She had secretly undergone sterilization long ago.
Xiao Bao's status as an only daughter was already so low, even being given the lowly name Lai Di. If she had a son, one could imagine Xiao Bao's fate.
This was the boldest thing she had ever done in her life.
But there was no need for Xiao Bao to know any of this.
She looked at her daughter in her arms, her gaze gentle.
...
By the time it was dinner, Aunt Song hesitantly brought out the dishes. "Young Madam, you're really not waiting for Young Master anymore?"
When Ji Zhi Xiu was busy with work, he consistently did not come home for dinner. Jiang Mian was already accustomed to this.
As it was approaching eight o'clock, the man had still not returned. Jiang Mian asked, "Did he say he was coming back for dinner today?"
Aunt Song nodded. "He said so before he left."
"Then let's wait."
Besides, she wasn't hungry anyway.
They waited until ten o'clock that night.
Ji Corporation Headquarters.
Fan Cheng held the stack of documents and asked tremblingly, "Mr. Ji, do you still want to look at these?"
This pile was all company project data, and it had all been verified long ago. But who knew why Mr. Ji had a sudden whim to re-examine it.
Heaven only knew how he had spent his day, he was almost going crazy!
After sending the Madam away, the President had become like a changed person.
The secretarial department was grumbling, no one was willing to deliver documents.
Alice rested her delicate hands on Fan Cheng's shoulders and deliberately lowered her voice. "Assistant Fan, can you deliver this document for me?"
Fan Cheng maintained a calm exterior, but inside he wished he could run eight hundred meters.
Alice was actively asking for his help, did she also have feelings for him?
Even the usually professional and stern Alice was unwilling to deliver documents to the President, which showed how terrible his mood was today.
He had probably criticized everyone with his sharp tongue.
"If you help me deliver this document, how will you thank me?"
Being so close, Fan Cheng could faintly smell Alice's perfume, intoxicatingly fragrant.
Alice was wearing a professional outfit, her figure perfectly curved. Glancing at her colleagues working behind her, Alice lowered her voice. "You help me deliver this document, and I'll treat you to dinner later."
The weather was already cold enough, she didn't want to go in and face President Ji's 'refrigerator' presence again.
"Deal," Fan Cheng said decisively.
And then it became the current situation.
Everyone else had gone home, leaving only the two of them.
Finally, Ji Zhi Xiu looked up and asked, "What time is it?"
Fan Cheng looked down at his watch. "It's already ten o'clock, Mr. Ji."
"Do you still want to look?" he asked tremblingly, if he looked again, he would only be able to pull out last year's data.
"No need." Ji Zhi Xiu's mind emptied. After a day of work, he finally felt the restlessness in his heart subside a little.
"Has anyone called from the villa?"
Fan Cheng shook his head. "Young Madam hasn't called."
Ji Zhi Xiu glanced at him. "Who asked her?"
Well, he was being too talkative. Otherwise, who else at the villa would call? Fan Cheng muttered to himself.
Ji Zhi Xiu swept him a glance. "You can go home."
"What about you, President..."
Ji Zhi Xiu's eyes were cold. "I'm going home too."
Fan Cheng finally realized something was wrong. The President always got off work on time, he had even once pushed back two orders worth three million to pick up the Young Madam from school.
So now he was working overtime until this late and still unwilling to go home, had he and his wife had a falling out?
The more Fan Cheng thought about it, the more he felt it was correct. He pondered for a moment and asked, "President, did you and Young Madam have a fight?"
A fight? Ji Zhi Xiu fell silent. He would never fight with Jiang Mian.
Ji Zhi Xiu didn't speak. Fan Cheng carefully observed his expression. There was no abnormality, so it seemed his guess was correct.
Fan Cheng gave himself a mental pat on the back.
"President, women need to be coaxed. You have to give her what she likes. If you make her happy, you'll be happy too."
"Do I not give her enough?" Ji Zhi Xiu asked.
Fan Cheng thought about it. It seemed he gave her quite a lot.
The new art building at Kyoto University was donated by Mr. Ji for the Young Madam. The latest collections from various brands were gifts from Mr. Ji. Even an old house in Jiangnan was being guarded by Mr. Ji's men.
If he hadn't been protecting it, the government would have wanted to demolish that area long ago.
"However, it seems Young Madam doesn't know about all of this..." Fan Cheng said weakly.
"You didn't attend the appreciation ceremony for your donation. The gifts you send to Young Madam each time are also delivered by me. You are very good to her. But it always feels like..." Fan Cheng's voice grew weaker.
Ji Zhi Xiu rubbed his forehead. "Fan Cheng, have you ever been in love?"
"I dated someone in college."
"Then why did you break up?"
Fan Cheng's expression was subtle. "Her mother said that if I wanted to marry her daughter, I had to buy a house in Kyoto first."
Kyoto was extremely expensive, and Fan Cheng, a fresh graduate, naturally couldn't afford it. In the end, they went their separate ways.
"If you had married then, would you have been happy?"
Fan Cheng thought seriously. "No, because our personalities were fundamentally incompatible. If you yielded to me and I yielded to you, over time, resentment would inevitably arise. We argued quite a bit when we were dating."
"Then why are you advising me on how to coax women?"
Fan Cheng chuckled sheepishly. "President, isn't this me giving you advice?"
"The problem now isn't about coaxing or not, but rather that she doesn't seem to like me at all," Ji Zhi Xiu said in a deep voice, a hint of obvious frustration on his face.
Oh my god?!
What earth-shattering news had he heard?!
Young Madam actually didn't like Mr. Ji?!
Fan Cheng silently closed his mouth, which had opened in surprise.
His eyes contained too many emotions, wanting to speak but not daring to. Ji Zhi Xiu noticed this.
"Tell me, I haven't been home so late, and she hasn't even called once. Is that normal?"
...
Aunt Song hesitated several times, but finally said, "Young Madam, why don't you eat first? Don't wait for Young Master."
The delicious dishes on the table had long lost their heat. Aunt Song had reheated them three times.
Jiang Mian looked at her empty phone. She smiled and said, "Please have these dishes cleared, Aunt Song. I'm on a diet tonight and won't eat."
Aunt Song felt a pang of sympathy. Why would Young Madam diet? She wasn't fat and never complained about restricting her food.
It was simply disappointment.
She nodded. "Alright, you should go upstairs and rest."
Jiang Mian held her phone and stood up. "Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Song. Goodnight."
Jiang Mian didn't call Ji Zhi Xiu, and didn't even have time to overthink.
Because Sister Ning had sent her an advertising contract. Jiang Mian had previously posted a picture of her jet-black hair on Weibo, and unexpectedly, an advertiser had noticed it.
Sister Ning had already accepted it for her. Jiang Mian looked at the script for the advertisement. It was scheduled to be filmed in Italy, which meant she would be going abroad.
Jiang Mian opened the ticketing app to check the latest flights.
When Ji Zhi Xiu returned, Jiang Mian was already asleep, her head resting on the table.
Her sleeping face was peaceful, but her brows were slightly furrowed.
Ji Zhi Xiu's heart softened. Just as he was about to pick her up, his hand accidentally brushed against the mouse, and the computer screen lit up again.
Ji Zhi Xiu tightly pursed his lips, his gaze fixed on the screen. The caged beast within him was about to break free and roar. Hadn't he been good enough to Jiang Mian?
Why was she thinking of running away?
Mian Mian, I won't allow it.
Ji Zhi Xiu lowered his eyelids. His long fingers brushed away the stray hairs from her cheek, and his fingertip tightened unconsciously.
Jiang Mian felt a sting of pain, her long lashes fluttering. As if she were about to wake up, Ji Zhi Xiu suddenly came to his senses.
Jiang Mian felt like she was in a dream. In her dream, she had everything.
She wasn't an orphan, her grandmother hadn't passed away, and Ji Zhi Xiu loved her dearly...
A satisfied smile appeared on her lips, and her face held the innocence of a child.
Since Jiang Mian was still asleep, Ji Zhi Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.
The next day, Ji Zhi Xiu went downstairs early.
However, Aunt Song was up even earlier than him. Seeing him come downstairs, Aunt Song showed him her displeasure for the first time. "Young Master, what time did you get back last night? Young Madam waited for you all night."
"Young Madam waited for you all night." This sentence echoed in his ears.
Ji Zhi Xiu's steps faltered. He ignored the slight pain in his chest, his expression briefly stunned before returning to normal.
"Tell her to eat first from now on, no need to wait for me," he said, then strode out.
"Young Master, are you not eating breakfast either!" Aunt Song called out from behind him.
Sun Shu, full of energy, was strolling around. Seeing Ji Zhi Xiu walking out from a distance, he raised his hand and waved. "Good morning, President!"
Ji Zhi Xiu cast a cold glance.
Xiao Bai floated to his side. "This looks like a sign of unfulfilled desires, President."
Xiao Hei: "Makes sense."
Sun Shu slapped each of them on the back of the head. "What nonsense are you spouting? As if you guys have girlfriends."
Xiao Bai said aggrievedly, "Captain, if you give me a vacation, I'll find a girlfriend right now."
Sun Shu sneered. "Why don't you and Xiao Hei get together?"
The two looked at each other and simultaneously shouted, "No way!"
Jiang Mian came downstairs and asked Aunt Song, "Did Ah Xiu come back last night?"
Aunt Song was in a dilemma. Telling the truth might make Young Madam sad, but lying wasn't right either.
"He did come back and has already gone to the company. He seems to be very busy lately. I see Young Master has become quite haggard," Aunt Song said, subtly speaking well of him.
Jiang Mian nodded. "Thank you, Aunt Song."
Coming back so late and leaving so early, did he not want to see her?
Jiang Mian felt dejected. She never knew what Ji Zhi Xiu was thinking.
This man, when he was good, was full of sweet talk, but when he was angry, he would ignore her.
Jiang Mian felt wronged and vowed not to be the first to back down this time.
She called Sister Ning. "Sister Ning, send the address to my assistant. I've booked a flight to Italy this afternoon."
Since he didn't want to see her, it was better to give each other some space.
Li Lai Di, after settling her mother, secretly stuffed a few hundred yuan into her mother's hand and then took a taxi to the airport.
As she got in, she thought, it's a good thing this is covered by public funds, otherwise, she really couldn't afford it. She only had thirty yuan left in her pocket.
Upon arriving at the airport lounge, she found Jiang Mian. Jiang Mian handed her her ticket. "Long time no see, my little assistant."
Li Lai Di smiled shyly and took the ticket with both hands. This was the first time she had seen Jiang Mian since her interview, and also the first time she would be going out for work with her.
"Sister Mian, don't worry, I'll protect you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity," she promised earnestly, her tone solemn.
Jiang Mian smiled, not paying attention to her words, and asked, "How old are you?"
"Nineteen."