Chapter 23 Clearly Defined

Qingbang Real Estate, Beijing North.

Xu Qingbang had just processed a few documents in the morning when he began to feel somewhat tired.

I couldn't help but sigh; his health was really deteriorating day by day.

Liu Minggan knocked on the door and came in to report on his work.

Xu Qingbang inquired about the Shen family's affairs, "What did President Shen say about Shen Moke and Xu Jialan?"

"President Shen has already softened his stance, saying that since Jialan is unwilling, he will not force her, and he will go back to persuade Miss Shen."

Xu Qingbang nodded. "It's good that he agreed."

"only……"

"What's wrong?"

"What if Mr. Shen can't persuade Miss Shen?"

“We have an additional agreement with Shen Liang regarding business matters. As for whether he can handle his daughter, that’s his business. If his daughter keeps bothering us, let Xu Jialan deal with it herself. Do you expect me to keep cleaning up his mess? As long as it doesn’t affect the cooperation, let them do whatever they want.”

"……yes."

"How is Jialan doing over there?"

"According to the person in charge there, Jialan is quite serious and proactive at work."

"That's what they said?" Xu Qingbang asked skeptically.

Although he didn't spend much time with his own son, he still knew him to some extent. Could it be that he had really changed his personality?

"...Yes." Actually, Liu Minggan himself was somewhat skeptical.

Xu Qingbang thought for a moment, then said, "Then I'll have to go and see for myself."

"Going to Dai County?"

"We'll set off tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go book the tickets."

Xu Minggan turned to leave, but was stopped by Xu Qingbang.

"Bring Xiang Wan along."

Xu Ming paused for a moment, then said, "Okay."

Xu Qingbang took Xiang Wan and Liu Minggan on a plane the next day and arrived in Linan City that same day. Xu Qingbang was too tired to keep up, so the group rested in Linan City for one night before setting off for Dai County the following day.

Xu Qingbang did not tell anyone about his trip here. After arriving in Dai County and resting for a while, he took the two of them straight to the company.

He wanted to see if Xu Jialan had really changed his ways.

Zhang Ting was completely unaware of the chairman's arrival until Xu Qingbang visited the company.

When Xu Qingbang appeared at the company entrance, the receptionist did not recognize him until Liu Minggan reminded him.

The receptionist immediately recognized her and said, "Hello, Chairman."

Xu Qingbang didn't say much, and asked directly, "Is Xu Jialan here?"

"Mr. Xu isn't here, but Mr. Zhang is. I'll inform him right away."

The receptionist didn't dare delay for a second and immediately called Zhang Ting to explain the situation.

Less than a minute later, Zhang Ting appeared in front of Xu Qingbang in a hurry. "Chairman, I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I didn't know you would be here today."

Xu Qingbang didn't bother with these trivial matters. "Where is Xu Jialan's office? Take me there."

"……good."

Zhang Ting had no choice but to lead the group into Xu Jialan's office.

The first thing Xu Qingbang did upon entering the office was to look around. Then he sat down behind his desk, glanced down, and asked, "Where's Xu Jialan?"

"President Xu has gone out."

"Where did you go?" Xu Qingbang asked in a deep voice.

"Well... there are some work-related matters that need Mr. Xu's attention."

Zhang Ting broke out in a cold sweat from his question.

"Went to the construction site?" Xu Qingbang scrutinized Zhang Ting. "Then I'd like to go and take a look."

He stood up from his chair as he spoke.

Although Xu Qingbang's health was failing, his authority as a superior was still evident. Zhang Ting immediately felt uneasy and unconsciously wanted to reach for her phone to inform Xu Jialan, but she restrained herself.

Zhang Ting composed herself and said, "One of our employees had a family emergency, and General Manager Xu went to help handle it."

Xu Qingbang sneered, as if he had seen through everything long ago. "His desk is so clean, there isn't even a single document on it. You're telling me he's here at work?"

Zhang Ting panicked for a moment, but still forced herself to say, "Yes, my assistant just tidied up the table this morning."

Xu Qingbang stopped talking, got up and walked outside, and Zhang Ting had no choice but to follow.

The group walked around the company, and finally Xu Qingbang whispered a few instructions to Liu Minggan, but Zhang Ting didn't hear what they said.

Then Liu Minggan walked away, and the others waited where they were.

Not long after, Liu Minggan returned, looking somewhat uneasy. "Chairman, I've found out that General Manager Xu rarely comes to the company. Some people don't even know that there's a General Manager Xu in the company."

"Hmm." Xu Qingbang gave a heavy "hmm," the anger in his voice easily detectable.

“Go to where he lives.” Xu Qingbang looked at Zhang Ting, his eyes filled with displeasure. “You take us there.”

Zhang Ting could only take them to Xu Jialan's residence, but she wasn't home.

Xu Qingbang seemed determined, "We'll wait here."

Zhang Ting: "How about I give President Xu a call?"

"Don't hit him! And don't contact him secretly. I want to see how long he can keep fooling around like this and come back."

Zhang Ting had no choice but to stay with her.

The sun set quickly, and it got dark in the blink of an eye. Xiang Wan was worried about his health and tried her best to comfort him, "Your health is the most important thing. Let's have dinner first and wait slowly."

Zhang Ting immediately replied, "Yes, Chairman, let's have dinner first, I'll make the arrangements."

Concerned for his own health, Xu Qingbang relented and said, "Okay."

Zhang Ting immediately went to prepare dinner, and took advantage of the break to secretly call Xu Jialan to let him know that he should hurry back.

Xu Jialan responded with indifference.

He appeared at home around 9 p.m.; he had been in Lin'nan before that.

As soon as he entered, he saw four people sitting in the living room, including two of his least favorite people.

He tossed his car keys aside, sauntered across from Xu Qingbang, and said impatiently, "What are you doing here? And with this woman."

His gaze swept lightly over Xiang Wan, his eyes filled with blatant disgust.

Xiang Wan's face immediately turned ugly.

She glanced at Xu Qingbang, but he showed no intention of protecting her. Unable to lash out, she could only grit her teeth and bear it.

As for Xu Qingbang, his expression wasn't much better than Xu Jialan's. He said earnestly, "You're not young anymore. How long do you plan to drift along like this?"

Xu Qingbang lectured him in the tone of an elder, and Xu Jialan snorted.

"What have I done?" he asked in a nonchalant tone.

"You don't go to the company, and you spend all your time hanging out with those shady friends. Aren't you just wasting your life?"

"What right do you have to criticize me here?" Xu Jialan sneered, not taking Xu Qingbang seriously at all.

“I’m your father! Everything I do is for your own good! I brought you here to learn how to manage the company, not to just waste your time!”

Xu Jialan scoffed at him, "For my own good? Aren't you just doing this for your company? You're just pretending to care about me. You're using the same trick you used to fool my mom. Hypocrite!"

Xu Qingbang was instantly enraged, pointing at himself, "Hypocritical? What kind of good person do you think you are? You're just as useless as your mother, always fussing over trivial matters. Otherwise, why would she have died so young!"

Lan Wangshu has always been a forbidden zone for Xu Jialan.

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room froze, as if the air had been sucked out, making it hard to breathe.

The veins on Xu Jialan's forehead throbbed, and his clenched teeth made his jawline even sharper, like a knife.

He suddenly stood up from the sofa, grabbed the cup in front of him, and threw it straight at Xu Qingbang without any mercy.

Xu Qingbang did not dodge.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, but fortunately Liu Minggan was sitting next to Xu Qingbang and reached out to shield him.

The cup grazed Xu Qingbang's face and flew away, landing on the ground beside him, shattering into pieces scattered all over the place.

Xu Jialan used all her strength this time, and everyone was shocked.

"Xu Qingbang, you have no right to mention my mother. If you have the guts, then sever your father-son relationship with this useless son of yours!"

After uttering those harsh words, Xu Jialan slammed the door and left.

He drove out of the residential area, only to find the streets unusually empty and eerily quiet.

Feeling utterly miserable, he drove around the streets in circles before finally stopping at a street corner. He rolled down the window and lit a cigarette.

Xu Qingbang's words lingered in his mind, refusing to leave.

There is probably no father and son in the world who would call each other bad people.

Xu Jialan gave a self-deprecating laugh.

Look, this is how father and son get along.

He laughed to himself for a while, but a sense of loneliness slowly crept up inside him, almost overwhelming him.

Looking at the empty streets, Xu Jialan's eyes were blank.

The next moment, a cold face appeared in his mind.

Xu Jialan has always been a spontaneous person. Without much thought or hesitation, he immediately started the car and drove towards Yao'an Town.

At this time, Yao'an Town was unusually quiet, and there were very few houses with their lights on.

Xu Jialan parked her car at the entrance of Chen Yaoan's alley and sat in the car to send her a message.

The message was sent but disappeared without a trace; Chen Yao'an did not reply for a long time.

Xu Jialan got out of the car and glanced into the distance to make sure the lights in her house were still on.

Chen Yaoan was not asleep, but after seeing Xu Jialan's message, she did not intend to pay attention to it.

A minute later, Chen Yaoan received another message on her phone, again from Xu Jialan.

Chen Yaoan suddenly felt uncertain; could Xu Jialan really do such a thing?

After thinking for a few seconds, she tidied herself up and went out.

As soon as Chen Yao'an stepped out of her house, she saw a dark figure leaning against a car and smoking.

What is he doing here so late?

She walked over to him, deliberately keeping a distance. "Why did you call me out so late?"

Xu Jialan took a drag of his cigarette. His earlier emotions were suddenly dispelled by the wind, and he became nonchalant again, casually uttering flirtatious words, "I miss you."

But Chen Yao'an wasn't buying it.

“Xu Jialan, if you want to be in a relationship, you can go find someone else. I don’t have the time or energy to play these boring emotional games with you.”

"How can you know it's boring before you've even played it?"

That's just how he is; he's always so carefree and irresponsible, which aroused a hint of disgust in her.

"You people's so-called feelings are always utterly boring!"

"People like us?"

"Yes, it's people like you."

Her words clearly divided them into two distinct groups.

Xu Jialan remained silent for a long time.

After a long while, he took the cigarette butt out of his mouth, stubbed it out with his index finger and thumb, and threw it hard on the ground.

The bad mood from before came rushing back.

He must have been out of his mind to come looking for her all of a sudden.

Xu Jialan had never encountered a rejection from any woman.

He gave a mocking laugh and said, "Perhaps you're right, I really shouldn't waste my time on you."

Chen Yao'an: "...That would be best."

Chen Yaoan felt relieved, but then a strange feeling arose again.

Xu Jialan turned around and got into the driver's seat with a deft movement.

The car quickly disappeared from Chen Yao'an's sight.