Liu Tianquan watched his sister’s retreating figure, his cheeks trembling slightly, then turned to look at Du Zhaoji:

“Zhaoji, you don’t feel any resentment at all?”

“Why should I feel resentment?”

“Losing to Zhaohui… he’s uneducated while you studied business at a prestigious university… hehe, perhaps I’m too narrow-minded to understand the deep brotherly bond between you and your elder brother.”

Liu Tianquan was trying to provoke him, but unexpectedly, Du Zhaoji remained calm.

Instead, Liu Tianquan himself grew angry.

These young beasts were all difficult to deal with.

How could Liu Tianquan understand Du Zhaoji’s thoughts?

Angry?

What was there to be angry about?

He hadn’t lost to Du Zhaohui—Shengrong Plaza wasn’t even Du Zhaohui’s creation. Using people effectively? Hah, Du Zhaohui was just a supervisor.

Du Zhaoji looked at the neighboring table; he had lost to Xia Xiaolan.

Everyone praised his youth and capability, always mentioning his prestigious business school background.

Xia Xiaolan was equally young!

Unlike the knowledge he had absorbed since childhood, how had this woman from a remote mainland village acquired such skills? Could business acumen be innate? Xia Xiaolan hadn’t even studied business in university—she majored in architecture!

Though Du Zhaohui had cheated by relying on others’ abilities, Father still declared him the winner.

This was favoritism.

With such bias, how could there be fairness?

No matter how much he achieved, he would never receive fair treatment. This wasn’t a new realization, but today’s outcome had merely confirmed it again. Because he was mentally prepared, Du Zhaoji hadn’t completely broken down emotionally, but instead sat steadily in his place—did those people think Du Zhaohui had won? No, the real competition was just beginning.

This woman Xia Xiaolan couldn’t possibly help Du Zhaohui forever.

She wasn’t Du Zhaohui’s woman after all!

Du Zhaoji’s stare was too obvious; Xia Xiaolan felt his gaze, and their eyes met.

Du Zhaoji even smiled at Xia Xiaolan, making her shudder.

What kind of situation had she gotten herself into?

Had Du Zhaoji looked past Du Zhaohui and targeted her instead?!

Indeed, though the 10 million Hong Kong dollars had been easy to accept, it brought endless troubles.

That fool Du Zhaohui was still smiling carelessly, making Xia Xiaolan feel very troubled.

The Second Concubine and Liu Keying, who had left one after another, returned.

Though keeping their distance, Liu Keying seemed somewhat dazed.

She looked at Xia Ziju, then at Xia Xiaolan, and finally at Du Zhaohui… why hadn’t she figured it out earlier? Such a despicable move was indeed something Du Zhaohui would do.

After all, Du Zhaohui had received the 5% group shares; whoever benefited most must have been behind it!

Liu Keying nearly ground her teeth to powder.

“Brother, I’m not feeling well, please take me home!”

Liu Tianquan also didn’t want to stay and watch Du Zhaohui’s moment of glory. As the siblings left their seats and exited the hotel, the paparazzi waiting outside weren’t as restrained as the reporters inside. They rushed forward with their cameras:

“Fourth Madam, what’s the situation inside?”

“Fourth Madam, we heard Mr. Du distributed shares today. Does Mr. Du have retirement plans to hand over the company to his son?”

“Fourth Madam, are the rumors about the 5% group shares wager true, and who won today?”

“It’s the eldest young master! There’s the latest news from inside—the eldest young master won!”

“Fourth Madam, what are your thoughts? We heard you don’t get along with the eldest young master…”

Liu Tianquan and the bodyguards protected Liu Keying, finally breaking free from the paparazzi’s encirclement. These reporters asked questions without any regard for their subjects’ feelings. Liu Keying, already on the verge of explosion, grew even more furious.

In the car leaving the hotel, her expression remained terrible.

“Did the Second Madam say something to you?”

Following the Second Concubine to the bathroom and returning with such an expression—Liu Tianquan understood his sister’s situation.

Liu Keying slapped the seat:

“What did she say? We were completely fooled by that little beast Du Zhaohui. Vivi wasn’t from the second family at all; she was deliberately arranged by Du Zhaohui for Mr. Du. The little beast used a woman to make me suspicious of the second family, destroying our alliance!”

“Vivi is Du Zhaohui’s person? How is that possible!”

Liu Tianquan could hardly believe it.

The siblings had been misled by their habitual thinking.

Du Zhaohui despised all the women around Du Shengrong, believing his mother’s early death was related to Du Shengrong’s promiscuity, although Du Zhaohui’s mother had poor health, to begin with, and childbirth had greatly depleted her energy, leading to her passing when Du Zhaohui was just a few years old.

But perhaps with less stress, she might have lived a couple more years.

Du Zhaohui resented every woman who appeared beside Du Shengrong.

Conversely, his existence hindered the concubines from fighting for their children’s interests, so naturally, they disliked him too.

Both sides detested and fought each other endlessly. The Liu siblings never imagined Du Zhaohui would think of sending a woman to Du Shengrong!

Liu Tianquan rubbed his hands, “Never mind about Vivi for now. The little beast is cunning. Having gotten 5% of the shares, his next step will be to squeeze us out and deal with us.”

“How can I not care? Sending Vivi to Mr. Du was already his way of dealing with me. Vivi stole Mr. Du’s affection for me. Without Mr. Du’s protection, Du Zhaohui can deal with me as he pleases—Brother, you haven’t forgotten what you did to Du Zhaohui, have you? This time, we must not only strike first but strike fatally. If we don’t kill Du Zhaohui first, I won’t be able to eat or sleep in peace.”

Liu Keying was both angry and afraid.

Liu Tianquan also made up his mind—Du Zhaohui couldn’t be allowed to live.

But the second family telling Keying the ‘truth’ now was also trying to use others to kill their enemy. Liu Tianquan wasn’t foolish enough to clear obstacles for the second family.

“We can’t rush. The more hurried we are, the more mistakes we’ll make. If there’s even a tiny error in this matter, both of us siblings are dead! Du Zhaohui will stay in Hong Kong for several days this time. I need to find the best opportunity.”

…

“Director Xia, are we staying at this hotel?”

No feast lasts forever. After Du Shengrong finished distributing the ‘red packets’, this year’s Shengrong Group Spring Banquet came to an end.

Xia Ziju seized the opportunity to leave with Du Shengrong, linking arms with him as the paparazzi at the hotel entrance photographed them intensely. Xia Xiaolan, however, couldn’t be bothered to move, having Young You book rooms directly at the banquet hotel.

“Those 5% shares weren’t easy for Young Master Du to get. With our limited influence, it’s better not to move around too much. Staying at this hotel is fine.”

Though the Spring Banquet was over, Du Zhaohui still had much to do.

He needed to accept the 5% share transfer and establish his presence within the Shengrong Group, suppressing those who opposed him.

These weren’t things Xia Xiaolan could do on his behalf.

In fact, with Du Zhaohui winning the competition and the Spring Banquet ending, she had fulfilled her promise made when accepting the 10 million Hong Kong dollar consulting fee—when Du Shengrong announced the 5% shares belonged to Du Zhaohui, her partnership with Du Zhaohui had officially ended. She was no longer Du Zhaohui’s ‘consultant.’