Chapter 56 An extremely frail body and an extremely strong…

Several days passed in a flash. During the day, he dealt with most of the matters, and at night, he avoided the sight of others and returned to another villa.

This location is just right, situated between SK and the newly built commercial area, even reducing commuting time. News of Song Mingli's return cannot be revealed yet. From the perspective of local history, Ying Shixue has simply been leaving get off work promptly at 8 PM recently.

This is very rare, considering that he used to be the kind of person who was always working himself to the bone, often staying up until 11 or 12 at night.

After finishing her work on Saturday morning, Ying Shixue asked Fang Zhi to postpone the afternoon's tasks until the evening and drove off alone.

The vehicle discreetly merged into the traffic, passing through the most bustling urban area and slowly heading towards the outer city.

The outer city is a satellite city built a few years ago. It was originally built to alleviate the excessive population pressure in Fancheng. With good vegetation, convenient transportation, and sparse population, it has attracted many wealthy businessmen to buy houses here.

For young people who still need to strive, this place is a bit far from their workplace, but for established elites who have already achieved success and retired behind the scenes, it is an excellent choice for retirement.

The security guard at the entrance respectfully let the car through after checking the license plate. The black Bentley drove through the long green belt and finally stopped in front of a red-roofed house.

An elderly man with gray hair, dressed in a black Tang suit, stood in the garden, holding pruning shears and trimming the newly grown, unruly branches.

Upon seeing Ying Shixue, he greeted her with a smile, "Little Ying is here."

Ying Shixue walked to his side and looked at the new branches in the flowerbed that were just beginning to show buds: "Uncle De's flowers are getting better and better."

Tang Detai placed the scissors in his hand on the tray held by the old butler and washed his hands: "It's cold outside, let's go inside and talk."

Seven years ago, he went to Liancheng and quickly took control of the company there. To some extent, this was due to the wisdom and experience of the old man who had been a prominent figure in the business world since the last century, and who had eventually retired with both fame and fortune.

Although he now vaguely understands that this must have been at Song Qi's behest, he still holds Tang Detai in high esteem.

Tang Detai and he entered the house. The reception room was fully furnished with tea sets and the aroma of tea wafted through the air. Ying Shixue also noticed a statue on a high platform in the inner room.

Tang Detai noticed the look in his eyes and sighed, "I guess it's just that I'm getting old. When I was young, I thought I could make a name for myself with my own two hands and feet. Now that I'm old, I'm starting to believe it again."

Ying Shixue's lips twitched as if he was about to speak, but Tang Detai waved his hand to stop him in a grand manner: "Don't say those comforting words about being old and strong. We don't talk about such formalities!"

He was a regular exerciser and still quite fit. His hands and face showed signs of aging, but his eyes revealed the wisdom and intelligence that comes with age. After looking at Ying Shixue for a while, he said with certainty, "You don't believe in these things."

Ying Shixue was silent for a few seconds, then slowly shook her head: "I don't place my hopes on anyone."

The young man before him was dressed in black with black hair. His posture was not deliberately upright but had its own elegance. Tang Detai recalled that in his decades of bloody and turbulent life, he had rarely, if ever, met someone like Ying Shixue.

When Song Qi first asked him to go, he was puzzled. For the first six months or so, every time Ying Shixue came to see him, his first reaction was—

Ah, this child is so sick, can he really bear the hopes for the future?

It wasn't until Ying Shixue's impressive and ruthless achievements and methods over the past six months that he truly began to take her seriously, and the more he looked at her, the more alarmed he became.

With an extremely frail body and an extremely strong personality and spirit, he had lofty ambitions but a fragile life. For some reason, he always held onto a firm belief that he did not understand but was determined to achieve.

His deteriorating health and ever-growing spirit often made him fear that his dazzling brilliance was the last flicker of his life, and that once his mission was complete, he too would vanish like a fleeting moment of brilliance.

But in any case, he thought pessimistically that as the head of such a large group, he was too young and too inexperienced.

How could Young Master Song Qi have raised such a child?

Seeing Ying Shixue's slightly surprised look, he realized that he had actually said those words.

He smiled and paused, a look of reminiscence in his eyes: "When Young Master Song Qi first married Miss Weiwei, he was probably around your age."

He still used the old way of addressing Song Qi as "Young Master".

Ying Shixue was stunned for a moment. To be honest, he didn't know much about this nominal father. He only had a vague outline of what happened between him and his mother from what other people had told him.

After all, it's been too long since then. The childhood of our parents, the hidden and elusive past, many things have faded with the passage of time.

Tang Detai: "Young Master Song Qi was really very, very similar to Young Master Mingli when he was young. Both were young masters from top aristocratic families. They were polite on the surface, but their unruly and arrogant nature was impossible to hide."

"That was also the most intense time of the power struggle. The old man was seriously ill and urgently needed someone to support him. He was originally going to marry a young lady from another aristocratic family to consolidate his position, but Miss Weiwei was forced into the marriage by the Xi family at that time."

He genuinely knew nothing about this matter, and Ying Shixue put down the teacup she was holding.

"On the day Miss died in childbirth, the hospital nurses brought Young Master Mingli out, but he didn't even look at the baby and almost dropped him on the ground. Afterwards, he left him alone in the villa outside, showing no concern or care whatsoever."

"It's rumored that it's because of Miss Weiwei that he doesn't like his mother, so naturally he doesn't like that child either. I was very puzzled at the time. Once, when Young Master Mingli's little pet went missing and was making a fuss, after the young master scolded him, I saw him standing alone in the garden for a long time."

"It was then that I vaguely realized he was actually quite young, and perhaps just didn't know how to face it..."

He didn't know how to face this child who was connected to him by blood, yet indirectly killed Mingwei, his beloved wife, and the beautiful princess.

What a tragic fate... Tang Detai sighed: "When Young Master Song Qi last saw me, he told me that if it was possible later, he had left something in his study that he might be able to show to the children."

The study? Ying Shixue was taken aback.

After Song Qi's death, as his descendant left in Fancheng and SK's successor, he held a low-key yet dignified funeral for him, following the old custom of burying his ashes together. SK had kept all his secrets from him without reservation, and the study had long been tidied up. Could there be something left inside?

He harbored such doubts, but showed no sign of it on his face. Tang Detai was exhausted after all, and after talking with him for a while, he showed signs of fatigue.

Ying Shixue suggested leaving at the right time. On the way back, he was still absentmindedly thinking about Tang Detai's words. When he got off the overpass, he didn't watch the turn properly and ended up going around in circles before he came back.

It was four or five in the afternoon when he arrived at the company. As soon as he stepped into the top floor, he saw Fang Zhi's hesitant expression. A bad feeling flashed through his mind. He pushed open the office door and went in. Inside, a tall man in a casual suit was casually flipping through the books on his bookshelf.

Seeing him come in and slam the book shut, she pointed at the title with her biceps and asked, "You usually read these kinds of things?"

Ying Shixue noticed that it was a philosopher's work, which was somewhat obscure and difficult to understand due to its antiquity, and it was by no means something that should appear on a businessman's bookshelf... except, of course, for certain pretentious people.

Xi Bojian clearly didn't think he was the latter. Ying Shixue walked over and took the book away, her voice cold: "Don't touch my things."

With his hands free, Xi Bojian shrugged and leaned against the desk, his legs crossed, making them appear very long.

"I mean, I had no choice but to contact you because you weren't replying to my messages."

He looked at Ying Shixue, who remained unmoved, and said, "Fine."

"You don't welcome me? I've given you a lot of help over the past seven years. A basic friendly attitude is necessary towards a business ally."

“I think people should have basic self-awareness,” Ying Shixue interrupted him coldly. “Besides, I have also provided you with a lot of convenience. Don’t talk about how much you have done for me.”

Xi Bojian was taken aback, but he was used to being outmaneuvered by Ying Shixue over the years. He coughed and continued, "What I mean is, we can have a meal together and then discuss the contract later."

They initially signed contracts for three or four years, totaling seven years. Now, many of these contracts are about to expire, and either they need to renew or go their separate ways. Ying Shixue frowned slightly. Xi Bojian had already tacitly agreed to this, since Ying Shixue was much more likely to agree whenever work was involved.

He reached out to embrace Ying Shixue, but before his hand could reach her, the office door suddenly opened: "—What are you doing?"

Ying Shixue turned around, and upon seeing who it was, her eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Xi Bojian's face showed displeasure: "Who are you? Where is security? How did they let him in?"

He wore an extremely flashy and cool black leather jacket, his hair was styled in a very fashionable way, clearly using a lot of hairspray, and a mask covered the lower half of his face so that his features were not visible, but he was very tall and even had a bit of a fierce and thuggish air about him.

He walked over very naturally and put his arm around Ying Shixue's waist: "You left your documents at home, I'll bring them to you."

"I've already said that looking at things in the bedroom is bad for your eyes, but you still insist on doing so. No matter how important work is, it's not as important as your health."

The amount of information conveyed in those two sentences was so great that Xi Bojian didn't react for a moment, but he noticed Ying Shixue's relaxed body and lack of resistance.

What the hell? What home? What bedroom? And who is this guy who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, looking like a male model from a nightclub? This is terrifying! Why isn't Ying Shixue pushing him away yet...?

Ying Shixue was also stunned at this moment. The arm around him was firm and the chest was hard and muscular. He could also hear that Song Mingli's voice had changed, which must be because he was wearing a mini voice changer.

His originally deep, magnetic voice sounded even more glamorous, but how did he find him? Shouldn't he be dealing with something at this time? And why is he dressed like this?

He tried to push the person away but couldn't; the person's grip on his arm was as strong as iron, so he eventually gave up.

Song Mingli looked at him: "Because I have President Ying's employee badge."

Xi Bojian's expression twisted, even bordering on exasperation: "Who are you?"

Song Mingli raised an eyebrow, then lowered his head and pressed his cheek against Ying Shixue's in an ambiguous gesture: "I'm President Ying's..."

He spoke his last word in a low voice, but Xi Bojian still heard it clearly.

lover.