The room was opened sooner than Xia Qingtian had expected.
Xia Qingyu's eyes were slightly red as she peeked out from behind the door, revealing only half her face. "What are you doing here?"
"Xia Shi..." Xia Qingtian's words were interrupted by Xia Qingyu.
"Whether you believe it or not, I never intended to fight you for Xia Shi..." Xia Qingyu glared at Xia Qingtian. "If it wasn't for my mother... I..."
"I'm sorry." Xia Qingtian apologized directly.
"You..." Xia Qingyu had expected Xia Qingtian to scold or mock her.
She never thought she would hear an apology from Xia Qingtian.
"I'm sorry for what happened before." Xia Qingtian's feelings towards Xia Qingyu were complex, especially after learning about Aunt Liu and Xia Qingyu's fate from Mo Jianing.
She felt as though she owed this mother and daughter something, but she didn't know what she could possibly give in return.
However, she could manage not to antagonize them anymore.
"From now on, let's... live in peace. That's it." After saying this, Xia Qingtian turned and left.
"Xia Qingtian, what do you mean?" Xia Qingyu shouted after Xia Qingtian's retreating back, demanding, "Xia Qingtian! What exactly are you trying to do!"
Xia Qingtian didn't know what she was trying to do herself, so she could only ignore Xia Qingyu's words and head straight back to her bedroom.
Closing the door firmly, Xia Qingtian walked to her desk, took out a notebook and pen, and began to sort out the situation at Xia Shi.
In her past life, she had been too reclusive, especially after the car accident. She had no time to pay attention to anyone else. Now, if she were to try and deduce who the mole was starting from Xia Shi, Xia Qingtian was truly clueless.
Fortunately, she had the system. Although the system didn't directly tell her who the mole was, it had helped her review the personnel in Xia Shi's management positions and their overt interpersonal relationships.
Meanwhile, Xia Qingyu, bewildered by Xia Qingtian's apology, was about to go downstairs for a drink when she overheard Aunt Liu and Father Xia chatting on the stairs.
"I understand Qingtian's thoughts. I'm already very grateful that you took us in when my mother and Qingyu were at our lowest. Xia Shi belongs to Qingtian. My mother and Qingyu will never have any designs on Xia Shi.
If you're still worried, Qingyu and I can go to a lawyer to notarize it. After Qingyu graduates from high school, we can send her abroad directly. Qingyu won't compete with Qingtian for anything."
"Why are you saying this now!" Father Xia frowned. "We are already a family. What are you trying to get Qingyu to sign a notarization for now? Have you considered Qingyu's feelings?"
"But Qingtian..." Aunt Liu frowned, still seemingly worried about Xia Qingtian's feelings. "Qingyu isn't Qingtian's biological sister after all..."
"Nonsense! Qingyu now takes my surname, she is my daughter!" Father Xia said. "I know Qingtian's personality; she's not inherently bad. Once she spends more time with you, she'll understand."
"But..." Aunt Liu seemed to want to say something more, but was directly interrupted by Xia Qingyu.
"That notarization, I'm willing to sign it," Xia Qingyu said as she walked down the stairs.
"Qingyu!" Seeing Qingyu suddenly appear, Father Xia and Aunt Liu were both stunned.
Xia Qingyu's expression was blank, her eyes clear and cold.
She had never coveted Xia Shi's assets in the first place. Wasn't Xia Qingtian just afraid she would try to seize them?
Now that she had completely given up, Xia Qingtian wouldn't have to put on such a clumsy act, would she?
Xia Qingyu and Aunt Liu quickly found a lawyer to complete the notarization. Father Xia signed reluctantly, while Aunt Liu and Xia Qingyu seemed much more relaxed after signing.
The three of them did not mention this matter to Xia Qingtian for the time being, and Xia Qingtian officially joined Xia Shi.
As the boss's daughter, no one dared to pick on her even if her business skills were not proficient.
Xia Qingtian was parachuted into the secretarial department, becoming the second-in-command, handling only simple tasks.
Although Xia Qingtian had considered whether she should go incognito and conduct a private investigation to uncover the truth, it was simply not feasible. She had never missed the Xia Shi annual meeting, and all the company's executives knew her, let alone at private shareholder gatherings and socialite parties.
One of her handbags could be worth a year's salary for an ordinary secretary. Trying to hide would only make her look ridiculous.
It was better to be upfront.
Fortunately, while Xia Qingtian was not proficient in her work, she had not made any mistakes, and everyone was sensible enough to cooperate, so everything went smoothly.
As for Song Junhan, he did not seem to be so lucky. Although his entry into Xia Shi was initially smooth, after Xia Qingtian publicly confronted him several times, there was no need for Xia Qingtian to make a statement; countless eyes were already on him. Some people secretly made things difficult for him, and his workload was several times that of others in the same department.
This was exactly what Xia Qingtian intended. This way, Song Junhan would likely have no time or energy to cause trouble in the company.
However, this was not enough. Preventing him from causing trouble was one aspect, and catching the mole was another.
Xia Qingtian wanted Song Junhan to become unbearable and proactively seek out the so-called mole.
But Song Junhan was clearly more tolerant than Xia Qingtian had anticipated. Not only did he complete all the extra work, but he also endured the pressure from all sides without a word.
About two months passed, and with university about to start, Xia Qingtian overheard a conversation outside the pantry.
"Miss Xia will be back at school soon, and she'll finally be gone. Assistant Song will have an easier time after she leaves, right..."
"This young lady is truly capricious. Isn't this just plain bullying! Workplace violence!"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
"What's there to worry about? She always drinks freshly ground coffee personally brewed by the chief secretary, so she wouldn't condescend to come here."
"That's true. I really don't know how Assistant Song offended her to be treated like this!"
"She's a pampered young lady; does she need a reason to target a small employee? Her family spoils her."
"I really can't understand it. We're all young ladies from wealthy families, but Su Wan, you're never like that."
"Not at all, I can be quite willful too, but my family has always taught me not to cause trouble for others, so... so I try not to bother anyone."
"This is the true young lady! By the way, Su Wan, you were the one who gave Assistant Song a band-aid the last time his finger was injured, right?"
"Yes, we're all colleagues..."
"Su Wan, you're so kind!"
"Yes, yes!"
"Alright, everyone, stop teasing me. The people from Gu Shi Entertainment will be here soon. Mr. Gu is a major client that Xia Shi has finally managed to secure. Everyone, hurry back." Su Wan's voice was pleasant and gentle.
Standing at the doorway, Xia Qingtian narrowed her eyes slightly.
Su Wan... she had an impression of this Su Wan.
Su Wan's father was a director at Xia Shi, holding a considerable stake. Su Wan was a third-year student at the University of Economics and was interning at Xia Shi, starting from the grassroots. She was well-liked in the company.
She was beautiful and had a good disposition, earning her favor. It wasn't impossible for her and her father to attempt a power grab.
"Qingtian? What are you doing here?" As everyone chatted and laughed their way out of the pantry, they saw Xia Qingtian and were startled, their hearts suddenly filled with unease.
They all seemed to be worrying about how much of their recent conversation Xia Qingtian had overheard.
"I'm about to go back to school, so I wanted to see if there were any parts of the company I hadn't explored yet. Just walking around." Xia Qingtian had a faint, almost imperceptible smile on her face, her gaze seemingly casually sweeping over everyone's faces.
"There's nothing much to explore here." Su Wan's appearance was truly outstanding. Even among these beautiful office ladies, she was the most eye-catching. "If Qingtian wants to look around, I can take you to departments around the company."
"Oh?" Xia Qingtian asked back, "Aren't you afraid I'll see Song Junhan and bully him in public again?"
As soon as Xia Qingtian asked this question, everyone fell silent.
"Heh heh." Xia Qingtian chuckled. "Then I'll go around to the departments."
Turning around, Xia Qingtian left directly. The others, however, could no longer smile. Su Wan's expression was particularly grim.
"Su Wan, she won't hold a grudge against us, will she..." the others whispered after Xia Qingtian left.
"No, she'll be back at school soon anyway, it'll be fine," Su Wan said perfunctorily before adding, "I'll go check on her. Don't really go and make things difficult for anyone."
With that, she hurried away.
"What nonsense. She's the director's daughter, of course, she's not afraid."
"Exactly... Everyone knows when she looks at Assistant Song, her eyes are practically glued to him."
"What should we do... I don't want to lose this job..."
"It's your own fault for not being able to control your mouths! To praise Su Wan, you have to step on Xia Qingtian."
"Aren't you the same..."