☆, Chapter 111 Speaking Up for Her

Whether these words were sincere or implied ulterior motives remains unknown.

"Don't you hate her?" After hesitating for a moment, Si Yanxiao couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing this, Si Zuochen was taken aback, then pursed his lips and fell into deep thought.

Don't you hate it?

Of course he hated her, because of her, the only word to describe his and Ah Lin's life since they could remember was "miserable".

It's all just a glamorous facade; once you get home, you have to be careful, otherwise you might accidentally offend her.

Do you hate it?

Thinking about how much effort she had put into saving them and delivering medicine, her hatred seemed to begin to waver again.

Seeing him lower his eyes and remain silent, Si Yanxiao sighed softly in his heart.

Then he reassured her, "I was just asking casually, don't overthink it."

Upon hearing this, Si Zuochen frowned almost imperceptibly and replied in a low voice, "Okay."

After chatting casually with Si Yanxiao for a few more minutes, Si Zuochen made an excuse and left first.

Just as he reached the corner of the stairs, he bumped into Jiang Ran.

Si Zuochen lowered his eyes slightly, saw that she was holding a bowl of medicine, and pursed his lips.

Jiang Ran saw that he seemed to have come from Si Yanxiao's room, raised an eyebrow slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.

I never expected that he would be able to speak to Si Yanxiao alone. I wonder what he came here for.

Despite the surprise, he showed no sign of it on his face.

Pretending not to know, he asked aloud, "What's this?"

Upon hearing this, Si Zuochen pursed his lips, his face showing displeasure. His gaze fell on the Chinese medicine, and he said coldly, "I didn't expect you to have 'multiple roles'."

The sarcasm in his words was obvious. Jiang Ran lowered her eyes slightly, but before she could refute him, she heard Si Zuochen continue.

"Your attempts to please me are useless; don't waste your energy."

"To curry favor?" Jiang Ran chuckled, then looked up at him seriously and asked directly, "I was just doing what I could, and that's how you see me?"

Si Zuochen lowered his eyes slightly, a hint of unease flashing across his face.

He had a deep prejudice against Jiang Ran. In his mind, she was someone who would only do things for personal gain, so he didn't believe she would do these pointless things for no reason.

"Isn't that right?" Si Zuochen remained stubborn, convinced that she had ulterior motives.

Jiang Ran listened to his words, a hint of displeasure flashing between her brows. Just as she was about to speak sarcastically, she saw Si Zuochen sigh softly.

"It's a thankless task; don't do it again."

Upon hearing this, a look of shock flashed across Jiang Ran's face.

Although Si Zuochen's tone was harsh, she inexplicably sensed a hint of concern in his stiff expression.

Then she looked up at Si Zuochen with surprise. Their eyes met in the air. Si Zuochen coughed lightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes.

He reflexively looked away, which seemed to be an attempt to cover up the truth.

Seeing his unusual behavior, Jiang Ran guessed what was going on and was quite surprised by his attitude.

"You..." Jiang Ran had barely finished speaking when she saw Si Zuochen walk past her and head downstairs.

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow, watching his hurried back, which looked somewhat like he was fleeing in panic.

"Heh..." Seeing this, Jiang Ran chuckled, then slowly withdrew her gaze and walked towards Si Yanxiao's room.

Just then, Si Zuochen's voice rang out from downstairs. Jiang Ran stopped and looked down, where she saw Gu Nan's figure.

She then stopped and stood there waiting for him.

Gu Nan nodded slightly, a smile playing on her lips as a greeting, then lowered her head and walked upstairs.

"Madam," Gu Nan called out in a low voice, her face expressionless.

Jiang Ran nodded slightly and asked in greeting, "Is there something you need?"

Gu Nan pursed her lips slightly, a hint of hesitation flashing across her face.

Jiang Ran noticed the change in his expression and knew it was something she shouldn't know, so she spoke up.

"I was delayed here for a while, and the medicine got a little cold. I'll go and heat it up again."

"Okay." Gu Nan smiled and walked towards Si Yanxiao's room.

"Knock knock knock—" She walked to the door and gently knocked on it with her slightly bent fingers.

"Come in!" Si Yanxiao's voice came from inside the door, and Gu Nan pushed the door open and entered.

Upon seeing the newcomer, Si Yanxiao's expression softened slightly, and he asked in a low voice, "How's the investigation going?"

Gu Nan explained, "The other party is acting very secretly, and I have already sent more people to investigate."

Jiang Ran's stock has yet to be found, and even they have no way of tracing it, forcing Si Yanxiao to conduct a private investigation.

"Hmm." Si Yanxiao pursed his lips slightly and responded in a low voice.

Gu Nan recalled what she had seen downstairs and then quietly recounted what she had heard to Si Yanxiao.

After saying that, Gu Nan lowered her eyes to look at Si Yanxiao's expression.

He curled his lips slightly, a hint of disdain flashing across his face, and sneered coldly, "She does have some tricks up her sleeve."

Upon hearing this, Gu Nan realized she shouldn't agree, so Si Yanxiao continued, "Achen is a person with her own ideas, and she spoke up for her before."

"Most likely, she wanted to use the child to curry favor with me."

As Si Yanxiao shared his conjectures, he felt even more contempt for Jiang Ran's actions.

Knowing she should avoid getting involved in their affairs, Gu Nan changed the subject and started talking about recent matters concerning the company.

As Si Yanxiao listened to the company's current situation, he frowned slightly from time to time and asked directly, "So what is Zhang Zhengling's attitude now?"

"He proposed increasing the dividend by five percent."

"Five points?" Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao raised an eyebrow, then scoffed coldly, "Such arrogance!"

He has just regained consciousness and is gradually taking over the company's affairs, but the changes in the past six years have been too great, and there must be a gradual process.

Some people are aware of his ruthless methods and know that once he comes to power, he will definitely eliminate some unnecessary "tumors".

So they took this opportunity to highlight their role in order to negotiate terms.

Si Yanxiao lowered his eyes slightly, and after thinking for a moment, slowly continued, "Human greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. You can only tell him two points at most."

"Make my stance clear to him: I don't want to waste any more words arguing with him about this. If he can accept it, he can; if not, I'll find someone else!"

After saying that, a hint of displeasure flashed across his face.

If it weren't for the fact that he was a company veteran and a key employee, he would have been kicked out long ago just for taking advantage of the situation.

Gu Nan nodded and replied softly, "Okay, I understand."

On the other side, Jiang Ran lingered in the kitchen for a long time. Seeing that it was almost time, she carried the Chinese medicine upstairs.

The Chinese medicine was not heated; you could feel the heat when you lightly touched the side of the clay pot.

This is made of bronze, not porcelain, and has an exceptional heat retention effect.

Thinking back on her clumsy lie, she still felt a little embarrassed.

As he approached Si Yanxiao's door, his fingers curled slightly. He paused a few centimeters from the door, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly knocked.

Si Yanxiao frowned slightly and looked towards the door.

Gu Nan slowly walked to the door and opened it. When she saw Jiang Ran, a look of understanding flashed across her face. Then she opened the door wider, so that Si Yanxiao could clearly see the doorway from his position.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Si Yanxiao frowned instantly, his face showing displeasure: "What are you doing here?"

Before Jiang Ran could answer, Si Yanxiao glanced at her and saw what was in her hand.

He spoke coldly, "Take it away. No need for this pretense."

hypocritically?

Seeing his attitude, Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow slightly. Was he trying to kick someone after they'd served their purpose?

They were acting all intimate with me before, but now that we're all alone, they're showing their true colors?

"Are you sure you don't want to accept it?" Jiang Ran weighed the item in her hand and raised an eyebrow as she asked.

Si Yanxiao glanced at her coldly, not uttering a single word, but his attitude spoke volumes.

Seeing that the two were locked in a cold war, Gu Nan sighed softly to herself, then reached out and took it: "Give it to me."

He trusted Jiang Ran's medical skills. Even if the two of them didn't get along, there was no need to make things difficult for his own body.

Ah Yan was too stubborn to admit it, so he had to do it himself.

Then he thanked her, saying, "Thank you for your hard work."

Jiang Ran shook her head slightly, then glared at Si Yanxiao before turning and leaving.

Gu Nan closed the door, ignoring the cold gaze coming from Si Yanxiao, and placed the medicine in front of him.

She gently comforted him, "Why make things difficult for yourself?"

Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao lowered his eyes to look at the medicine that faintly emitted a bitter taste, then, after a moment's thought, picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

He had clearly taken Gu Nan's words to heart.

After Jiang Ran left, she walked towards her room, her face thoughtful and her mind full of thoughts.

All that Si Yanxiao and he had done was an illusion.