Chapter 199 Doubt

Upon hearing this, a hint of unease crossed Gu Nan's face. She pursed her lips slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

Upon seeing this, Si Yanxiao's face instantly turned gloomy, and his whole body exuded a chilling aura. He suddenly sneered, "Love and affection, how wonderful!"

Seeing his displeased expression and the sarcasm in his words, Gu Nan touched the tip of her nose and then spoke up in an attempt to ease the tense atmosphere.

"This was the old man's doing, so I'm afraid even if she votes against it, it won't make a difference."

"Objection?" Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao's lips curled slightly, his face showing a mocking expression: "Heh... This arrangement might just be what she wants!"

As he spoke, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He truly hadn't expected the old man to make such a decision! The sudden turn of events left even him somewhat bewildered.

Official business is secondary; the key point is that the old man's attitude has already made everything clear, not to mention that the relationship between Jiang Ran and Si Jiliang has always been ambiguous...

Thinking of this, Si Yanxiao's expression suddenly hardened, and his brows were filled with coldness. Seeing that Si Yanxiao was troubled, Gu Nan sighed softly to herself, and then slowly comforted him, "Now that things have come to this point, there's no point in us speculating any further."

"It would be better to wait until Jiang Ran arrives before asking about the specific details."

Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao coldly scoffed, "Ask her?"

His words were full of disdain, and although he didn't say much, Gu Nan understood his unspoken meaning.

Jiang Ran is clearly under the protection of the old man, so how could she possibly tell them the truth?!

Thinking of this, Gu Nan fell silent. There was no point in saying anything more, so she stopped trying to persuade him.

Si Yanxiao looked up at the window, his eyes filled with unreadable thoughts.

Just then, a sudden knock on the door broke the silence.

Si Yanxiao barely managed to pull himself out of his thoughts and turned to look, only to see Jiang Ran push open the door and walk in.

Upon seeing who it was, Si Yanxiao's lips curled into a cold smile, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He then scoffed, "What are you doing here?"

Jiang Ran lifted the lunchbox in her hand and slowly explained, "I'm delivering food."

"Pretentious!" Si Yanxiao suddenly sneered.

Jiang Ran keenly sensed the disgust in his words, her brows furrowed, and a hint of doubt flashed across her face.

Seeing this, Gu Nan turned to Si Yanxiao and said, "You two talk, I'll go out first."

After saying that, he got up and left, his expression meaningful as he passed by Jiang Ran.

Jiang Ran noticed his expression, her brows furrowing slightly, puzzled.

After Gu Nan left, only the two of them remained in the room, and the atmosphere instantly turned cold.

Jiang Ran looked helpless, slowly walked to the bedside, brought out the food, and asked casually, "Why are you so angry for no reason? Are you still holding a grudge about Bai Zhuwei?"

When Si Yanxiao heard her mention Bai Zhuwei, a surge of anger inexplicably welled up in his heart.

She had previously stood on a moral high ground, sanctimoniously condemning herself, but now that it was her turn to talk about Si Jiliang, she remained completely silent.

They even acted like nothing had happened, which was utterly ridiculous!

Thinking of this, Si Yanxiao felt a surge of disgust towards Jiang Ran, and any remaining goodwill he had instantly vanished.

I had initially changed my opinion of her because of some details, but now I realize that I was really blinded to have such thoughts.

He then coldly retorted, "Why are you meddling in my business?"

"Instead of wasting this time, I'd rather try to win over my half-brother!"

He emphasized the phrase "good younger brother" in his speech, but a closer listen revealed a lot of sarcasm.

Jiang Ran understood his implied meaning, her eyes flashed, and she immediately realized what he meant.

No wonder they targeted her from the moment she came in...

She then lowered her eyes slightly and slowly explained, "You've misunderstood."

"Misunderstanding?" Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao's eyes flashed with mockery, and he said coldly, "Si Jiliang entered the Si Group, and I'm afraid you played a significant role in it."

Hearing the sarcasm in his words, Jiang Ran frowned slightly, and a wave of displeasure rose in her heart.

His words were full of sarcasm about her relationship with Si Jiliang, clearly a deliberate attempt to target her and harp on this matter.

Jiang Ran's eyes narrowed, and she was about to speak up to explain when Si Yanxiao spoke up with a cold sneer before she could.

"What use do you think Si Jiliang will be in joining the Si family? Do you think he can hinder me?"

His disdain was clearly visible on his face.

Jiang Ran sighed softly to herself, knowing that now was not the time to argue with him again. Her expression softened slightly, and she shook her head, explaining gently.

“I never thought of it that way. Believe it or not, I had no idea about this beforehand, and I never expected the old man to suddenly do something like this.”

“It wasn’t just you who was caught off guard; when the old man announced this, Si Jiliang also looked surprised, presumably because he was also suddenly informed.”

Jiang Ran slowly recounted the scene at that time. Si Yanxiao listened with a hint of doubt in his heart, but showed no sign of it on his face.

His eyes flashed, and he suddenly spoke in a cold, mocking voice: "Is that so?"

Jiang Ran didn't know what he was thinking, but assumed he was still on guard, so she nodded slightly and continued speaking.

"These are the old man's ideas. Even if I were there, what could I do to stop his decision?"

After Jiang Ran finished speaking, Si Yanxiao took it to heart. A hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, and then he lowered his eyes slightly, concealing the thoughts in them.

She pursed her lips slightly and fell into deep thought.

What she said makes sense. Putting aside prejudice, the old man's personality is such that once he makes a decision, he really won't listen to other people's opinions.

Previously, he was blinded by anger and thought that Jiang Ran's advice was indispensable in Si Jiliang's entry into the company.

Thinking of this, he looked up at Jiang Ran, trying to find a trace of lying in her expression, but saw that she had a serious face and showed no abnormality.

He couldn't help but hesitate, because if what she said was true, then this matter really had nothing to do with her; it wasn't her fault, she was just implicated.

But for some reason, the resentment in my heart just wouldn't dissipate.

He kept a cold expression until Jiang Ran left.

No sooner had Jiang Ran left than Gu Nan pushed open the door and entered. Seeing Si Yanxiao's displeased expression, she asked softly, "Finished talking?"

Si Yanxiao glanced at him coldly, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.

Seeing this, Gu Nan raised an eyebrow, took a few steps to the bedside, and asked with a look of doubt, "What's wrong? Didn't I hear her explain everything clearly outside the door?"

Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao's eyes sharpened, and he turned to look at him, coldly asking, "You heard everything?" Gu Nan pursed his lips slightly, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face, and timidly explained, "This room isn't very soundproof."

Si Yanxiao's face turned cold. He wanted to reprimand him, but he couldn't find anything wrong with his words.

Seeing the strange look on his face, Gu Nan reached out and touched the tip of her nose, saying casually, "I feel like you're not yourself anymore."

"What do you mean?" Si Yanxiao frowned and asked coldly after hearing this.

Gu Nan sighed softly and slowly said, "Jiang Ran has already explained it clearly. This is the old man's own decision, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"But once Si Jiliang is at the company, no matter how much trouble she causes, can she get past you? What are you worried about?"

Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he replied coldly, "I'm not worried."

"Your brow is furrowed so deeply? Aren't you worried?"

She paused slightly, glanced at him, and then said, "Or perhaps it's because of something else?"

The words were left unsaid, extremely cryptic. Si Yanxiao sensed his hesitation, his brow furrowing as he coldly rebuked, "Speak plainly!"

Gu Nan hesitated for a moment, her heart sinking, and then explained, "Have you ever considered that a large part of your current displeasure is due to the contact between Jiang Ran and Si Jiliang?"

Si Yanxiao glanced at him coldly, but didn't say anything more.

Seeing this, Gu Nan continued, "Ayan, do you... like her?"

"How could that be!" Upon hearing this, Si Yanxiao was shocked and quickly denied it, saying, "Even if I hate her, I have to admit that she is my legal wife."

"Given her identity, how can she maintain such an entanglement with Si Jiliang!"

Si Yanxiao spoke sharply, and Gu Nan listened with an unreadable expression in her eyes: "But she..."

Just as he was about to say something, Si Yanxiao interrupted him.