Chapter 229: Placing Hopes

Night.

Tianxie Manor, Villa No. 1.

Jiang Lan had to prepare for the handover for Chen Che's ascension in three days, so she did not return home for dinner tonight, but was instead busy summarizing and reviewing various documents in her office at the company.

Jiang Kui coaxed Jiang Xiaoguo to finish her meal, then coaxed her to sleep. But for some reason, this little ancestor was full of energy today; Jiang Kui and the servant spent a tremendous amount of effort, but she simply refused to sleep.

Jiang Kui kept his patience and continued coaxing: "Guoguo be good, go to sleep quickly. If you fall asleep, Uncle will buy you candy."

Jiang Xiaoguo lay on the bed, waving her little hands, glanced at Jiang Kui, pouted her little mouth unhappily, and said in a milky voice: "Don't want Uncle, want Daddy."

Jiang Kui was stunned, and his smile froze on his face.

When Tianxie passed away, Jiang Xiaoguo was still too young to remember things, and as she slowly grew up later, neither he nor Jiang Lan had ever mentioned anything about Tianxie in front of Jiang Xiaoguo.

Jiang Xiaoguo had never asked such questions either; why did she suddenly say she wanted Daddy today?

The servant stood to the side, and seeing Jiang Kui's surprised expression, explained: "Young Master, the 'Daddy' the young miss is talking about should be that Mr. Chen."

"Ah?"

Jiang Kui asked in shock: "What's the situation?"

"Today, the young miss was frightened by the scene at the funeral. It was that gentleman who amused her, and afterwards, she started calling that gentleman 'Daddy'."

The servant said.

After hearing this, Jiang Kui's expression was strange. He looked at Jiang Xiaoguo and sighed: "My little ancestor, you really know how to call out, and you really dare to call out. That is Uncle, not Daddy."

Jiang Xiaoguo shook her little head and stubbornly said: "It is Daddy!"

"…Uh…"

Jiang Kui didn't know how to explain it to this little ancestor, but his thoughts became active, and he suddenly asked the servant: "Auntie, what do you think of that Mr. Chen?"

The servant was slightly startled and smiled: "He is a man of talent and looks, and he is also gentle. I think he is quite good."

"His looks and abilities are indeed good, it's just this age..."

Jiang Kui knitted his brows with a bitter face: "It feels a bit strange for me to call someone only a few years older than me 'brother-in-law'. The key is that he is ten years younger than my sister... Hey, forget it. As long as my sister is happy, I have no opinion..."

Jiang Kui muttered to himself, but at this moment, Jiang Xiaoguo grabbed his clothes and stood up, pouting her little mouth, and said: "Uncle, find Daddy."

Jiang Kui smiled dotingly: "Alright, tomorrow I will take you to find Daddy..."

"Boom!"

Before Jiang Kui could finish his sentence, a loud noise came from the living room.

Jiang Xiaoguo was startled, hugged Jiang Kui's neck tightly, and buried her little head in his arms.

"Uncle hold! Uncle hold!"

Jiang Xiaoguo shouted with a crying tone.

Jiang Kui held Jiang Xiaoguo, frowned, and ordered: "Auntie, go take a look, is it my sister who has returned?"

The servant responded and went to check. As she walked to the door, a huge force suddenly struck, and her whole body flew backward, slamming into the wall with a bang.

Long Yi scrambled in, his face covered in blood, and shouted in panic: "Young Master, run—"

Swish!

Before he could finish, a white arc of light flashed by, Long Yi's throat was slit, and fresh blood sprayed out.

Wen Meng appeared behind Long Yi, looking at the stunned Jiang Kui with an evil, charming smile.

Tianxie Group, Jiang Lan's office.

Jiang Lan was wearing a sexy office lady uniform, buried in a pile of documents, busy at work.

Long Jiu stood guard outside the office, vigilantly observing the surroundings. Logically speaking, it was near midnight and no one should come here, yet Long Jiu discovered an uninvited guest.

Bai Xiangjin.

Bai Xiangjin was alone, walking slowly to the outside of the office. Long Jiu stopped him and asked: "The Chairperson is busy. Mr. Bai, it's so late, is there something?"

"I have something to see Jiang Lan about."

Bai Xiangjin addressed her by her full name, which made Long Jiu feel displeased, so he replied coldly: "The Chairperson has no time. Mr. Bai, come back tomorrow."

Bai Xiangjin looked at Long Jiu sideways and said with a smile: "It is a big matter. If it's too late, lives will be lost."

Long Jiu narrowed his eyes, his fists slowly clenching.

"Come in."

Jiang Lan's voice came from inside the office. Long Jiu had no choice but to open the door, walk in with Bai Xiangjin, and then stand behind Jiang Lan, guarding her.

"Chairperson, you've been working hard. Are you busy with the transition Ritual in three days?"

Bai Xiangjin sat opposite Jiang Lan, saying with a playful smile.

"Just say what you have to say."

Jiang Lan said with a cold face.

Bai Xiangjin got straight to the point: "I have invited Xiao Kui and Xiaoguo to be guests at my place. Now I have specifically come to invite you to go as well."

Jiang Lan's body shook, and the pen on her fingertips fell onto the desktop with a thud.

Long Jiu took a step forward, his True Qi released throughout his body, his presence terrifying.

Bai Xiangjin was not panicked at all, turned his head to look at Long Jiu, and smiled: "Oh right, Long Yi is your apprentice, right? He is dead."

Long Jiu's eyes widened abruptly, his body trembling slightly, and his terrifying aura became even more violent and sharp.

Jiang Lan stared at Bai Xiangjin and said with restraint: "Bai Xiangjin, do you know what you are doing?"

"Of course I know. Even a rabbit will bite when it's desperate. It is you who pushed me too hard, and I had no choice but to do this."

Bai Xiangjin said righteously.

"Heh! I pushed you? Bai Xiangjin, how do you have the face to say this to me?"

Jiang Lan clenched her fists, nearly losing her composure.

Bai Xiangjin let out a cold snort and said, "We can chat about other things once we get to my place. The night is long, and a child will be afraid if she doesn't see her mother."

Jiang Lan forcibly suppressed the urge to strangle Bai Xiangjin, took a breath, and said, "I want to speak with them."

Bai Xiangjin shrugged, dialed a video call, and showed it to Jiang Lan.

In the video, Jiang Kui was huddled in a corner holding Jiang Xiaoguo; apart from looking a bit dispirited, they didn't appear to have suffered any injuries.

Jiang Kui suddenly looked up and discovered Jiang Lan on the other end of the video; he instinctively wanted to call out, but out of concern for Jiang Xiaoguo, he didn't make a sound, only mouthing the words: "I'm fine, find Chen Che."

Jiang Lan let out a sigh of relief, looked at Bai Xiangjin with eyes like frost, and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Bai Xiangjin put away his phone and said, "You know very well what I want; from beginning to end, it has only been the Scorpion Society. But now, I also want Chen Che's head to pay tribute to my son!"

Jiang Lan looked at him coldly and did not speak.

"Alright, come with me. Don't you want to reunite with your family?"

Bai Xiangjin looked at Jiang Lan with a mocking smile.

Jiang Lan stood up, but Long Jiu blocked her and said, "Madam, you cannot go!"

Jiang Lan turned back and said, "His target is Chen Che, so I will be safe for the time being, and since Xiao Kui and Xiaoguo are there, I must go."

Long Jiu pulled his hand back with difficulty, glared fiercely at Bai Xiangjin, and a surge of hot blood rushed to his heart: "I'll capture him right now!"

"Bang!"

As soon as the words fell, before Long Jiu could take any action, the sound of a gunshot rang out.

A True Qi Bullet pierced through the glass behind the office, but the target it aimed for was not Long Jiu; it was Jiang Lan.

Long Jiu was shocked and hurriedly turned, but it was already too late to use his True Qi to change the bullet's trajectory, so he had to use his body to block the shot for Jiang Lan!

Jiang Lan let out a cry of alarm.

The bullet pierced through Long Jiu's right chest; he used his True Qi to protect his vital organs, but he was still severely wounded, collapsing to the ground and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

Bai Xiangjin walked over with a sinister grin, stepped on Long Jiu's pale face, and ground down hard, saying, "What? Your disciple died, and anger has made you stupid? Did you really think I would dare to come alone without any preparations?"

Bai Xiangjin's foot was still applying pressure when Jiang Lan shouted, "Enough!"

Bai Xiangjin looked at Jiang Lan and smiled, "Shall we go?"

"I will go with you."

Jiang Lan glanced at Long Jiu, and Bai Xiangjin immediately replied, "Rest assured, I won't kill him. He currently poses no threat to my plan, and I still need him to pass a message to Chen Che for me."

Jiang Lan let out a sigh of relief and said nothing more. She knew very well that at this moment, the only thing she could do was pin her hopes on Chen Che.