"No, the third young master Lei's sister is missing," Xiang Xueyuan said. "He caused quite a stir in Northern Europe looking for her, and he's returned to the country recently, not for the treasure, but to find his sister."
"I've met that Lei Xirui; she's a bit slow and silly," Xi Fu said. Thinking of Lei Xirui's close relationship with Xia Qingyu, she couldn't bring herself to like her. "Third Young Master Lei is even giving up on digging for treasure for her?"
"It's likely he's worried that if the treasure's existence is revealed, Lei Xirui's safety will be even less guaranteed," Xiang Xueyuan said, taking a deep breath. "You'll go to Kyoto next week. You'll personally handle things with the Lei family."
"Understood, Father," Xi Fu said, her beautiful eyes glancing around. "Why don't you let Tarik accompany me?"
Xiang Xueyuan didn't refuse, merely looking at Xi Fu with a faint gaze.
As soon as Xi Fu met Xiang Xueyuan's eyes, she knew she had spoken out of turn. She immediately dropped her cute, pleading expression and apologized sincerely, "I'm sorry, Father. I was wrong."
"You should go back first. I still have things to attend to here," Xiang Xueyuan said, finally averting his gaze.
"Yes." Xi Fu responded before standing up and leaving Xiang Xueyuan's office.
After Xi Fu left, Xiang Xueyuan let out a sigh and shook his head helplessly, "When will you ever grow up? Always so childish in your nature."
...
While Xiang Xueyuan was busy, Xia Honglang had already left Xia's Corporation and returned to the Xia residence, bringing a significant amount of work with him.
He didn't want to stay at the company for too long today, lest his family worry, but he couldn't just leave this work undone.
He only had three days.
He had to find a solution before next week's board meeting, otherwise, he would truly be at the mercy of others.
He had strived for Xia's Corporation for half his life; he couldn't let it slip away in the end.
This was absolutely unacceptable.
"Why are you shut in the study even after coming home?" Aunt Liu entered with tea, smiling gently. "I've made some fruit tea to refresh you and relieve your fatigue."
"Thank you." Xia Honglang shifted his gaze from the documents to Aunt Liu, offering a smile. "Why aren't you getting some rest yourself?"
"Perhaps I was too excited to be home. I wanted to sleep for a while this afternoon, but I couldn't sleep at all," Aunt Liu said, smiling. "When I was half-asleep, I felt like I was still on the ship."
"Hahaha." Xia Honglang chuckled at the sound, picked up the teacup, and took a sip. He felt his throat become much more comfortable, and his mood also improved considerably. "How are Qing Tian and Qing Yu?"
"The sisters don't know what they're busy with; they're both in their own rooms and haven't come out. I suspect they're not sleeping either," Aunt Liu said. "When we were at sea, I felt like I wanted to get home sooner, but after arriving home, I felt hazy, as if I were still at sea. I don't know what's going on."
"People are generally like this." Xia Honglang placed the teacup aside, recalling Xiang Xueyuan's suggestion. He then looked at Aunt Liu and said, "There's something work-related I'd like to discuss with you."
"What is it?" Aunt Liu blinked and asked, "Is it related to Qing Tian? If it's about Xia's Corporation, I don't understand anything; I probably can't help you."
"It's not related to Qing Tian; it's related to you," Xia Honglang said, then recounted Xiang Xueyuan's proposal.
As Xia Honglang spoke, Aunt Liu's complexion gradually turned pale. The hands she held in front of her began to tremble, and her ears buzzed.
Why had he followed them back…
What did he intend to do?
Would he only let her go if she died…
"Liu Ru?" After Xia Honglang finished, he noticed Aunt Liu's abnormal complexion. He immediately took hold of Aunt Liu's trembling hand and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
"I, I'm fine." Aunt Liu tried to force a comforting smile to hide her current panic, but due to her extreme nervousness, the smile appeared particularly strained.
"If the prospect of cooperating with Professor Xiang makes you uncomfortable, I'll drop this matter next week," Xia Honglang told Aunt Liu.
"He still wants to cooperate with you?" Aunt Liu jolted and tightly gripped Xia Honglang's hand, saying with a solemn expression, "Absolutely not! Don't! Don't cooperate with Xiang Xueyuan! Him! No! Especially him! Absolutely not!"
Aunt Liu had witnessed Xiang Xueyuan's ruthlessness.
He could treat his own wife and his biological daughter that way; how much less could he do to Xia Honglang!
No matter how tempting Xiang Xueyuan's offer was, there must be some conspiracy behind it.
No! Absolutely not!
"Alright, alright." Xia Honglang didn't know why Aunt Liu was reacting so strongly, but he respected his family's wishes. Since Aunt Liu minded, then so be it. "Then we won't cooperate. We won't cooperate."
When Xiang Xueyuan's research institute opened next week, he would send someone to deliver a congratulatory banner to express his gratitude, and that would be it.
Having made his decision, Xia Honglang comforted Aunt Liu a few more times before letting the matter go.
Once Aunt Liu was sure Xia Honglang wouldn't pursue the idea further, she left Xia Honglang's study and went directly to Xia Qing Tian's room.
She desperately needed to tell Xia Qing Tian about this. Since Xiang Xueyuan had tracked them down, it couldn't be that simple.
At this moment, Xia Qing Tian had just finished calling her mentor and department head.
The situation online had caused quite a stir. Xia Qing Yu had already found out, and Xia Qing Tian, as the person involved, naturally knew about it as well.
This time, the opposing party's actions were clearly premeditated and organized. Not only were they shouting slogans on social media, but they had also pieced together a significant amount of fake news.
They had even edited and attributed the incident of a student being driven to madness at the university to Xia Qing Tian.
However, as it was summer vacation at Z University, the impact wasn't very significant.
The school authorities knew Xia Qing Tian was being targeted and had comforted her, telling her not to worry. The school would temporarily handle the situation with a cold shoulder, and by the time summer vacation was over, the matter would likely have blown over.
Hearing the school's stance, Xia Qing Tian felt she had a good grasp of the situation.
She just didn't know where the source of the problem originated.
Aunt Liu's words, however, had finally made Xia Qing Tian understand completely.
Good heavens, so it was Xiang Xueyuan!
But…
Didn't he need to guard his so-called damned laboratory?
He had actually followed them all the way here; he truly was patient!
"Xiang Xueyuan suddenly wanting to cooperate with your father is definitely a conspiracy!" Aunt Liu said nervously.
"Don't worry, Aunt Liu," Xia Qing Tian said, taking Aunt Liu's hand and speaking in a gentle yet firm voice. "I won't let him have the chance to harm the people around me. I'll handle Father, and I won't give Xiang Xueyuan an opportunity to do evil. You can rest assured."
Hearing Xia Qing Tian say this, Aunt Liu finally relaxed a little. She then nodded and cautioned, "You need to be careful too."
"Don't worry," Xia Qing Tian said with a slight smile. "It's not that easy to bring me down."