"Well, the weather has turned cold, and I was worried Madam might need something. This place is closer to the temple, making it easier to attend to her. The Huo residence is so desolate now; it's good for me to tidy things up a bit."
Su Qi stepped out of the car, and the butler hurried over to take her luggage, his face beaming. "That's wonderful! With you back, the house will finally have some life. Besides the cleaning ladies and cooks, there are hardly anyone left here. It was so lively when Madam lived in the residence. After the old master passed away and Madam went to the temple, and with the master not coming home for so long, and then bringing a bastard son back with him, we didn't know what to do. Your arrival is like a shot of confidence for all of us."
Su Qi smiled faintly, her heart sinking.
Huo Tingyun was now blind and bedridden. Huo Qingrang had pushed Sheng Yuchen to take Huo Tingyun's place, becoming the acting chairman and acting president of Shengshi Group, seizing all of Huo Tingyun's power and influence.
One had to admit, Sheng Yuchen was quite capable.
After Sheng Yuchen replaced Huo Tingyun, rumors spread like wildfire, with everyone speculating about Sheng Yuchen's origins, saying he was Huo family's illegitimate son, and now the mistress had taken over, with the illegitimate son wanting to replace the son born to the legitimate wife and become the helmsman of Shengshi Group.
She had no idea about the situation at Shengshi Group.
After the old master passed away, he had inherited all the company's shares to Huo Tingyun.
At that time, Huo Qingrang was in poor health, and Qin Xue attended to him. As Huo family's only son, only Huo Tingyun could shoulder the responsibility. Thus, the old master had inherited all his assets to Huo Tingyun. Huo Tingyun had not disappointed anyone in the Huo family; his methods were decisive and ruthless, even surpassing the old master's style from back then, and were even more vicious.
Over the years that Huo Tingyun took over as president of Shengshi Group, he had offended many people and forced many businesses into bankruptcy. Shengshi Group had seized the opportunity to merge, employing rather insidious tactics. It was precisely these tactics of Huo Tingyun that caused Shengshi Group's value to skyrocket countless times in just a few years.
Major and minor shareholders had all gone from being wealthy to being super-rich.
Currently, the only enterprise in the country that could rival Shengshi Group, besides the Qin family's heavy industry, was none other. All others were left far behind.
Even during the period when Huo Tingyun was blind and ill and not going to the company, Shengshi Group continued to operate smoothly, with no news leaking out, demonstrating the power of Shengshi Group's public relations team.
Sheng Yuchen had taken Huo Tingyun's place, and it seemed to be going quite smoothly during this time, which did not surprise Su Qi.
Sheng Yuchen had graduated from a foreign business school and had been waiting for this opportunity for many years.
Having made thorough preparations, Sheng Yuchen was probably eager to replace him at this very moment.
It was just a pity that Huo Tingyun was not dead, only blind.
Before Huo Tingyun's death, Sheng Yuchen could absolutely not replace Huo Tingyun.
Su Qi collected her thoughts, found a room on the first floor to stay in, tidied up briefly, and then drove to the temple.
It was less than a half-hour drive, and she arrived quickly.
Su Qi walked up to the temple, dragging a suitcase filled with winter clothes for Qin Xue.
The last time Qin Xue came to the temple, she hadn't brought many clothes. Su Qi had brought some last time, and not much either. This time, she brought several thick coats and sweaters, hoping they would keep Qin Xue warm.
Su Qi, familiar with the way, walked towards Qin Xue's room. She stopped at the door. The doors in the temple were sliding wooden doors, not very thick, and the soundproofing was quite poor.
Even through the closed wooden door, Su Qi could hear clearly.
A man's voice was coming from inside.
Listening carefully, it wasn't very loud through the door, and Su Qi couldn't hear what Qin Xue was saying.
Was it inappropriate to eavesdrop like this?
Su Qi thought, and was about to leave, but then she suddenly heard a familiar male voice from inside.
Was that Qin Ruhui?!
Su Qi thought she had misheard and brought her ear closer to the door to listen carefully.
She was shocked to her core.
It really was Qin Ruhui.
Qin Ruhui's voice was too distinctive, that deep, cold tone, so similar to Huo Tingyun's voice, only Qin Ruhui's voice was more mature, and his tone was quite unique.
They didn't know what they were saying, and then there was silence.
Su Qi covered her mouth tightly.
She was an adult, of course, she knew what was happening inside.
Qin Ruhui?! It was Qin Ruhui?!
How could Qin Xue have any entanglement with Qin Ruhui?!
Both of them had their own families, how could they be entangled?!
Su Qi was so shocked that she couldn't recover for a long time, almost forgetting to breathe.
"Axue, I love you. How many times do I have to say it for you to know I love you? Why did you marry that man back then? I loved you so much. He is so cruel to you now. If it weren't for you protecting him so much, I would have already been unkind to him..."
"He... after all, I've taken advantage of him for so many years. After I married him, we didn't have children for a long time. I didn't expect that after getting drunk, just once, I got pregnant with your child. I gave birth to Tingyun. As he grew up day by day, he didn't resemble Qingrang at all. I knew very well that Tingyun was my child with you. Qingrang has treated him as his own son all these years, and even the old master gave the Huo family inheritance to Tingyun. No matter what, he and I are even."
"Axue, I'm willing to give up everything for you. Your sister looks a lot like you, but she's not you after all. If you are willing, I can..."
"Shh, don't say such foolish things. If you do this, my sister will be heartbroken, and it will make everyone unhappy. I don't want this. I'm already very satisfied that you came to see me..."
"Axue..."
The two embraced again.
Su Qi walked outside to the courtyard and sat on a chair. The seat was very cold, but her face was flushed, and her heart was pounding.
That sentence echoed repeatedly in her ears.
Huo Tingyun was the child of Qin Ruhui and Qin Xue?!
How could that be?!
But thinking back carefully, Huo Tingyun clearly resembled Qin Ruhui so much, even his appearance and personality were completely similar to Qin Ruhui.
Although the old master was a formidable figure in the business world when he was young, his ruthlessness was far inferior to the current Huo Tingyun.
Qin Ruhui built a vast commercial empire from scratch in the north, investing in real estate and heavy industry, encompassing almost all the real estate and heavy industry in the north. His power was immense, and his wealth was enough to rival a nation.
Although Su Qi did not know Qin Ruhui very well, his rise to prominence back then was widely talked about. If one inquired with the older generation, they could learn a thing or two.
Qin Ruhui had also climbed over the bones of many people to get to where he was, and countless lives had passed through his hands.
This style of operation was exactly Huo Tingyun's style.
It could be said that Huo Tingyun had completely inherited his father Qin Ruhui's style.
No wonder!
No wonder!