Finally, it was time for the awards ceremony for the "Little Inventors," and Lele won the "Best Innovation Award," which was a delightful surprise.
He stood on the podium, holding the trophy, a big smile on his face, waving to Du Xiaoruo and the others.
Du Xiaoruo nudged Qiao An's arm, reminding him to look at Lele.
Qiao An looked up from her phone, a lazy and gentle smile on her face, and gave Lele a thumbs up.
After Lele came down from the podium, he lowered his head again to look at his phone.
It was a message from Secretary Kim.
[Boss, there are reporters swarming the company entrance, and they're probably trying to ambush us from the school too. What should we do?]
Joanne quickly replied with a message.
[First, reassure the reporters that I will hold a special press conference and ask them to go home. Also, convene a company-wide meeting immediately; I'll be there in about half an hour.]
After sending the message, Qiao An thought for a moment and then sent another text message back.
Secretary Jin received the message from Qiao An calling a staff meeting and hurried into the elevator. Inside, he received another message from Qiao An.
Don't panic, stay calm, and have the unwavering confidence that even if the sky falls, your zither will not crumble.
Secretary Kim put away her phone and stepped out of the elevator with a much calmer and more composed expression. Although she was panicking inside, she remembered Qiao An's advice and told herself to be confident.
Qiao Qingmeng's revelation of her background greatly shocked the company's employees.
In just a few months, Jinse has experienced a series of setbacks, including Qiao Qingchuan's infidelity, suspected rape, and drug use. She thought things would calm down after Qiao An took over, but unexpectedly, Qiao Qingmeng appeared out of nowhere.
Just as everyone accepted the premise that Qiao Qingmeng was Qiao An's twin sister, Qiao Qingmeng immediately revealed that she and Qiao An were not related by blood. She claimed that she was Jin Xizhen's illegitimate daughter from her affair, and that Qiao An was not Jin Xizhen's son at all.
Seriously, even novels aren't this melodramatic.
After Qiao Qingchuan's affair was exposed, Jinse was like the first domino to fall, with various family scandals constantly being exposed, making the already unstable company even more shaky.
While onlookers are naturally delighted by this juicy gossip, the employees of Jinse, caught in the middle, feel a sense of unease, fearing that the company will be brought down by this dramatic turn of events and they will lose their jobs.
As Secretary Kim stepped out of the elevator, she was immediately surrounded by a group of middle-level managers gathered in the lobby.
"Mr. Jin, do you think Qiao Qingmeng is also using drugs? I feel like she has some mental issues."
"Mr. Jin, what is Mr. Qiao's attitude now? Will the stock price plummet like it did with Qiao Qingchuan this time?"
"Mr. Jin, what about the reporters? They're about to storm in."
Faced with the surging crowd like a tsunami, Secretary Kim was at his wits' end. His only remaining strength was Qiao An's words: "Even if the sky falls, Jinse will never collapse."
Secretary Kim first dismissed the reporters. Once they left, a slight breeze finally blew through the crowded entrance of the company, making things much easier from then on.
Department leaders notified their employees to gather in the main conference room, as Qiao An was going to personally convene an employee meeting.
As soon as the news was released, the group's employees rushed to the main conference room without a moment's delay. This was probably the first time Secretary Kim had ever seen the employees so enthusiastic about a meeting; it was practically witnessing a miracle.
Everyone waited in the conference room for about twenty minutes before Qiao An arrived. He calmly walked onto the stage.
Du Xiaoruo led Lele to a corner at the back of the conference room and sat down. Fortunately, everyone's attention was on Qiao An and no one noticed that they had also sneaked in.
Qiao An walked up to the stage and frowned slightly when she saw the setup.
Because of the tight schedule, Secretary Jin didn't have time to set up the stage, so she only placed a microphone in the middle. Thinking that it might be too tiring for Qiao An to stand and speak, she also placed a high stool.
This combination looks like Joan is about to host a stand-up comedy show.
He glanced at Secretary Kim sitting in the front row. Kim, who might get fired by the boss, was making a heart shape with her hands at him. The boss looked handsome today.
Joanne was utterly speechless. Giving up entirely, she sat down on the high stool, bent one long leg and placed it on the armrest, loosely holding the microphone in her hand.
"Hello everyone, I'm Qiao An. I'm calling this meeting today at the last minute, and I'm sure you can guess why. Yes, my family has another bombshell."
A simple self-deprecating remark effectively eased the tense atmosphere in the room, eliciting a burst of teasing laughter.
After everyone's laughter subsided, Joanne continued,
"I'm sure everyone has already seen the full story of today's gossip online. You might want to hear some firsthand information from the parties involved, but I'm sorry, I really can't do that. I've been attending my son's school activities all afternoon and haven't had time to gossip about my own situation. You probably know more than I do, so I have no comment on gossip."
The laughter intensified, and the employees were unconsciously drawn into Qiao An's emotions, which greatly reduced their worries.
"Okay, let's get down to business."
Joanne adjusted to a more relaxed posture.
"As everyone knows, Jinse's shares are now divided into two parts, with 47 percent in the hands of Qiao Qingmeng's mother."
At this point, Qiao An paused for a moment and muttered, "Why does it sound like an insult?"
Laughter erupted again, and this time even Du Xiaoruo laughed along.
Qiao An's ability to control the stage is truly amazing. You could tell he was anxious on his way here, but now that he's sitting on the stage, he's joking around in a lazy voice, as if everything is under control, making people unconsciously believe him.
"Now Jinse only has two shareholders. Jin Xizhen holds 47% of the shares, and I hold the remaining 53%. In other words, even if Jin Xizhen, Qiao Qingchuan, and Qiao Qingmeng all ruin themselves, I will still be the largest shareholder of Jinse. As long as I don't do anything stupid, Jinse will not die."
The topic Joan was discussing concerned the future and fate of the employees present, and everyone held their breath, waiting for him to continue.
The room was quiet as Qiao An spoke slowly and deliberately.
Du Xiaoruo sat below, observing secretly, and was truly impressed. If she had to speak in this situation, she would probably choose to leave Earth without hesitation.
Qiao Andao,
"Employees who have been with the company for a while probably know my story. The three of us, Secretary Kim, Yu Pan, Otto and I, started from scratch and worked our way up step by step. It took us six years of hard work before we were able to complete the acquisition of the entire company with the help of Ya Se's savings."
"I remember not long ago, a video went viral online in which I knelt down to change a female customer's shoes. The internet was in an uproar, with people saying that the president of Jinse was actually changing shoes for people himself, which broke their hearts and made them stop loving her."
"I found it hilarious when I saw it. So you don't love me anymore just like that? If you knew all my struggles, would you kill me? Because I ruined the image of the glamorous CEO in your minds?"
"The kind of CEO you fantasize about is the one in novels, who smiles wickedly and casually tosses a hundred million to a woman he doesn't love, just to stop her from flaunting herself in front of him? But I'm not like that. All my money is earned penny by penny. I not only personally change shoes for my guests, but I've also distributed surveys under the scorching sun. For a long time, I ate hamburgers for lunch. Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of sophisticated CEO who feels guilty even when eating carbs."
"I'm not saying this to elicit sympathy; I just want to tell you how hard-won Jinse's present is. I consider it half my life. Even if tomorrow's big news is that Jin Xizhen is going to remarry Guang Tou Qiang, that Qiao Qingmeng is actually Xiong Da Bian, and that Qiao Qingchuan's true identity is King Gigi, I will not waver in the slightest in my determination to defend Jinse. So are you reassured now? With me, your interests will definitely be protected."
Joan's speech was both hilarious and powerful, and quite brilliant. Some people at the scene couldn't resist uploading the recorded video to the company group chat.
After reading it, the people in the group posted the comment online.
The magic of the internet is that even before Joan finished his meeting, everything he said was simultaneously transmitted online.
Netizens, who had just finished watching Qiao Qingmeng's bombshell revelation, were almost laughing themselves silly over this.
[Jin Xizhen is going to remarry Bald Qiang, Qiao Qingmeng is actually Xiong Dabian, is Qiao Qingchuan really King Gigi? Is it true?]
[Upstairs, you're being ridiculous, I'm dying of laughter, hahaha.]
Now I understand why Mr. Ha wanted to acquire the company through his own efforts; it's because he's not Kim Hee-jin's son, which is why Kim Hee-jin suppressed him at every turn.
[I absolutely wanted to smash Jin Xizhen's head in. She even tried to get her own daughter involved to get a share of the profits after Qiao An completed the acquisition of Jinse's shares. It's disgusting.]
[Then I have a question: Why didn't Qiao An tell the truth back then? Qiao Qingmeng wasn't his twin sister at all.]
[To the lady upstairs: Qiao An just completed the acquisition of Jinse. Revealing such a bombshell at this time would only destabilize the company. Besides, people who reveal such information are usually seen as troublemakers. Like Qiao Qingmeng now, who revealed it herself but ended up looking like a clown. Qiao An is clearly much more adept at handling this now.]
The Qiao Family Manor is now in chaos due to Qiao Qingmeng's self-disclosure.
In the large living room, all the servants were dismissed, leaving only Kim Hee-jin and her two children. In the silent standoff, undercurrents were surging, as if the slightest disturbance would cause the world to collapse.
Kim Hee-jin never expected that the first thing her daughter, on whom she had placed so much hope, would do upon returning home would be to cause a major disaster.
Since learning about this, Kim Hee-jin has been in a state of shock, unable to tell whether she is angry or shocked, and simply doesn't know what to do. She is completely numb.
The tranquility of the living room was shattered by Qiao Qingchuan's roar. He slammed his fist on a hexagonal table in front of him and roared,
“I would rather die than acknowledge Zhang Hongge as my father. He is just a driver for the Jin family, a penniless man, a low-class person. What can he give me? I would rather die than acknowledge him. Even if I die, I will be a ghost of the Qiao family. Qiao Rukun is my real father.”
Jin Xizhen stood up and slapped Qiao Qingchuan hard across the face.
"You bastard, he gave you your life. If it weren't for him, you'd still be a wandering ghost."
Qiao Qingmeng seemed to sense Jin Xizhen's wavering, and she immediately began to fan the flames.
"Mom, shall we bring Dad back? Qiao Rukun is long dead, and nobody can control us now. Can't the four of us live our own lives from now on?"
To be honest, Kim Hee-jin dreamed of living openly and honestly with Jang Hong-ge, but she could never let go of the shackles of worldly conventions. She had lived with these golden shackles for decades, and now someone was suddenly telling her that she was free and could be with whomever she wanted. This was a huge shock.
Qiao Qingmeng's words were like a wake-up call.
Kim Hee-jin thought to herself, "I'm already abandoned by everyone and ridiculed by the entire internet, so what am I afraid of? Since everything has already been exposed, why not cherish the last moments of my life and enjoy some family time with Brother Hong?"
Love-struck minds think alike. Qiao Qingmeng had already understood Jin Xizhen's thoughts. What she needed to do now was to keep urging Jin Xizhen to confirm the fact that she and Qiao An were not related by blood.
Qiao Qingmeng said some nice things,
“Mom, please remarry Dad. Remove Qiao An from the Qiao family register, and from now on, only our family will be on the household registration. We will be a real family. After you pass away, I will arrange for you and Dad to be buried together, so that you can be together forever.”
"No, you mustn't do that, you witch."
Qiao Qingchuan leaped up and grabbed Qiao Qingmeng by the neck.
“I will not allow Zhang Hongge to come back. I will kill you first, then kill him. Neither of you can enter this house. Only my mother and I can live here.”
Qiao Qingchuan wasn't just talking; he really went all out. Qiao Qingmeng was being choked and couldn't breathe. Her face turned blue and purple as she desperately pounded on Qiao Qingchuan's hand.
Kim Hee-jin watched in horror, instinctively taking two steps back. Her back knocked over the display shelf, scattering various pottery pieces with a clattering sound. She finally let out a hoarse cry.
"Help! Help! Help!"
The butler, who was waiting outside the door, quickly led his men inside. They pried Qiao Qingchuan's hands off, but in his extreme anger, Qiao Qingchuan was incredibly strong, and it took several strong men to subdue him.
Qiao Qingchuan's eyes were red with anger. He was pinned to the ground, and he roared hoarsely.
"I'm going to kill you all. None of you will live. Only my mother and I will stay in this family."
Looking at Qiao Qingchuan's grotesque appearance, the housekeeper sighed and asked Jin Xizhen, "Madam, what should we do?"
"Take him back to his room and call the doctor to give him a sedative." Kim Hee-jin was trembling all over, and her lips quivered as she barely managed to give the order.
Qiao Qingmeng covered her neck with both hands and took several deep breaths of fresh air; she was finally alive again.
She heard the housekeeper call Kerr to tell him to come and give Qiao Qingchuan an injection, and Qiao Qingmeng felt a strong sense of pleasure.
Great, let's cut ties with Kerr in one go.
After that, she and Joan were no longer related by blood, and she was still single. Although Joan was married, it was only a marriage of convenience, and she was confident that she would win Joan over.
After finishing her meeting at the company, Qiao An drove Du Xiaoruo and Lele back to Chenxiang Apartment.
Room 2007 was quiet. The cameraman who had been there all along was not there, nor were Mu Hua and his group of third wheels. Today was a time completely for the family of three, which made people feel very relaxed.
It was getting late, and Du Xiaoruo was still worried that Qiao An hadn't had dinner yet.
Qiao An's stomach problems improved a lot after she received acupuncture treatment from Dr. Li. However, Dr. Li said that the illness is 30% treatment and 70% recuperation, and that she should neither overeat nor go hungry.
Back home, Du Xiaoruo first went to open the refrigerator to see what ingredients were available.
Knowing they were going home tonight, Secretary Kim arranged for fresh ingredients to be delivered in advance; the ingredients were quite plentiful.
Du Xiaoruo rummaged through the refrigerator and found some fresh wild mushrooms.
She turned her head and asked, "How about we have mushroom hot pot for dinner?"
Qiao An and Lele were already slumped on the sofa. The father and son had performed together on stage tonight, and it seemed like the stage had drained them dry; they were both exhausted.
"Don't work so hard, let's order takeout," Qiao An said, barely opening her eyes.
"I'm not tired. If you're too tired, go take a bath and you can eat when you come out."
As she spoke, she took out the ingredients for hot pot from the refrigerator, first simmering the broth with beef bones, and then washing the wild mushrooms and various vegetables.
Lele obediently got up to run the bathwater.
Joan lay sprawled on the sofa for a while longer before finally using her hands to prop herself up and stand up.
He walked over to the kitchen, leaned against the sink, and spoke to Du Xiaoruo.
"Once the live stream is over, have Secretary Kim find a reliable nanny. It's too tiring for you to do all this yourself."
Actually, Du Xiaoruo didn't really like having strangers in her home, but seeing how tired he looked, she was too lazy to argue with him and just nodded vaguely.
Lele ran into the master bedroom's bathroom to take a look, then ran out and called for Qiao An.
"Dad, the water's ready, let's take a bath."
"Um."
Joanne agreed and went into the master bedroom's bathroom.
He took off his shirt and looked at Lele, who was also taking off her clothes, with a look of disgust. "What are you doing?"
"Let's take a bath together," Lele replied matter-of-factly, quickly stripping naked and sliding into the bathtub like a little eel, letting out a comfortable sigh.
The bathtub in the master bedroom is very large, a jacuzzi that can accommodate three people, but Joanne never thought of taking a bath with a man; it would be too awkward.
Lele sank into the water and swam two laps like a little frog, then stared at Qiao An with her big, wet eyes.
"Dad, why won't you come down? Huang Longyu has bathed with his dad before, you're not disgusted with me, are you?"
Joan was clearly disgusted, but since Lele had already said so much, it would be too hurtful to leave now. A little awkwardly, she took off her clothes and went into the water.
He submerged himself in the warm water and watched Lele swim happily around.
The bathroom's huge floor-to-ceiling windows offer the best night view of Wencheng, with its bustling traffic and countless lights.
After you finish your bath, there will be freshly cooked food.
Joan closed her clear, gray-blue eyes. Thankfully, she now had a safe and stable home. If things were still like before, when a storm came, there wouldn't even be a place to take shelter.
Lele suddenly swam up to Qiao An and shoved its fluffy head into Qiao An's face.
"Dad, are you very happy today?"
Qiao An was caught off guard and had bathwater splashed all over his face. He disgustedly pushed Lele's big head away, "Aren't you annoying? Why are you being so dramatic, you grown man?"
Lele was already used to Qiao An's sarcastic remarks, and wore a nonchalant smile on her face.
"Because I am very happy, I hope you can feel this happiness too."
Qiao An didn't continue to argue with him, and nodded awkwardly. "Is being happy enough? You're being so pretentious."
After taking a particularly comfortable bath and changing into soft, clean loungewear, it felt as if all the fatigue had been washed away by the water, leaving my whole body feeling soft and comfortable.
In the kitchen, Du Xiaoruo had already prepared two small bowls of mushroom soup. Seeing them come out, she greeted them.
"Have some soup first, the dishes will be ready soon."
Qiao An sat down at the dining table, took out her phone, and sipped her soup while browsing today's news.
He came across several blog posts claiming that he and Du Xiaoruo were in a contractual relationship, and he knew with his toes that it was Qiao Qingmeng who was behind it.
It's probably because they've been showering each other with affection in Beibei Restaurant's live streams lately, making them seem like a contractual couple at all. Nobody believed these posts, and the comments below were all criticizing the blogger for shamelessly trying to ride on their popularity.
Upon seeing this, Qiao An had a sudden inspiration and said to Du Xiaoruo,
"Xiaoruo, some people online are saying that we are a couple under contract. I guess it was Qiao Qingmeng who spread the news."
Du Xiaoruo was indeed drawn to this topic. "No one should believe that, right?"
"Yes," Qiao said, pretending to look at the screen and composing a few comments herself.
"Some people say we're fake, and they didn't expect us to be fans for so long. They're disappointed."
"And this one too. I've gone from being a fan of Qiao An to hating him. He always seemed so dashing and handsome, and I was even deeply in love with him. I never expected him to do something as disgusting as a marriage of convenience."
Du Xiaoruo's expression changed. "Really? What should we do? Should we hire online trolls to suppress the comments?"
Qiao An suppressed a laugh. This little fool even knows about online trolls? How cute.
After a moment's thought, he said, feigning seriousness,
"Hiring online trolls isn't a solution either; it'll be even worse if we get caught. Starting tomorrow, we need to play the part of a loving couple and dispel the rumors."
Du Xiaoruo asked, "Then how do we act it out?"
"Well, let's do things that couples do, like wearing matching outfits, feeding each other, holding hands, hugging, and kissing."
Lele appeared secretly behind Qiao An without her noticing.
He stared at his phone and read aloud the comments under the blog post.
"This blogger has no bottom line when it comes to riding the wave of popularity, huh? If Mr. Ha and Xiaoruo are a couple in a contractual relationship, I'll eat my marriage certificate alive."
"I don't believe or spread rumors. The CP I ship is real."
"If being a contractual couple can be this sweet, then I wish I could get married sooner or later."
After reading a few lines, Lele loudly said to Du Xiaoruo, "Mom, don't believe his nonsense. This man just wants to deceive your feelings."
Du Xiaoruo pursed her lips, smiled, and turned her head to continue preparing the sesame dipping sauce for the meal.
Qiao An, furious, slapped Qiao Lele on the bottom and threatened her.
"I won't get my allowance next month."
Lele hadn't expected such a casual joke to have such serious consequences. He was stunned for a couple of seconds, then wrapped his arms around Qiao An's neck from behind and acted coquettishly.
"Please don't take away my allowance. I'm starting school next month and I need money. Please!"
Joanne remained unmoved.
After making a fuss for a while, seeing that Qiao An was as hard as a rock, Lele said in a huff,
"Your little elephant has grown fur all over, why are you still so childish? Is it fun to bully a child?"
"What?" Joan thought she had misheard.
Lele pointed to her belly and said, "Little elephant, Huang Longyu said that when a boy's little elephant grows hair, he's matured. I just saw that you've grown hair, so why are you still so childish?"
Joanne, "...I'm an elephant, okay?"
Hearing the bizarre dialogue throughout, Du Xiaoruo was so embarrassed she almost buried her head in the mushroom soup pot. Was this a matter of size? Shouldn't she be being positively guided in a situation like this? Oh dear!
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