Chapter 163: Chapter 34 Xiang Yunsheng: Sun Dasheng Has His Eyes on My Other Daughter?_2
Faced with a wall of scrutinizing eyes, Guan Shan quickly made his escape.
Did he not want to be the manager, only the deputy? Of course not. But he had no connections in the company. For someone without connections, reaching the deputy manager’s position was already the peak of his abilities. To think about climbing any higher would be pure fantasy. He was self-aware.
Didn’t these people understand? They understood perfectly. They just wanted to push a scapegoat to the front lines as a shield.
None of the managers in this company were decent people. Their hearts were all black.
「At the main entrance of Block A, Starlight Building.」
Xiang Yunsheng wore a look of despair. He had just come from General Manager Wu’s office, tasked with a daunting mission: to go to the neighboring company and offer a humble apology to Sun Dasheng, seeking reconciliation.
The company’s cash flow was currently limited, and there were so many projects yet to be launched. There wasn’t enough ammunition for their department to engage in a bidding war to poach employees. The top priority was to win the other party’s forgiveness, even if it was only temporary, and get them to stop poaching exclusively from his company. It would give the company a chance to catch its breath.
There are plenty of other internet companies looking to downsize. Why pick on us? The logic was sound, but if he went, would the enemy even listen to his reasoning?
Because of the layoffs and the events that followed, their relationship was completely ruined. Going there to apologize now felt like serving himself up on a platter.
In the end, he lost his nerve. He ditched work halfway through the day and went home.
When he opened the door, he found his son and daughter were both home. He was somewhat surprised.
He set down his briefcase and asked, "Why aren’t you two at school today?"
Their university was close to home, so they were day students. However, they usually only came home in the evening, as they were supposed to be at school during the day. Seeing his daughter’s evasive eyes, he knew that damned son of his must have done something wrong again.
Just as he was about to unbuckle his belt, his son, Xiang Shaohua, hurriedly confessed.
"Dad, we didn’t mean to skip class! We had a minor traffic accident on the way to school this morning, and we spent the entire morning at the traffic police station dealing with it. We just got back and were about to have lunch before returning to school."
"Is that true?" Xiang Yunsheng asked, directing his question not to his son, but to the daughter beside him. He only trusted his daughter’s word.
"Dad, brother isn’t lying to you this time. It’s true," Xiang Zixuan affirmed, dispelling his doubts.
"Dad, why are you home at noon? Is everything okay at work?" his daughter asked, pouring him a cup of tea.
"Yeah, I had to come back to handle something."
Xiang Yunsheng gratefully accepted the tea and gulped it down. It was good to have such a caring "little cotton-padded jacket" at home.
It looked like a home-cooked lunch was out of the question. His wife wasn’t home.
He decided to take his son and daughter out for a meal. He chose a Western restaurant near his company; his membership card still had a lot of money on it. It was a perfect chance to treat his children to a nice meal.
It was peak lunchtime, and the place was crowded with a long line outside. But that wasn’t a problem. He had a VIP card and could skip the line.
However, someone pulled out an even higher-ranked VVIP card and cut in front of him.
Is Mercury in retrograde today? Why is everything going so wrong? Let’s see which jerk cut my line.
When he turned to look, his neck stiffened and his expression froze. It was the person he least wanted to see these days—Sun Dasheng. And next to him was the second person he least wanted to see—Ouyang Jiani.
He had already figured it out; she was the one relentlessly poaching his staff, a critical blow that had left him in an impossible situation.
"Oh, isn’t this Manager Xiang? What a coincidence. You’re here to eat too?" Sun Dasheng greeted him.
Xiang Yunsheng didn’t want to respond, but remembering General Manager Wu’s words, he managed to squeeze out a forced smile.
"Da Sheng, long time no see. I’m glad to see you’re doing so well for yourself."
"Oh? How glad are you?" Sun Dasheng asked.
PFFT! Ouyang Jiani, standing beside him, burst out laughing. Her Master sure is savage, but she loved it.
Xiang Yunsheng fell into an awkward silence, but the person beside him spoke up.
"So, Uncle Sun, you really do know my dad?"
Xiang Yunsheng’s "little cotton-padded jacket" had just saved him from the awkwardness. Sun Dasheng nodded at her and led his young apprentice inside to dine.
Only then did Xiang Yunsheng breathe a sigh of relief, his gaze softening as he looked at his daughter. He then realized his useless son had vanished.
"Where’s your brother?" Xiang Yunsheng asked.
"The line was too long. He ran into a friend and left," Xiang Zixuan said, covering for her brother.
In truth, her brother had sensed the tense atmosphere when he saw the confrontational looks between his father and Sun Dasheng, and had promptly slipped away.
"That little rascal... never mind him. Let’s go in."
Just then, a table opened up, and the father and daughter went inside.
Once they were seated, Xiang Zixuan voiced the question that was on her mind. "Dad, it seems like there’s some tension between you and Uncle Sun?"
Xiang Yunsheng didn’t answer her. Instead, after they ordered, he asked her a question of his own: "How do you know him?"
Given what had happened before, he had to be on guard. He had already lost a "daughter" to that man’s influence. He couldn’t let the only "little cotton-padded jacket" he had left fall for his tricks.
Uh... can I even talk about this? Telling Dad that my brother took me to a bar where I met him? Wouldn’t that be selling my brother out? No way.
She had no choice but to tell a small lie, claiming their second meeting place was their first. Well, it’s not a complete lie. That part did happen.
"My brother took me to play a murder mystery game, and that’s where I met him."
For someone who had never lied before, she felt flustered, but she still narrated the day’s events in detail. Since it was 99% truth mixed with 1% falsehood, Xiang Yunsheng didn’t detect anything amiss.
"Hmph! Stay away from him from now on," Xiang Yunsheng said, still dissatisfied. "That place is shady, full of riffraff. You’ll find all sorts of people there."
"I’ll deal with him properly when we get home."
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He wasn’t angry that his son had taken his daughter to such a place, but that they had run into that damned Sun Dasheng there.
"Oh," Xiang Zixuan replied, sitting there obediently.
"I’m not talking about you," Xiang Yunsheng said, a rare smile appearing on his face. "I know you’re the best-behaved one in the family. Remember what I said: don’t go out with your brother so much, and stay far away from that Sun Dasheng."
"Okay, Dad, I understand," Xiang Zixuan nodded dutifully.
But inwardly, her curiosity about the man only grew.
What Xiang Yunsheng didn’t know was that when a woman becomes curious about a man, the results can be disastrous. He had no idea that his own words were pushing his daughter one step closer to that very man.
「At seven in the evening.」
Sun Dasheng arrived at the lounge as invited. The "Little Witch," Yang Xintian, was waving at him from her table. Sitting beside her was another girl, one he had met just that day: Xiang Zixuan.
Sun Dasheng took a seat curiously. He took the drink from the owner, Wang Manman, with a word of thanks, then turned his gaze to Yang Xintian. What kind of trick is this little witch trying to pull?
"Uncle Sun, I invited you here today because I need a favor," Yang Xintian said, getting straight to the point.
"You’re always so much trouble," Sun Dasheng grumbled.
In front of Xiang Zixuan, she leaned in and whispered something in his ear.
Sun Dasheng looked at her with a strange expression. You little witch, is this the only trick you know? Then again, it works on me every time.
"Alright then, speak up. What is it?" Sun Dasheng asked after taking a sip of his drink. He knew he would be drinking, so he had taken a taxi instead of driving.
"Let Zi Xuan tell you herself. This is about her," Yang Xintian said, nudging Xiang Zixuan toward him.
Xiang Zixuan felt nervous in his presence. It was the first time she had been so close to him, and when she caught his pleasant masculine scent, her face flushed an even deeper shade of red.
"Just tell me what’s on your mind. Tian Tian is like my niece, and since you’re her good friend, I consider you a niece as well. Whatever it is, just say it," Sun Dasheng said gently.
"Well... Uncle Sun, I sense there might be a misunderstanding between you and my dad, could you..."
So, she’s here to plead her father’s case. That’s non-negotiable.
But he didn’t want to make the timid girl cry. He softened his tone. "This is a matter between us adults. It has nothing to do with you children, so don’t get involved."