After Du Zhaohui figured out this connection, he gained more confidence in Xia Ziyu’s plan.

But immediately after came deep regret!

If he had known this earlier, why would he have antagonized Xia Xiaolan? While nothing could be done about Xia Ziyu who had already smuggled himself to Hong Kong, Xia Dajun couldn’t be kept around anymore. In front of Tang Yuanyue, Du Zhaohui didn’t mention that Xia Xiaolan’s birth father worked under him, restraining his impulse to order A-Hua to handle the matter.

Seeing Tang Yuanyue looking quite pleased, Du Zhaohui couldn’t understand:

“If Xia Xiaolan is Mayor Tang’s stepdaughter, wouldn’t that make it inconvenient for Brother Tang to make any moves?”

A farmer’s daughter from the mainland versus the Special Zone Mayor’s stepdaughter – they couldn’t be treated the same way. It wouldn’t matter if it were officials from other mainland cities, but looking at Tang Heng’en’s situation, he was likely to continue putting down roots in the Special Zone. One wrong move could affect their investments in the Special Zone!

Tang Yuanyue glanced at Du Zhaohui:

“Zhaohui, I genuinely like Miss Xia. If I pursued her when she had no background, why wouldn’t I pursue her if she’s truly Mayor Tang’s stepdaughter? My family wouldn’t object either.”

After all, the Tang family wanted to develop on the mainland.

After the Sino-British agreement, Hong Kong’s wealthy either wanted to flee or learn from the richest and get closer to the mainland government.

The Tang family hadn’t decided their final stance yet. If they could establish a foothold on the mainland, there would be no need to flee.

As for marriage alliances, why not with Mayor Tang?

Tang Yuanyue was pleased to hear this news, though whether Xia Xiaolan was actually his stepdaughter still needed confirmation, but it seemed ninety percent likely.

Far from backing down, Tang Yuanyue became even more interested.

Du Zhaohui was speechless. With nothing more to say, he made an excuse and left first.

With Tang Yuanyue gone, Du Zhaohui’s face darkened: “A-Hua, go investigate. I want to know the exact situation.”

What he heard from Tang Yuanyue might not be reliable, and Du Zhaohui was reluctant to accept this reality. Xia Xiaolan had always been cold to him, and her rise to prominence wasn’t good news for Du Zhaohui!

A-Hua accepted the command and left.

He returned after two or three hours:

“Young Master, there’s an eighty percent chance the news is true. Whether she’s his stepdaughter isn’t certain, but Miss Xia Xiaolan was definitely at the wedding. Everyone present said she looked very similar to Mayor Tang’s female companion, and many guests heard Mayor Tang say he was attending with his family… He only brought two people with him, so Miss Xia Xiaolan must have been considered family.”

When exactly they had become family, A-Hua couldn’t discover.

Looking at Xia Xiaolan’s development trajectory, Mayor Tang’s influence was evident throughout.

Whether he had officially married Xia Xiaolan’s mother didn’t matter much – Xia Xiaolan had undeniably received Mayor Tang’s care.

A-Hua kept his head down, thinking that Xia Dajun was probably finished this time.

Sure enough, Du Zhaohui flew into a rage, “That good-for-nothing Xia Dajun has ruined everything for me! Is he still collecting a salary for doing nothing at the company? Tell him to pack up and get out immediately!”

Du Zhaohui was deeply pained.

Why didn’t Mayor Tang favor the Cheng Rong Group? Was it because his sincerity wasn’t enough?

Bah, it was clearly because of that good-for-nothing Xia Dajun’s connection.

Du Zhaohui was furious, realizing that every time he met with Tang Heng’en, seeing him must have reminded the mayor of Xia Dajun working under him, hardly making for pleasant encounters… Du Zhaohui suddenly remembered he had even brought Xia Dajun to meet Mayor Tang once, at Yangcheng Airport.

“Young Master, wouldn’t it be too obvious to just kick him out directly?”

After all, Xia Dajun had “saved” the young master’s life – it was under this pretext that he had been keeping a sinecure position with high pay. A-Hua worried that the young master might regret acting in anger… What would others say? Would they call the young master ungrateful?

A-Hua’s reminder made Du Zhaohui think. He looked at A-Hua with appreciation:

“I wasn’t wrong about you – you’re truly loyal! Others would have taken this chance to get rid of Xia Dajun, but you considered my interests first, not just your own. Well done, A-Hua! Tell me, how should we handle that good-for-nothing Xia Dajun?”

Du Zhaohui had long grown impatient with Xia Dajun, keeping him on the payroll only because he had saved him twice. It was about buying loyalty and encouraging other subordinates to protect him in dangerous situations like Xia Dajun had.

Everyone knew about this, so he couldn’t just drive Xia Dajun away directly.

A-Hua thought carefully before cautiously suggesting: “Young Master, do you remember Ke Yixiong? That gangster from Yangcheng.”

Du Zhaohui nodded: “I remember you mentioning him. That guy’s quite clever, seized one opportunity, and started his own business in Pengcheng.”

“He’s taken on some of our company’s projects, so he’s semi-affiliated with us. Since Xia Dajun has been doing nothing in the office, we could say his back injury has healed and you want to give him real work. Let him deal with Ke Yixiong, and when Ke Yixiong finishes the company’s projects, he can take Xia Dajun with him.”

This was better than directly expelling him. A-Hua, considering their shared background as bodyguards, was offering Xia Dajun another path.

If Xia Dajun could do some real work, he might earn his keep under Ke Yixiong.

Of course, Ke Yixiong couldn’t offer such high wages – Xia Dajun would have to readjust to a normal worker’s life.

A-Hua had previously arranged for Xia Dajun’s brother and niece to work at Ke Yixiong’s construction site, and he’d heard they were doing well there. Adding one more Xia Dajun shouldn’t be a problem.

Du Zhaohui was delighted, patting A-Hua’s shoulder:

“You’ve arranged this very well. Let’s do it according to your suggestion!”

“Do you want to see him yourself?”

But Du Zhaohui had no patience for that.

Seeing that good-for-nothing just made him angry. Why should he kindly remind him that his ex-wife was now with the mayor and that he should watch himself?

Du Zhaohui had never been a kind person.

With anger in his heart, he hoped Xia Dajun would suffer too – he definitely wouldn’t warn him!

A-Hua worked efficiently, finding Xia Dajun at the company the next day.

Xia Dajun looked more spirited than before, and A-Hua could only think that ignorance was indeed bliss:

“Dajun, you seem happy about something?”

Xia Dajun replied with three parts restraint and seven parts showing off, “Yes, there’s good news at home. My wife is pregnant.”

A-Hua couldn’t bear to look at him, “Congratulations, that’s wonderful news! Dajun, your life is enviable – remarried to a young wife, and now expecting a child!”

It’s quite an achievement to remain foolish for an entire lifetime.

Well, Xia Dajun wouldn’t have any interaction with the Mayor for the rest of his life anyway. Now with his new wife pregnant, living a peaceful life with his family wouldn’t be bad. A-Hua cleared his throat:

“It’s like this – previously you needed to recover from your injury, so the young master didn’t assign you any formal work. Now that you’ve recovered, staying idle not only causes office gossip but is also a waste of time. The young master wants to give you some real work. Would you be interested?”

Xia Dajun’s face flushed with excitement:

“The young master wants me back by his side? My injury healed long ago – I can walk, run, and jump. I can handle anything!”

To prove his words, Xia Dajun lifted the nearby office desk, and A-Hua showed a gratified smile:

“…Very good!”