Mr. Xu laughed a few times and poured his daughter a glass of freshly squeezed juice. “The meeting room was a mess, with all sorts of assessments and analyses that made everyone dizzy. But you just said it sounded pretty good. Hahaha, you really are my daughter. But Yan Yan, you need to be a little bolder and not be afraid of encountering problems.”
Xu Xingyan raised an eyebrow: "Dad wants to have both? That's not easy, is it? He Rong has never been too willing to be acquired. Hmm... or Dad wants to cooperate with others on R&D projects? That's feasible... The technology companies under the group have matured in various technologies in recent years, and their flagship products are very competitive. They just lack an opportunity to seize market share. It would be a real pity to miss it."
Mr. Xu listened with a smile, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, only saying, "Really not going to take a position in the company?"
"Dad!" Xu Xingyan said, both amused and exasperated. "You have so many talented people under your command, why do you always try to exploit your own daughter?"
Xu Yuming didn't continue speaking. He was just sighing for a moment. In fact, they both knew that the main reason was that Xu Xingyan's body could not withstand too much high-intensity work.
While expertly brushing sauce onto the skewers, he changed the subject, saying, "A few days ago, your Uncle Li told me that he has found a very good daughter-in-law candidate. She said she runs her own entertainment company, and the company's name seems to be Xuanshe. He has been urging Li Cheng to pursue her recently."
"I know this company. It has a deep collaboration with Sister Si Ning. The founder is about my age and is a very capable woman."
Xu Xingyan rolled her eyes and said with a half-smile, "I'm not saying this to be mean, but Uncle Li's plan is a bit too obvious. Brother Li Cheng sees that he can't inherit the company, so he's looking everywhere for capable girls. What? Does he want to marry one and have her work hard to manage the company for them, and also have children? Good professional managers are hard to come by. Uncle Li should give up his idea of getting something for nothing. People who can build their own businesses at a young age are not stupid. Why would they give up their own promising companies to clean up the mess for their family and still get a share?"
Not wanting to set off another firecracker with his words, Mr. Xu touched his nose and sold off his "plastic brother" without hesitation. "That's just how he is. He always thinks he's the only smart person in the world and everyone else is a fool. I'm too lazy to try to persuade him."
This is actually what he truly felt.
Both he and Mr. Li faced the situation that their children could not inherit the family business, but he never thought of having his daughter bring back a talented young man to manage the company.
Firstly, his elderly father was not happy about his family's good cabbage being eaten by a pig. Secondly, he did not believe that anything in this world lasts forever. He believed that everything follows the objective law of birth, germination, development, prosperity, and gradual decline, so he was not afraid of decline and regarded it as an inevitable process.
He had already planned that in a few years he would start looking for a suitable trust institution and manager to leave his daughter enough wealth that she could live on for eight lifetimes without having to worry about managing it, and then he would happily retire and accompany his wife to art exhibitions all over the world.
As for the matter of future generations.
His daughter is the fruit of his and his wife's love, and she needs to be cherished and loved. In the future, there may be grandchildren, who will be his daughter's flesh and blood, and he should love them as well. And further down the line... well, Mr. Xu said he neither knows nor cares about them. After several generations of blood ties, they will just be strangers with a slight connection, so why bother?
Moreover, given his precious daughter's aloof and detached nature, and the fact that she hasn't even had a romantic relationship in all these years, the possibility of her having a grandson is probably questionable.
"Let's not talk about that anymore. Here, this ear of corn is grilled. Don't grab it with your hands, be careful it's hot..."
...
Carrying a large pile of supplements that President Xu had given her, Xu Xingyan leaned back in the back seat, her brows furrowed, a headache in her eyes. Seeing this, the driver slowly slowed down and tried to drive on a less noisy road.
"Ms. Xu, there are Vitamin C tablets and preserved plum candies in the back seat. You can have one if you feel unwell."
"I'm fine," Xu Xingyan opened her eyes and waved her hand. "It's a bit stuffy in the car, turn the air conditioning down a bit."
“Okay,” the young driver readily complied.
Xu Xingyan rubbed her suddenly rebellious head, rummaged through her bag for a bottle of essential oil, and applied a drop to her temples. To distract herself, she started chatting with the driver casually, "I've never seen you before. When did you apply for the job?"
The driver was a young man in his mid-twenties. He answered honestly, "I just arrived last month. Before that, Mr. Xu hadn't come back, so I was helping the housekeeper with shopping at the villa. Today is my first time being a driver, and my first job is to take Miss Xu home."
Xu Xingyan casually asked a few more miscellaneous questions.
Just like in a job interview, the driver answered seriously, revealing his family situation in no time. He even accidentally exposed how his family had used connections to find him a job, and suddenly he broke out in a cold sweat.
Seeing his expression, Xu Xingyan couldn't help but feel ashamed for bullying an honest person.
"I like following you like this, wherever you take me..."
The new phone rang at that moment. Xu Xingyan answered it without even looking at it, "Hello."
The woman's voice on the other end of the phone was gentle yet excited, "Xingyan, I'm getting married!"
Xu Xingyan sat up abruptly, momentarily forgetting her headache. She was stunned for a couple of seconds before she came to her senses and quickly glanced at the name on the screen—Meng Yue.
"Sister Meng Yue, congratulations!" Xu Xingyan composed herself and asked with a smile, "When is the date set?"
What she really wanted to ask was, was her marriage partner still the same person? But she fell silent when she tried to say it.
Unaware of what was happening, Meng Yue continued to laugh, "It's next Saturday. Originally, I wasn't planning to have a wedding, but Tao Yu has always had this idea and has even rented a vacation villa next to Binhua Park, which has a large lawn around it."
“I know this place. A friend of mine had a lawn wedding there before. The scenery was beautiful.”
Upon hearing the name "Tao Yu," Xu Xingyan felt a weight lifted from her heart.
So she smiled sincerely and said, "Sister Tao Yu, you really know how to choose a location. Is the wedding venue all set up? Do you need any help? I know a few wedding planning companies that do a good job..."
“No need, you just need to come to our wedding on that day,” Meng Yue laughed non-stop on the phone, looking genuinely happy. “Tao Yu said the wedding must be done according to her own wishes, and she made a very long list, it’s densely packed. By the way, we don’t accept monetary gifts, so please don’t bring red envelopes.”
Xu Xingyan agreed while mentally considering what gift to give.
Jewelry? No, too expensive, they definitely won't accept it. So what should I give them? Lipstick, a doll, or Lego? Or perhaps a watch or a rare book? It's winter now, how about two scarves embroidered with your name?
She felt a surge of excitement.
Because of her personality and childhood experiences, Xu Xingyan's reaction after realizing she liked girls was not very strong. The struggles she faced with her sexual orientation were not as great as the struggles she experienced when choosing a major for the college entrance examination.
Because she had only ever liked Lin Shengmiao, for a long time she was unsure whether she liked girls or simply liked Lin Shengmiao.
Therefore, she never made a conscious effort to get to know so-called kindred spirits.
Hmm... As for Luo Jing, after keenly sensing certain trends back then, she spent more than half a month in the library researching information in order to know herself and her enemy. She also tried to sneak into gay forums and then, with the special skill of a high school student, spent two months hanging out in the city's most famous lesbian bar. In the end, she fled in a sorry state after receiving countless confessions.
When Xu Xingyan found out about this, she had mixed feelings, feeling both touched and speechless.
All I can say is... Luo Jing is a good older sister.
Meng Yue... was a professional dancer at a theater that Xu Xingyan used to frequent. She and Tao Yu were the first lesbian couple that Xu Xingyan met, and Xu Xingyan witnessed almost all the hardships they went through.
Unexpected coming out as gay, severing ties with family, losing financial support, being ostracized by colleagues, losing job opportunities, struggling to start a business, and having to start all over again...
For a long time, out of some inexplicable psychological reason, Xu Xingyan paid close attention to them.
Seven years have passed, and both of them have achieved success in their respective fields. When Xu Xingyan learned that they were going to hold a wedding today, she was genuinely happy for them, feeling as if the CP she had been shipping had finally come to fruition.
Especially now that Lin Shengmiao is also in Nancheng, it seems particularly auspicious, like some kind of omen.
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Author's Note:
Please leave a comment~
Chapter 22 Miss Snail
December 25th, Saturday, Christmas Day.
Wisteria flowers at the entrance of the theater.
Xu Xingyan was wearing a white down jacket, burying her face in a red scarf, looking tiny. It had rained lightly yesterday, and the whole city was damp and chilly. Xu Xingyan had been outside for a long time, and even her hair was damp and limp.
After a while, Lin Shengmiao, who had parked the car, jogged over. Seeing the situation, he quickly pulled her towards the theater entrance, saying anxiously and with concern, "It's so cold outside, why don't you go in first?"
Xu Xingyan chuckled softly, "I wanted to wait for you to go in together, in case you couldn't find me."
Lin Shengmiao smiled and complained softly, "It's so hard to find a parking space here."
Xu Xingyan irrationally shifted the blame, saying, "It's all Han Yi's fault. He has no experience buying tickets and chose a weekend noon when there are many people and the atmosphere is not good."
Han, who was at home studying for exams, sneezed and happily thought he was a solid helper in his cousin's love life. Little did he know that not only was the brother-in-law he thought he would be with not what he imagined, but even the free tickets he gave her were disliked and belittled. It was absolutely tragic.
"I know a movie theater that's not open to the public. Many of the films there are hard to find online, so they're only shown in theaters. Some of the directors and actors are quite good, but they're a bit artsy and niche. I'll take you there next time. I'm a regular customer and have a membership."
“Okay,” Lin Shengmiao took a warm hand warmer out of her pocket and put it into her cold hands, smiling and showing an expectant expression.
As the most famous theater in the entire Jinning Province, the Wisteria Theater is second to none in the country in terms of both venue layout and program level. Even someone like Lin Shengmiao, who is not good at appreciating drama, was involuntarily drawn into the drama by the actors' excellent performance.
The play is called "The Pearl Chain".
It's a love story that shows great growth potential.
The boy and girl grew up together, childhood sweethearts, innocent and inseparable. The boy always protected his girl and patiently waited for her to grow up. But fate is unpredictable. The boy's father had an accident, and the boy had to leave for a distant place. Before leaving, he only took a string of pearls from the girl.
The girl was still innocent and unaware of her feelings for another person until the moment they parted. She also didn't realize that this would be a long separation. One day, a spring breeze blew through her hair, and the girl suddenly grew up, like a lily blooming.
The belated realization caused the girl great pain. She was unwilling to let her youthful love remain only a regretful memory in her dreams. She packed her bags and set off to find her lover far away. In the vast sea of people, in an era without telephones, how difficult was it to find someone? But she never gave up and remained steadfast.
On her journey to find her lover, she witnessed a land ravaged by war. By this time, she was a woman with enough experience, and she joined the nursing team without hesitation, going to the front lines. The little girl who was once protected by a boy was now protecting others.
On this day, the girl's nursing team arrived at a small town ravaged by war. There, she saw a seriously wounded soldier who, even in his unconscious state, was still clutching a string of yellowed pearls. The girl recognized him as her beloved.
It turned out that the boy had always been thinking of the girl and wanted to travel over mountains and rivers to go back and see her. However, the country was broken and devastated. The boy could only suppress his longing, put on his military uniform, and take up his weapon. From then on, if he could protect the country, he would also be protecting her.
The two met again in this unexpected place. The pain and love, the grievances and longing that had been suppressed for so long were finally released. The girl cried her heart out and smiled brightly. Even though they were separated by countless years and almost separated by death, they finally met again on their journey of searching for each other.
The final scene shows the war gradually subsiding, and the girl pushing the still-wounded boy under a rowan tree laden with heavy red fruit, where they share a passionate kiss...
After watching, the room fell silent for a long time before discussions gradually began.
Xu Xingyan sat in her seat, her gaze serene and distant, as if she were still immersed in the story.
Lin Shengmiao looked at her for a long time before letting out a soft laugh, breaking the silence, and defending Han Xiaodi, saying, "...Actually, Han Yi has a good eye for choosing dramas."
Xu Xingyan closed her eyes, slowly rested her head on her shoulder, and exhaled as if she were very tired, "Okay, let's give him a chicken leg when we get back."
Lin Shengmiao felt her warm breath on her neck and the faint floral fragrance in her hair. A tenderness flashed in his eyes. He carefully adjusted his position, relaxed his shoulders to make her more comfortable, and then lowered his head to gently kiss her hair without attracting attention.
Miss Xu, who was pretending to be asleep with her eyes closed, smiled slightly and curled her fingers slightly. After a moment of silence, she suddenly said, "Wait for me here for a bit. I'll be back in a little while."
With the sudden departure of the beautiful and fragrant woman, Lin Shengmiao found himself alone, left with only their belongings and watching Xu Xingyan hurry backstage.
I couldn't help but think back to when we first met.
At that time, she and Luo Jing had been deskmates for a year. She was tired of hearing Luo Jing talk about her well-behaved and cute younger sister every day. Even after she had met many people and things, Lin Shengmiao still firmly believed that Luo Jing was a super annoying sister-obsessed person.
That day was the first Friday after the start of their second year of high school, and also the first day after the end of their first year of high school military training. After finishing lunch, Lin Shengmiao returned to her class and found a girl she didn't recognize sitting next to her.
Almost immediately, she realized that this was Luo Jing's legendary, flawless little sister.
At that time, Luo Jing was called to the teacher's office, and Xu Xingyan was left in an unfamiliar classroom. She and Lin Shengmiao looked at each other in silence. Finally, it was Miss Xu who took the initiative to reach out, took out a handful of candy, and asked cautiously and clumsily, "Senior, do you... want some candy?"
Then, they actually sat together and started sharing the candy, one piece at a time.
Even years later, when Lin Shengmiao recalled that scene, she still felt both embarrassed and sweet about that kindergarten-style dating process.
...
After a brief moment of reminiscence, Lin Shengmiao checked her watch. More than ten minutes had passed, and almost everyone in the theater had left. She became restless, hesitating whether to go find Xu Xingyan.
"I'm back!"
Xu Xingyan, panting from running, pulled out a branch laden with red fruit from behind her back with a radiant smile and exclaimed, "Ta-da! How about it? Isn't it exactly the same as the prop on stage just now?"
It was a branch of a rowan tree, its red color vibrant and captivating under the lamplight.
Lin Shengmiao was taken aback, took the item, and asked, "Did you go backstage to ask someone for it?"
Xu Xingyan's almond-shaped eyes curved slightly: "No, the tree on stage just now was a prop. But there's a botanical garden behind the theater. I've been here before, and there's a real rowan tree there. I asked the old man who guards the gate for it. What do you think? Isn't it beautiful?"