Chapter 399: Encounter

"You don't mean you want to go looking for them, do you?"

The man speaking, upon hearing the two say that Miss Xu of the Xu family is divorced and single, realized they truly know each other!

"Right!"

"Then that's unlikely; yours isn't an emerging industry, there's not even a chance to get in front of her!"

"Emerging industry, getting in front of her?"

Su Zeyan felt for the first time that he didn't understand these terms.

"Oh, I forgot you're new and don't know. The Su Family just arrived, and bought an island near the open sea that has fresh water resources, developing a Phase‑one island villa. That villa is invitation‑only; only those invited by the Su Family, or those invited by someone the Su Family invited, have the right to purchase. Every homeowner gets a private yacht! The property provides professional staff who can shuttle to and from the coast at any time."

It's easy to imagine that the people living there are far from ordinary.

"Later, while the Su Family was acquiring real estate, they also invested in several emerging industries. Their family is backed by the authorities, so they're more attuned to policy directions than ordinary people; none of their investments suffered losses, and within a year they became a major powerhouse in Shencheng! A huge number of people want to cooperate with them."

The man was pleased with the feeling of everyone's gaze focused on him.

"General Manager Yang and General Manager Su handle countless affairs daily; those who want to see them are as numerous as fish crossing a river. Some discovered that General Manager Yang's daughter‑in‑law often goes out with her son and Miss Xu's daughter for shopping, so they send their own sons and daughters to court her! This is a golden shortcut for quickly submitting one's own industrial plan."

If you want to court her, you must first submit your industrial plan. If it doesn't pass, you won't even get a chance to court her.

The bodyguards around them are all veteran special‑forces soldiers and mercenaries!

"Of course, there are also people like my father who want me to sell my looks in exchange for something good."

……

"Mom, is that uncle today trying to court you?"

Xu Jia lifted her round, pretty little face, curiously watching her mother's sharp features.

Xu Mingyue scooped up her daughter, planting several kisses, and said while walking, "Sweetie, don't you want a step‑dad?"

Xu Mingyue practices daily with the martial‑arts instructor that Yang Zhichun hired, and now can easily lift her five‑year‑old daughter.

These years, Xu Mingyue has been complementing Yang Zhichun and her group. She is also glad that Xu Jia's maternal grandparents chose to stay in Jingdu.

When Xu Jia was three, her cognitive development was rapid; she began to question her memories, doubting that she was Xu Mingyue's daughter.

If it weren't for Su Xi, Su Yi, and Xu Jia usually playing together, Su Xi would notice something amiss and remind her, but she didn't know.

Xu Mingyue took Xu Jia to many places, several hospitals, and together they did a paternity test; Xu Jia saw the evidence, confirmed that she was her mother, and treated the previous memories as nightmares.

"I don't want to!"

"Why?"

Xu Mingyue carried Xu Jia into the living room, nodded at Zheng Dongqing who was watching a drama, then took her daughter upstairs.

"Mom, if there's a step‑dad, no one else can court you, so only one person provides emotional value. If there's no step‑dad, many people can court you, and you can enjoy different emotional values! So having a step‑dad isn't worthwhile!"

Xu Jia wore a solemn expression; after Xu Mingyue sat on the sofa holding her daughter, she laughed uproariously.

"Hahaha!"

"My baby is so well‑behaved, really thinking of Mom."

Xu Jia nodded, "Mm‑mm."

Xu Mingyue pressed close to her daughter, "Sweetie, tell Mom, who taught you?"

Xu Jia's round almond eyes darted around, silent.

"Is it Aunt Qing or your little brother Su Xi?"

Xu Jia pouted, "I asked little brother Su Xi!"

Seeing her daughter looking so plaintively cute, Xu Mingyue felt something stir inside.

"Sweetie, do you want to go back and see your maternal grandparents? It's been so long since you've seen them; you've only seen photos."

Southern weather is warm, and Xu Jia has actually never seen snow. Winter break is right around the corner, and Xu Mingyue wants to take the now‑memory‑less Xu Jia back to see her dad and mom. While Xu Jia hasn't drawn a lot yet, she wants her parents to hug the chubby Xu Jia.

"Will little brother Su Xi and little brother Su Yi also go?"

Xu Jia thought of her little companion! "No, we'll go see the snow, then bring our maternal grandparents back, and we'll all stay at the seaside villa together, okay?"

Xu Mingyue holds a high rank, and her department allocated a villa. Usually the Su Family members live here; during the day she works and has no time to take Xu Jia, so Zheng Dongqing helps her with the child. On weekends and holidays, everyone goes to the seaside villa to rest and play.

At first, Xu Mingyue wanted to stay at home longer; she slept with her daughter, and the house kept her own room, so it wasn't inconvenient.

But when Xu Jia mentioned Su Xi and Su Yi, Xu Mingyue recalled those gossip‑prone neighbors and certain relatives. She had finally created a bunch of happy memories with Xu Jia, letting her forget the past bad ones and treat them as nightmares; she didn't want those chatterboxes to speak up and force her to recall them.

They would say they mean no harm, just say a few words, but the one getting hurt is her daughter!

"Alright!"

Xu Jia felt very aggrieved, but she is a sensible good child. Her maternal grandparents, uncle and aunt, as well as older brothers and sisters‑in‑law, often send her gifts, and she has never returned once; that would be impolite!

"Sweetie, so good~ mua~ have you eaten?"

"Ate already!"

"Then sweetie, go brush your teeth and wash your face, okay? Mom will call your maternal grandparents!"

Xu Jia said in a baby voice, "Okay~"

Xu Jia obediently carried a small stool to brush her teeth, Xu Mingyue went out to make the call, and frowned at Zheng Dongqing's waving gesture.

"What's wrong?"

"Doo‑doo!"

The call connected, and Zheng Dongqing's voice sounded.

"The bodyguard discovered someone secretly filming your daughter; the bodyguard checked and said that person is Xu Jia's father. Should we stop him next time?"

Xu Mingyue fell silent.

On the other end, Gu Yang paused a moment then said, "Mingyue?"

Xu Mingyue recalled what she wanted to do, "Mom, I want to take Jia Jia back to see you; she's so chubby and cute now, I always feel we should let you see her too."

"Don't come back; your dad and I want to retire, let's go over there! It's perfect for his brother and them to be on vacation, and Mo Bai and the others can go too; they haven't really seen the sea."

"Mom, would this be too troublesome?"

Her parents really have reached retirement age; a while ago they discussed with her whether to retire or keep working. Both are not young, and them coming over is a lot of trouble.

"I plan to retire at your place; Jingdu has good conditions, but it's cold! There's also a transfer opportunity in the south, so let's all go south together."

"Mom! you don't have to do this for me!"

"Xu Mingyue, don't worry, this is everyone's decision! Your brother's development in the south is fine; now southern education has caught up, and the children can receive a different education, which is also good!"

Gu Yang's daughter‑in‑law seized the moment to speak up and gave her younger sister‑in‑law a response: "Right!"

"Exactly!"

The voices of family members kept coming one after another, and Xu Mingyue was deeply moved.

"Thank you all!"

"Thank what? We're all family!"

"When you come over, I'll have someone clean the seaside villa in advance. I've reserved a house for you."

"That's great. Once your brother's transfer order arrives, our family will set off! I'll call you two days early!"

"Okay, sister‑in‑law, you all be safe!"

"Alright, don't worry, I'll take good care of Mom and Dad; you focus on your own business!"

"Thank you, sister‑in‑law!"

Xu Mingyue hung up, leaned on the sofa, her expression blank.

Zheng Dongqing didn't disturb her, continued munching sunflower seeds while watching the characters in the drama scream wildly.

"My leg!" "My leg!"

"You've only lost a leg, but you've gained your love!"

"Your love is so grand!"

"Why aren't you happy?"

"Bang!"

Xu Mingyue pressed the remote to turn off the TV.

Zheng Dongqing was unfazed, kept munching seeds.

"Whatever, if you like that man keep going, if not, go with another; what's the big deal!"

Zheng Dongqing set the seeds down, fetched a small watermelon from the fridge, cut it in half, and placed a spoon beside it.

"Have something sweet!"

Xu Mingyue held the watermelon, said softly, "You're eating ice again while your son isn't here."

Zheng Dongqing snorted, "That's over the line, I was clearly comforting you!"

"Comforting you? You clueless wood!"

"You think you understand? I haven't seen you date ten or eight boyfriends. You're the Mingyue of Shencheng! Yet the people courting you aren't even as many as mine!"

Xu Mingyue retorted, "You're enjoying free rides a lot!"

Every few days she takes her son and Jia Jia out, eating and drinking without spending any money; a crowd of people rushes to flatter her and the three kids, aiming to get her to accept their investment proposals.

"That's an entry fee! If I'm not happy, why should my son deal with them!"

"Investing without spending money?"

"Even the best project is useless without money!"

For any project her son doesn't like, she won't accept anyone's offer to foot the bill for her. Everyone thinks being able to pay for her is an honor, okay? Some even try to use their looks to swindle her money! Fortunately, her son has sharp eyes.

She just wants to raise her beloved son properly, and doesn't want another man around!

"Tsk!"

Xu Mingyue sparred verbally with Zheng Dongqing for a while, and felt much better.

"When Jia Jia gets a bit older, I'll ask Jia Jia's opinion."

"So indecisive—just toss the bad man, but you can't let go!"

"I already told you you don't get it!"

"My experience is richer than yours; you just haven't seen enough!"

"When you see that bastard from your family, I hope you'll be that decisive too!"

"Are you cursing me?"

"You're superstitious!"

Su Xi usually goes shopping with his mother.

"Mom, are you bored? We could travel abroad!"

We've been touring these places for three years; Mom's bored, so her mood being low is normal.

"No, yesterday while chatting with Aunt Xu Mingyue, I mentioned that bastard of yours, your dad."

Su Xi looked in a certain direction with surprise. Zheng Dongqing noticed her son's reaction and saw a man whose appearance resembled Su Xi's, his face shocked. He was like a larger or smaller version of Su Xi.

"Huh? No way, that's so unlucky!"

Zheng Dongqing's first reaction wasn't to run, but to pull out her phone and call Xu Mingyue.

"Xu Mingyue, you jinx!"

Xu Mingyue, who was signing documents, looked bewildered; she raised her hand, signaling the reporter to hold off speaking.

"Qingqing, what's wrong?"

"That bastard actually showed up!"

"Whoa!"

Xu Mingyue swore she had only said that offhand.

"You brought the child to me?"

It's a government agency; Su Zeyan definitely can't get in.

"Alright then!"

Zheng Dongqing hung up the phone, holding her son Su Xi in one hand and Xu Jia in the other.

"Let's go to your Aunt Mingyue!"

Su Xi, holding Su Yi, who was happily munching an ice‑cream cone, and the three youngsters got into the car and left.

When Zheng Dongqing arrived, Xu Mingyue's office was clean and tidy, and she was the only one inside.

Xu Jia skillfully let go of Zheng Dongqing's hand, ran over to hug Xu Mingyue, and then crawled into her arms, acting coquettishly.

Xu Mingyue kissed her own baby and asked, "Do you miss Mom?"

"I do!"

"How about working overtime with Mom today, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Mua~ You're such a good baby!"

Zheng Dongqing looked at her little Su Xi with a plaintive gaze.

Su Xi sighed, went over and hugged Zheng Dongqing, saying, "Just a hug!"

"Baby, you're so sweet!"

Su Yi, who was battling with a toy, squeezed in with a laughing grin for a group hug! Xu Mingyue was attentively reading a report, while Xu Jia slept in her arms. Zheng Dongqing, in the sofa compartment of Xu Mingyue's office, took out some sunflower seeds, turned on the TV and watched a drama.

Su Yi, holding the practice problems Su Xi gave her, wore a worried frown.

Su Xi took out a document from the bag she carried and read it. Since Yang Zhichun discovered that she could understand documents as well as an adult, and she hadn't felt any discomfort, Su Xi received some additional tasks.

Su Xi has been happier than ever in recent years. He is very grateful to Yang Zhichun, who helped rescue his mother, and to Xu Mingyue, who introduced Zheng Dongqing to the old Chinese doctor. Over these years, he has told Yang Zhichun about upcoming hot industries, and, based on memories from his past life, has analyzed policy directions for Xu Mingyue.

After being transferred to Shencheng, Xu Mingyue, thanks to Su Xi's overpowered help, became a political heavyweight here.

With Xu Mingyue's protection, Yang Zhichun's Su Clan Group has grown extremely fast here and is now a commercial giant.

Su Xi, leaning on his mother to read documents, felt a bit reluctant. She had already become accustomed to a life with her mother; if he went back, he would be very disappointed! Until lunchtime, the secretary knocked on the door to remind them, and Xu Mingyue finally took the group to the office cafeteria for lunch.

Xu Jia obediently held her bowl and ate in small bites. After she ate until half full, she subconsciously glanced at the child who was obviously a bit younger than her, who was not well‑behaved at meals and liked to call her "Jia Jia's little sister" — little Yi, the brother! "Jia Jia's little sister, are you going to feed (him)?"

Su Yi had already been eating his food in big bites, and now he was carefully peeling an orange. Jia Jia's little sister loves oranges!

"I can eat by myself; I'm the older sister!"

"Alright, Jia Mei!"

Hearing the usual reply, Xu Jia puffed out her cheeks and kept eating.

On the other side, the two adults: Xu Mingyue was pondering the report below, while Zheng Dongqing was wondering what to do. After finishing her meal, Xu Mingyue saw that Zheng Dongqing's plate was barely touched, and Su Xi beside her looked at Zheng Dongqing with concern.

Xu Mingyue poked Zheng Dongqing and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Adding the previous updates~