People say prostitutes have no feelings and actors have no loyalty.

But in Xia Xiaolan’s view, this courtesan that Ye Xiaoqiong found was quite righteous.

What was wrong with being a prostitute?

Prostitutes are people too, and like all people, they have their thoughts. Until the final moment, you never know what choices they might make.

Ye Xiaoqiong was smarter than Xia Xiaolan had thought. She had carefully laid her plans and chosen this particular courtesan, spending who knows how much effort to win ‘He Shiyuan’ completely to her side.

A pleasure-seeking courtesan, hired for money, choosing to help Ye Xiaoqiong even at the cost of her remaining payment – this showed Ye Xiaoqiong’s success in dealing with people.

Xia Xiaolan took the key and asked He Shiyuan:

“Did Ye Xiaoqiong say anything else besides telling you to give me the key?”

“I’m waiting for her next instructions. If she doesn’t contact me, I’ll keep stringing Yuan along. Manager Xia, please find Miss Ye quickly. I find that Yuan fellow more disgusting by the day – sleeping with him is worse than serving customers!”

He Shiyuan spoke bluntly, and if the situation weren’t so serious, Xia Xiaolan might have laughed.

As successful as Ye Xiaoqiong was, Yuan Han was equally unsuccessful – even a paid actress among courtesans despised him.

“Bear with it a little longer. Put your TVB acting class skills to use – surely you can manage to string along a contemptible man?”

That was true.

He Shiyuan, receiving this acknowledgment, was quite pleased and was pacified by Xia Xiaolan.

After she left, Xia Xiaolan took the key to the bank.

Opening the safety deposit box, she understood why Ye Xiaoqiong had hidden these things.

This “evidence” was quite interesting – what did Du Zhaoqi want to do, use them to drag everyone down?

The Du family’s mess truly showed that bad bamboo couldn’t produce good shoots. She had previously thought Du Zhaoqi took a different path from Du Zhaohui, but perhaps provoked by Du Zhaohui’s despicable moves, the Second Young Master Du was turning to the dark side as well!

“What a terrible move by Du Zhaohui, trying to give Xia Ziyu to his father as a concubine!”

Xia Xiaolan wanted to curse every time she thought of this. She still couldn’t understand why Xia Ziyu wanted to investigate Liu Fen.

Now she was even more confused.

Originally thinking it was Xia Ziyu’s idea, but looking at this “evidence,” perhaps Du Zhaoqi was involved too?

Maybe he wanted to use Comrade Fen to find a way to get close to Old Tang.

If Du Zhaoqi dared to target Old Tang, he must be completely insane, utterly losing his basic judgment due to Du Zhaohui’s provocations!

Ye Xiaoqiong must be in trouble.

But why?

Probably because she and Du Zhaoqi had different opinions – Ye Xiaoqiong wanted to apply the brakes, but Du Zhaoqi disagreed.

This was Xia Xiaolan’s only guess. Whatever Du Zhaoqi planned to do, if Ye Xiaoqiong had fully agreed, this evidence wouldn’t have been locked in a bank safety deposit box but would have been given to Du Zhaoqi.

Xia Xiaolan suspected that Du Zhaoqi had restricted Ye Xiaoqiong’s freedom, preventing her from contacting the outside world.

Why not control He Shiyuan too, allowing her to return to Pengcheng to spread the news – was Du Zhaoqi trying to lure her to Hong Kong?!

Knowing there’s a trap ahead, to jump in or not?

Du Zhaohui laughed at Xia Xiaolan’s foolishness, but she wasn’t the type to act on impulse.

After seeing the contents of the bank safety deposit box, she immediately contacted Old Tang.

Tang Hongen was accompanying Liu Fen in rural Yunan and would return to Pengcheng in a few days.

“Go ahead, I don’t believe the Du family would dare do anything to you.”

Only with Old Tang’s permission did Xia Xiaolan dare to go to Hong Kong.

The second call was to Zhou Cheng.

Zhou Cheng’s response was similar to Tang Hongen’s: “If you want to go, then go. I’ll come along and take a look too. It won’t take long, and even if Uncle and the others find out, they’ll handle this matter.”

Zhou Yi was born to collect karmic debts, and because of her, Zhou Wenbing and Jiang Hong always felt guilty about Ye Xiaoqiong.

Zhou Cheng was coming!

With this assurance, Xia Xiaolan felt much more secure. With Chengzi around, she feared no danger.

This was why she had the confidence to travel with Du Zhaohui. Du Zhaohui understood nothing but thought Xia Xiaolan trusted him… for him, it was a wonderful misunderstanding.

Early on February 5th, Xia Xiaolan, accompanied by Little You, crossed the border with Du Zhaohui.

Du Chengrong sent people to receive his eldest son.

Xia Xiaolan smiled:

“It seems you’ve pushed the Du family to their limits this time, even Chairman Du is worried about your safety.”

When had there ever been a father welcoming his son, shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Du Chengrong wasn’t usually this loving, typically taking a hands-off approach with his children. His sudden concern for Du Zhaohui probably had only one reason – warning the restless Du family members not to harm Du Zhaohui.

Du Zhaohui snorted: “Of course, he can’t bear to see me die. If I die, he won’t find a more excellent son than me. Even if his most beloved Fifth Concubine gives birth to that flesh in her belly, it would take 20 years to cultivate them into talent!”

The old man couldn’t wait that long.

When he was young, he was a penniless wastrel who could barely feed himself, let alone take a wife.

Yet he remained picky, having high standards for women. He didn’t marry Du’s mother until his thirties and was already 38 when Du was born.

This year, the old man was 65 – living another 20 years to reach 85 seemed unlikely!

Though Du Zhaohui was hoping for his father’s early demise, he only dared to say such things in front of Xia Xiaolan. Arriving safely in Central, Du Zhaohui’s face was all smiles.

Two company veterans were waiting at the entrance. Du Zhaohui called them uncles, and they were very pleased:

“Zhaohui, you’ve made us proud this time. We’ve heard about the big waves you’re making in Pengcheng even here in Hong Kong!”

“Yes, Zhaohui doesn’t need to study abroad to take over…”

“Hahaha!”

These people didn’t even try to hide their intentions.

They had been increasingly marginalized over the years. As the Cheng Rong Group grew larger, more professional managers were brought in. These veterans who had helped Du Chengrong build his empire were rough men – Du Chengrong only let them collect dividends, not participate in group management.

When Du Zhaoqi returned from abroad, his foreign business school credentials immediately won recognition from most of the company’s current management. These veterans didn’t want Du Zhaoqi in power – Du Chengrong might still feel some old loyalty, but what old ties did Du Zhaoqi have with them?

But Du Zhaohui was different. They had watched him grow up and got along better with him.

This time Du Zhaohui had created such momentum with ‘Cheng Rong Plaza,’ with 5% of the group’s shares at stake. These veterans were all delighted, hoping Du Zhaohui could seize power in one move!

Xia Xiaolan observed all this and secretly shook her head: these people supporting Du Zhaohui were also indulging in unrealistic dreams. Du Zhaohui’s low education level didn’t mean he would employ these veterans.

Any company wanting to develop needs to keep up with the times.

– Whoever doesn’t strive to keep pace with the era risks being eliminated!