“Young Master Du has a good memory. We have indeed met before.”

This was the Cheng Rong Group, and Xia Xiaolan wasn’t intimidated at all.

Du Zhaoqi’s smile widened, “It was my mistake. Although I had met Miss Xia before, I mistook her for merely a decorative vase. If I had known Miss Xia’s capabilities earlier, we could have become friends sooner!”

At the private auction, he had thought Xia Xiaolan was Tang Yuanyue’s companion.

While she was beautiful, it had nothing to do with Du Zhaoqi, so why would he have bothered to investigate Xia Xiaolan’s background?

In America, when Xia Xiaolan was with the Chinese delegation, Du Zhaoqi assumed she was there because of Zhou Cheng.

Only after failing to acquire the production line did he start investigating Zhou Cheng and Xia Xiaolan’s situation.

If he had known earlier that Du Zhaohui had such a capable assistant, he would never have been so careless. Xia Xiaolan looked like a decorative vase, yet her actions had nothing to do with being decorative.

She was extremely deceptive, causing people to stumble without even realizing it…

Xia Xiaolan smiled broadly, “It’s never too late to become friends, wouldn’t you agree, Second Young Master? By the way, when I met you in America last time, I saw an old friend working as your assistant. Now that you’re in Hong Kong, I’d like to catch up with her. Would it be possible for you to arrange a meeting?”

“Miss Xia must be referring to Ye Xiaoqiong. I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. Ye Xiaoqiong has resigned from her position, and I don’t know where she is now.”

Du Zhaoqi lied without changing his expression, and Xia Xiaolan naturally didn’t believe a single word.

Ye Xiaoqiong hadn’t even completed her revenge; she wouldn’t have resigned.

“I see. If Ye Xiaoqiong contacts you again, please let her know I’m looking for her. I won’t take up any more of your time now, you must be very busy today!”

Xia Xiaolan moved aside to let Du Zhaoqi enter the elevator.

Of course, Du Zhaoqi was busy. This man wouldn’t give up competing with Du Zhaohui until the very end.

The 5% stake in Cheng Rong Group was too valuable, and given what these shares potentially represented, how could Du Zhaoqi be willing to give up now?

When Du Zhaoqi told such obvious lies, Xia Xiaolan didn’t get angry.

After he left, she asked Ah Hua, “Does your Young Master have a way to find Ye Xiaoqiong?”

“As long as Second Young Master hasn’t sent her out of Hong Kong, we’ll help Miss Xia find her even if we have to turn Hong Kong upside down.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “That would be perfect. Hopefully, today’s Spring Banquet will keep Du Zhaoqi occupied.”

She wasn’t fully confident in relying solely on Du Zhaohui. In Hong Kong, Xia Xiaolan could also ask Xu Zhongyi for help.

Xu Zhongyi hadn’t given up his identity as “Master Qiu,” and after learning about this matter, he told Xia Xiaolan to wait patiently for news. He would send someone to inform her of any developments.

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried about Du Zhaoqi temporarily detaining Ye Xiaoqiong.

Mere detention would be fine, at worst preventing Ye Xiaoqiong from communicating with the outside world.

She was afraid that Du Zhaoqi might lose control and do something extreme… Ye Xiaoqiong was someone with strong self-esteem. Xia Xiaolan wasn’t worried about other things, just that Du Zhaoqi might mentally humiliate her. Someone like Zhou Yi might not even realize when they’re being humiliated, but Ye Xiaoqiong was sensitive and thoughtful, already tense from her pursuit of revenge. Any humiliation would be adding frost to snow for Ye Xiaoqiong!

Why did Xia Xiaolan make this trip?

When she discovered that Ye Xiaoqiong had locked all the ‘evidence’ in a bank safe deposit box instead of giving it to Du Zhaoqi, Xia Xiaolan could roughly guess Ye Xiaoqiong’s thought process.

Behind this single action lay so many of Ye Xiaoqiong’s internal struggles.

Bai Zhenzhu had asked Xia Xiaolan why she wanted to help Ye Xiaoqiong, and even now, Xia Xiaolan’s thoughts hadn’t changed.

She liked self-reliant people, regardless of gender.

Within her capabilities, Xia Xiaolan was willing to lend such people a helping hand.

Moreover, if Ye Xiaoqiong had just followed Du Zhaoqi’s wishes, she would still be comfortably serving as his special assistant, not “missing”… This girl hadn’t been completely blinded by revenge, unwilling to involve too many innocent people, which probably led to her disagreement with Du Zhaoqi.

Having the courtesan give the key to Xia Xiaolan was also a statement.

Perhaps Ye Xiaoqiong felt that if her revenge would involve so many people, she should give the decision-making power to Xia Xiaolan.

The more Xia Xiaolan analyzed it, the more she wanted to sigh:

“What a foolish girl. No wonder she was bullied before. How could she not think that after I get the ‘evidence,’ I might not care about her survival? Who would come to save her?”

Xia Xiaolan wasn’t joking; she seriously warned Little You, “You must never learn from her. It’s better to rely on yourself than others. People should always help themselves first, not place their last hope in others’ conscience!”

Little You usually listened to Xia Xiaolan, but this time she objected:

“Her trust in you is justified. If I were in that situation, I would also choose to give the evidence to you!”

Ye Xiaoqiong had previously taken a big detour, walking many wrong paths, but had finally come to her senses at the last moment.

If it were You Li, she would have chosen to cooperate with Xia Xiaolan much earlier. She blindly worshipped Xia Xiaolan, firmly believing that no matter how difficult things got, as long as President Xia was willing to help, there would always be a solution.

If President Xia couldn’t handle it, that would be truly hopeless.

President Xia was truly a good person!

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t take it anymore, “Little You, just focus on learning secretarial skills, don’t learn from some people’s flattery.”

Ah Hua felt inexplicably guilty. Was he one of those “some people” President Xia mentioned? Probably not, he was Young Master’s bodyguard, not a secretary. Right, she wasn’t talking about him.

Little You felt wronged, “President Xia, I’m speaking from my heart. You are a good person.”

“…Alright, I get it. Let’s end this topic here.”

Xia Xiaolan felt uncomfortable.

It wasn’t that she feared subordinates’ flattery, but when subordinates flattered with such sincerity, she couldn’t help wanting to give them a raise!

Xia Xiaolan didn’t stay long in Du Zhaohui’s office because Du Chengrong’s secretary came down to personally invite her up:

“Miss Xia, I apologize, but Chairman Du requests your presence. Are you available now?”

“Requests me?”

“Yes, because Young Master and Second Young Master got into an argument about you, Chairman Du said…”

Heh.

She knew coming to Hong Kong wouldn’t be so easy and comfortable!

On someone else’s turf, she should at least show respect to the host. Du Chengrong’s wishes deserved Xia Xiaolan’s attention.

“Let’s go then. We shouldn’t keep Chairman Du waiting.”

Miss Xia was agreeable, which naturally pleased the secretary, who led Xia Xiaolan back the same way. This time, neither Ah Hua nor Little You were allowed into the office; only Xia Xiaolan entered alone.

Du Zhaohui and Du Zhaoqi were both standing. Du Chengrong pointed to the chair in front of his desk:

“Miss Xia, please sit, please sit. This was originally a Du family matter, yet we’ve troubled Miss Xia to make this trip. I deeply apologize!”

“Chairman Du is too kind. It’s my honor to meet with Chairman Du again… May I ask what Chairman Du means?”

Xia Xiaolan was a guest, not someone called to the office to be lectured by Du Chengrong. Even if Du Chengrong hadn’t asked her to sit, she wouldn’t have remained standing.

Sitting in the chair, Xia Xiaolan only needed to concern herself with Du Chengrong’s opinions.

Du Chengrong looked at Du Zhaoqi, “I’ve invited Miss Xia as you requested. If you have anything to verify with Miss Xia, say it quickly. Miss Xia is our guest, mind your attitude!”