden coffee table had lost its warmth.
“I have already arranged for someone to take over in Oslo. As for you,” Ji Zhixiu stood up and looked down at him, “you only need to be responsible for what you did wrong.”
He stood up and walked out with his long strides.
Fan Cheng hurried to follow.
Outside the door.
From the opposite riverbank, the melodious sound of a busker drifted over.
Fan Cheng said, “The President isn’t angry?”
Ji Zhixiu lowered his eyes. “Why should I be angry with him?”
“True, such a person isn’t worth getting angry over. It’s just that Orris was someone you promoted yourself.”
Ji Zhixiu leaned on the railing by the riverbank, his voice indifferent. “He served as a reminder. In the future, I will reassign managers to conduct on-site inspections of each other, and such situations will not occur.”
Fan Cheng nodded repeatedly. “This way, they won’t take advantage of their remote positions to act recklessly.”
“Have the consumers been handled?”
“They have been handled, Mr. Ji. Everything is as you instructed. We have returned double the deposits and satisfied all their reasonable requests. Fortunately, most of them were understanding. Some wanted next season’s new arrivals, which I also agreed to…”
“Hmm,” he responded, and then started walking again, along the riverbank.
Compared to the loss, he clearly cared more about customer experience.
“President, where are we going now?”
“To the mall.”
“What for, at the mall?”
The business was done, shouldn’t they be heading back? He hadn’t seen Ellys in a long time. He mused inwardly.
“To buy sweaters,” he said concisely.
“Sweaters?”
Fan Cheng repeated the word and then realized.
Wool sweaters were a very characteristic Norwegian attire, and a local Norwegian family business that produced sweaters was also very famous.
Fan Cheng knew this brand, which started with cashmere and had been passed down through generations.
It was very well-known in Norway.
Presumably, the President intended to buy one as a gift for the Young Madam.
...
Jiang Mian didn’t have much time to dwell on her thoughts; the new drama was about to start.
She was absorbed in studying the script and busy with work.
It was Sister Ning who gave her the ratings, and Li Zhuyi specifically showed her screenshots of her Weibo followers.
Only then did Jiang Mian realize that she might be truly becoming popular…
“Locking Hearts Chronicle” unexpectedly received widespread audience acclaim, and Jiang Mian once again broke out through her acting skills.
Perhaps audiences were tired of scripts that whitewashed villains.
Jiang Mian’s Concubine Le was thoroughly wicked; she needed no whitewashing.
This made her stand out amongst the other characters.
The outwardly gentle and kind Concubine Le, in secret, couldn’t stand to see others living better than her.
Every word she spoke, every action she took, carried a deep meaning.
She couldn’t stand the heroine and the male lead being in love, nor could she stand the heroine finding her sister.
She couldn’t even stand her own trusted maid having a sweetheart.
Because she herself was unhappy, and entering the palace was not what she wanted.
Putting on a brave face every day was exhausting.
Therefore, in secret, she did her best to cause trouble, and later, she engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the heroine.
Naturally, Jiang Mian also received a lot of personal attacks and even insults on Weibo.
Sister Ning told her not to read them, but Jiang Mian didn’t care. Those who couldn’t distinguish between the drama and reality were the most pathetic.
As for Mother Ji, she hadn’t contacted her since their encounter that day.
Jiang Mian knew that this didn’t mean Mother Ji had given up; it was just that Xiu Shui Mountain Villa was full of Ji Zhixiu’s people, and she couldn’t interfere.
While busy preparing benefits for her fans, she waited for Ji Zhixiu to return.
She posted on Weibo, asking what benefits her fans wanted for reaching twenty million followers.
The comment with the most likes was a request for a nine-picture set of benefits from Jiang Mian.
This was easy to satisfy. Jiang Mian browsed through her photo album and selected nine pictures to post.
[Jiang Mian V:] Thank you for your love, continue to support Locking Hearts Chronicle! The benefits I promised you. [Image] [Image] [Image]
[My wife really dotes on her fans, she’s so beautiful!!]
[Let’s go, let’s continue on the flower road!]
[Congratulations, wife, on breaking through an average rating of 4!!]
[Tonight we can watch Locking Hearts Chronicle again, let’s set a date!]
Sister Ning picked out a few suitable brand collaborations. Jiang Mian was busy with work every day, leaving early and returning late.
One day, just as she finished filming and was packing up.
Jiang Mian turned her head and saw Ye Yi standing at the entrance of the studio.
Jiang Mian walked over to greet him, carefully removing the earrings gifted by the brand. “Why didn’t you say anything when you came?”
“I didn’t want to disturb you,” Ye Yi said, with his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over her fair earlobe.
His eyebrows twitched, and he asked, inviting her, “Shall we have dinner together?”
“Then wait for me for a moment.”
“No problem.” Ye Yi found a stool and sat down. He said he would wait for her and his gaze never left her.
Jiang Mian was quick. After tidying up, she came to call him. “Let’s go.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“How about barbecue?”
“Whatever you say.”
However, they didn’t end up having dinner. Aunt Song called Jiang Mian, saying that Xiao Yugan seemed to be sick.
This made Jiang Mian have to bid farewell to Ye Yi in a hurry.
When she returned home, she discovered that Xiao Yugan had simply eaten too much in the kitchen that afternoon and couldn’t eat his cat food in the evening. It had frightened Aunt Song.
Knowing it was a false alarm, Jiang Mian sent a message to Ye Yi.
Jiang Mian: [I owe you a meal.]
Ye Yi: [I’ll remember.]
Jiang Mian: [I remember.]
Ye Yi: [Remember it in your heart.]
Jiang Mian chuckled and didn’t reply.
She picked up some clothes to go take a bath. She was exhausted from the day’s work.
After taking a bath, Jiang Mian fell into a deep sleep.
Until the next day, when Li Zhuyi woke her up. “Sister… something’s happened… take a look at Weibo…”