She understood Xu Hongyuan's tactics all too well.
If Ruan Tiantian helped her, she would definitely incur Xu Hongyuan's resentment.
She stopped Ruan Tiantian, "Forget it, don't bother, it's not that I don't resent him, but at this juncture, I can't be bothered with him. We don't need to take him too seriously anyway. The most important things right now are my house and my job."
Ruan Tiantian was just about to say something when a knock sounded on the door of her room.
This knock on the door was rather impolite.
She frowned slightly, covered the phone receiver, and said to Xu Ningxi, "Hold on, someone from my family is looking for me, I'll talk to you later."
...
"Achoo!"
Far away in the Xu Family's villa, Gu Huai'an sneezed outright.
Xu Huanyan poured him a cup of warm water and handed it to him, "Look at you, must be some young lady outside who's thinking of you."
Gu Huai'an pinched her delicate chin and lightly pecked her lips, "The one who misses me the most isn't right here with me?"
The two quickly became entangled with each other.
Xu Huanyan was taken to the sofa by Gu Huai'an, where she sat on his lap flirting with him, both of them laughing heartily.
After they got tired, Xu Huanyan leaned into his arms, her slender fingers stroking his chest, "Tell me the truth, do you know who Xu Ningxi's new backer is?"
Gu Huai'an frowned with disgust upon hearing the name Xu Ningxi.
"How would I know? She probably has no one. Didn't you say it was Xu Ningxi who bought off the manager with money? She's always been good at spending money, never hesitating, acting as if she's oblivious to the world's hardships. Spending a bit of money to win over a manager and regain her face, that's something she would do."
While saying this, he couldn't help but complain about Xu Ningxi's spendthrift nature.
Back when they were together, Xu Ningxi was exactly like that, splurging on anything she fancied.
Her way of spending money made him acutely aware of the gap between them.
She was a genuine rich and beautiful girl, while he was just a poor boy, forever out of his league.
That sense of inferiority had long been unbearable for Gu Huai'an.
Xu Huanyan also detested this aspect of Xu Ningxi.
Yet her angle was different.
She loathed that Xu Ningxi, as the legitimate daughter of the Xu Family, could spend money freely on her card outside and be seen as justified in doing so.
People would even praise Xu Ningxi for knowing how to spend money, as if being a spender was a talent of rich girls.
Yet when she, the stepdaughter, finally managed to grit her teeth and buy an haute couture gown, people would talk.
Deep down, those people felt she was unworthy.
No matter how expensive her clothes were, they still saw her as a nobody.
Simply because she was not Xu Hongyuan's biological daughter, but a daughter her mother brought into the family!
And Xu Ningxi's biological father was Xu Hongyuan, and her mother also came from a wealthy family!
Xu Huanyan said through clenched teeth, "That's right, Xu Ningxi is naturally sly! She's capable of creating scandals to avoid marriage, she could certainly buy off a manager. I don't believe she has any real new backing! The act she put on at Zhouqin today was nothing but a bluff!"
"Ha, she used to be able to spend money, and did spend. But that's all in the past, she doesn't have money now! A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken, and soon, life will teach her what real hardship is!"
Gu Huai'an also harbored a sense of injustice inside, longing to see Xu Ningxi become a fallen phoenix.
But he found it hard to imagine Xu Ningxi enduring hardship and poverty.
"I do hope life teaches her a lesson, but although her father cut off her cards, she has friends. Ruan Tiantian is very close to her, she will definitely help her out."
"That's hilarious, Ruan Tiantian doesn't even qualify to sit at the table," laughed Xu Huanyan. "After all this time, you still don't know the details about Ruan Tiantian. Although she's started a small business of her own, without the Ruan Family, she couldn't stir up anything. Her mother is just a nurse, and even if she married into the Ruan Family, what of it? She's still destined to serve others. Ruan Tiantian's stepfather, Ruan Kui, doesn't care about her and her mom at all. In his eyes, Ruan Tiantian's mom is just a high-class nanny! Her mom and mine are both concubines, yet the treatment is worlds apart, hmph!"
"My dad and Ruan Kui are on good terms; they even collaborate in business. My dad has already sent a message over there not to help Xu Ningxi! Ruan Tiantian will listen to Ruan Kui, and that means she'll have to listen to my dad!"
"Just wait and see, Xu Ningxi might not even have a place to stay tonight! This time, I'll make sure she gets a taste of what it's like to be a tiger fallen on flat ground, tormented by dogs!"
In her imagination, Xu Ningxi was definitely homeless, confused, and helpless.
Meanwhile, she was comfortably lying in the arms of the man Xu Ningxi loved, living the easy life.
In the days to come, she would make Xu Ningxi experience what it means for fortunes to change after thirty years!
All the things Xu Ningxi took pride in would be stripped away from her.
Soon, that circle would forget that Xu Ningxi ever existed.
And she, Xu Huanyan, would live an ever more splendid life, eventually replacing Xu Ningxi as the Xu Family's one and only cherished daughter!
...
Dijing Building.
Fu Hanzheng slowly finished the wine in his tall glass and glanced at the clock.
It was already eleven o'clock.
Lu Yu knocked on the door to come in and reported that the acquisition had been successfully completed.
All of this was within Fu Hanzheng's expectations.
Therefore, his face did not show any fluctuation.
Lu Yu continued, "Lin Hao has come to visit, shall I..."
Fu Hanzheng narrowed his eyes and tapped his finger on the bar lightly, "Let him in."
Lin Hao limped in.
Fu Hanzheng just stared at him with a profound look in his eyes.
Ten minutes later.
Lin Hao limped his way out again.
The only difference was that he now held an envelope that was sealed up tightly.
Lu Yu saw him off until he got into the car.
The lights in the CEO's office on the top floor were still brightly lit.
The man stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his demeanor noble and aloof, as he lightly pulled on the Venetian blinds, gazing down at the myriad of lights below.
As the clock's minute hand moved almost half a circle, Lu Yu knocked and entered, his expression grave.
He reported in a hoarse voice, "Lin Hao was in a car accident on Zolla Road. He is currently unconscious and has been taken to the hospital."
Only then did Fu Hanzheng turn around, his gaze settling on the two glasses on the bar.
His eyes were distant and silent.
His thoughts were always deep, inscrutable to others.
...
Meanwhile.
Ruan Tiantian was sharing this news with Xu Ningxi.
"Ningxi, do you think it's true that what goes around comes around? Lin Hao had just forced a marriage, and now he's almost met with a car wreck that could cost him his life. I heard he might not make it, and the Lin Family is going crazy."
Xu Ningxi felt a twinge in her chest, "How can this be such a coincidence? Just yesterday, he was standing in front of me, alive and well, and now tonight..."
She didn't dare to believe that such a thing could happen so close to her.
Did something really happen to Lin Hao?
Could it be true?