Coveted for a Long Time 55

Chapter 55

Distinguishing between closeness and distance, Zhou Meihe had a scale in her heart long ago: son, husband, stepdaughter, in that order. If family assets were added, that would definitely be number one; the three people combined couldn’t compare to its importance.

Now that Qiao Jianliang was lying in a hospital bed unconscious and the company had no leader, a representative had to be chosen. She didn’t trust Qiao Jianliang’s confidants, nor was she willing to let Qiao Xi enter the company. After all, if Qiao Xi really took over, it would seal the deal on the will, making it as hard as ascending to heaven to change anything later.

Zhou Meihe’s willingness to swallow her pride and be a virtuous stepmother all this time was related to this. Qiao Xi had once revealed she didn’t want to take over the family company, only wanting to live her own life, indifferent to how Qiao Jianliang disposed of it. This was the key. If Qiao Xi was truly unwilling to inherit, what would Qiao Jianliang do when he got old? Would he really sell the company? Would he really be cruel enough to leave not a penny to the mother and son?

No.

What kind of person was Qiao Jianliang? When divorcing Mother Qiao, he generously gave away half his fortune without blinking an eye, even giving a bit extra. So generous to his ex-wife, how could he be bad to his current one? As long as Zhou Meihe lived her life well and peacefully, when that day came, she wouldn’t get less than her due.

Hearts are made of flesh. Qiao Jianliang wouldn’t be biased enough to give everything to Qiao Xi; he would give a portion more or less. Zhou Meihe counted on this, never fighting or grabbing, and agreeing to those prenuptial agreements, thinking that after getting married, things would change over time. Right now, her biggest fear wasn’t Qiao Jianliang not waking up, but Qiao Xi taking over the company. So she would rather let the Zhou family intervene; her maiden family was at least more reliable than a stepdaughter.

She completely failed to notice Qiao Xi behind her, chattering away on the phone.

Qiao Xi felt a fire in her heart. In a moment of impulse, she really wanted to go in, snatch the phone, throw it away, and see what kind of dregs were in her brain. But on second thought, she held back.

The more critical the moment, the less one should panic. She turned and went to the quiet end of the corridor with few people. Thinking for a moment, she called Qiao Jianliang’s two secretaries and immediately contacted the company’s senior management, trying to seize the initiative first. She didn’t know the tricks of doing business, but she knew what to do, unlike the brainless Zhou Meihe.

Fu Bei came back with dinner while she was on the phone. Not seeing anyone, she finally found her at the end of the corridor. At that time, Qiao Xi was still communicating with the company’s senior management, discussing countermeasures. Fu Bei hesitated for a moment, then stopped. After eating and visiting Qiao Jianliang outside the ICU, she asked Qiao Xi, “What do you plan to do next?”

Inside the ICU, Qiao Jianliang lay with weak breath. His face had lost its usual healthy color, lifeless and bloodless, looking weak and sick from afar.

Qiao Xi stared inside for a while, replying in a low voice, “Don’t know; we’ll see.”

Her personal ability was limited, and she had no prior contact. Whether she could support the entire company until the day Qiao Jianliang recovered was unknown. Usually used to slacking off, now with heavy pressure on her, it didn’t taste good.

Fu Bei had many things to say, but the timing was inappropriate. Seeing Qiao Xi’s dazed expression, she just stood with her for a while.

When Qiao Jianliang had the accident, Qin Si was the first to accompany Qiao Xi. If Zhou Meihe hadn’t returned to the compound, others wouldn’t have known yet. During the day, people came in droves to visit, but not a single one truly came to guard Qiao Jianliang. All gathered together offering verbal concern and condolences, just going through the motions; whether they cared or not wasn’t important. Qiao Xi saw through these people, so she didn’t greet anyone, extending her coldness to Fu Bei.

Neither spoke. Fu Bei accompanied her gently. In the latter half of the night, Zhou Lin and Zhou Meihe took turns guarding, and Qiao Xi could go back to rest.

The hospital was closer to the university town, so she went directly to Fu Bei’s place.

Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, Qiao Xi fell asleep. Fu Bei heated milk and entered the room, wanting her to drink before sleeping. Seeing this, she stopped, sitting lightly on the edge of the bed, putting down the hot milk, and turning off all the lights.

After a long time, she lifted the quilt and got in.

Qiao Xi slept deeply but not peacefully, waking up before dawn. No dreams, no fright, clearly still sleepy, but suddenly opened her eyes anyway.

She had lain flat before sleeping; waking up, she was on her side. Fu Bei was behind her, arms around her waist, pressing close. In such gloomy and cold weather, warm temperatures transferred between the two, comforting each other.

After resting for a few hours, Qiao Xi’s mental state improved significantly, and she gradually calmed down.

Things were set. Now there were two things to do: one was to take care of Qiao Jianliang until he woke up, and the second was to stabilize the company and not let anyone intervene.

She wasn’t sure she could stop Zhou Meihe. After all, after Qiao Jianliang collapsed, while still in the operating room, Zhou Meihe was already working on the company side, seizing the initiative. Currently, Qiao Xi didn’t know what Zhou Meihe planned to do. Yesterday on the phone, she instructed the secretaries to block any orders issued by Zhou Meihe. Zhou Meihe didn’t know this when leaving the hospital last night; she should know now, probably furious, definitely going to make a scene today.

Thinking of this, Qiao Xi moved her waist, pondering how to deal with it then.

Fu Bei hadn’t slept much all night, waking up when she moved. But not disturbing her thoughts, she waited three or four minutes before tightening her grip on Qiao Xi, pressing her thin lips against the fair, smooth back of her neck, asking in a weary, low voice, “What are you thinking about?”

First coolness on the back of her neck, then a warm touch, followed by wet heat, a trace of scorching. In the dark night, the person behind hugged Qiao Xi, using this intimate way to offer a little comfort.

Compared to yesterday, Qiao Xi was much better. Silent for more than a day, she finally responded, leaning back closer. After enjoying this warm comfort, she replied after a while, “Thinking about when to go to the company.”

Not hiding her plans.

Fu Bei had guessed long ago and made a decision. Her thin lips moved down a bit, her hand gently stroking the hibiscus flower, movements soft, caring for the other party, as if to merge into Qiao Xi’s heart.

These actions should be very lingering and ambiguous, inappropriate at such a time. But with tenderness added, the meaning was completely different, becoming a rare comfort amidst fatigue, barely relaxing Qiao Xi’s already tense nerves.

Thin lips moved, leaving kisses on the back of her neck one after another. Slender, distinct fingers roamed, soothing tension and anxiety.

Qiao Xi allowed it, closing her eyes, indeed relaxing a bit.

After a long time, Fu Bei turned her over, gathering her into an embrace, whispering, “I’ll help you…”

Qiao Xi didn’t respond, neither accepting nor refusing.

**

The morning sun was particularly dazzling, rays shooting in from the side of the high-rise, blindingly bright.

Qiao Xi went to the hospital as soon as it was light. Unexpectedly, arriving outside the ICU, she saw no one. Asking the nurse, she learned Zhou Lin felt a bit unwell, and Zhou Meihe took him home to rest, not returning since. Calculating, after Qiao Xi left last night, the mother and son hadn’t stayed here for even three hours.

Qiao Xi didn’t know what was wrong with Zhou Lin; she only knew no one was guarding Qiao Jianliang. At the very least, they should have called someone to take over.

Actually, with the patient in the ICU, family members could only watch helplessly, unable to do anything. Guarding was just guarding, playing no big role. But this didn’t mean everyone could leave. After all, in case of an emergency, doctors still needed family members to sign and make decisions, daring not decide privately.

Zhou Meihe arrived ten minutes late. Seeing Qiao Xi arrived first, her face heated up inevitably, explaining, “Little Lin had a low fever, so I sent him back to rest first, delayed a bit.”

Qiao Xi didn’t want to argue with her in the hospital, saying lukewarmly, “Next time you want to leave, call me over.”

Although not a word of blame, it was clearly accusing Zhou Meihe. For a moment, Zhou Meihe showed an awkward expression. “I told the doctor before leaving; didn’t leave for long.”

Qiao Xi didn’t make a sound, doing her own thing.

Seeing this, Zhou Meihe was ultimately dissatisfied, feeling a junior throwing a tantrum at her, an elder, was a bit bossy, making it seem like she did something unforgivable. Holding back anger for a while, she added, “We care about your dad too, no less than you. Now that this happened, no one wants it. I’ll do what I can. Since yesterday, I’ve only gone out twice, not even for meals. Little Lin was really unwell, and there was no one else around; I was worried, so I went to send him.”

Words reasonable and fair, contrasting Qiao Xi as unreasonable.

Usually, Qiao Jianliang’s favoritism towards Qiao Xi was obvious to all, blatantly good to this daughter. And what did Qiao Xi do? Even on Qiao Jianliang’s birthday, she arrived near mealtime, no gift, not even a word of blessing. Every time Qiao Jianliang went to Qijing Street carrying a pile of things, he returned empty-handed. Only when Qiao Xi was in a good mood would she walk Qiao Jianliang for a distance.

Anyway, in everyone’s eyes, this was what they saw. Qiao Jianliang provided food and clothing, raised her, treated her extremely well everywhere, and Qiao Xi was the annoying little ungrateful wretch, blaming Qiao Jianliang in the end.

Zhou Meihe had long held a grudge, thinking Qiao Jianliang was too biased and shouldn’t be so good to Qiao Xi. So when speaking, she carried a bit of resentment and sarcasm.

After saying this, she glanced sideways to observe Qiao Xi’s expression, thinking Qiao Xi would argue back. Unexpectedly, Qiao Xi didn’t even look at her once. She froze instantly, feeling like she was singing a monologue.

With one lying in the hospital bed and a pile of messy things to deal with, Qiao Xi was too lazy to pay attention to these.

Approaching noon, she drove to the company, taking over Qiao Jianliang’s work immediately, temporarily continuing work according to Qiao Jianliang’s previous arrangements. The secretaries were very competent, preparing early in the morning. As soon as Qiao Xi arrived, they organized an impromptu meeting.

Two secretaries, one surnamed Chen, the other Fang, were capable assistants under Qiao Jianliang, responsible for different directions. Daily arrangements were also made by them. Since learning about Qiao Jianliang’s accident yesterday, Secretary Chen re-formulated the schedule. They had worked by Qiao Jianliang’s side for many years, naturally knowing which side to stand on at this time. Zhou Meihe’s abacus clattered loudly, but unexpectedly, all her plans were blocked by these two.

The impromptu meeting was mainly to notify various departments that Qiao Xi would temporarily take over Qiao Jianliang’s position.

The meeting went smoothly. Including brief reports from various departments, it took an hour and a half in total. But what followed wasn’t smooth.

Qiao Xi was young, inexperienced, and couldn’t suppress the shareholders and senior management. People below inevitably had different ideas. Part of the board strongly opposed her taking office, the divergence particularly large, arguing on the spot. Progress was very unsatisfactory, but in the end, there was no choice. The board argued endlessly, but the minority obeyed the majority; more than half still supported Qiao Xi.

Things came to a temporary pause. But before evening, Zhou Meihe came causing trouble. She was relatively restrained, not making a scene outside. Entering the office to confront Qiao Xi alone, she questioned dissatisfiedly, “Why didn’t you discuss your decision with me?”

If someone in the company hadn’t secretly notified her, Zhou Meihe wouldn’t have known Qiao Xi moved so quickly. She was furious; while she was contacting shareholders, Qiao Xi pulled this move directly.

Qiao Xi was discussing matters with Secretary Chen—too many things she didn’t understand, needing guidance. Not even looking at Zhou Meihe, she finished the business first, asked Secretary Chen to leave, then looked up at Zhou Meihe. Still her usual languid appearance, but her eyes were sharp.

“Who’s guarding at the hospital?” she asked only.

Zhou Meihe’s face didn’t look good. “Little Lin is there.”

After speaking, she immediately asked the previous question again: “Such a big matter, you ran over directly; why didn’t you ask me first?”

Qiao Xi closed the document, saying unhurriedly, “Ask you what?”

One sentence choked Zhou Meihe. Feeling Qiao Xi’s manner was too aggressive, unlike her usual lazy and indifferent self, her lips moved. Racking her brains, she finally said, “The board—how could you be so reckless, gathering people without preparation? Usually, even your dad might not be able to handle that group. You doing this is messing around; what if something goes wrong?”

Words weren’t wrong; those old slickers were indeed hard to deal with. Acting rashly meant being unprepared and easily shaking the employees below. For any company, the leader is a very important role. Qiao Jianliang fell; before everyone could recover, someone suddenly parachuted in. Coupled with Qiao Xi unable to deter the senior management and shareholders, it was indeed impulsive.

But Qiao Xi had considered these long ago. No matter how ignorant of business tricks, Qiao Jianliang had chattered in her ear all these years; at least she knew more than Zhou Meihe. Whatever the board did, the final decision lay with the Qiao family; they couldn’t stir up too big a wave. The company having no one to preside over the overall situation was the key. If she didn’t come, those old slickers would go to the compound to find someone—if not her, then Zhou Meihe; one had to come out.

Qiao Xi wasn’t stupid. Qiao Jianliang was just in a coma, not dead. The will was now a piece of paper with little effect. As the legal wife, Zhou Meihe’s rights were no less than hers, the biological daughter. Making a scene would be hard to end; better to strike first and control the situation.

Now that she sat in this position, Zhou Meihe dared not do anything for the sake of the overall situation. Coming out to grab would be blatantly fighting for family assets, hard to explain when Qiao Jianliang woke up.

Qiao Xi glanced at her, eyes and brows tinged with hidden displeasure. “Those people kept contacting Secretary Chen. The company has a pile of things needing my dad to handle. He can’t come, so Secretary Chen called me to come.”

After saying that, lifting her eyelids, staring straight at Zhou Meihe, she continued, “Now the company is at a critical moment; the days ahead will be harder. Decisions were also made jointly by the secretaries. I’m not good at these; can only listen to them.”

As Qiao Jianliang’s right-hand men, the two secretaries’ decisions largely represented Qiao Jianliang’s decisions. Their choice explained the problem well enough. Zhou Meihe asked for a snub, and Qiao Xi wouldn’t save face for her.

Words were tactful, but slapped right on the face.

Sure enough, hearing these words, Zhou Meihe was instantly embarrassed. Running over like this now, certain thoughts were a bit too obvious. Qiao Xi saw through it but didn’t say it, stopping at the point, leaving the rest for Zhou Meihe to choose herself.

Just then, Secretary Fang knocked on the door, holding hot coffee in one hand and documents in the other. Respectfully delivering these to Qiao Xi’s desk, he then called out neither humbly nor arrogantly to Zhou Meihe, “Madam.”

Taking sides was already obvious.

**

Zhou Meihe quieted down for a few days.

Qiao Xi ran between the company and the hospital; the tattoo parlor closed temporarily. Now that the backbone was gone, she couldn’t retreat even if she wanted to.

Without any management foundation or business knowledge, her role in the company was to stabilize the overall situation, attending meetings when necessary. Other decisions were discussed and handled by senior management and the two secretaries; everything was relatively stable.

On the hospital side, Qiao Jianliang’s condition had gradually stabilized, looking okay for now. The doctor was responsible, informing Qiao Xi of matters big and small. Generally, surviving the initial period meant gradual improvement later. Qiao Jianliang’s recovery was not bad; waking up shouldn’t take too long. Anyway, it was relatively optimistic so far.

Qiao Xi’s heart landed, barely relaxing.

However, smoothness was only temporary. Just as good news came from the hospital, a problem arose in the company the next day.

The issue happened at an important dinner. Originally, Qiao Jianliang should have attended, but with his accident, only Qiao Xi could go. The other party was a middle-aged man in his forties, surnamed Lu, looking decent. At first, he spoke politely, but after a few glasses of alcohol, he changed, no pleasant words coming out of his mouth.

Qiao Xi didn’t understand drinking table culture. At first, under Secretary Chen’s hint, she barely endured. Until later, she pulled a long face directly.

Boss Lu became greasier in middle age. Drunk and muddled, thinking a little girl was easy to bully, two out of three sentences were teasing with his so-called male chauvinism.

Qiao Xi gripped her glass tightly, holding back her outburst.

Boss Lu pushed his luck, eyes smiling into slits, drawling, “How old is the little girl?”