Chapter 75 The Arrogant Mother's Philosophy of True Love, and the Extreme Tug-of-War Between Father and Son
On the opening day of "Lanfei Skin Management Center," a joint venture between Xu Jingfei and Xu Jinglan, most of Yu'an's social circle of wealthy women came, and flower baskets stretched from the entrance to the end of the alley, making it even more lively than the Chinese New Year.
When Luo Yan rushed over after get off work, she saw Xu Jingfei wearing a sharp black suit, standing at the door greeting customers with a perfectly timed smile on her face, looking every bit the "successful female entrepreneur".
"Mr. Xu, congratulations on your grand opening!"
Luo Yan stepped forward and handed over a red envelope, saying, "Congratulations on finally getting rid of that green tea guy He Jun and starting a great career."
Xu Jingfei took the red envelope and casually tossed it to Xu Jinglan beside her: "Stop talking nonsense, come in and help serve tea and water. Even if you're eating and drinking for free, you should at least have some sense of propriety."
As Luo Yan walked into the store, she looked at the exquisitely decorated lobby and couldn't help but exclaim, "Auntie, this store is so high-end! It's more than a level above Ms. Xu's previous beauty salon!"
"That's right, your mom really went all out this time." Xu Jinglan gestured with her chin towards Luo Yan, "This renovation, this equipment, she's spent a lot of money."
Luo Yan stuffed a macaron into her mouth and asked, her words muffled, "Luo Muyang really didn't invest?"
Xu Jinglan chuckled, "You didn't see it, did you? The day we came back from our trip, Luo Muyang almost put on a 'CEO's domineering love: Here's my black card' performance right there in the street, but your mom shut him down with 'Independent women don't need stinky men's money,' and his face fell like a puppy whose bone had been stolen."
Luo Yan recalled the awkward and strange atmosphere during their vacation, as well as Xu Jingfei's spot-on comment on her WeChat Moments, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Auntie, I've never understood, what's going on between Ms. Xu and Luo Muyang...? It doesn't seem like she dislikes him, but it doesn't seem like she likes him either, because of that aloof attitude..."
"What else could it be? After all these years, haven't you figured it out at all?"
Xu Jinglan swirled her coffee cup, her smile knowing: "She insists that if she gets involved with Luo Muyang financially, it changes from 'he pursued me' to 'I depend on him,' it's hilarious... If there were an Oscar for hypocrisy, your mother could win it for over twenty years."
Luo Yan: "...Huh?"
Isn't this conclusion too far off?
"Think it's outrageous?" Xu Jinglan saw right through her thoughts. "Your mom was a campus beauty when she was young, used to being the center of attention. She thought she should live a carefree life like a queen. But at nineteen, she fell for that idiot Luo Muyang and got you into the picture, ruining all her life plans. She's always felt it was incredibly shameful and uncool... So she wanted to cut ties with him, especially with money. It's like taking money from Luo Muyang confirms that she was after him back then, defiling what she thought was true love! In my opinion, she's just a hopelessly infatuated girl, and a proud and arrogant one at that."
Luo Yan was stunned. She had always thought that Xu Jingfei only disliked Luo Muyang, but she never expected that Xu Jingfei would have such a complicated and bizarre logic. After a long silence, she managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "So... she actually loves Luo Muyang?"
"How could she not love him? She's head over heels in love with him!"
Xu Jinglan curled her lip. "If she didn't love him, would she let Luo Muyang chase after her for over twenty years? If she didn't love him, would she want to kill him every time she saw him talking to another woman? Don't look at her awkwardness; she enjoys Luo Muyang's 'I can't live without you' simp behavior! I'll wait and see how long her 'independent woman' persona can last, and how long that husky Luo Muyang can keep licking her boots."
Luo Yan sighed, genuinely feeling that the ill-fated couple, Xu Jingfei and Luo Muyang, had even more drama than she and Jiang Sui.
She probably inherited her proud and arrogant personality from her mother. After all, didn't she always put on airs and engage in some self-deceiving "cooling-off period" with Jiang Sui?
"Oh, right, there's a little tidbit that's related to you..."
Xu Jinglan beckoned to Luo Yan, gesturing for her to come over. "When you were born, your mother kept putting off naming you. She waited a full six months for Luo Muyang to find her before registering your birth. At that time, Luo Muyang named you Luo Yan, the 'Yan' in 'colorful and vibrant.' Your mother thought that character was too common, so she chose a homophone. If she didn't love Luo Muyang, you should have the surname Xu now."
"..."
Luo Yan silently processed this information, and finally gave a dry summary: "I can't understand it, but I respect it."
On the other hand, the atmosphere in the conference room of Feiyang Technology was much more serious.
The bidding for the second phase of the smart tourism project of the Culture and Tourism Bureau is about to begin, and the success of the first phase makes this second phase even more tempting. Luo Muyang is preparing to bring out Feiyang's trump card: a set of self-developed intelligent database software, whose technology is said to be at least two years ahead of the industry.
Upon hearing this, the eyes of several vice presidents turned green with excitement, especially Sun Zhicheng, who passionately expounded on his "grand blueprint" and "determination to win" for the second phase of the project, so excited that he wished he could write a pledge on the spot.
Luo Muyang rested his chin on his hand, listening to his subordinates arguing heatedly, his gaze drifting to Jiang Sui, who was sitting in the corner and hadn't said a word.
"Xiao Jiang," Luo Muyang called on him, "what do you think?"
Jiang Sui raised his eyes: "The key to the second phase project lies in data security and algorithm optimization. Our new database has an advantage here. The only difficulty is that the bidding is imminent and the internal testing time is a bit tight."
Luo Muyang nodded in approval and patted the document in his hand.
"Then I'll leave it to you this time."
The moment the words were spoken, the conference room fell silent.
Sun Zhicheng's face immediately darkened: "President Luo, although President Jiang did a good job in the first phase of the project, the second phase involves the deployment of intelligent databases. My team has more experience in this area, and I have prepared a comprehensive plan."
“I’ve reviewed the plan, and it’s comprehensive.” Luo Muyang waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for doubt. “Jiang Sui participated in the core research and development, so he’s the most suitable person to take charge. If you’re busy with your current projects, then you can coordinate the relevant parts.”
These words were undoubtedly a way out, and Sun Zhicheng's expression softened slightly. He snorted coldly, "Since President Luo has made his decision, then I will cooperate."
After the meeting, Xiao Huang sidled up to Jiang Sui and whispered, "President Jiang, President Sun is probably going to hold a grudge against you."
"What he thinks is his business." Jiang Sui tidied up the documents, her tone indifferent. "President Luo entrusted the second phase to me not because of favoritism, but because I am the only one who knows the details of this database best."
Xiao Huang nodded: "The internal testing data is all confidential. President Luo specifically emphasized that you should pay close attention and make sure not to leak it."
"I know," Jiang Sui replied, but a vague unease lingered in her heart.
The second phase of smart tourism is more profitable than the first phase, and there are many people eyeing this opportunity.
After get off work, Jiang drove to Mingsheng.
After parking his car on the basement level, he turned around and saw Wu Yuzhou coming out of the elevator. He paused, then slipped behind a pillar. Wu Yuzhou didn't see him and walked straight to a Porsche, driving away.
Jiang Sui stared at the direction the car had disappeared in, her eyes slightly cold.
Why would Wu Yuzhou come to Mingsheng? Could he also be related to Jiang Qiming?
It seems that Luo Yan, her childhood sweetheart, has been keeping a low profile lately, but she hasn't been idle.
He composed himself, stepped into the elevator, and went straight to the chairman's office on the top floor.
Jiang Qiming seemed to have expected him to come, and a cold smile appeared on his face as he watched him enter.
"You actually came to me on your own initiative. Was it as Vice President Fei Yang, or as Jiang Qiming's son?"
Jiang Sui ignored his comment, sat down opposite him, and got straight to the point: "That day in the parking lot, you deliberately said those things to Luo Yan."
Jiang Qiming chuckled, "Weren't those words the truth?"
"Was Zhou Jiaqi also arranged by you?"
Jiang Sui continued, her voice flat yet penetrating, "You used him to create misunderstandings, to sow discord between me and Luo Yan, and even... you might have leaked scraps of the first phase project to Ming Sheng, planning to trip up Fei Yang in the bidding for the second phase project, or at least muddy the waters so that Fei Yang doesn't benefit, right?"
Jiang Qiming picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and his eyes behind his glasses were as sharp as an eagle's.
"I didn't arrange anything. I just talked to Zhou Jiaqi about you and Lu Xingyao. As for his motives and what he did, that's none of my business. Don't forget, you lost control in front of Luo Yan, and now you're blaming me after being dumped?"
"Yes, who else is to blame but you?" Jiang Sui's eyes darkened slightly, and she sneered, "Didn't you blame me for twenty years because of Mom's situation? Shouldn't your need for control be satisfied by now?"
"Control freak?!"
Jiang Qiming put down his teacup with a soft sound, his tone carrying his usual coldness and controlling nature: "Jiang Sui, I'm doing this for your own good! Mingsheng is the culmination of my life's work, and it will be yours sooner or later. What do you expect to gain by getting involved with Luo Muyang and his daughter? Do you think you've won?"
“I never wanted to compete with you. Even now, I still hope that you can treat me as a son, just as a father. Even if you only treat me as a memento left by your most beloved woman, you would never treat me like this!”
"Enough! Don't mention her to me!"
Jiang Qiming slammed his hand on the table, causing tea to overflow from the cup and spill onto the expensive boxwood table. His hand was still trembling slightly.
Jiang Sui suddenly laughed, his tone much softer: "You ask me what I can get? A sense of security, a feeling of 'landing'—you can't give me that, and neither can Mingsheng." He stood up, looking down at his father: "I'm here today to advise you to stop now. Whether it's Mom or Mingsheng, don't blame me for your regrets."
Jiang Qiming clenched his fist: "Jiang Sui, I'm warning you one last time. If you don't resign from Feiyang and return to Mingsheng immediately, you'll definitely regret it!"
Jiang turned and walked towards the door. When she grasped the doorknob, she paused for a moment without looking back.
"My biggest regret is that night when I was ten years old, I didn't listen to my mother and stay at home." After saying that, he opened the door and walked straight out.
Jiang Qiming stared at the empty doorway, his hand gripping the teacup tightly, his knuckles and face equally pale.
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