Chapter 77 No matter what happens, you must believe...

Faced with Ye Baichuan's repeated pleas, Lin Xi finally softened.

However, she requested to consult the company before making a final decision.

Ye Baichuan assumed she wanted to consult Zou Song, and immediately said, "If Group Leader Lin has any concerns about Mr. Zou, I can make a request on his behalf. After all, this is not a problem that Yaoshi and Songjia need to solve together."

Lin Xi politely declined, saying, "President Ye, it's more appropriate for me to ask about this."

Since he needed her help, Ye Baichuan respected Lin Xi's suggestion and said he would wait for her good news.

Asking about the company was just Lin Xi's excuse; she actually wanted to ask Fu Qingli's opinion first.

Based on her understanding of Fu Qingli, after such a major incident, he wouldn't want her to participate in the Yaoshi anniversary celebration project again.

But this was, after all, a project she had taken on, and no matter how others tried to sabotage it, she didn't want to abandon it halfway.

I still want to discuss with Fu Qingli to see if I can see this project through to the end.

Lin Xi pondered for a long time but still couldn't figure out how to bring it up with Fu Qingli.

If I take on this project, I'll inevitably have to put in a lot of effort to take care of myself, and I'll be staying in Beicheng for the next few days, which will definitely cause him a lot of trouble.

Time waits for no one, and the anniversary celebration cannot be left unattended indefinitely; adjustments must be made as soon as possible.

After much hesitation, Lin Xi decided to go directly to the company to talk to Fu Qingli in person.

Considering that her photos were still trending on social media, she didn't dare take public transportation, so she contacted Xiao Tao to deliberately come and take her to Songjia.

Just in case, she put on a mask and hat, covering her face completely before going downstairs.

Xiao Tao almost didn't recognize her. Only after the person in the back seat opened the door did she realize and ask, "Miss Lin?"

"Yes, it's me." Lin Xi sat in the back seat, took off her mask to reveal her beautiful face.

Looking at her outfit, Xiao Tao smiled, a rare occurrence for him: "Ms. Lin, there's really no need to be so cautious. Just drive the car directly into the underground parking garage; there's an elevator that goes straight to the CEO's office."

"Huh?" Lin Xi didn't expect this kind of operation, but thought it was better to be cautious. "It's better to be prepared. Who knows if someone will be lying in wait in Songjia."

The car drove smoothly into the basement of the Songjia Building without any obstruction along the way.

As soon as they drove into the garage, they were stopped.

Lin Xi didn't expect to see Fu Wenxun here. He looked older than when she last saw him at the beach, and his brows were full of worry. She didn't know if it was because of Su Yi'an's matter online or because of Fu Qingli's break with the Fu family.

Regardless of the reason, Lin Xi felt no sympathy for him.

Although she knew the car had privacy film on and people outside couldn't see inside, she still subconsciously pulled up her mask to prevent him from recognizing her and causing unnecessary trouble.

Xiao Tao naturally recognized Fu Wenxun as well. Before pulling over, he discussed with Lin Xi, "Miss Lin, shall I raise the center panel first, and then open the window?"

"Okay, raise it." At the same time, Lin Xi put her hat back on, covering her face.

Once the barrier was raised high enough to obscure Lin Xi's view, Xiao Tao lowered the window and respectfully greeted, "Uncle Fu, it's been a long time."

Fu Wenxun gave an arrogant "hmm," his eyes scanning the car: "Where's Fu Qingli? Is he in the back seat? Tell him to come out and see me."

“Uncle Fu, as you know, I never take charge of Brother Fu’s schedule; he has his own driver.”

"Then where is he?" Fu Qingli asked imposingly.

Xiao Tao wasn't intimidated by him: "I'm not quite sure, how about Uncle Fu makes a phone call and ask?"

If he could get through on the phone, Fu Wenxun wouldn't be staking out this place.

He snorted in dissatisfaction and asked again, "Then what are you doing here? I see someone in the back seat. Open the partition so I can see who it is."

As he spoke, he reached for the back door, but fortunately, Xiao Tao had already locked it, so it wasn't opened.

Faced with his aggressive questioning, Xiao Tao remained calm. He adjusted his glasses and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Uncle Fu, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. The person in the back seat is a client of my law firm. As you know, Song Jia has been involved in this matter these past few days. The client does not wish to be exposed in public. I hope you can understand."

Hearing him dare to bring up things online, Fu Wenxun was furious: "What a coincidence that Song Jia's matter has come to you?"

Xiao Tao remained unmoved by his sarcasm: "Yes, I have to thank President Zou for taking care of my business."

Fu Wenxun choked: "I never thought that the child who couldn't even speak clearly before would be so eloquent now. But don't forget, it was the Fu family who took you and your child in back then."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tao's smile slowly faded, her eyes behind her glasses turned sharp, and her tone became even colder: "I was young then, and all I remember is that Aunt Shen and Brother Fu took my mother and me back to the sanatorium to take care of us."

This sentence effectively distanced him from Fu Wenxun, implying that those matters had nothing to do with Fu Wenxun and that he shouldn't try to use favors to bind him to do things.

"You!" Fu Wenxun was furious. "You're all so great! You've all grown wings and can fly now, so you're all disobedient, aren't you!"

Xiao Tao didn't react much to his anger: "Uncle Fu, please take care of yourself and don't get angry easily. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now."

After saying that, without caring whether Fu Wenxun was alright or not, Xiao Tao stepped on the gas and drove the car directly to the deepest part of the garage.

Xiao Tao kept checking his rearview mirror as he drove, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no car was following him.

He parked the car in the parking space and knocked on the center panel: "Ms. Lin, it's alright now."

"good."

Lin Xi searched around for a while before finding the button on the baffle.

Lin Xi met Xiao Tao's gaze in the rearview mirror, opened her mouth but ultimately didn't ask.

Xiao Tao noticed her hesitation and smiled innocently: "Miss Lin, do you want to ask about my background?"

"The Aunt Tao who took care of you and Brother Fu is my mother. Back then, my father, who was a gambling addict, gambled away our house, and my mother and I ended up on the streets. We met the kind Aunt Shen and Brother Fu, and that's how we found a place to stay."

"So you grew up with Fu Qingli?"

But she had never heard Fu Qingli mention Xiao Tao.

"No, back then, my bastard father saw that my mother and I were doing better, so he kept chasing us for money every day. He even kidnapped me once. Aunt Shen and Brother Fu sent me abroad to study with Boss Zou so that I could focus on my studies."

Of course, Zou Song had no worries about food and clothing and never had to worry about making a living.

Aside from accepting tuition fees from Shen Yu and Fu Qingli, he refused to spend any more of his own money, and he supported himself by working part-time to cover his living expenses and other costs.

Lin Xi was surprised to learn that he had such a shameful past and was at a loss for words to comfort him.

Xiao Tao then opened up, "My mother and I are really lucky to have met Aunt Chen and Brother Fu. After Aunt Chen passed away, Brother Fu took care of my tuition. Four years ago, after I graduated from university, Brother Fu took me to America so I could continue my graduate studies. If it weren't for them, my mother and I don't know where we would be now, and I would probably be a social cancer like my father."

He turned around, looking at Lin Xi with a serious expression, as if he had made a great decision. "Miss Lin, I shouldn't be meddling in matters of the heart, but we've all seen how much Brother Fu has cared for you since we were little. The six years we were apart were very difficult for Brother Fu; he even went to great lengths to find you..."

He paused, hesitated for a few seconds, and then changed his tone, "He has suffered a lot, but he has never thought of giving up on finding you, or giving up on the hope of being with you. He is not good with words, and you will probably never know those things in this lifetime, but I have been with him all this way, and I still want to ask you, no matter what happens, you must believe in his determination to be with you. I am sorry for speaking out of turn today, and I hope Miss Lin will not take offense."

Lin Xi was so moved that she couldn't possibly blame him.

Her eyes were red and swollen, and she nodded desperately with tears in her eyes: "Don't worry, I believe in him, and I won't leave him. I will stay with him."

-

After confirming that Fu Wenxun had not followed, the two got out of the car and walked to the elevator lobby.

But as soon as she entered the elevator lobby, she heard a serious voice behind her: "Lin Xi, let's talk!"

He used a declarative sentence, not a question.

They never expected that Fu Wenxun would be the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; he had been hiding in the shadows watching them, waiting for the right moment to appear.

At this point, there's no hiding, no escaping; the only option is to face it.

Xiao Tao immediately shielded Lin Xi behind her, trying to explain: "Uncle Fu, I told you, this is my client, not Lin Xi as you say."

Fu Wenxun completely ignored him, his sharp eyes looking over Xiao Tao's shoulder at Lin Xi behind him: "Lin Xi, are you going to keep hiding like this? Are you not going to come out and see anyone?"

Lin Xi lowered her head, neither looking at him nor speaking.

"Now that you and Fu Qingli are married, shouldn't you stand before me openly and honestly? Don't you even have the courage to face me?"

Lin Xi's secret was touched upon by him.

She had to admit that she still harbored the shadow of six years ago when facing Fu Wenxun.

His aura and sense of superiority were so strong that just hearing his voice would bring her back to reality, reminding her that she was just an orphan with no relatives, who had nothing but still coveted Fu Qingli, whom she was not worthy of. This feeling of inferiority made her feel deeply ashamed.

So much so that her first reaction was to run away.

But as Fu Wenxun said, her marriage to Fu Qingli has already been made public, so how long can she keep hiding it?

If she can't even face Fu Wenxun, how can she face the gazes of those around her?

Thinking of this, Lin Xi stepped out from behind Xiao Tao: "Okay, I'll talk to you."

"Then let's find a teahouse."

He's a cunning old fox, using a strategy of offense and defense.

The last time they talked was in the tea room, which left Lin Xi with a deep psychological scar.

Recalling this incident, Lin Xi's lips curled into a mocking smile: "Mr. Fu, this time it really was just the two of us talking, wasn't it?"

The phrase "Mr. Fu" not only distanced her from Fu Wenxun, but also distanced Fu Qingli from the father-son relationship.

Fu Wenxun understood that Lin Xi had already heard Fu Qingli talk about what happened the day before, and it was clear that he was really preparing to completely sever ties with the Fu family.

But he couldn't lash out at Lin Xi, so he could only grit his teeth and reply, "Yes, let's talk between the two of us."

He looked at Xiao Tao and said, "Xiao Tao doesn't need to come along."

“No.” Lin Xi immediately refused, her attitude firm. “Mr. Fu’s credibility with me is insufficient, and I don’t feel comfortable being alone with you. Of course, Xiao Tao will only stand guard outside and won’t participate in our conversation.”