Chapter 74
The Finale
The first thing she saw was a stark white ceiling, and the incandescent light overhead shone with a cold, lifeless glow. Despite the sharp pain in her temples, Old Mrs. Zhao slowly opened her eyes.
"Grandmother, you're awake!"
Zhao Rufeng, who was by the bedside, noticed immediately and hurriedly asked, "Is anything bothering you?"
"Head, headache."
She covered her forehead and then realized that her head was wrapped in gauze in three layers, making it look like a ball, and her head circumference had increased by a whole size.
"I'll go get the doctor!"
Grandma Zhao grabbed her hand.
"hiss!"
"What's wrong?"
Grandma Zhao looked down and saw that both of Zhao Rufei's hands were wrapped in gauze, with only the tips of her fingers showing.
"The vase also fell into your hands?"
The door to the ward was pushed open.
Zhao Ruxuan came in carrying the packed food. When she saw that her grandmother had opened her eyes, she ran over happily!
"Grandmother, you're finally awake!"
She helped Grandma Zhao to her feet, pulled out the bedside table, and placed the still-warm takeout boxes on it one by one.
"Eat something first."
She injured her head, but her hands can still move normally. On the contrary, Zhao Rufei, who injured her hands, has difficulty moving around.
Have you eaten? If not, let's eat together.
"Ruxuan, get a spoon for your sister."
"I'm fine," said Mrs. Zhao calmly. "After you finish your meal, please help me with the discharge procedures."
"The family doctor can treat the head wound."
She then asked, "Who else knows about my injury?"
Zhao Ruxuan didn't understand why her grandmother asked this, and answered truthfully, "Besides family members, no one should know."
As if to refute her words, the television on the ward wall blared out the host's professional voice the instant Zhao Ruxuan finished speaking.
[The Zhao family's "pillar of strength" is rushed to the hospital; undercurrents surge among various forces—is this the start of a fierce business war among the elite?]
Zhao Ruxuan never expected: "There were paparazzi staking out and taking pictures of us?"
Losing her appetite, Zhao Rufei opened her phone and browsed through the comments. Most of them were unfavorable, so she immediately contacted the public relations department to handle the situation.
Grandma Zhao made a quick decision: "Let's get discharged now to prove I'm fine."
Unfortunately, even with the public relations department working from morning till night, they couldn't stop the company's stock price from plummeting.
After all, it's a fact that Old Mrs. Zhao was hospitalized. The pillar of the Zhao family has aged, and there's no successor in the new generation. Any potential partners would think twice before making a collaboration.
Zhao Rufei regretted her decision: "We were wrong from the very beginning."
"We shouldn't have fallen out with Aunt Jiang, and we definitely shouldn't have gone against Jiang Fengyi. Otherwise, we wouldn't be where we are today."
Zhao Ruxuan was in a real bind: "Won't our Zhao family end up bankrupt like the Li family?"
Grandma Zhao is old and frail, not to mention she has a head injury. Now she has to pause and rest after saying just a few words, and she simply doesn't have the energy to handle company affairs.
She was willing but powerless; was the Zhao family about to be ruined in her hands?
Zhao Ruxuan couldn't imagine what it would be like if her family went bankrupt. She was flexible and resilient: "I went directly to Jiang Fengyi to apologize and beg for her forgiveness."
“We went there once before, and they wouldn’t even let us in the door.”
"It's okay, I'll stand at the door if you won't let me in, as long as you can forgive us."
Zhao Ruxuan has come to terms with the facts.
"As long as it doesn't bankrupt our Zhao family, I'm willing to apologize every day."
Knowing that Aunt Jiang was more soft-hearted, she made a decision: "I want to go to Aunt Jiang, get her forgiveness, and then go to apologize to Jiang Fengyi."
"As long as the Jiang family stops making things difficult for us, doesn't cause trouble, and handles company affairs properly, we will definitely not go bankrupt."
Grandma Zhao nodded silently.
She schemed for most of her life, but in the end she gained nothing. She was even on the verge of losing her family business and had to rely on the younger generation to be subservient to her.
A sense of resentment lingered in her heart, tormenting her day after day.
Grandma Zhao visibly became depressed. Apart from necessary communication, she rarely interacted with others, became reluctant to go out, and locked herself in her room all day.
Zhao Ruxuan secretly went to the Jiang family to apologize and admit her mistake, while Zhao Rufei was busy dealing with company matters. The two were so tired that they didn't have the energy to pay attention to Old Mrs. Zhao.
Once the company's affairs were settled, Zhao Ruxuan also obtained Jiang Xuan's forgiveness.
The two sisters then noticed that their grandmother had become extremely thin, and the wrinkles on her skin had deepened.
Zhao Ruxuan asked in surprise, "Grandmother, have you not been able to eat these days? Is it because your head injury hasn't fully healed and is leaving any aftereffects?"
Zhao Rufei immediately said, "I'll go call the doctor to come and check it out."
"no!"
Not only did Old Mrs. Zhao look ten years older, but her voice also became hoarse and rough, like a broken bellows, creaking and groaning with difficulty.
"I'm fine, I'm just getting old."
She finally came to terms with her physical condition, sighed deeply, and her cloudy eyes revealed a hint of resignation.
"When people get old, they reach the age where they lose their appetite for everything."
His pupils, thick with white film, looked lovingly at the two people in front of him.
"From now on, the Zhao family is in your hands."
She shook her head and slowly closed her eyes: "My body is too weak to keep going."
*
When Jiang Fengyi saw Zhao Ruxuan suddenly appear downstairs at the company, she felt as if she had been through a lifetime. It had been so long since she had seen her that she had almost forgotten about her.
"You were looking for me?"
Zhao Ruxuan waited at the Jiang family's old house for several days, but still couldn't see Jiang Fengyi. So she changed her location and went to the downstairs of her company to try her luck.
Fortunately, she ran into them.
"Shall we go to the coffee shop next door?"
Jiang Fengyi stood still: "Just say what you need to say."
Zhao Rufei's apology this time was very sincere; she showed her sincerity right from the start.
"If you don't mind, we'll give you a villa on the hillside, a set of emerald jewelry, and a cruise ship in the harbor. The Zhao family was indeed in the wrong before. We hope you can accept these gifts, accept our apology, and stop targeting the Zhao family."
She bowed deeply and said solemnly, "I'm sorry!"
Jiang Fengyi took half a step back: "When did I target the Zhao family?"
If Zhao Ruxuan hadn't suddenly appeared in front of her today, she would have completely forgotten about the Zhao family. Her life was filled with small moments of happiness, and she couldn't spare the energy to recall unhappy people or events.
"I only canceled the cooperation with the Zhao family; I never targeted the Zhao family."
If she were truly targeting them, the Zhao family's company would have gone bankrupt long ago; how could it have survived until now?
"I accept your apology, but you don't need the gifts you mentioned. I don't need them."
far away,
A figure quickly ran over.
"There was a traffic jam on the way, so I'm late."
Xu's gaze swept straight past Zhao Ruxuan, lingering on Jiang Fengyi for a long time. A smile played on his lips, and his eyes were filled with twinkling starlight.
"Do you want to go straight to the restaurant or would you like to wander around for a bit first?"
She didn't give Zhao Ruxuan a second glance, treating her like an insignificant passerby.
Or perhaps,
As long as the two of them are together, no one else can fit in.
Jiang Fengyi's gaze, which had briefly lingered on her, was quickly withdrawn. When she looked at Xu Que, her icy pupils instantly melted away, transforming into gentle spring water that flowed into the other's heart.
"I want to go for a walk first, will you come with me?"
Xu took Jiang Fengyi's hand and touched her slightly cool fingertips. He then covered them with his hands and rubbed them vigorously until her fingertips regained their warmth.
The two figures had already walked away, but their cheerful laughter seemed to still linger in Zhao Ruxuan's ears.
"Why are your hands so cold? You're not wearing enough clothes today."
Jiang Fengyi forcefully pulled her burning palm away: "I'm not cold, my hands are cold because of the wind."
Xu looked apologetic: "It's all my fault for being late, making you stand in the wind waiting."
"You arrived in less than two minutes, it's not your fault."
......
With the downfall of the Li family, the Zhao family suffered a severe blow.
Jiang Fengyi was at home, staring worriedly at her cat, which had gotten a bit fatter.
"Snowball, if you keep eating like this, you'll turn into a snowball!"
The kitten ignored her, its only response being to bury its head in its food, licking the delicious can of food in front of it with utmost care.
Although Snowball eats very frequently, its movements are elegant and refined, not allowing even a single food scrap to get on its snow-white fur.
Jiang Fengyi glanced at the doorway and urged, "Hurry up and eat, Xu Que will be back soon..."
Before he could finish speaking, the tightly closed door opened with a "beep".
The person and the cat were instantly startled. Snowball's leisurely licking turned into frantic munching, as if it were desperate for the next meal. All traces of its initial demureness vanished.
Jiang Fengyi walked towards the door, trying to block the fat kitten with her body.
"Snowball, you're eating canned food again!"
"You're not allowed to eat anymore!"
Hearing Xu Que's reprimand, its ears perked up and twitched quickly. Then it ate even more voraciously. If it weren't for its large head, it would have buried its entire head in the can of food, with crumbs of can food sticking to its fur and whiskers.
Xu rushed to Xue Tuan and snatched the food from its mouth.
Jiang Fengyi spoke up for the kitten from the side.
“There wasn’t a single grain of cat food left in her bowl. She kept meowing by my legs. I saw that she was hungry, so I opened a can of food for her.”
She repeatedly assured them, "I haven't eaten any snacks today, just this one can of food."
"You mean, the bowl of cat food I poured for it before I left home was completely devoured by it, and now it's tricked me out of a can of food?"
Xu looked again at the can of food she had snatched from the kitten's mouth; it had almost licked it to the bottom. If she had been a few seconds slower, it would have eaten it all.
She deliberately put on a stern face and said to the kitten, "You're not allowed to eat anything today. The doctor said you were overweight last time, and you need to lose weight!"
Meow~
The kitten licked the food off its mouth with its pink tongue and smacked its lips. Its round, grape-like eyes were fixed on the can of food in Xu Que's hand, its expression clearly showing that it wanted another can.
"I need to strictly control its diet! It will become unhealthy if it gets any fatter."
She turned to look at Jiang Fengyi.
"You are not allowed to be soft-hearted towards it."
Jiang Fengyi pinched Xu Que's cheek and stared at her: "You have to be stern with me too, just like you are with a kitten?"
"You're not allowed? And you're ordering me around?"
Xu reached out and covered Jiang Fengyi's hand, tilting his head to rub against the other's palm.
"I wouldn't dare. If anyone should give an order, it should be you, Master, who gives me the order."
When the two were being affectionate, the kitten jumped onto the table and licked the can of food that Xu had casually placed on it clean.
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