Chapter 235

"Pay back the money." Xia Xi said simply and directly, "The extra two million can count as interest."

Xu Guanshan glanced at the card on the table, then looked at her, another furrow added to the lines between his brows, his voice tinged with thin anger: "You want to go back on it?"

Xia Xi laughed, shook her head: "I will abide by my agreement with Xu Dongzhang; I will have no involvement with Xu Yanfeng outside of work."

The Xu Clan and Broad and Elegant have reached a cooperation; as the project's main person-in-charge, she inevitably deals with Xu Yanfeng in work settings, and she made it clear in her words that it is "outside of work."

Xu Guanshan's gaze held scrutiny; he obviously did not believe her.

Xia Xi knew gaining Xu Dongzhang's trust would be difficult: "You think I deliberately approached Xu Yanfeng? That's wrong. I couldn't stay abroad forever not coming back; I didn't expect to run into him again upon returning to Nancheng—it was all accidental. Nancheng is so big; I also have classmates developing here, and if we didn't arrange to meet, we wouldn't see each other. I also wonder why it had to be him I bumped into."

Xu Guanshan did not interrupt; he continued to listen to her.

Xia Xi took a sip of tea, both hands cradling the cup, her fingertips rubbing the uneven pattern on the cup's rim: "Broad and Elegant started late; seeking upward cooperation is an inevitable trend. Coincidentally, the Xu Clan's Jingyu Yuan project opened for bidding, and Broad and Elegant could not pass up such a good opportunity. I cannot let personal feelings hinder the company's development, after all the company is not mine alone. As for ultimately winning, it depends on ability; even if you don't trust my character, you should trust your own son—he would not act out of self-interest. Moreover——"

After a pause, Xia Xi gave a self-mocking laugh: "That play back then was arranged by you personally; I performed it exactly as given for him to see. You know better than anyone how damaging it was—he hates me so much he hasn't even had time to, how could he still want to resume things with me? You're overthinking."

Xu Guanshan didn't want to admit it, but he had been persuaded by this young woman's few words.

"And you?" Xu Guanshan cut to the chase, "Do you still have feelings for him?"

Xia Xi fell silent for a moment, then calmly said, "I'm doing very well now."

She spoke sincerely; she had never thought of changing her current state—grandmother, mother, and children surrounded her, Xiao Xuan had her own family and lived in the same city. Once her elder sister gets out of prison and brings her over, her life will be complete.

At twenty, love outweighed heaven; now she no longer dares to hope for it.

Having once possessed Xu Yanfeng was her fortune, enough for a lifetime of memories; without him, she could still live well. The future is long; perhaps she will feel regret at some point, but that's life—who can be without some regret?

She will never meet someone who moves her heart like that again. She is resolute.

Before leaving, Xia Xi said to the elder who distrusted her completely, "I'm grateful for the path you pointed out for me back then, which helped our family overcome difficulties. Goodbye."

Her tone was sincere, with no trace of sarcasm, making it hard to utter any reproach.

Xu Guanshan remained motionless for a long time until the tea in his cup cooled; he then picked it up and poured it out.

The assistant stepped forward half a step, picked up the small teapot sitting on the tea heater, poured the tea into the fairness cup, then slowly poured it into his teacup; tea vapor scattered, blurring his vision.

Xu Guanshan turned his gaze to the assistant: "What do you think of Xia Xi?"

The assistant couldn't guess the chairman's thoughts, so he spoke frankly based on personal feeling: "Compared to before, she has grown a lot; back then she was still a bit immature, now she has a maturity weathered by time, her words and deeds far steadier than peers her age." There was something the chairman might not like to hear; after pondering, he said, "She's a bit like the Young Master."

Xu Guanshan raised his eyebrows: "You also think that?"

Even the assistant could see it—Xia Xi had indeed changed considerably.

Seeing the chairman's reaction, the assistant knew he had hit the mark and added, "I believe what she said is probably true."

Over the next few days, Xia Xi continued to refine the design drafts.

The only internal change at the company was that account manager Jiang Tian was fired and handed over to the police. He sold the design proposal meant for the bidding to a competitor, and facing a lawsuit is unavoidable.

All staff received the notification email about this; after a brief discussion, it passed.

Friday morning, Xia Xi went to the president's office to find Lu Mingji.

Lu Mingji had examined the refined design plan; he was confident in her ability, yet she had overworked herself—only a few days had passed and she had already finished it; one can imagine she had been working day and night.

"Is the wound on your head healed?" Lu Mingji pointed to his own forehead, concerned, "Take care to rest, don't overdo it. Although this project is important, your health matters more."

"That doesn't sound like something a capitalist would say." Xia Xi joked.

"Don't be ungrateful."

"Don't worry, my head is fine now."

Xia Xi today wore her hair loose; as she was leaving, Lu Mingji deliberately stared at the spot on the back of her head where there had been a swelling—it had gone down, showing nothing.

Xia Xi returned to her office; Huang Shiyu handed her her phone: "Just now your mother called, saying something came up at home."

"Okay, I got it. I'll call her back."

Xia Xi placed the folder on the desk, took the phone from her hand, and called Su Jinru back.

The call connected; Su Jinru's breathing was heavy: "Xi Xi, are you busy? Grandma fell out of bed early this morning, just sent her to the hospital, now waiting in line for an X-ray; the doctor's preliminary judgment is possibly a lower leg fracture."

"Which hospital?" Xia Xi's expression turned grave, "Don't panic, I'm on my way."

While speaking, with the hand not holding the phone, Xia Xi grabbed a few items from the desk and stuffed them into her bag, exchanged a glance with Huang Shiyu, and strode out.

After ending the call with Su Jinru, Xia Xi immediately phoned Lu Mingji to give a heads-up: "Something came up at home; I need to go back for a bit. If the Xu Clan people want to see the revised design plan, just go find Huang Shiyu for it; if anything is unclear, give me a call."

Lu Mingji: "What happened at home? Do you need my help?"

"No need, no need." Xia Xi slung the bag she was carrying onto her elbow, pressed the elevator button, "I'm about to get in the elevator, I won't say more."

The forty-minute drive, Xia Xi kept within the speed limit and reached the hospital in under half an hour.

Grandma had already taken the X-ray, shown it to the doctor; the diagnosis was correct—a fractured lower leg. Elderly people's bones are brittle; a fall is serious, requiring a minor surgery.

Lying in the hospital bed, Grandma sighed and groaned, saying she had become a burden to the family.

Su Jinru pulled a long face, feigning anger, not allowing her to say such things.

The hospital elevator was packed; Xia Xi felt anxious, unwilling to wait, she ran up the stairs, a sheen of fine sweat on her forehead, barely catching her breath for a while. Seeing Xia Xi, Grandma gave Su Jinru a sideways glance: "Xi Xi is still at work; what are you telling her for? Making a fuss over nothing."

Su Jinru also didn't want to disturb Xia Xi's work; she wasn't just afraid that this girl would find out later and blame her for not informing her in time.

Back when Xia Yue had an accident, she concealed it from Xia Xi, only telling her when unavoidable; for this Xia Xi scolded her severely, admonishing her face-to-face, and from then on no further matters were to be hidden.

She dared not disobey.

Xia Xi sat beside the hospital bed, looking at her gaunt grandmother: "On this matter I side with my mother—you've fractured your leg, and you still call it trivial?"

Grandma rested both hands on the blanket and sighed: "It wasn't a big deal to begin with; last month Mrs. Li in the same building slipped in the bathroom, fell to the ground, and fractured her wrist—yesterday I saw her still with a bandage sling. I'm telling you, this is normal for elderly people. You're busy with work; don't let me delay your proper duties—go back. Having Mom watch over me is enough. This afternoon Mom needs to pick up the kids and cook; just find me a caregiver, she doesn't need to come over."

The old woman was stubborn; arguing with her got nowhere, so Xia Xi pretended not to hear her and said to Su Jinru, "Mom, you watch over Grandma; I'm going to sort out the paperwork."

Grandma: "……"

After talking until her mouth was dry, it amounted to nothing.

Guan He accompanied his mother to the inpatient department; in the hallway he saw a familiar face, the person didn't notice him, turned a corner toward the elevator area. Guan He stared, the fleeting memory of that face flashed—wasn't that Xia Xi?

"Xi Xi, you forgot to take your grandmother's documents——"

A woman ran toward the elevator; Guan He heard her calling "Xi Xi," so the woman just now really was Xia Xi.