Xia Qiqi followed Nie Ziming back to the car.
The car was a bit quiet.
Xia Qiqi was unusually silent.
Nie Ziming drove, and several times, he wanted to say something but chose to remain silent.
Now, there was some awkwardness between him and Xia Qiqi.
He was also worried that Xia Qiqi would question him about why he didn't sleep with her.
So, most of the time, he preferred to stay silent.
The car drove on and off on the highway.
Nie Ziming's phone suddenly rang.
He glanced at the caller ID, connected the Bluetooth, "Hello."
"This is Xiao Nanchen. Come to my office when you reach the company."
Nie Ziming's expression changed slightly.
He had always been resentful about the fact that Xiao Nanchen was his superior.
"Okay." He answered briefly.
The call ended.
Xia Qiqi also noticed the change in Nie Ziming's expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Xiao Nanchen wants me to go to his office when I get to the company."
"What for?"
"He didn't say."
"Are you going to drop me off first?" Xia Qiqi looked at the direction of the car.
"I'll drop you off first."
"No need, I'm feeling much better now. Let's go to the company first," Xia Qiqi said directly.
Nie Ziming turned to look at Xia Qiqi.
Xia Qiqi appeared calm, "I don't want to delay your work, and my father doesn't believe that I was sick, so I need to go to his office and make it clear to him."
"...Okay." Nie Ziming nodded.
His suppressed emotions were churning endlessly.
He knew very well that Xia Qiqi's feelings towards Xiao Nanchen were gradually changing.
And he absolutely wouldn't let that happen.
He drove silently, without betraying his emotions.
The car arrived at Xiahui Bank.
Xia Qiqi went to the Chairman's office.
Nie Ziming went straight to Xiao Nanchen's office.
He pushed open the door and entered.
Xiao Nanchen was sitting at his desk, working.
Nie Ziming had always thought that he was the company's model employee, admired by everyone for not only being outstanding in his abilities but also hardworking and diligent. But ever since Xiao Nanchen came, many people gradually shifted this evaluation to Xiao Nanchen.
He knew very well that Xiao Nanchen did it on purpose.
Intentionally stripping away everyone's goodwill towards him within the company.
He walked up to Xiao Nanchen and sat on the chair across from his desk, "Director Xiao, you wanted to see me."
"Hmm." Xiao Nanchen's nimble fingers tapped on the keyboard, acknowledging him.
Nie Ziming couldn't help but be astounded by the speed at which he typed.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, it would be hard to imagine a person's fingers could be so agile.
He chose to ignore it.
He sat there waiting in front of Xiao Nanchen for a while.
After finishing some tasks, Xiao Nanchen closed his laptop and spoke directly to Nie Ziming, "I'll cut to the chase. To get you to leave Xia Qiqi before, we gave you many benefits - money, fixed assets, consider them gifts. But the 20% stake, now that you and Xia Qiqi are back together, should rightfully be returned."
Nie Ziming gave a sarcastic laugh.
He looked at Xiao Nanchen coldly, "You really are despicable."
"This is a fair trade," Xiao Nanchen said dispassionately.
"Fair trade? How is taking back what was given fair?" Nie Ziming sneered.
"The 20% stake had a prerequisite, which you should be well aware of," Xiao Nanchen didn't argue with Nie Ziming, cutting straight to the point.
Nie Ziming's expression darkened.
Thinking about the conflict between him and Xia Qiqi last night because of that 20% stake...
"Last night, Xia Qiqi came to my place," Xiao Nanchen said bluntly, not caring about Nie Ziming's feelings.
Nie Ziming clenched his fists.
His suppressed anger was slowly erupting.
"Of course, she was drunk and went to the wrong place. But that doesn't change the impact on your relationship," Xiao Nanchen said impassively. "If you insist on not touching Xia Qiqi for that 20% stake, I don't think your relationship will last long."
"You don't like Xia Qiqi, do you?" Nie Ziming didn't give Xiao Nanchen a chance to answer, instead questioning him.
Xiao Nanchen raised an eyebrow, "Just say what you want to say. There's no need for us to waste each other's time."
"You like her, yet you're telling her to sleep with me?" Nie Ziming didn't beat around the bush either. "So Xiao Nanchen, you're no different. What you value most is the Xia family's wealth."
Xiao Nanchen didn't refute him.
He nodded, "Yes. I used to think that getting Xia Qiqi meant getting the Xia Corporation, but she really disappointed me. So I chose a different approach. Now I can tell you clearly that I'm set to get Xiahui Bank. As for whether you and Xia Qiqi have what it takes to take it away from me, we'll see whose skills prevail!"
"You think too highly of yourself. Do you really think Xia Zheng Hai would lose all principles just because of your mother?! Ridiculous! In the end, everything will belong to Xia Qiqi," Nie Ziming said through gritted teeth.
"Until the very end, no one knows the outcome," Xiao Nanchen didn't say much. "I called you here to make you consider the stake matter carefully. Let me know when you've made your decision. You can go now!"
Nie Ziming's face darkened.
As he was about to leave, he said, "Xiao Nanchen, are you really not holding onto any lingering feelings for Xia Qiqi?"
"None," Xiao Nanchen said resolutely.
Nie Ziming scrutinized his expression but couldn't read anything from Xiao Nanchen's face!
He had always looked down on Xiao Nanchen, thinking he was useless.
But now it seemed that this man was far from simple!
...
Tuesday.
An Nuan felt a bit sad.
Because Ye Jinghuai would be leaving again early tomorrow morning.
The days they spent together always seemed shorter than she imagined, yet the separations felt like an eternity.
An Nuan sat at An's Group and called Ye Jinghuai.
"Wife," Ye Jinghuai called her, his tone casual and natural.
An Nuan had grown so accustomed to it that she didn't even blush anymore.
"Will you be working late tonight?"
"No," he said directly, "but there's a departmental dinner. There might be a second round, so I'll try to come back early."
"Oh." An Nuan clearly sounded disappointed.
She had thought that since Ye Jinghuai would be leaving tomorrow, they could spend a nice evening together tonight, and she wouldn't work late either.
But this guy had a dinner to attend.
"My flight is at 10 a.m. tomorrow, so I can still drop you off at work before heading to the airport," Ye Jinghuai could clearly sense An Nuan's disappointment.
So he reassured her.
Ye Jinghuai wouldn't leave before she woke up tomorrow.
She was a bit curious, "Why is your flight so late this time?"
"Because I can't bear to leave you," he said.
"So you could bear to leave me before?" she teased.
"No..." Ye Jinghuai paused, "You'll know the reason later."
"..." She hated it when men were evasive.
At that time, An Nuan felt that Ye Jinghuai was just brushing her off.
She had never imagined that he had his own reasons.
