Zhao Xinjie often talks about his father, and his favorite thing to say is how great his father is.
Wen Tang didn't actually like his style either, but seeing him make such a boast, she simply held her phone up to him, pointed at it coquettishly, and said, "Look, it's this person. I hate her so much. Do you have any way to make her disappear from my sight?"
Zhao Xinjie chuckled, thinking to himself that this was easy.
When he looked down and saw Ni Jingxi's name, he frowned and asked in a low voice after a while, "This name looks familiar."
My friend leaned over to take a look and said, "Who is it? Let me see."
Upon seeing it, she immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Ni Jingxi, Huo Shenyan's wife!"
At this moment, Zhao Xinjie realized why the name sounded so familiar. The circles among the second generation are different. Second-generation figures like Huo Shenyan, who had long held real power in the family business, would never bother associating with rich second-generation figures like them who were just coasting along.
Zhao Xinjie glanced at Wen Tang and asked, "How did you offend her?"
Wen Tang said innocently, "What do you mean I offended her? She's been undermining me at every turn. I was doing well at the Shanghai People's Daily, but she was jealous of my position and used all sorts of means to force me out. Now that I've come to Xinhua News Agency, she not only followed me here, but she also took away my interview opportunity as soon as she arrived."
Today's interview at the economic forum should have been hers.
Zhao Xinjie wasn't stupid; he knew why Wen Tang had left the Shanghai Daily. But since Wen Tang had said that, he didn't expose her, only whispering, "Let me tell you, you absolutely mustn't mess with her."
Wen Tang was surprised that Zhao Xinjie, who was always arrogant and domineering, would say such a thing, so she snorted and asked, "What's wrong? Does she mean you can't touch a tiger's backside?"
"The tiger's backside?" Zhao Xinjie sneered, saying calmly, "This is Huo Shenyan's darling. If you touch her, it could be fatal."
Seeing that he said that, Wen Tang knew there was something going on, so she immediately asked, "Why?"
Zhao Xinjie was afraid that she would lose her temper and cause more trouble, so he decided to tell her directly: "Although I am not in the same circle as Huo Shenyan, I have a friend named Su Jingxuan, the eldest son of the Su Group. You must know his sister, the popular actress Su Yiheng."
"Su Yiheng grew up with Huo Shenyan, and their families basically arranged for them to be together. But Huo Shenyan later married this woman, and Su Yiheng was resentful and caused trouble for him both openly and secretly. As a result, Su Jingxuan was arrested for drug use at the beginning of this year."
"Su Jingxuan has been involved in that kind of thing for a long time, so why did he suddenly get into trouble?"
Zhao Xinjie and Su Jingxuan were from the same circle. They used to have a good relationship, and Zhao Xinjie had heard Su Jingxuan complain about Huo Shenyan. No one expected him to suddenly come in.
Although there is no actual evidence, everyone knows what happened.
Wen Tang was hearing this secret for the first time. She blinked and said softly, "Then wouldn't the Su family hate Huo Shenyan to death?"
“What’s the use of hating him? His own son is useless. Who told him to play with that kind of stuff?” Zhao Xinjie couldn’t help but say smugly, “Let me tell you, even though I play like this all the time, if anyone tries to take me to play those dirty things, I’ll beat them to death first. My father also said that if I play with those things, he won’t leave me a single penny of the family fortune.”
"Where is Su Yiheng?" Wen Tang asked with interest.
Zhao Xinjie thought for a moment: "She must hate her too, but I think she would rather Ni Jingxi be dead than Huo Shenyan."
After this analysis, Zhao Xinjie felt that he was actually quite clever and couldn't help but smile smugly.
Wen Tang smiled slightly. Yes, they all wished Ni Jingxi would die.
She had the same idea.
*
The economic forum was going on until Friday, and Ni Jingxi made a point of working overtime to finish it. Just then, Huo Shenyan had booked a table for the two families to meet.
This was the first time their parents had met since they got married.
Ni Jingxi took it very seriously, and specially brought a set of well-fitting clothes in the car, planning to go there directly after finishing overtime.
But it was getting dark outside, and she finished processing the manuscript, went downstairs, and drove to the hotel.
Just as her car pulled out of the gate and Ni Jingxi was about to turn onto the road, a dark figure suddenly darted out from the side. Ni Jingxi slammed on the brakes, but even though she was wearing a seatbelt, she was still thrown forward by inertia.
Her head hit the steering wheel, and she gasped in pain.
After a long while, she raised her head and looked at the people outside the car. She saw a person standing in front of her car, and the two looked at each other.
Ni Jingxi gave a cold laugh.
She unbuckled her seatbelt, pushed open the door, and walked out. The security guard next to her noticed this and rushed over immediately.
The security guards all have good memories. Although Ni Jingxi had only been at the newspaper office for a few days, her name had already been remembered.
"Reporter Ni, are you alright?" the security guard asked with concern.
Ni Jingxi shook her head: "I'm fine."
After saying that, she walked directly towards the person still standing in front of the car, and the two stood opposite each other.
Liu Hui: "Ni Jingxi, I want to meet your father."
The moment Ni Jingxi saw Liu Hui, she felt a sense of relief. She had always thought it was a bit too much for a woman who had hidden Ni Pingsen for seven years to give up her father so easily.
She truly lived up to her own ideas.
Ni Jingxi nodded, then suddenly chuckled softly, "I disagree."
Wanting to see her is one thing, but her disagreement is another.
Over the years, Ni Jingxi has never learned the meaning of being soft-hearted.
Chapter 73
Liu Hui stared intently at her. At this moment, she was completely devoid of the radiant and alluring beauty that Ni Jingxi had first seen her with. She was wearing a very ordinary white short-sleeved shirt and denim shorts, her hair was casually tied up, and her face was bare.
Even though she only had a plain face and seemed to lack that kind of radiant spirit, she was still beautiful.
Liu Hui looked at Ni Jingxi as if pleading, "Please let me meet your father."
Ni Jingxi frowned. There was a hint of anger in what she said earlier. Even someone as calm as her has a temper that can flare up easily, and Liu Hui is one of them.
Ni Jingxi took a deep breath, trying not to appear sharp and sarcastic. She calmly said, "Miss Liu, it seems you need to understand one thing: my father is an adult with his own judgment. I cannot and will not restrict him in any way. I will not stop him from meeting with whomever he wants or doesn't want to meet with."
Liu Hui looked at her with her eyes wide open: "But he said he would consider your feelings."
Ni Jingxi couldn't help but laugh. She knew what Liu Hui meant; she simply thought Ni Jingxi was an obstacle between them. If it weren't for Ni Jingxi, Ni Pingsen would still be living a happy and carefree life with her in Vietnam.
"We can't agree on anything," Ni Jingxi turned to leave.
But Liu Hui stepped forward and blocked her way, frowning as she looked at Ni Jingxi, and said as if she had made up her mind, "Why can't you just let me and your father go?"
Me and your dad?
Ni Jingxi was amused by her description. She nodded and asked seriously, "Am I not letting you and my dad off the hook?"
She really wanted to know what heinous things she had done that required such a direct accusation from her.
Liu Hui paused for a moment, then spoke first: "I'm sorry, I'm not like you, a graduate of a prestigious university, who has read so many books and knows how to speak. I just want to say that I was wrong, but your father and I truly love each other. No matter how many mistakes I made, I have been by his side for the past seven years. We have endured all the hardships in this world together. Your father is my pillar, and I believe I am his pillar as well."
Ni Jingxi looked at her indifferently and listened quietly to everything she had to say.
After she finished speaking, Ni Jingxi asked, "Are you done talking?"
This time, Liu Hui remained silent.
Ni Jingxi looked at her and said in an extremely cold voice, "If you're done talking, then I can start now. Let me tell you, you and I aren't even strangers, so your behavior of coming to see me today is foolish and ridiculous."
Liu Hui looked up abruptly, knowing that Ni Jingxi wouldn't treat her well.
But Ni Jingxi's calm and restrained tone, speaking these words so peacefully, only made her feel worse.
But what could she do? Ni Pingsen was completely unwilling to meet with her, even though she had come all the way from Vietnam to Shanghai.
Ni Jingxi: "Also, never talk about how my dad and you suffered, or how you two depended on each other for survival, because that will only make me hate you more. If it weren't for your selfishness, he wouldn't have to live such a hard or tiring life."
She never thought that Liu Hui could move her by shedding a few tears or saying a few words.
On the contrary, the more Liu Hui talked, the more Ni Jingxi would think about what Ni Pingsen had experienced, how he survived in a place like the Middle East, and how he wandered all the way to Vietnam.
Just hearing a few words about these things would make her furious.
Is this their sweet love story?
fart.
Ni Jingxi discovered that some people are really the self-pity type. Even though what they do is only beneficial to themselves, they still have to make up all sorts of reasons as if their efforts are so important.
In fact, others don't need these so-called sacrifices at all.
All the hardships they endured together were imposed on Ni Pingsen by Liu Hui; she never considered whether Ni Pingsen wanted them or not.
Of course, she might have thought about it.
But she insists on imposing her will on others.
Liu Hui discovered that no matter how much she pleaded or reasoned with him, Ni Jingxi remained completely unmoved, as if he were an impenetrable wall.
So Liu Hui looked at her with red eyes and said, "Don't force me. You were the one who took him away from me. Your mother has been dead for more than ten years. She's been dead for a long time."
As the word 'death' was uttered, Ni Jingxi suddenly raised her hand.
Liu Hui subconsciously closed her eyes, waiting for the slap to come down.
Instead, she wished Ni Jingxi would slap her hard enough, to hit her as hard as he could, so she could pay back what she owed him. That way, she could win Ni Pingsen back. She knew he was angry, but why should their years-long relationship just end like that?
Cars honked their horns on the roadside, and there was constant noise around them, but the atmosphere between them remained tense.
It was as if a transparent glass dome was enveloping the two of them.
There was silence between the two.
When Liu Hui opened her eyes, Ni Jingxi had already lowered her hand; even though she was still angry, she didn't want to lay a hand on her.
Ni Jingxi looked at Liu Hui and said very slowly, "I don't want to hear another word about my mother from your mouth, and I don't want to see you again."
Just as she turned around to open the car door again and get in, she paused and looked up again.
“My mother passed away many years ago, but she has always lived in my father’s heart.”
"Even if you beat her, you'll never get the chance to die."
After Ni Jingxi finished speaking, she got into the car, quickly restarted it, reversed a few meters, and drove away around Liu Hui. This time, she drove onto the road smoothly.
When she arrived at the hotel, she directly told the waiter the name of the private room.
This is an extremely private club, decorated in a traditional Chinese style. Water flows slowly along one of the stone-blue walls in the lobby, and the clear, melodious sound of the flowing water is pleasant and soothing.
The chandelier in the hall is orchid-shaped, emitting a soft, pale white light that is not glaring but rather gentle.
The waitress, dressed in a light white Chinese-style cheongsam, smiled and led the way for Ni Jingxi.
When she entered the private room, she realized that she was the first one to arrive. Ni Jingxi took out a phone from her bag and looked down at it, only to find that there was still half an hour until the agreed time.
She had left home early, and surprisingly, she hadn't encountered any traffic jams on her way here.