Chapter 593: Hard to Avoid Courting Death

Jin Lao: "Stop guessing wildly. My granddaughter has been keeping us company this whole time; it is her."

Shi Youxuan smiled charmingly: "Yes, it is me."

Bureau Chief Liu:...

Shi Youxuan?

Is she Jin Lao's granddaughter?

All the mysteries were solved; he now knew who had invited Jin Lao.

Shi Youxuan had such a powerful background in the education sector, yet he had been completely unaware, and had even been incited by his daughter to snatch the school away from her hands—was this not courting death?

Bureau Chief Liu's attitude toward Shi Youxuan changed one hundred and eighty degrees instantly; he swore to her that she should rest assured, that no one would ever have designs on the school again, and that if she had any trouble, she should come to him, and he would resolve it.

Shi Youxuan thought to herself, if you would just stop causing me trouble, I wouldn't have any trouble at all.

Regardless of what she was thinking inside, she still had to maintain a facade of cordiality!

After Bureau Chief Liu returned, he sternly reprimanded his daughter and warned her never to be an enemy of Shi Youxuan again.

Previously, they had all assumed her family was merely wealthy, but now that they saw she had such a background, it was better not to provoke her.

But Liu Meimei was unconvinced: "Not provoke her? Zihan is still lying in the hospital; I cannot swallow this insult."

Bureau Chief Liu told his daughter: "Even if you can't swallow it, you must. It hasn't been easy for your father to reach this point; don't ruin both my future and Sun Qing's because of your willfulness."

Liu Ju Furen also joined her husband in persuading their daughter: "Meimei, just listen to your father. He has lived a long life and understands everything; he has eaten more salt than you have eaten rice. Your father would never harm you..."

Liu Meimei hummed and hawed, agreeing on the surface, but her parents did not know what she was thinking inside.

Jin Lao and his wife stayed in Jiangzhou for a week, but they did not get to enjoy much family time; all that greeted them were endless visits and invitations.

From morning until night, it was never-ending.

The old couple prepared to return home, and Shi Youxuan's family saw the grandparents off at the airport; only after watching the plane fly away did the family return.

Sheng Hanyu dropped his wife and child off at home and then hurried out.

After deciding to cooperate with Qi Xiansheng, things had suddenly piled up; he was busy from early morning until late at night every day, wishing he could split himself into several people.

Today was no exception.

"Are you coming back for dinner tonight?" Shi Youxuan saw him to the main gate and stroked her husband's face, feeling very distressed: "Look at how thin you've become during this time. Isn't it enough that we provided the capital? Why are you following along and working yourself so hard?"

"It's just this period that will be a bit busy; it will be better in a few days. I'll be a bit late coming back tonight; if you're sleepy, just go to bed, don't wait for me."

Sheng Hanyu pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead and then left the house.

Not long after he left, Lady Qi came over with Qi Heng.

The two children were in the courtyard doing homework, and the two women were sitting in the living room drinking tea.

Ever since the two families began cooperating, Lady Qi and Shi Youxuan had grown closer, meeting almost several times a week.

Lady Qi hadn't come over today for idle chatter; she wanted to hold a banquet and had brought the guest list for Shi Youxuan to look over and vet.

Shi Youxuan took the list; it was written quite thoroughly, with names, the husbands' backgrounds, and even their maiden family backgrounds.

"Oh my, Meiqi, where did you get this list? This is too detailed, isn't it?" Shi Youxuan sighed at her own inferiority.

In all her years in Jiangzhou, she didn't know as many ladies and wives as Lady Qi did!

How long had she even been in Jiangzhou?

She actually knew so many people already.

Lady Qi sighed, her tone filled with envy: "Do you think I want to know so many people? I have no choice; my husband wants to gain support in Jiangzhou, so I have to go and build relationships with those people's wives and ladies..."

"You don't count; you are my best friend, you're different from them."

"Wife diplomacy" was also an important part of diplomacy.

It was easier for women to talk; sometimes when men couldn't solve a problem, the wives could.

But Shi Youxuan didn't need to.

She didn't like discussing bags, clothes, jewelry, or showing off children with those ladies and wives in the first place.

Sheng Hanyu didn't need to build connections through his wife, either!

He didn't even need connections, and his business still flourished.

Shi Youxuan was not familiar with this circle, nor was she interested in it.

But Meiqi had invited her, and she had agreed to go.

That list was too long; she only glanced at it twice before she couldn't keep reading.

The day of the banquet arrived.

The front of the Prince Hotel was brightly lit; the parking lot wasn't filled entirely with luxury cars, but the guests who arrived were all women of status.

"Xuanxuan, you finally made it."

Meiqi grabbed her and wouldn't let go, asking her to accompany her at the entrance to welcome guests.

And incidentally, to introduce the ladies of the various families to her.

Madam Zhang.

Lady Li.

Lady Liu.

Miss Huang...

Quite a lot of people had come; Shi Youxuan shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with everyone. Many people had gone inside, but she remembered very few.

She had a bit of a headache.

This kind of occasion was truly not her forte; everyone was being hypocritical.

Whether they knew each other or not, they all had to put on a very intimate act; it was exhausting just to watch, let alone be in the middle of it.

"I can't do it anymore, I need to go rest for a bit," Shi Youxuan said.

Meiqi laughed: "Go ahead. It's been hard on you to keep me company for so long; tomorrow I'll make some delicious snacks and send them to you as a reward for your hard work."

Lady Qi made excellent snacks—fragrant, sweet, delicate, and not sticky to the teeth; Shi Youxuan had fallen in love with them after trying them once, but she just couldn't learn how to make them.

"You promised, it's a deal."

"Mm, it's a deal."

She went to the main hall and specifically found a corner to sit down in.

It wasn't just her head that hurt; in fact, her feet hurt too.

After standing for half a day in high heels over ten centimeters tall, her calves were about to cramp.

She still preferred wearing sneakers and Spring Shoes, but they weren't appropriate for an occasion like this.

A woman appeared at the entrance who looked quite familiar; it seemed she had seen her somewhere before.

Where had she seen her?

It wasn't until she heard someone greeting her: "Madam Sun, is this bag the latest model? You really have a way with things; I've been eyeing this bag for many days and still couldn't manage to snag one..."

She finally remembered—that woman was Sun Zihan's mother.

Could this be considered a case of enemies crossing paths on a narrow road?

Sun Zihan's mother was wearing a fiery red, tight-fitting evening gown today, and she wasn't wearing that necklace as thick as a dog chain around her neck, having swapped it for a set of diamond jewelry.

With this outfit, her taste had actually improved, but she just had to gild the lily by wearing a thick, heavy gold bracelet on her left wrist, adding an air of a nouveau riche!

Shi Youxuan lowered her head to play with her phone, pretending not to see her.

Of course, it wasn't that she was afraid of her; it was mainly to save face for Lady Qi.

But Liu Meimei spotted Shi Youxuan.

"Yo, who do I see here? So it's Chairman Shi." She clicked along in her high heels, swaying as she walked toward Shi Youxuan.

No need to think about it, she was here to pick a fight.

Shi Youxuan put away her phone and greeted her with a smile: "Hello, Madam Sun."

"I am not well!"

Liu Meimei's voice was very loud: "I heard Chairman Shi's maiden family is very capable. I really underestimated you; no wonder you can be so overbearing—so it turns out you have a strong background..."

She spoke in a sarcastic, mocking tone, harping on about "background," "pulling strings," and "having connections at the top."

It was as if this woman never felt that women should create their own value, and that a woman's life should be lived as someone else's appendage!

Those with different paths cannot make plans together.

One can choose not to make plans, but if provoked, one must respond!