Yan Qiao ignored her and continued, "I never suspected you before, I just thought it was bad luck of me to miss the college entrance exam. But now that I think about it, there are many suspicious points. Why didn't you have anyone look for me when I disappeared?"

"I thought you had gone home."

Yan Qiao chuckled, "But you asked me to get something, and I didn't bring it back. Didn't you have any doubts? There's only one thing: you knew where I was from the beginning and weren't worried."

Madam Yuan did all this precisely to prevent her from taking the college entrance examination.

This is probably also part of the revenge against Shi Yuehua and her daughter.

“Grandma, have you been happy all these years living with hatred? The things between you and my grandmother were a twist of fate caused by the times and the war. When she found out that Grandpa had a first wife, she divorced her immediately to make room for you. No matter how much resentment you have, you shouldn’t take it out on her, but rather on Grandpa.”

The old lady's eyes were bloodshot. "Your grandfather is dead! Yan Jiahao was still thinking about that woman until his death! Why? I married him when we were young, and I bore him a son. Why did he abandon me? Making him think about her until his death is Shi Yuehua's biggest mistake!"

“He didn’t abandon you. He kept looking for you and your child, and even when your fate was unknown, he never gave up. I don’t admit that he was wrong. He didn’t tell my grandmother about what happened between you. Otherwise, given my grandmother’s personality, she would never have married him. But the bigger mistake was the circumstances. Anyone could have wronged you, but my grandmother and my birth mother were the only ones who didn’t!”

The old lady scoffed, "Say what you will, but so what if I've done it? I've succeeded! I've separated Yan Shu and her daughter, ruined your future, I've succeeded! Hahahaha! Even if you go back to Yan Shu's side, she has her own daughter now, she might not welcome you. Hahahaha, how satisfying! Do you know what kind of will that old man left before he died? He actually wanted to be buried with Shi Yuehua! Dream on! The only person who will be buried with him in this life is me, Yuan Mengchun!"

Yan Qiao gave her a deep look, then turned and walked out.

He reached into his pocket and pressed pause on the voice recorder.

In November, Yancheng has already entered winter, and the first snow of the winter is expected at any time.

Yan Qiao put her hands in her pockets and slowly walked out.

As I walked, snowflakes actually began to fall.

"It's snowing." She looked up.

After walking for a while, the snow gradually fell heavier.

She received a call from Shiloh, who questioned her about why she had deleted her WeChat account.

Yan Qiao said, "Don't you know why I deleted you? It's because you used me as a shield and angered your third uncle, so he told me to keep my distance from you."

Shiloh asked in surprise, "When did you talk to my third uncle?"

Yan Qiao recounted how she had sought his help last time, only to be seen by Master Pei.

Xi Luo's phone was already empty of the chat history. "Damn it! Assistant Li must have deleted the records! Don't worry, I'll go find him and explain right now!"

Yan Qiao said, "No, let's just keep our distance from now on to avoid misunderstandings."

"What do you mean? Are we being restricted in making friends?" Xi Luo yelled angrily.

Yan Qiao retorted, "Isn't it your fault? You clearly didn't have those feelings for me, yet you made those grand pronouncements in front of your third uncle, making it seem like you were deeply in love with me."

Xi Luo smiled guiltily, "I was just saying that in the heat of the moment, trying to save face."

"Ha, you've really done something, dragging me down with you."

After hanging up the phone, Xi Luo actually went to Xunyue to find Pei Jingzhan.

With his aggressive demeanor, no one dared to stop him, and he went straight to the top floor.

"Young Master Luo, what brings you here?" Li Qiao quickly stepped forward.

Xi Luo questioned, "When you arranged my classes before, did you talk to Yan Qiao on my phone?"

Li Qiao paused, realizing it was because of this.

"Third Master is doing this for your own good."

Xi Luo scoffed, "What do you mean by 'for my own good'? He even restricts me from making friends. Am I a puppet, unable to have my own consciousness?!"

Li Qiao said, "Third Master didn't mean that, you misunderstood."

“Where is he? I’ll tell him myself!” Shiloh didn’t want to continue with the bureaucratic talk.

Li Qiao: "Third Master is in a meeting..."

"Assistant Li, President Pei wants Young Master Luo to come in."

Li Qiao nodded. "Young Master Luo, this way please."

Xi Luo had been bluffing, but when he heard that he was really going to have a face-to-face talk with Pei Jingzhan, he became a little nervous.

He coughed lightly twice, "Won't this interfere with Uncle's work?"

Li Qiao glanced at him and said, "It's alright. Saying things in front of Third Master will make your thoughts clearer."

In other words, you're just waiting to get what's coming to you.

Upon entering the office, Pei Jingzhan sat at his cold-toned desk, exuding an imposing aura.

The heads of the company's departments were packing their things to leave.

Pei Jingzhan lowered his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"explain."

Xi Luo had a change of heart and regretted coming here on impulse.

"Third Uncle..."

"Hmm?" Pei Jingzhan raised his eyes, his expression casual, but the aura of a superior pressed down.

Shiloh gritted his teeth and decided to give it his all.

“You shouldn’t have said those things to Yan Qiao. She’s my friend.”

Pei Jingzhan raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Shiloh: "..." This is impossible to talk to!

He tried to straighten his back to bolster his courage.

"As long as Yan Qiao is single, I will not give up on her! I won't give up until she has a boyfriend or gets married! It's no use telling her to stay away from me, because I will chase after her!"

He shouted it out like he was reciting an essay, then turned and ran away, bumping into the office door as he left, feeling dizzy.

Pei Jingzhan watched him flee in disarray and scoffed.

"Promising."

Li Qiao touched her nose, trying to make herself less noticeable.

Pei Jingzhan leaned back in his leather chair, his posture of looking up at Li Qiao exuding an imposing aura without anger, yet it put Li Qiao under immense pressure.

Li Qiao had no choice but to confess honestly: "I only spoke a few words to Miss Yan Qiao politely, asking her to keep her distance from Young Master Luo."

Pei Jingzhan chuckled, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness.

"Assistant Li is becoming more and more capable."

Li Qiao lowered his head, "Thanks to Third Master's guidance."

Pei Jingzhan: "So I should praise you for finally having a useful pig brain?"

Li Qiao: "..." A scholar can be killed but not humiliated!

"Then, Assistant Li, could you please come up with another idea on how to deal with your young master Luo's belated rebellious phase?"

Li Qiao didn't dare to look up, afraid that if she saw Pei Jingzhan's mocking expression, she would be unable to resist killing her boss.

After thinking for a while, he said, "Third Master, Young Master Luo just said that as long as Yan Qiao is single, he will not give up. Can this be interpreted as him giving up if Yan Qiao has a boyfriend?"

Pei Jingzhan chuckled lightly, lazily lifting his eyelids. "What brilliant plan does Assistant Li have?"

Li Qiao mustered his courage: "It's not exactly a brilliant plan, but it might actually be useful."

"I would like to hear the details."

These four words conveyed to Li Qiao an impatient tone, as if to say, "If you spout a bunch of nonsense, you're going to mine in Africa."

"Third Master, what if someone actively pursues Yan Qiao, and this person is someone Yan Qiao cannot refuse..."

"Oh? Assistant Li has a suitable candidate?"

"Yes, this person is none other than Third Master! Your charm is irresistible to everyone in Yancheng."

"Oh."