Chapter 42: A Bountiful Harvest
As soon as the words fell, Xia Chenge slipped between the two like an eel. Neither of them could even touch her clothes, let alone grab her, as she sprinted forward like a gust of wind.
“Chase!”
They had fully expected Xia Chenge to not get far, but they never imagined that after five minutes, Xia Chenge would disappear from their sight!
The two burly men couldn’t believe the person had slipped away right under their noses. They split up to search for Xia Chenge’s whereabouts.
Two hours later, they returned to report their failure dejectedly.
“What? She slipped away right under your noses?” Xu Jingyi slammed the table, “What were you guys doing? You couldn’t even bring back a mere child?”
“We’re sorry, Boss. Xia Chenge ran too fast. We really couldn’t catch up,” the two burly men lowered their heads and explained cautiously.
Xu Jingyi was furious. “Useless! All of you are useless! Get out!”
“Husband, don’t be angry,” Xia Minglan stepped forward, gently patting Xu Jingyi’s back to soothe him. “Xia Chenge is not the same Xia Chenge as before. She’s fierce and cunning. You can’t blame them.”
“Alright, you can go down first. I want to be alone for a while,” Xu Jingyi subtly avoided Xia Minglan’s touch.
Xia Minglan looked at her hand hanging in mid-air, lost in thought.
Just then, Xu Jingyi’s mobile phone rang abruptly.
Xu Jingyi glanced at his mobile phone and immediately hung up. The atmosphere in the room suddenly changed.
Xu Jingyi’s expression remained unchanged, and he snorted impatiently, “Why do people nowadays always think of taking shortcuts? They’re nothing like how we used to be!”
“What’s wrong?” Xia Minglan asked, feeling suspicious.
“It’s those people who think they’re so capable, always trying to bypass the proper channels and show off in front of me,” Xu Jingyi said.
Xia Minglan’s peripheral vision caught Xu Jingyi secretly clenching his mobile phone. Her woman’s intuition told her Xu Jingyi was lying, and she couldn’t help but feel flustered.
Noticing Xia Minglan’s change in expression, Xu Jingyi immediately walked over and pulled her into his arms, sighing wearily, “Minglan, thankfully, you’re still here to make me feel happiness. You must remember, no matter what, you are the most important.”
All of Xia Minglan’s doubts were washed away by Xu Jingyi’s sweet words.
“Husband, me too,” Xia Minglan leaned happily into Xu Jingyi’s embrace, completely unaware of the fleeting mockery on Xu Jingyi’s face.
“Then you go out first. I’ll accompany you after I finish my work, okay?” Xu Jingyi coaxed her gently.
“Okay. Pay more attention to the Xia family. Xia Chenge is no longer the waste we could manipulate at will. She has Ling Hanmu backing her, so she’s not easy to deal with.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
Only then did Xia Minglan leave the study room, even thoughtfully closing the door behind her.
Xu Jingyi immediately went to lock the door from the inside, picked up his mobile phone, and dialed the previous number, his face beaming with smugness.
“Hello, baby, what’s up?”
“…”
“That old hag was here just now. Didn’t I tell you not to call me when I’m home? Our plan hasn’t succeeded yet. If Xia Minglan finds out, she’ll definitely make a huge fuss, which won’t do either of us any good.”
“…”
“Good girl, we’ll be together every day soon. Wherever you want to go in the future, your husband will accompany you.”
“…”
“No, that stupid woman Xia Minglan is useless.”
…
Outside the study room window, Xia Chenge crouched on a tree, listening with great interest as Xu Jingyi doted on the woman on the other end of the phone. Only after they hung up did she quietly leave the Xu residence.
This trip was quite fruitful; she had unintentionally stumbled upon Xu Jingyi’s sordid affair.
Xia Minglan inhumanely helped her husband scheme against her own family, unaware that her husband had another woman outside… and she was merely a stepping stone for Xu Jingyi’s rise to prominence. Once the Xia family was truly in his grasp, Xia Minglan would become a discarded wife.
Truly, the heavens have their ways!
She couldn’t interfere with the Xia family’s company yet. She would start by targeting Xu Jingyi’s mistress. Perhaps there would be even bigger surprises.
Xia Chenge hummed a little tune as she went home.
As soon as she arrived home, she asked Wei En to go to the study room with her.
“Grandpa Wei, can you tell me how Xia Minglan met Xu Jingyi back then?” Once in the study room, Xia Chenge got straight to the point.
Wei En thought for a moment. “They were university classmates. The eldest young lady fell in love with him at first sight and insisted on marrying Xu Jingyi against her family’s wishes. The Old Master couldn’t refuse the eldest young lady, so he agreed.”
“Did you investigate Xu Jingyi back then? Did he have a girlfriend or any ambiguous relationships at the time?”
“It seems he had a girlfriend he was dating at the time, but his girlfriend had already gone abroad. Although they hadn’t broken up, they hadn’t been in contact for a long time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Sure. The eldest young master himself investigated this matter. I once heard him mention it to the Old Master.”
“Do you remember that woman’s name?” Xia Chenge asked.
Wei En blurted out, “Bei Dongni.”
“Bei Dongni?” Xia Chenge repeated the name, pacing back and forth in the study room.
“Little Miss, has something happened?” Wei En asked, looking worried.
Xia Chenge stopped pacing and looked at Wei En. “Grandpa Wei, find someone to check where this Bei Dongni lives now and if she has any contact with Xu Jingyi.”
“Bei Dongni is in Haicheng. She’s a popular artist under Tiansheng’s Glorious Entertainment,” Wei En said. “However, Bei Dongni is already married. Her husband is a senior executive at Tiansheng Group, so she probably wouldn’t have contact with Xu Jingyi, right?”
Xia Chenge frowned slightly. “Then first, investigate where Xu Jingyi often goes besides the Xu family, and who he meets. The sooner I get this information, the better.”
“Yes, Little Miss!” Wei En immediately agreed to handle it.
Xia Chenge returned to her desk and opened her computer to search for Bei Dongni’s information. As expected, she found information about her marriage in Bei Dongni’s entry.
Xia Chenge then searched for Bei Dongni’s interviews. Her voice really didn’t sound like the sweet and coquettish voice from the phone call.
Closing the computer, Xia Chenge decided to put the matter aside for now and wait for Wei En to find Xu Jingyi’s information before analyzing it.
Xia Chenge went upstairs to see the Old Master and Old Madam. Under Granny Wei’s care, the elderly couple’s condition was improving.
“Xiao Ge,” the Old Master said with a smile upon seeing Xia Chenge, patting the edge of the bed to signal her to come over.
Xia Chenge walked over and asked with a smile, “Grandpa, why are you so happy today? Did you eat something delicious?”
“You little girl, you only think about food all day! Your Grandpa Wei told me you always overeat,” the Old Master chided. “You need to eat in moderation, not excessively, understand?”
The Old Master knew very well how Xia Chenge had managed over the years and was genuinely worried that this would further harm her body.
“Alright, old man, doesn’t our Xiao Ge have any sense?” The Old Madam reprimanded. “Let Xiao Ge eat whatever she likes. Aren’t you reassured with Wei En watching her?”
The Old Madam paused, then sighed, “It’s a pity I don’t have the chance to cook for Xiao Ge myself.”
“There will definitely be a chance!” Xia Chenge quickly comforted her, believing that day wouldn’t be too far off.
