Qin Manshu ended the conversation. Her gaze was slightly lowered as if she was thinking about something. When she talked about Ye Yingying, her expression was complicated. She stared at the screen for a long time, but she suppressed her emotions. Her fingers trembled slightly. She wanted to send a message to Ji Shuli, but deleted it immediately after sending it.

She knew very well that Ji Shuli didn't like her, and if Qin Manshu sent Ji Shuli a message now, Ji Shuli would probably only feel annoyed with her, so Qin Manshu could only suppress her emotions.

She turned back to reply to Bai Zhi's previous messages.

Bai Zhi: Sister Manshu, did you see Zhiwei? Isn't she beautiful!

Qin Manshu: Yes, very beautiful.

Bai Zhi replied with a cute emoji: I think her appearance is exactly what I've always hoped to look like—beautiful, bold, and confident. I originally thought she would be unapproachable, but I didn't expect her to be so gentle. By the way, didn't Zhiwei attend Grandpa Peng's party with the Ji family's guy before? I think the way the two siblings get along is also very cute. I feel that Sister Manshu's sweetheart will also be a very gentle person.

He was a gentle person, but unfortunately, the object of his gentleness was not her.

Qin Manshu was a little disappointed. A few seconds later, she replied: I have seen how Shuli and Zhiwei get along. They are indeed very cute.

Bai Zhi seemed very excited to receive the feedback. She answered Qin Manshu's questions seriously, almost without reservation. Somehow, the two started talking about Ye Qingcheng's wife, Song Min, and the two children Song Min had brought with her.

In fact, there are many blended families around them, and even new forms of business marriages. However, because they involve family property, they often fight tooth and nail. Some of these women are even kept by their husbands outside the marriage. Their family situations are not that bad, but they are willing to be mistresses in order to cross social classes. When the mistress of the house has an accident, they also naturally get involved, bringing the man's illegitimate child into the big family they have always longed for. They go to great lengths to coax the man into writing a will.

Such jokes are not uncommon, not only among their generation. I've heard that in the older generation, there were cases where an old man took a fancy to a young woman, and the woman was willing to have a child. The old man, perhaps confused or genuinely fond of children, was easily swayed into giving most of his fortune to his youngest son, even though he knew she was after his money. When the lawyer announced the will, the usually well-behaved and serious family made a scene at the old man's funeral, turning it into a laughing stock.

When wealthy people like them are involved in the distribution of profits, those who usually greet them with smiles will almost always tear off their masks and reveal their fangs at the last minute.

Qin Manshu didn't comment much on these matters. She was very cautious and didn't easily reveal her thoughts. Usually, when she chatted with Bai Zhi, she would listen to Bai Zhi's complaints more often. After listening quietly, she would tell Bai Zhi that these things were perfectly normal. Even this time, although Qin Manshu asked Bai Zhi a lot about Ye Yingying and Jiang Jianian, she didn't express her opinion in the end. Instead, she praised Ye Zhiwei and replied: I probably couldn't do what she did.

Qin Manshu replied in this way.

After their conversation ended, Qin Manshu seemed tired. Instead of working late as usual, she went home to the Qin family early today.

The Qin family's interior was very luxurious, and the design was quite retro, reflecting the early influx of Western culture into China. The Qin family, being a large family, hired foreigners to build a Western-style building with a distinct foreign architectural style. The gardens, corridors, and passageways inside were only simply renovated. The former head of the Qin family, Old Madam Qin, attached great importance to the etiquette of prestigious families. She was extremely strict, almost to the point of being pathological. She was not satisfied with her son's wife, Qin, nor with Qin Manshu. If it weren't for her advanced age and lack of energy, she would not have completely relinquished power by now.

When Qin Manshu returned to the Qin family, she immediately reported her work situation to the old lady of the Qin family. This was a very strange way of reporting. Qin Manshu did not seem like the old lady's biological granddaughter, but more like a subordinate. When she answered the old lady's questions, the old lady would severely reprimand her for not doing well. Even if Qin Manshu did very well, the old lady would just tell her to leave with a blank expression.

Clearly, she was very dissatisfied with Qin Manshu's behavior today.

Grandma Qin asked, "Why did you host the Ye and Ji families again this time? Didn't you already host them once before? These two families aren't in the pharmaceutical business, and they don't have any cooperative relationship with us. What's the point of spending this time showing them around the research center?"

Qin Manshu could only cautiously reply, "Recently, the heir of the Ye family has a—"

The old lady immediately turned hostile, interrupting Qin Manshu coldly, "When has our Qin family ever needed to curry favor with a small company that hasn't even gone public?"

The old lady was a person with very clear likes and dislikes. Because she had a very strict hierarchy, she looked down on Ye Qingcheng's desire to marry an ordinary woman. She disliked that the Ye family had just randomly chosen an heir, and she also thought the Ji family was outrageous: their daughter had clearly married out, yet they insisted on making their child take the family's surname.

Because of this matter, the old lady had once argued with Mr. Ji. The two had very different views. The old lady did not like to have anything to do with the Ji family, and she looked down on the Ji family even though they were rich. She refused to invest in the Ji family a long time ago. Mr. Ji was also very individualistic. He not only withdrew his investment, but also stopped having any contact with the Qin family afterward. Although the grudges between the older generation may not seem like much now, both sides are well aware that the relationship between the two families is not very good.

Ji Shuli was unaware of these matters, but Qin Manshu knew a great deal. The old lady had told Qin Manshu all her personal grievances and preferences on more than one occasion, and had also made strict demands of her.

Qin Manshu didn't speak, and Old Madam Qin immediately became dissatisfied, "Manshu, did you hear what I said?"

"I heard you."

"You don't need to do these pointless things anymore..."

Qin Manshu took a deep breath and smiled, "Grandma, you and Grandpa Ji had some misunderstandings before. Why hold a grudge over that misunderstanding until now? I don't think Shuli knows about the past. Grandpa Ji is probably no longer saddened by these things. Why not take this opportunity to reconcile with the Ji family?"

The old lady's first reaction upon hearing this was not whether Qin Manshu's words were reasonable, but rather that Qin Manshu had actually begun to disobey her; she was no longer even listening to her.

Old Mrs. Qin's face immediately fell. Leaning on her cane, she angrily stepped forward and slapped Qin Manshu across the face. Qin Manshu turned her head away without saying a word.

The old lady said coldly, "You're getting more and more capable now, daring to disobey me. Do you think the Qin family is yours now? With your disobedient and insubordinate attitude, I would rather donate the entire Qin family than give it to you!"

Qin Manshu's face turned red and burned with pain. She touched her face and apologized softly, "I'm sorry, Grandma."

"go out!"