It had to be said that Lu Zhengting's words sounded very pleasing to Xia Yan's ears, making her mood exceptionally cheerful as she left the apartment. As for what might have happened between Ning Xi and Zhan Meng after he took her away last night, she had completely forgotten about it.
Around eight in the morning was the worst time for traffic jams in Jiangcheng. At this hour, major bridges were either briefly congested or stuck in long traffic jams. At times like this, walking might even feel faster than driving.
Xia Yan leaned back in her seat with a smile on her face, occasionally glancing at the impatient man beside her. Her right elbow rested on the edge of the car window, her palm supporting her cheek as she stared straight ahead at the congested traffic.
They usually took this route, but they had never encountered a situation like today—stuck in traffic for nearly half an hour. When Lu Zhengting started the engine, Xia Yan could clearly feel the car vibrate.
The two returned to the company about ten minutes later than they had estimated. The chairman arriving late with his secretary would inevitably give people something to gossip about, and given their relationship, it was even more likely to fuel women's wild imaginations.
Lu Zhengting cast a cold glance at the woman at the front desk in the lobby. Since getting out of the car, he hadn't let go of Xia Yan's hand. Despite her several attempts to break free, it was useless. Such blatant displays of affection made others envious while sweetening their own bond.
Regarding her pregnancy, Xia Yan's instinct was to keep it a secret for now, but she had just asked Lu Zhengting for his opinion. Influenced by his mood, she changed her mind. What she didn't know was that it was entirely because she had spoken too late.
Lu Zhengting had already happily taken out his phone and announced the news to everyone in the group chat yesterday when he got the test results. How could he keep the fact that Xia Yan was carrying his child a secret?
Among the four Ning brothers, aside from the eldest, who remained calm, the other three seemed filled with envy and jealousy. The second brother was fine, but when the youngest lamented about not having enough time to find a woman, he silently posted a photo of himself holding hands with Xu Su in the group, followed by a string of mocking and smug emojis.
This move thoroughly angered the youngest. As for the third brother, who had been silent all along, he had tagged him several times without any response. At first, he thought they could fight side by side, but now it seemed he was the only one fighting alone.
Lu Zhengting and Xia Yan returned to their respective offices. He sat in his chair, hands clasped on the desk, watching the youngest spam the chat. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth twitched, and a slight smile appeared. He picked up his phone and quickly typed a message with his slender fingers: "The third brother has a woman."
Sure enough, when Ning Bei, the youngest, saw this message, he exploded on the spot. The three older brothers all had partners now—this group of people who abandoned their friends for love. Weren't the older ones supposed to let the younger ones have a turn? He didn't feel that at all!
After thinking it over, Ning Bei called the company's internal line and directly instructed his secretary to come to his office. After giving some instructions, he decided on a temporary business trip, with Jiangcheng as the destination.
Meanwhile, Ning Xi, who had been woken up by the phone call, was full of anger with nowhere to vent. His gaze shifted to the sleeping face of the person beside him, and his anger seemed to halve. After a few more glances, he felt it completely extinguished.
Zhan Meng's hair was messily spread across her face, covering most of it. He could vaguely see her slightly parted lips, as if she were breathing. Her hand rested on her chest, her fingers moving slightly, as if doing something.
Ning Xi thought for a moment, feeling like he had seen this gesture somewhere before. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit him—wasn't this the same movement she had made when grabbing him in the car last night?
In an instant, Ning Xi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He was about to go back to sleep when he caught Zhan Meng opening her eyes and asking in a soft voice, "Ning Xi, why are you sleeping in my bed again?"
"Did you forget that you insisted I stay last night?"
"I would let you stay?" Zhan Meng shifted her body. "What did you do to me? I feel uncomfortable."
"Zhan Meng, look me in the eye. I'll make a gesture, and you tell me what it means." As he spoke, Ning Xi quickly raised his index and middle fingers and asked, "How many is this?"
Zhan Meng rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" Then, without waiting for Ning Xi to respond, she smiled and raised her middle finger at him.
Seeing this, Ning Xi asked in disbelief, "Are you saying you don't remember what happened last night?"
"What happened last night?" Zhan Meng blinked her innocent eyes at the incredulous Ning Xi, then threw off the covers. Her clothes were already on, which surprised her a bit. When she decided to play dumb and pretend not to remember, she had worried she might be naked. But it seemed Ning Xi had dressed her.
"You really don't remember?"
"I don't remember."
Zhan Meng answered too quickly, without any hesitation. Ning Xi frowned, then smiled. Although he didn't know what game this woman was playing, he was in the mood to play along.
The phone had rung at eight in the morning, and now it was almost noon. He couldn't rely on Zhan Meng for food, so he cooked, ate, and then started returning calls to those "ancestors" one by one.
Ning Bei's phone was off, which probably meant he was on another business trip.
When Ning Xi saw Lu Zhengting's call, he remembered he had planned to visit him at the company today anyway, so he decided not to call back and drove straight to Lu Group. Before that, Zhan Meng had already contacted Feng Yuan to pick her up from the villa.
******
Lu Group.
As a regular visitor to Lu Zhengting's office, Ning Xi didn't need an appointment. He walked through the lobby with exaggerated flair, winking at the woman at the front desk. Just then, Ke Yaru, who had just returned to the company after running errands outside, saw this. She stopped in her tracks, glanced discreetly at Ning Xi, and continued walking toward the elevator as if nothing had happened.
"What a coincidence, running into you like this," Ning Xi said casually to the serious-faced Ke Yaru.
Hearing this, Ke Yaru frowned and instinctively glanced at the people waiting for the elevator around them. She half-covered her mouth and whispered, "Why are you still in Jiangcheng?"
"Good question. I've been wondering why I'm still in Jiangcheng myself. Do you know the answer?" Ning Xi asked with a smile instead of anger.
Ke Yaru's expression flickered briefly before returning to normal. "I don't know why you're in Jiangcheng, but since you are, you must like it here."
"Well said. Go on, I'm listening."
"There's nothing to say between us. Ning Xi, Jiangcheng isn't Beicheng. It's not under your Ning family's control."
"So what? Ke Yaru, the first time I saw you in Jiangcheng, I remember telling you not to do anything behind Lu Zhengting's back that he wouldn't like. Otherwise—" "Otherwise what? Ning Xi, words need evidence. Do you have proof that I've done anything?"
"I'm just advising you, don't—"
Ke Yaru glanced at Ning Xi, maintaining her smile, and interrupted him, "I've heard enough of these words. I don't want to hear them again. And let me make it clear: I haven't done anything Zhengting wouldn't like. Alright, the elevator's here."
Ning Xi stared at Ke Yaru's composed demeanor, shook his head to himself, and chose the next elevator.
Lu Zhengting's office.
Ning Xi pushed open the office door and saw Lu Zhengting looking at him calmly, gesturing for him to take a seat. Ning Xi pushed aside the encounter with Ke Yaru and focused on Lu Zhengting.
"Xia Siyue's situation is now essentially a serious warning to Xia Minghui. But aren't you pushing a bit too hard? I hear Xia Minghui is already desperate enough to try anything."
"I've already received news about Xia Minghui. How's Yang Jinkuan's situation?"
"I hear he's now connected with a foreign company. With the financial pressure you put on him before, as long as he successfully partners with that foreign company, his funding problems will be completely resolved."
"What's the status of that company?"
"It's still under investigation. But I've made an important discovery on another matter. The ledger you asked me to look into—I've made some progress. It turns out that over a decade ago, this Xia Corporation wasn't entirely owned by Xia Minghui. It was jointly established by Xia Minghui and Xu Guang."
Ning Xi glanced at the calm Lu Zhengting and asked, "You're not surprised?"
"Go on."
"But when it came to company decisions, Xia Minghui was never as good as Xu Guang. So most people in the company knew Xu Guang but not Xia Minghui. And what's even more shocking is that Xia Minghui had always been in love with Xiao Lanzhi—Xu Guang's wife."
As he finished speaking, he reconsidered. Xia Minghui's feelings for Xiao Lanzhi were probably common knowledge, nothing shocking. No wonder Lu Zhengting looked at him with disdain.
"But about a decade ago, it seems your father wanted to cooperate with Xu Guang, while Xia Minghui favored another company. Their opinions clashed. Not long after Xu Guang signed the contract with your father, Xu Guang took his wife and daughter on a trip and got into a car accident."
Hearing this, Lu Zhengting narrowed his eyes. "We still can't prove that Xia Minghui had anything to do with Xu Guang's car accident back then."
"I know. That's why I said it's just a lead. But at least now we can investigate along this line." Ning Xi suddenly remembered something and looked at Lu Zhengting with interest. "Little sister-in-law is pregnant? So when are you two getting married?"
"I've already arranged for the wedding preparations."
"Oh, you move fast. But if I remember correctly, Aunt Jiang doesn't like little sister-in-law, does she?"
Mentioning this gave Lu Zhengting a headache. Yesterday, when he told Jiang Mingxiu he was getting married, she strongly opposed it.
"Look at you, it's a tough situation. Since ancient times, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law have been the hardest to deal with." Ning Xi thought he would never face such problems, but he never expected to be troubled by his future father-in-law.
Lu Zhengting's head was already aching, and seeing Ning Xi made it worse. Looking at his smug expression, he knew there was trouble ahead for him.