Chapter 91

 

The moment she got into the car, Ming Xi almost admired herself, and she didn’t regret it at all.

Since she had made the decision, she wouldn’t turn back.

Life moves forward, and she had already grown wings to soar into the wind. Nothing in the world was more important than preserving her full and fulfilling self.

Forgive her selfishness, Miss Ming would not become Mrs. Liang.

Gu Shuangyang’s driver took her back to Tianxi No. 1. The driver had been instructed by Director Gu to take her anywhere, even out of the province… Ming Xi didn’t want to trouble the driver. It was New Year’s Eve; everyone deserved to reunite with their families.

She went straight to the underground garage, got into her own car, and drove north, merging from the ring expressway onto the Haigang highway toll station.

The attendant handed her the CPC card. Ming Xi rolled down the window, tilted her head, and smiled brightly: “Thank you, Happy New Year’s Eve.”

“…Happy New Year’s Eve.”

The car window rolled back up.

Ming Xi continued driving north at high speed.

Recalling the incident at the mountain villa years ago, she founded her own Mingzhou Company. Even though she was incredibly busy afterward, she still enrolled in driving school to learn to drive. Three years of hard work gave her the freedom and ability to go anywhere. She had earned herself who she was today through three years of effort.

Sometimes effort wasn’t about living the best life — it was about having the right to choose.

Even if she was a child without a true home, even if she had nowhere to return to, she still had a road stretching ahead. Because she was never a lost lamb.

New Year’s Eve had fully arrived. Ming Xi’s car sped along the highway.

She turned on the music. Outside, streams of taillights flickered like fireflies in the night wind; now and then her Mercedes overtook another vehicle.

The air inside the car felt slightly stuffy, so she couldn’t help but open the window a crack. When the speed reached 120 km/h, icy wind roared into the car, sharp and violent, almost piercing her ears. The cold stung her face, and as sensation became vivid and real, she felt an unexpected thrill.

Beneath this thrill lay absolute indulgence and freedom.

…

Inside Gu Shuangyang’s villa, Liang Jiancheng sat through an entire New Year’s dinner without once lifting his chopsticks.

After Ming Xi was driven away by Gu Shuangyang’s driver, the New Year’s Eve dinner, meticulously prepared by a five-star chef, proceeded as usual. However, due to Ming Xi’s sincere plea before leaving, Liang Jiancheng was reluctantly forced to stay—

to accompany the most authoritative, most calculating, most duty-bound Director Gu through this New Year’s Eve dinner.

Yang Minwen’s parents were also present. Throughout the entire meal, no one spoke. Yang Minwen opened his mouth several times, only to fall silent each time.

The New Year’s Eve dinner ended hastily, and Yang Minwen personally escorted his parents back to another residence.

Liang Jiancheng stood to leave. As he stepped forward, Gu Shuangyang’s cool voice came from behind him.

“Even if you go after her now, you won’t catch up.”

Liang Jiancheng slowly turned his head. Gu Shuangyang met his gaze and spoke again, “Come to the study with me. You also have the right to know why Miss Ming left.”

The tone of someone long accustomed to authority did not need to be forceful; inevitability seeped through every word.

Liang Jiancheng stood straight, unmoved. After a long while, his eyelashes fluttered slightly, his slightly downturned lips tightened, and his eyes were calm to the point of coldness — like pools of ink too deep to measure.

The right to know? His love, his relationship — whose right was that? Who had overstepped?

A mocking expression settled on his face as he looked at his untouchable, commanding mother. “Of course I have the right to know. But whatever it is, I’ll wait for Ming Xi to tell me herself.”

Gu Shuangyang found it laughable, yet she couldn’t laugh. She walked into the study, returned moments later, and handed him the background check documents that Ming Xi had reviewed and placed on the table.

…If Ming Xi’s reaction to seeing this information was one of shock and disbelief, then Liang Jiancheng’s heartache at this moment felt entirely reasonable. He had gone to great lengths to prevent Gu Shuangyang from knowing that the girl he was interested in was Ming Xi, knowing full well that the shrewd Director Gu either wouldn’t act at all, or when she did, it would be a decisive blow.

He flipped through the pages briefly. His gaze faltered; shadows gathered in his eyes.

He gripped the background check report, which almost entirely revealed Ming Xi’s past twenty-five years, his hands trembled slightly. Then, after a few more glances, he couldn’t bear to look any longer.

He closed his eyes as if trying to escape.

He could not imagine it — while he had been full of joy, preparing to celebrate their first New Year together, Ming Xi had sat in his mother’s study under total scrutiny. Her birth, her past, her dignity, her pride — all reduced to fifteen pages of documentation.

What a formidable Director Gu! What a “thorough” New Year’s Eve dinner!

No wonder Director Gu, who never worried about family matters, was so attentive in inviting Ming Xi to celebrate the holiday at her home. This prepared information must have been sitting on her desk for a long time, just waiting to be revealed to Ming Xi!

Color drained from Liang Jiancheng’s face. His heart clenched painfully. Though his breath burned hot, his whole body felt frozen.

A thick fog seemed to gather in the depths of his fixed eyes.

“…If I had known this was your plan, I would never have brought Ming Xi into this house.” Liang Jiancheng raised his head, his straight, cold gaze pierced straight into his mother’s. He hadn’t yet lost control to the point of speaking recklessly, so what he said was not an angry remark, but a very clear and rational statement.

If he had known, he would have waited longer, endured longer, anything to avoid hurting Ming Xi this way.

Gu Shuangyang fell silent for a moment.

Even more silent was Liang Jiancheng. Standing alone under the dazzling lights of the living room, Liang Jiancheng suddenly looked unbearably solitary. The light outlined his handsome face, while inside, he felt torn apart.

He knew perfectly well… What did Ming Xi’s dignified departure after her conversation with his mother truly signify?

She was never one to be controlled by others; she had already made her choice, all while he remained completely unaware. She had still smiled at him, helped him align the couplets, stroked Xiaoxiao affectionately… Even after being hurt, she showed no coldness, no blame toward his mother.

She had asked him not to follow because she wanted to leave happily — just as he had happily brought her here.

A sharp pain stabbed his eyes. When he raised a hand to his face, his skin was already cold with tears.

“Liang Jiancheng, are you putting on a show of deep affection? You look absolutely hideous! I never drove Miss Ming away; she made that choice herself. I offered to resolve every concern for her, considered everything for both of you, even promised she wouldn’t have to give up her career — and she still left. What does that tell you?

“It means she doesn’t have the courage or determination to stand beside you! If Ming Xi wants to become your partner, she cannot remain a girl who lives entirely on impulse. She must have the courage to face everything — including her disgraceful past.”

Disgraceful past?

What’s disgraceful about Ming Xi?”

He had been wholeheartedly watching the girl he had waited for years. what part of her was disgraceful? It wasn’t Ming Xi who was unworthy, absolutely not!

“Director Gu, I think it’s your action that disgraceful!” Liang Jiancheng coldly uttered these words.

Gu Shuangyang didn’t explain her actions; her face remained calm and composed.

Liang Jiancheng’s gaze, however, was like a sharp thorn, carrying a piercing pain that shot straight at Gu Shuangyang. The agony made him extraordinarily sharp, and a single intense look seemed able to pierce through false pretenses, striking directly at the essence of things.

“Director Gu, what you’re saying now sounds like utter hypocrisy — truly fitting for a great leader. What do you mean she can’t live freely if she becomes my partner? Is being my lover a prison sentence? What do you think my love, my home, are? A prison on earth? Or is it that the power and money you possess now have already imprisoned your own life, so you can’t bear to let Ming Xi have more freedom than you?”

Liang Jiancheng’s voice was deep and slightly trembling as he angrily responded to Gu Shuangyang.

Gu Shuangyang’s brows knit tightly together. Her gaze locked onto her son like the cold, terrifying tongue of a snake: “Power as a prison? Liang Jiancheng, has this relationship made you stupid? What you’re saying is childish and laughable — like something a high school student would say. That Miss Ming — she’s twenty-five this year, isn’t she? She has more ambition than you do, and she’s even more determined to climb upward. These past few years, has she lived as she pleased? Has she truly been free? Does the kind of freedom you imagine even exist in this world? Everyone has responsibilities and roles. You are my son; you got to where you are with my support. And now you talk to me about freedom — your idea of freedom is even shallower and more ridiculous than empty rhetoric. You don’t even have a man’s backbone or integrity anymore! It’s fortunate Miss Ming left early — otherwise, if she saw you like this, she would find you utterly laughable.”

Laughable? Yes, he was laughable.

Why had he naively believed that Gu Shuangyang would change? Earlier this year, when the China-U.S. anti-dumping case on color televisions concluded, Gu Shuangyang had let out a long sigh of relief on the plane home and spoke of wanting to retire early. He thought that the battle-scarred Director Gu had finally grown weary of the power struggles, and he, in turn, lowered his guard, revealing to Gu Shuangyang the person he had loved deeply for so long.

Her name was Ming Xi. She was an exceptionally good girl.

But Ming Xi’s goodness should never have been written in this way, inside an investigation file. This was not affirmation, not praise, and certainly not protection. It was scrutiny and intimidation from a man’s mother; humiliation hidden beneath the generosity of the powerful; bullying by social status.

He was sorry, but his heartfelt anticipation of spending New Year’s Eve with Ming Xi had been completely shattered by this investigation report.

So thank you, Director Gu, for letting him truly understand what it meant to plummet from great heights. His soul, once filled with joy and satisfaction, had fallen instantly from a towering cliff.

Outside, the wind howled, and his heart felt swept away by a storm.

His proud family, his excellent mother, his impressive love—everything he wanted to give Ming Xi, his meticulously constructed ideal of love—were ruthlessly destroyed by the distinguished Director Gu before him. On this New Year’s Eve, it all turned into sharp fragments, piercing deeply into his heart.

Liang Jiancheng walked out step by step, taking with him Ming Xi’s twenty-odd pages of background information.

The door opened, and gusts of cold wind rushed into Liang Jiancheng’s chest, making each breath accompanied by excruciating pain.

Gu Shuangyang’s icy voice came from behind him again: “Liang Jiancheng, if you find this ironic, then you should laugh at yourself. Laugh at yourself for being so unworthy of Miss Ming sacrificing her dignity to love you. Does Ming Xi love you? Perhaps, but she definitely loves herself more!”

Liang Jiancheng stopped in the doorway. Suddenly he laughed — a bitter, cutting laugh — then turned back and looked at his mother with cold directness: “So what if she loves herself more? What’s wrong with that? What’s incorrect about that! Director Gu, don’t you love yourself more too? You’re mocking a girl for loving herself more, that’s hilarious, thank you… You’ve really told me the funniest joke of the year.

“And do you know why Old Liang knew so early, while you were the last to find out? Sorry. I miscalculated one step. I thought you were stepping down, that you were finally ready to let go of ambition and your desire for power, and experience other flavors of life.

“It’s proven that you should continue to shine, you should—be immortal.”

With that, Liang Jiancheng walked out, the door slamming shut behind him with a loud bang.

He was gone, but his last words, filled with cold irony, still echoed throughout the villa’s living room. What struck Gu Shuangyang even harder was the blade of pain she had seen in his eyes — she had almost been unable to meet his gaze. Even someone as strong as her nearly collapsed to the floor. Her heartbeat raced wildly, blood surging through her veins, waves of dizziness rising.

Was power truly a cage?

Whether or not it was, tonight the villa felt more like an invisible prison — and anyone connected to Gu Shuangyang seemed unable to escape it.

But Miss Ming had chosen to leave — decisively and elegantly.

Before leaving, Ming Xi had turned back. Her bright, beautiful eyes held deep apology as she pressed her lips into a small smile, said nothing, and walked out. The apology in her eyes was naturally not for Gu Shuangyang — but for her son.

Gu Shuangyang sat alone in the study for a long time until Yang Minwen came in to find her.

Everyone else could express their apologies openly. Her apology — no one knew of it.

The night grew deeper.

Around nine o’clock, Ming Xi called Liang Jiancheng. Earlier she had been driving while listening to music, opening the window when her mood rose, and hadn’t noticed her phone had died. When she finally stopped at a service area, refueled the car, bought instant noodles, and sorted out her thoughts, she replaced the battery, switched her phone back on — and saw an astonishing number of missed calls. The first thing she did was call him.

“Liang Jiancheng… my phone died earlier, I’m so sorry…”

On the other end, there was a long silence.

An attendant at the gas station called out, “Miss, your noodle’s ready!”

“Just a moment…” Ming Xi turned and answered.

“I want to go back to Yicheng for the New Year. I’m almost there — just resting at a service area,” Ming Xi explained to Liang Jiancheng in a light tone.

There was still no sound on the other end of the phone.

“Liang Jiancheng, are you…listening?” she asked softly, swallowing and laughing lightly.

“I’m listening.” Liang Jiancheng finally spoke, his voice indescribably hoarse, sounding both close and distant.

A cold night wind passed by. Ming Xi thought she heard a heavy apology.

Why should he be the one apologizing? She was the one who had broken her promise.

Ming Xi tilted her head slightly, suddenly remembering how, when she was little, her grandmother forbade her from saying anything unlucky during the New Year. She had really become too arrogant and overbearing these past few years, actually saying something like “what if she doesn’t want Liang Jiancheng anymore” at the professor’s house during the New Year.

Who knew those words might truly come true.

Then Liang Jiancheng asked her three questions.

“Ming Xi, are you safe right now?”

“Ming Xi, are you hungry?”

And, “Ming Xi, are you happy right now?”

She answered all three in one sentence: “I’m safe. I’m going to eat something before driving again… Liang Jiancheng, I’m very happy.”

No matter what happened, she would take good care of herself and her emotions; she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into grievance or danger. Earlier, driving north, she had passed vast snowy landscapes and sincerely marveled at the breadth and grandeur of the country. Yicheng and Haigang were only a few hundred kilometers apart, yet north and south held entirely different scenery.

The attendant reminded her a second time that her noodles were ready, so she had to go inside. She carried the noodles out, eating while still on the phone.

Liang Jiancheng didn’t hang up for a long time, so Ming Xi naturally let the call continue.

Some things were impossible to predict. Who could have imagined that instead of eating the five-star New Year’s dinner at Gu Shuangyang’s, she would be eating instant noodles here? But… she hadn’t had instant noodles in a long time, and they tasted wonderfully fragrant.

Some things were no longer suitable to be spoken aloud. So neither of them mentioned the conversation in Gu Shuangyang’s study.

But Liang Jiancheng still asked:

“Am I… still your boyfriend?” Liang Jiancheng asked, his voice trembling slightly.

Ming Xi bit into the ham. Her teeth suddenly seemed to clash for no reason, and she found herself unable to swallow the mouthful of noodles, even though she was very hungry. She had driven north for so long, her proud, full, sensitive heart in her chest hardened into something unbreakable against the cold New Year’s Eve wind. She had driven so far, walked so long, and she did not want to admit that some questions had already become unmistakably clear.

Could she really say this? The state of mind she felt when she walked out of Gu Shuangyang’s study… was actually not very different from the feeling she had when He Yuan confessed to her years ago and she fled.

I’m sorry, Liang Jiancheng.

Ming Xi could no longer cry, but she struggled to control her trembling teeth and managed to say, “… Liang Jiancheng, maybe we should just stop here?

“I want to feel lighter.”

She wanted to feel lighter, and he should too.

If she had already decided that in this lifetime she would not become Liang Jiancheng’s wife, then she should not keep dragging him along. Thinking back over the past three years — if she had not kept him waiting, perhaps he would already be married.

If her love couldn’t enrich his life, then she shouldn’t add unnecessary complications.

There was a long silence from Liang Jiancheng’s end, as if his voice, along with his entire being, had vanished.

But Ming Xi knew that he was listening.

“Liang Jiancheng, don’t be unhappy. Let me tell you something funny — it turns out I’m actually from Sichuan.” She set down the instant noodles that were already getting cold, as if trying to comfort someone heartbroken by offering something even more disappointing about herself, forcing a joke out. “No wonder I can eat spicy food so well, it’s all in my genes. I’m such a silly girl… Liang Jiancheng, isn’t that funny?”

This supposedly funny joke didn’t make Liang Jiancheng laugh; it almost made her cry instead. In truth, the tears that had dried long ago already clung stickily to her face, leaving their mark on tonight’s memory.

On the other end of the phone, Liang Jiancheng’s slow and heavy voice came again: “…Then are we still good friends?”

Ming Xi lowered her head. It felt as if her heart were squeezed, fresh blood surging out.

Liang Jiancheng changed the question again: “Can I still be with Miss Ming? Even if we never marry in this lifetime.”

Ming Xi froze on the steps. Even though her spine bent under the weight of it, she still did not answer that last question, because she could not give him a definite promise. Instead, she said something she had often said to him years ago: “Mr. Liang has always been my best network friend.”

“Okay…” Liang Jiancheng responded softly from the phone.

After thinking for a moment, Ming Xi spoke slowly and seriously: “Liang Jiancheng, I can tell you clearly — your mother, Director Gu, did not make me feel even a little unhappy today. I simply made a choice that followed my own heart. I’m truly glad that all my previous efforts gave me the confidence to make this kind of choice. That is the meaning of my hard work these past three years. People cannot live without meaning. I don’t want to become anyone else’s meaning.”

“Ming Xi, can you give me a New Year’s blessing?” Liang Jiancheng suddenly changed the subject.

“Okay!” Ming Xi replied with a smile, then after a few seconds offered her blessing: “Liang Jiancheng, I wish you steady steps on your career journey, ever-renewing scenery, a brilliant new chapter, and extraordinary achievements.”

From the other end came Liang Jiancheng’s clear voice: “Alright. I wish Boss Ming unstoppable progress, cutting through thorns, always beautiful no matter when, soaring ninety thousand miles upward.”

“Thank you, Boss Liang, I definitely will.”

Ming Xi carefully wrapped the cold instant noodles she hadn’t finished eating and threw them in the trash can. Then, she took out a peanut candy from her pocket, gently blew off the sugar coating, and put it in her mouth.

At 10:30 p.m., Ming Xi drove into the new residential area where Cai Ni’s parents lived. As she parked in the lane, she saw Caini, Dezi, Han Junjun, and Han Junjun’s girlfriend setting off fireworks.

The fireworks bloomed brilliantly, lighting up everyone’s faces.

Ming Xi stepped out of the car and leaned casually against it, looking at her friends with bright spirits.

Everyone showed surprise — especially Caini, who almost jumped off the ground in disbelief.

Ming Xi smiled lazily and spread her arms toward Caini. Come here, give me a hug — her friends who had known her since humble beginnings.

Two years ago, when chatting with Maggie, Maggie had told her: “Ming Xi, you should change your social circle. You’re not the same as before; you shouldn’t cling to your old friendships and old self.”

Maggie’s suggestion seemed ridiculous to Ming Xi, but she didn’t argue.

If working hard just meant meeting higher-level, more sophisticated people, how boring would that be?

Jiang Caini threw herself into Ming Xi’s arms, whimpering like a curly-haired puppy. Ming Xi stroked her hair again and again while complaining, “What’s with this hairstyle you got for New Year? It’s so prickly.”

Cai Ni choked back a sob, her eyes sparkling as she looked up, “Because it’s a foil perm… Waaah!”

“We were planning to go to Haigang on the second day of New Year, but Boss Ming was faster — you even made it in time to set off fireworks with us,” Dezi said as he walked over in a leather jacket. The faded old jacket from years ago was gone; today’s one was Armani.

And Han Junjun…

Ming Xi looked kindly at the pretty girl next to Han Junjun. Caini had already introduced her on the phone, but today was their first meeting. Ming Xi greeted her first: “Hello, I’m Ming Xi.”

“I know — you’re the ‘four-person fortune squad,’” the girl said, blushing, her voice crisp and generous, very likable.

Then Ming Xi truly joined them, setting off fireworks together.

When the fireworks were in full bloom, Caini pulled her to make a wish just like on Millennium night years ago.

Five years had passed in the blink of an eye. In 2005, both she and her friends had changed enormously. One especially good thing was that her old wish remained unchanged:

A bright future and lasting friendships.

As for perfect fulfillment in everything — she wouldn’t be greedy.

The world was full of uncertainties; to remain steadfast was already remarkable.

…

Ming Xi spent five relaxing and enjoyable days in Yicheng.

She had few relatives there, but many friends — especially after entering the fabric business. During those five days, she went to KTV three nights with Caini and Dezi, attended business gatherings, and met old friends.

Han Junjun had found a marriage partner, and her number one creditor, Liu Xinjun, had actually been married and divorced…

Caini had also gone on several blind dates.

Only Dezi was uninterested in marriage. In the past few years, he hadn’t even date, and he even rejected every arranged introduction. In his words, “Now I’ve got a bit of money and guts, I’m getting a bit cocky. If a girl wants to be with me, I feel like she’s after my money. Right now I just want to grow the business bigger. Besides money, I don’t have much else to give. So why rush?”

Yang Kangde had always been a smart man. When smart people figured things out, they could make key life decisions easily.

“Han Junjun is different. He only has backbone when he’s attached to a woman.” Dezi commented bluntly.

“Ming Xi, what about you? Boss Liang is such a good catch, don’t miss out.” Dezi said directly during their second toast.

Ming Xi crossed her legs, her dark lashes shading the bright glint in her eyes, and smiled: “I’m like you — have a little bit of money and I’ve gotten a bit cocky.”

Dezi understood and clinked glasses with her again.

Suddenly the KTV screen switched to the song she had ordered. Ming Xi jumped up and grabbed the microphone.

There were many hit songs in 2004. After she finished one, Caini sang “First Love.” Ming Xi smiled softly while listening, blinking repeatedly, then leaned lazily into the soft sofa with her arms crossed. When Caini finished, she applauded enthusiastically.

She sang really well, though she was off-key a few times.

During the entire Spring Festival, Ming Xi gave her employees eight days off, but she herself returned to Haigang on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

Not only did she come back, but Dezi, Han Junjun, and Caini also came with her.

She had received business news: a major Haiou client with annual orders exceeding five million US dollars was looking for new partners after an unpleasant factory audit the previous year. Ming Xi had done detailed background research on the company, and they had once placed a trial order of around five thousand dollars with Mingzhou, so she had their contact information.

If their cooperation with Haiou really faltered… then maybe she didn’t need to be polite anymore.

The slightly troublesome part was that DG Company owed no favors to anyone. Even after their purchasing team flew to Haigang, they revealed nothing.

There was information — but very little.

Ming Xi offered to provide them with airport pickup, but was refused; they only informed her of their arrival time in Haigang and said they would contact her personally if there were any future cooperation opportunities.

…It was too passive.

Mingzhou’s company certainly wasn’t the only one to receive this business news. She believed that every textile-trading company in all of Haigang was trying every possible way to proactively get in touch with the purchasing officer from DG headquarters.

On the highway, two cars drove one after the other.

Dezi was driving Ming Xi’s car, and Han Junjun’s car followed behind.

Ming Xi sat in the passenger seat, with Caini in the back. Caini claimed she was coming along to stay with Ming Xi for a while to “learn business,” but in reality she was going to be Ming Xi’s little cook, taking care of Boss Ming’s meals and trying to fatten her up a few pounds. The real objective, though, was to escape her parents’ constant pressure to marry. She was only twenty-five, yet back in her hometown her parents had already called her an old maid!

A humiliating disgrace!

“What do we do, Boss. Ming? They clearly don’t want to meet us early,” Dezi said from the driver’s seat, turning his slicked-back head with visible anxiety.

Ming Xi opened the car’s storage compartment and pulled out a notebook of phone numbers. Acting on a thought that flashed through her mind — since the other side refused to reveal the hotel name but did provide their arrival time in China, it could only mean one thing: DG didn’t think highly of Mingzhou and had scheduled the meeting with them last.

Meeting last was obviously bad — it meant the least opportunity.

She needed to see them first.

Haigang currently had over a dozen five-star hotels, and all their numbers were in her notebook. Only seven of them provided airport pickup service. Ming Xi had just called the airline to confirm the flight’s landing time. With that information, all she needed to do was call each hotel one by one, posing as one of Smith’s colleagues asking about pickup arrangements, and she could confirm exactly where Smith was staying.

With the newly opened expressway between Yicheng and Haigang, the car moved quickly. Sitting calmly in the passenger seat, Ming Xi spent over ten minutes ending five calls. Her script was simple: she was a DG partner who had learned that Mr. Smith had booked airport pickup and wanted to confirm whether the hotel had arranged the car.

If it wasn’t the right hotel, they would check and tell her there was no guest named Smith, nor any pickup booking.

If it was, they would clearly tell her that the pickup service had been arranged.

After calling seven hotels in a row, Ming Xi wasn’t so lucky; it wasn’t until the seventh hotel that she received a definite answer: the hotel had arranged airport pickup service.

Ming Xi hung up and said to Dezi, “Head to Bolei Hotel in Jianghui. Smith and his team are staying there!”

Caini, who was playing Tetris in the back seat, sat up in surprise: “Ming Xi, how did you know?” Ming Xi had spoken a long string of words in English, but Cai Ni only understood the beginning “hello” and the end “thanks.”

Sitting the passenger seat wearing her sunglasses, Ming Xi explained her reasoning to Caini.

Caini’s mind turned slowly; it took her a while to process it.

Dezi, in the driver’s seat, smiled and genuinely praised, “No wonder our Boss Ming is so good at making money!”

An hour later, Ming Xi’s car and Han Junjun’s car came to a smooth stop at the Bolai Hotel.

The four of them waited in the hotel lobby, and less than ten minutes later, Mr. Smith arrived in the hotel’s pickup van. Ming Xi had already positioned herself with Dezi and Junjun nearby.

Wearing her warmest, friendliest smile, Ming Xi strode forward briskly to greet him ahead of time.

Smith looked extremely shocked and asked how she knew where he was staying. Ming Xi did not hide it — she told him honestly.

“Miss Ming, you’re so cunning, I don’t know whether to feel excited or scared!”

Even as he said this, Smith still extended his hand to her.

Ming Xi shook it generously and replied, “Smith, cunning doesn’t necessarily mean a bad partner. If you’re available, give me ten minutes. I’d like to briefly introduce Mingzhou’s strengths. Our complaint rate is the lowest in the industry.”

When she said ten minutes, she truly did not waste a single extra one. In those ten minutes, she successfully impressed Smith. He agreed to leave his luggage behind and go with them to see the new factory Dezi and Han Junjun had contracted in Haigang.

Smith was invited into Han Junjun’s car. Ming Xi was about to get into her own car when an American-made sedan suddenly blocked her front.

Ming Xi turned slightly, glanced at the license plate, but did not get out, deliberately waiting for whoever was inside to emerge.

The car door opened. Ming Yue stepped out in black patent leather boots.

Ming Xi looked at her, and their eyes met beautifully for the first time. Many years ago, she had learned a trick from Liang Jiancheng: in business, you always have to be one step ahead.

Sorry, sister — you were one step late.

Under the cold sunlight overhead, Ming Xi walked forward step by step right in front of Ming Yue.

“Ming Xi — this is Haiou’s major client!” Ming Yue’s first words upon finally meeting her sister were exactly that.

“Oh? Then I look forward to him becoming Mingzhou’s major client,” Ming Xi replied with a smile. Then she made a polite gesture asking Ming Yue to move her car. If she didn’t cooperate, Ming Xi would call the hotel valet.

Ming Yue remained unmoved, her eyes cold and mocking.

Ming Xi lowered her head slightly. No matter what, they were family. She stepped half a pace closer, narrowing the social distance, and said softly: “Smith is very conservative. He especially dislikes rude people. Sister, I’d advise you to move your car. Right now you’re not just blocking my car — you’re blocking your own path to profit. If I don’t win Smith over, Haiou might still get a chance to pick up the leftovers, right?”

Her tone was gentle, yet every word was deliberate.

Ming Yue clenched her teeth, staring incredulously at the cunning, bold, and provocatively confident Ming Xi before her. How had she become like this?

Of course, it was a gradual transformation.

Ming Xi raised her hand lightly, kept her lips flat in a composed line, and put her sunglasses back on. Finally, in the most polite yet calm tone, she asked the vice director of Haiou, “I have to trouble you, Vice Director Ming.”

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