Just as Ye Xingli reached the door, her mobile phone rang.
Ye Xingli took out her phone and looked at it, her face lighting up with joy. She quickly answered, "Beibei? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Ye Xingbei replied, "I'm downstairs at Xingzong building. The receptionist is stopping me, can you tell them to let me go up?"
"Stay where you are," said Ye Xingli hastily, "I'm coming down to pick you up now!"
Quickly, Ye Xingli took the private elevator down to the lobby.
As soon as the elevator doors opened, she spotted Ye Xingbei standing next to the reception desk.
There's a beauty in the north, unique in this world.
One look could topple a city, another could topple a country.
Ye Xingbei, with her stunning beauty, stood there like a dazzling aurora borealis, mesmerizing everyone who laid eyes on her.
"Beibei!" Ye Xingli rushed over immediately. Taking Ye Xingbei's arm and scanning her up and down, she asked, "Are you okay? Any injuries? Your terrible father and stepmother didn't bully you, did they?"
Ye Xingbei shrugged off her hand, shaking her head. "No."
Her terrible father and stepmother didn't bully her, but over the course of a single night, she had inexplicably become the "Young Madam of the Gu Family."
The most infuriating thing was, she had lost her reputation with this new status.
Thinking about the offensive stain on the bedsheet, she felt a sharp pain like all her organs were being twisted.
Seeing her ashen face, Ye Xingli gritted her teeth. "Those scum from the Jiang Family must have done something to you! Beibei, don't hold it in. Let's go, we're going to confront them."
He grabbed her hand and started to head out, intending to settle scores with the Jiang Family.
Ye Xingbei stopped him, "Forget it for now. We'll deal with this later. There's work to be done."
Her return to Jiang City was not solely for personal reasons. There was also business to attend to.
Last month, the director of Xingzong's Jiang City branch resigned, and they haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.
Since she had decided to return to Jiang City, she requested the position from the chairman of Xingzong International, Ye Xinglan.
Renowned as the "Music Spirit" and Xingzong's biggest cash cow, she was more than qualified to serve as the director of Xingzong's Jiang City branch.
Just last week, an internal email announced her appointment and her imminent arrival to meet with the department heads. She couldn't afford to skip work on her first day.
"Alright," Ye Xingli nodded as he put his arm around her shoulder. "Then let's take a walk around first, and later we'll go see where I've arranged for you to stay."
He couldn't wait for Ye Xingbei to take over her job. That way, he could be the carefree boss, living the easy life.
As he led Ye Xingbei out, she tilted her head and asked him, "Second Brother, where's Xiao Shu?"
Xiao Shu, AKA Ye Yiyang, was the child that Bai Mengluan had forcefully put into her arms years ago. This led to Ye Xingbei being kicked out of the Jiang family.
Five years ago, he was just a few months old when Bai Mengluan had forcefully put him in her arms.
Bai Mengluan jumped in a car and left. Ye Xingbei wasn't able to catch up.
She searched for Bai Mengluan for two days with the baby in her arms, but Bai Mengluan had vanished as if evaporated.
Later on, because of the baby, the Jiang family accused her of promiscuity, having an affair and giving birth to a bastard child. They insulted her for spoiling the Jiang family's reputation and expelled her from the family home.
She wanted to send the baby to an orphanage, but she couldn't bear to let him go. Even when she was already at the door of the orphanage, she decided to take him back.
Afterwards, by a stroke of luck, she was saved by her eldest brother, Ye Xinglan.
Ye Xinglan took her and the baby overseas and cared for them diligently.
When she was in the Jiang family, her name was Jiang Sibei.
After being saved by Ye Xinglan, he changed her name to Ye Xingbei.
She named the baby Ye Yiyang, his nickname being Xiao Shu, and went through the process of adoption.
Five years ago, she was sixteen years old.
A sixteen-year-old girl had become the mother of a newborn baby. The difficulties and panic she experienced were unimaginable.
Fortunately, she had the help of her two elder brothers, so she didn't have to suffer as much.
Xiao Shu was different from other children. He was incredibly mature from a young age and exceptionally intelligent.
One time, her second brother took Xiao Shu to test his IQ. The experts were all extraordinarily impressed with Xiao Shu's intelligence. He was considered a rare genius, and they all looked at him with bright eyes, as if they wanted to keep Xiao Shu for research purposes.
Her second brother, on the other hand, was rambling on and on, warning her to keep a close eye on Xiao Shu and to prevent the research institute from taking Xiao Shu away for dissection and research.
Ye Xingbei was speechless at the time.
Her second brother really lived up to the moniker, distinguished mainly by his 'second-rate' intellect.
Hearing Ye Xingbei mentioning Xiao Shu, Ye Xingli's smile grew even brighter. "I found a primary school for Xiao Shumiao and sent him to school. He's in third grade!"
Ye Xingli proudly raised three fingers. His handsome face coupled with a brilliant smile could blind anyone.
Ye Xingbei was helpless. "Second Brother, Xiao Shu is only five years old, you're pushing too hard!"
"That's the kind of shock factor I'm going for!" Ye Xingli said, "If it weren't for the fact that you might object, I would've wanted Xiao Shu to go straight to sixth grade. The third-grade curriculum is too easy for our Xiao Shumiao, especially English!"
Ye Xingbei was speechless.
That was true.
Xiao Shu had been living overseas since he was a baby. He spoke English when he was outside and Mandarin at home. He had been educated bilingually since he began to talk.
Ye Xingli said proudly, "Beibei, you should've seen the teachers and principals when they saw our Xiao Shumiao. Their eyes were glowing, like they were looking at a rare treasure."
Ye Xingbei shook her head.
Xiao Shu was also one of the reasons why she returned to Jiang City.
Her second brother, the fool, took advantage of her business trip and brought Xiao Shu to Jiang City.
Not trusting her scatterbrained second brother to take care of Xiao Shu, she followed them to Jiang City.
Who would have thought that as soon as she arrived in Jiang City, the Jiang family would present her with a "generous gift."
Every time she thought of her lost innocence, her heart ached.