As Li Ziqing and Chen Xiao entered, the receptionist stiffened, lowering her head as if she had done something wrong.
"Mr. Li."
She called out timidly.
"You can go out first."
Li Ziqing frowned and waved her hand.
The receptionist, as if granted a great pardon, walked out.
Li Zijian grinned at her, making a phone gesture: "Pretty lady, let's keep in touch via phone~"
The young assistant blushed, not daring to respond, and scurried out.
"How did you become like this?"
Li Ziqing's frown deepened.
"What do you mean, like this?"
Li Zijian was flippant, blowing at his bangs, with a devil-may-care attitude. "Don't tell me you want me to stay the way I was before? Fat and silent, wouldn't that be unpleasant for you to look at?"
"At least it's better than you are now."
Li Ziqing said coldly.
"Alright, sis, I think I'm fine the way I am now. Just don't worry about me... If I had stayed the same, I wouldn't even be able to get a girl, unlike now!"
Li Zijian looked smug, showing off his phone to Li Ziqing, "I've already gotten Ms. Wang's number, how about that, not bad, right?"
Chen Xiao was speechless.
This kid was truly beyond redemption. Given his relationship with Li Ziqing, any employee of the company would rush to curry favor with him.
Was getting a phone number something to brag about?
"Alright, let's get down to business. Why are you here to see me?"
Li Ziqing's face showed impatience. If it weren't for the impression of an honest child that the former Li Zijian had left on her, she would have already kicked him out.
"Nothing much, I just heard your business is doing very well now, so I came to take a look."
Li Zijian crossed his legs, looking up and down at the reception room as if it were his own home.
"Honestly, what are you really here for?"
Li Ziqing's patience was wearing thin.
"Sis, I want to discuss something with you."
Li Zijian's eyes suddenly lit up. "I want to join your company and help you out. Just give me a vice president position."
"What can you do? You ask for a vice president position right off the bat. Have you even looked at yourself?"
Li Ziqing looked at Li Zijian with a cold smile. "If you're here to talk nonsense, then get out immediately!"
"Oh my, sis, why are you getting angry while we're talking?"
Li Zijian had a roguish grin. "I was just kidding, don't be so scared. I know this company was built by you from scratch, and it has nothing to do with us. I'm not here to snatch your company. Honestly, in a small place like Jiangcheng, tsk tsk tsk, I wouldn't even come if you made me the mayor. It's much more comfortable staying in the capital!"
"How much longer are you going to talk nonsense?"
Li Ziqing's delicate eyebrows furrowed. If Li Zijian's next sentence was still nonsense, she would immediately call security to escort him out.
To her, Li Zijian wasn't even considered family.
"Fine, I won't talk nonsense anymore. I'll get straight to the point then..."
Seeing that Li Zijian and Li Ziqing were getting serious, Li Zijian quickly said with a proper expression, "Actually, it's like this. I'm also doing business now, and I recently encountered a good project that's a sure win. Now I'm short of a well-funded partner. Why let outsiders benefit from this good money-making opportunity? Don't you think so?"
"I'm not interested."
Li Ziqing refused before Li Zijian could even extend his invitation. "How many times do I have to ask before you tell me the truth?"
Business, good projects, Li Ziqing didn't believe a single word Li Zijian said.
"Alright."
Li Zijian sighed, looking dejected. "I'm sorry, sis, I'm truly at my wit's end..."
Li Ziqing narrowed her eyes. This kid was finally telling the truth.
"Tell me, what exactly is going on?"
Li Ziqing said leisurely, scrutinizing Li Zijian as if he were a subordinate.
"Is he your bodyguard? Can you ask him to leave first?"
Li Zijian glanced at Chen Xiao and said.
"No!"
Li Ziqing refused without hesitation. "Besides, he's not my bodyguard, he's my husband."
"So it's brother-in-law. Where does brother-in-law work?"
Li Zijian asked with a playful grin.
"Jiangcheng Hospital."
Chen Xiao replied indifferently.
"Hospital? A doctor?"
Li Zijian exclaimed immediately, as if his tail had been stepped on.
"Sis, why did you find a mere doctor to be your husband? Your social statuses clearly don't match!"
"Who I find to be my husband has nothing to do with you!"
Li Ziqing glared at Li Zijian. "If you say one more irrelevant thing, I'll have you thrown out immediately."
"Also, don't call me sis. Your father severed ties with our family a long time ago. In principle, we are strangers."
Li Ziqing said sternly.
"Heh heh, sis, you're such a jokester. That was ages ago, why are you still holding a grudge? We're blood relatives after all, connected by bone and sinew. If you truly don't recognize me as your brother, you wouldn't have listened to me talk nonsense for so long, right?"
Li Zijian was all smiles, not taking Li Ziqing's words seriously at all.
Li Ziqing thought to herself, not only am I holding a grudge, but I also want revenge.
The only reason she was willing to listen to Li Zijian's nonsense was to find out the recent situation of those people.
"Let's get to the point! Why did you say you were at your wit's end?"
Li Ziqing emphasized again.
"Sis, sigh!"
Li Zijian let out a long sigh. "This time, only you can help your little brother..."
After Li Zijian's narration, Li Ziqing understood what was going on.
It turned out that the good-for-nothing Li Zijian had come to her for help because he had incurred gambling debts. If he didn't repay them within three days, the creditors would chop off his hands and feet.
"That's it?"
Li Ziqing's interest waned after hearing him out. "Alright, you can leave now."
"Huh? Leave?"
Li Zijian was dumbfounded. "Sis, aren't you going to help me?"
"Why should I help you?"
Li Ziqing said as a matter of course. "Are we very close?"
"No, sis... You're so rich now, my gambling debt is just a drop in the bucket for you. You wouldn't just watch me get my hands and feet chopped off, would you?"
Li Zijian was anxious. He hadn't expected Li Ziqing to truly refuse to help.
"I am indeed rich now, but why should my money be spent on a good-for-nothing like you?"
Li Ziqing sneered. "Besides, your hands and feet getting chopped off has nothing to do with me. Even if you were killed and your corpse lay in the street, I wouldn't feel a shred of pity for you."
Li Ziqing harbored a natural hatred for the Li family.
If Li Zijian were still the honest and simple child he used to be, Li Ziqing might have saved him once out of sympathy.
But in his current state, Li Ziqing couldn't find any reason to convince herself to help him...