Chapter 325, are you sure it's not an insult?

Xie Nanzhi smiled faintly, and when she looked up at the words, the faint smile at the corner of her eyes fell precisely on Wei Yongxian's smug face.

She didn't rush to speak, but instead took Wei Chizheng's hand and straightened his collar.

Immediately, Xie Nanzhi's clear voice carried an undeniable weight, "Have you forgotten the Qing Dynasty? Is President Wei's brain still wrapped in foot binding cloth? The business world today is no longer an era where men fight alone. How come you're still playing the male chauvinist card?"

Wei Yongxian blushed with anger and was about to retort when she saw Wei Chizheng place his hand on Xie Nanzhi's hand and gently rub her knuckles with his fingertips.

“Wife, if you can talk, then talk more.” His smile deepened, but there was no warmth in his eyes. “So that someone doesn’t think he has any great abilities.”

It goes without saying who "someone" is referring to.

The two united against a common enemy, infuriating Wei Yongxian.

He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles cracking.

Wei Chizheng seemed oblivious to his ashen face, slowly raising his eyes and glancing at the crooked tie on his suit collar. "Besides, my relationship with my wife is none of your concern, Mr. Wei. After all, you haven't even sorted out your own family matters yet. Last week, I heard that several of Wei's elders were talking to you about diluting your shares. Instead of advising me 'don't be a kept man,' you should be thinking about how to keep your position, lest one day you won't even have the right to order people around for tea and water."

Wei Yongxian's face darkened completely, and the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

Wei Chizheng's gaze swept over her, and he casually tidied her wind-blown hair. "It's getting late, let's go. There's no need to waste time on unimportant people."

Xie Nanzhi nodded and walked forward with him.

Just as Xie Nanzhi passed by Wei Yongxian, she paused and said in a very low voice, "By the way, if President Wei is really short-handed, why don't you go to the job market and take a look? Don't always be eyeing other people's husbands."

They brushed past Wei Yongxian.

Watching the couple walk away side by side, Wei Yongxian angrily kicked the curb. A dull pain suddenly shot through his ankle, and his calf ached as well.

He instinctively wanted to bend down and rub it, but his hand stopped halfway through. He looked up and glanced around, afraid that someone would see his disheveled state again. He could only straighten his neck and walk forward, each step feeling like he was walking on cotton, extremely unsteady.

In the black sedan not far away, Xie Nanzhi was looking at his back through the car window, her fingertips unconsciously twirling the seat belt.

His tone had lost its previous sharpness and was now filled with indifference. "Wei Chizheng, your uncle doesn't seem very smart. No wonder I haven't been able to get any benefits from you after all these years of trying."

Wei Chizheng paused on the steering wheel, turned to look at her, the coldness in his eyes long gone, replaced by gentleness. "His stupidity is written all over his face, wife. Are you sure you're not insulting me by comparing us?"

He reached out and rolled up the car window for her. "It's windy, close it a bit."

Xie Nanzhi hummed in agreement and turned her gaze forward.

Outside the car window, Wei Yongxian's figure gradually shrank into a small dot, and finally disappeared into the traffic at the street corner.

She suddenly remembered something, took out her phone from her bag, and tapped the screen a few times with her fingertips. "I wasn't planning to make a move on that mine in the Northwest, but this old man has annoyed me. Tomorrow I'll have Xie Yuanyang submit the bid."

Wei Chizheng knew about that mine; it wasn't too big or too small. Xie Nanzhi initially wanted to bid for it, but Nanzheng Group had too many projects, and she was too busy to handle them all, so she simply gave up.

However, if she doesn't participate in the bidding, the Wei family is the most likely to win the mine.

If Xie Nanzhi hadn't run into Wei Yongxian today, she wouldn't have planned to bid at all. Now, however, it has stirred up her competitive spirit.

Wei Chizheng glanced at her lit phone screen and smiled faintly. "Whatever you want. Anyway, the Wei family will cease to exist in the near future."

He stepped on the gas, and the car smoothly merged into the traffic. Sunlight streamed through the windshield and fell on their clasped hands.

——

In the shadows of the street corner, Wei Yongxian leaned back in his car, rubbing his aching ankle.

Just then, my phone vibrated in my pocket; it was my secretary calling.

He was already in a bad mood, so he took a deep breath and said angrily, "Speak."

The voice on the other end of the phone trembled, "President Wei, we just received the latest news that Nanzheng Group is also going to participate in the bidding for the Northwest mine."

Wei Yongxian's ankle pain was still shooting upwards, mixed with the tightness in his chest. He cursed, "Damn it, that little brat Wei Chizheng is actually siding with outsiders. Has that woman put a curse on him?"

The other person didn't dare to say a word, their heart pounding with fear.

A few seconds later, Wei Yongxian calmed down and asked, "What are our chances of winning?"

The assistant's voice was barely audible, like a mosquito's buzz, "Without the Nanzheng Group, our chances of winning would be 100%, but now it's 0%."

The next second, Wei Yongxian got so angry that he smashed his phone.

He was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged; he was so furious he felt like his lungs were about to explode.

He remained silent for a long time.

Seeing the phone lying on the ground not far away, I bent down to pick it up, but I pulled my ankle in the rush and gasped in pain.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Wei Chizheng, Xie Nanzhi, you just wait and see. We'll see what happens in the future."

The next morning, the two took the earliest flight to the port city.

Xie Nanzhi went to the hospital as soon as she got off the plane. Although she knew about Wang Shufen's condition, she could not feel at ease until she saw it with her own eyes.

Wang Shufen said with a hint of heartache, "You came straight to the hospital as soon as you got off the plane, without even going home to rest. I'm worried your body won't be able to handle it."

Xie Nanzhi had just put her suitcase in the corner of the ward when she quickly walked to the bedside and gently placed her hand on the back of Wang Shufen's hand that was exposed outside the blanket.

She bent over and smiled, her voice slightly hoarse from the journey, but full of reassurance, "It's more reassuring to see you first than to rest at home. Your hands are still a bit cold, would you like me to turn up the air conditioning a bit?"

Wang Shufen patted her hand reproachfully, but her eyes were full of softened heartache.

She turned her head to look at the faint dark circles under her daughter's eyes, and reached out to brush away the stray hairs falling across her forehead, her movements very slow. "You, you're just too strong-willed. Never mind, since you're already here, you can go home with Xiao Wei after a while and get some rest. I bet you two haven't had a good night's sleep lately."

That's true.

She's alright, it's mainly Wei Chizheng.

Although he didn't say it, Xie Nanzhi knew that Wei Huaibo's death was a huge blow to him.

Taking advantage of Wei Chizheng's absence, Wang Shufen asked, "How is Xiao Wei doing?"

Wang Shufen genuinely cared about Wei Chizheng and treated him like her own son.

Xie Nanzhi said softly, "It's alright, it will all pass."