Arriving at the Xia Corporation, Xia Qingtian first poured a cup of tea for Secretary Liu, thanking her for helping to book such an excellent hot pot restaurant at noon. Then, carrying two other cups, Xia Qingtian headed to Xia Honglang's office. Just as she reached the door, she heard Xia Honglang's angry voice from inside.
"There's no need for further discussion on this matter! Qingtian is my daughter, and I trust her abilities and character!"
Just hearing this, Xia Qingtian knew it must be some ignorant directors causing trouble again.
Xia Honglang's firm stance warmed Xia Qingtian's heart.
With Xia Honglang's support and trust, Xia Qingtian had the determination and confidence to overcome any obstacle.
"Why are you still upset? I haven't questioned Qingtian at all, I just think she's too young. If the project team doesn't have someone older and experienced, I always feel uneasy."
"Yes, everyone is doing this for the company, right!"
Hearing this, Xia Qingtian directly pushed open the door to Xia Honglang's office, a smile on her face, "Oh, what a lively gathering."
Upon seeing Xia Qingtian enter, the expressions of those directors changed slightly.
"Dad, I brought you a cup of peach oolong milk cap. I chose three parts sugar, so it's not too sweet. Try it," Xia Qingtian said, placing one of the cups on Xia Honglang's desk.
Seeing that Xia Qingtian didn't forget to buy him a cup of milk tea, Xia Honglang's expression softened considerably.
"Qingtian still has a childish heart, hehe," Director Jia said with a chuckle.
"The shares I hold are no less than yours. I am also a member of the board of directors. Please address me as Director Xia within the company," Xia Qingtian said, taking a sip of her milk tea. "I believe Director Jia wouldn't want me to call you 'Old Jia' at the company, would you?"
"Director Xia is right; it was my slip of the tongue." Director Jia's smile gained a hint of awkwardness, but he chuckled nonetheless.
"Are you all here for something? Are we having another board meeting?" Xia Qingtian asked, blinking her beautiful eyes. "Why didn't I receive a notice?"
"Not at all, we were just chatting with your father." These directors had all suffered losses at Xia Qingtian's hands to varying degrees and didn't want to confront her directly.
The main reason was that this girl's mouth was too sharp, fearless, and with Xia Honglang's support and Mr. Gu's care, and now seemingly the future successor of the company, their seasoned rhetoric was utterly useless against Xia Qingtian.
However, it concerned their vested interests. Seeing such a promising project entirely dictated by Xia Honglang and Xia Qingtian made them truly envious.
This time, they had come to find Xia Honglang precisely because Xia Qingtian was absent.
After all, judging by how they intended to intimidate Xia Qingtian today but ended up being put in their place by her, Xia Qingtian was definitely not an easy target.
"Is that so? Then you all chat. I'm young, I can just listen in," Xia Qingtian said as she sat down in her usual spot. She casually picked up the stack of files prepared by Secretary Lin and began to flip through them one by one.
Seeing Xia Qingtian there, they dared not mention that matter anymore.
They could only claim that time was running out and then left, one by one, with their tails between their legs.
After the directors had left, Xia Honglang let out a heavy sigh, "It's as if I've stolen money from them."
The company's interests came first. The profits earned would eventually be divided according to share proportions. Why did it feel like he had become the villain?
The project was discussed with Mr. Gu, and the mine belonged to Xia Qingtian.
What did it have to do with these people?!
Xia Honglang had already made a concession for the sake of the company by not letting Xia Qingtian set up a separate company to handle everything and reap all the benefits and fame.
"In their eyes, it's exactly like that," Xia Qingtian said with a smile. "Dad, drink your milk tea first before it gets cold."
"Mmm." Xia Honglang then took a big gulp of the milk tea, his brow furrowed. "The taste is so strange."
"Want to drink a couple more sips?" Xia Qingtian asked, propping her chin with one hand.
"Mmm... Now it feels quite good." Xia Honglang nodded, understanding why young people liked it. It was indeed delicious.
"See?" Xia Qingtian and Xia Honglang exchanged a smile. The father and daughter sipped their milk tea while discussing project details or attending to their respective work.
The afternoon passed quietly and peacefully.
When it was almost three o'clock, Xia Qingtian left the Xia Corporation. The rain that had been falling all day finally stopped, and a rainbow arched across the sky, bringing a sense of joy.
Arriving at Z University by car, Xia Qingtian saw Li Xiaoxiao as soon as she entered the school gate. The two walked together to the advisor's office to sign, and also met two other outstanding students recommended by other departments. They greeted each other and then went their separate ways.
"Qingtian, do you have anything to do later? If not, could you come home with me?" Li Xiaoxiao said mysteriously, holding Xia Qingtian's hand.
"I don't have anything important. I just want to check on Er Ya," Xia Qingtian replied with a wink. That girl Er Ya had been in the laboratory for two days. She usually found her noisy, but now that she couldn't see her, she actually missed her a little.
"Then I'll go with you. After that, you'll come home with me," Li Xiaoxiao said.
"What exactly is it?" Xia Qingtian asked.
"When I was exercising by the sea this morning, I found someone!" Li Xiaoxiao whispered into Xia Qingtian's ear.
"?!"
Xia Qingtian didn't know whether to be surprised by Li Xiaoxiao's carelessness or appalled by the strangeness of finding anything nowadays.
After visiting Er Ya in the laboratory and seeing her engrossed in her work, Xia Qingtian only reminded Er Ya to eat well, drink well, and sleep well.
"I know, really, don't you believe me?" Er Ya pouted her cheeks unhappily. "I'm so smart, how could I starve myself?"
"Where is Professor Tang?" Xia Qingtian asked, looking around. "Should we say hello to him?"
"Old Tang? He was here just now," Er Ya said, looking around. "Never mind, you guys go back. No need to say hello. He doesn't care about anything else besides his experiments anyway."
"Alright." Xia Qingtian replied before walking out with Li Xiaoxiao.
As they reached the corner of the corridor, they heard Professor Tang's deliberately lowered voice: "Miao, your Miao family's reach is truly long! I'm telling you! If Mingzhu has any accident, I'm not done with you!"
"What does it have to do with me? Wasn't it said that the person might be in Z City? You can go look for them yourself," Professor Miao's voice was as cold and arrogant as before. "Besides, haven't you already separated from the Tang family? What does this matter have to do with you?"
"As long as I still have the surname Tang, I can't escape the connection!" Professor Tang snorted. "I'll keep an eye on you. You'd better behave yourself! Hmph!"
Hearing footsteps approaching, Xia Qingtian immediately pulled Li Xiaoxiao and walked away quickly.
"Qingtian, who are they talking about as Mingzhu?" Li Xiaoxiao asked curiously.
"I'm not very clear. Let's go to your place first. We can talk about other things later," Xia Qingtian said with a slight frown. It seemed her previous guess was correct; these two old professors were from the Tang and Miao families.
Where exactly was that missing Tang family Mingzhu...
Li Xiaoxiao walked quickly, thinking about the girl she had found.
She hadn't thought much of it before, but now seeing Er Ya, why did she feel that girl resembled Er Ya… somewhat?
Was it a coincidence?
Or was it her imagination?