Ai Yifeng did not detain her. As they parted, he took a jewelry box from his pocket and gave it to her, saying, "We've been seeing each other for some time, and I haven't given you a gift yet. This isn't very valuable, please accept it."
Xi Xianya did not take his gift. She just stared at the small jewelry box, thinking she couldn't accept anything from him.
He opened the jewelry box and said, "It's a silver bracelet, not worth much. Please take it. When I'm not around, seeing this bracelet will remind you of me."
Xi Xianya smiled sadly and said, "Okay." It would be nice to have a memento.
Seeing her agree, Ai Yifeng put it on her wrist for her, then drove her to the hospital entrance.
As she got out of the car and waved goodbye, he smiled and said to her, "From now on, no matter how difficult things get, don't do anything reckless, especially don't trust others easily, understand?"
Xi Xianya was slightly taken aback by his words and immediately replied, "I understand. I won't be so foolish again."
"Go on, take good care of your mother. Goodbye." Ai Yifeng kept smiling as he watched her enter the hospital, then he drove away.
Setting aside their romantic entanglement, he himself had once faced a predicament similar to Xi Xianya's. He decided to help her to the best of his ability, so why bother with the gains and losses of emotion?
He stopped thinking about it and decided to focus all his energy on his work, which he was good at.
...
Her mother was in a three-person ward. She tiptoed to her mother's bedside, trying not to disturb the other patients.
Her mother, who had not yet fallen asleep with her eyes closed, sensed someone's arrival. She opened her eyes and saw Xi Xianya sitting beside her, her eyes red. She couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here so late? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend?"
"Mom, I don't have a boyfriend. Don't guess. How are you feeling lately?"
"You, you still want to hide it from me. You're definitely dating," her mother said with a smile, turning her head to look at her. "I'm fine. It's so boring staying in the hospital every day. I could at least help you cook at home."
Xi Xianya thought to herself that she was hardly in a position to have a normal relationship. She reached out and pulled the blanket up for her mother, saying, "Mom, the doctor said that although it doesn't look like much, if the brain tumor blocks a blood vessel, the consequences will be severe. You can't take it lightly."
"Alright, stop nagging." Her mother's sharp eyes spotted the new bracelet on her wrist and asked, "Oh, when did you buy such a bracelet? What's hanging on it?"
Xi Xianya said casually, "I bought it while shopping one day. It's just silver."
Her mother, however, carefully examined the letters hanging on her bracelet and said, "A 'Y', an 'F', and a maple leaf in the middle. What does it mean? Your initials shouldn't be these two letters."
"Mom, you really have too much time on your hands. It's just a random chain I bought. The merchant made it like this, what meaning could it have? It's just for fun," Xi Xianya coaxed her mother.
Her mother hummed and lay back down, saying, "I don't understand these things young people like anymore. I'm old."
"Mom, let's talk about something important. I want to transfer you to a well-known neurosurgery hospital in another province for surgery..."
Before she could finish, her mother interrupted, "Don't bother. This hospital is fine. I'll stay here. I don't want to go to another hospital."
"Mom, I know you're used to it here, but I want to live somewhere else. Please come with me to that hospital out of town," Xi Xianya said, leaning by her bedside and acting spoiled.
Her mother stroked her head and asked, "Xiao Ya, did something bad happen to you? Did the boyfriend you're dating bully you? Tell me what's going on."
"No, I'm just tired of staying in Lancheng and want to go somewhere else," Xi Xianya said, feeling utterly exhausted.
Her mother said softly, "But your father is buried here, and our roots are here. I'll stay here. If you want to go out and explore, you can. If you miss home, you can always come back."
"Mom, if you don't go, I won't leave either. I'll stay with you." Xi Xianya hugged her. She realized she had been so focused on escaping this place of sorrow that she had forgotten her father's death had not yet been investigated. It was truly unfilial. She abandoned the idea of taking her mother to another province.
She didn't want to go anywhere that night and stayed in her mother's ward. However, she noticed that Zhao Jianhua hadn't contacted her. Would he go back on his word?
She had clearly helped him get the bottom price for Aoxiang. With Aoxiang losing the bid this time, he should have won it.
...
After rewatching the company's surveillance footage, Xiao Anjing discovered that Xi Xianya had interacted with Ai Yifeng several times on the top floor, and their encounters seemed unusual.
Furthermore, two nights before the bid, Xi Xianya went directly to the floor where the network department was located after work. However, the surveillance on that floor had coincidentally malfunctioned that night, so what exactly happened after she went to the network department remained unknown.
Qin Tianyi listened and said, "That makes sense. Besides the two of us, only Yifeng knew the reserve price for the bid. He was checking and confirming the bid documents that day, and he was the one who sealed the final bid document with the price in the envelope. The reserve price must have leaked from him."
"Logically, he valued this bid more than we did. He shouldn't have let anyone else see the reserve price," Anjing still couldn't understand how Yifeng could have done such a thing.
"He intentionally showed it to Xi Xianya. The coincident malfunction of the surveillance was likely related to him as well. It seems their relationship is more than ordinary," Tianyi sighed. "We overlooked it. When Xi Xianya couldn't find an opportunity with us, she would target others."
"Oh no, has Yifeng also become Zhao Jianhua's man?" Anjing slapped his thigh and exclaimed. "But he already left headquarters for the branch company yesterday."
"No, he's probably just doing it for Xi Xianya," Tianyi analyzed. "If he had been swayed by Zhao Jianhua, he wouldn't have chosen to go to another branch; he would have stayed at headquarters."
"That's true." Anjing asked, "So, should we report them to the police now? Xi Xianya has also resigned, so it seems she won't be coming back to the company."
Tianyi crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "Forget it. Let's just consider this matter over. Don't mention it to Yifeng. Just act as if we know nothing."
Anjing nodded, understanding that his decision was for Susu's sake.
"Since Xi Xianya has resigned, it means she won't be doing any more shady dealings for Zhao Jianhua. We don't need to worry too much about the loss of this project," Tianyi added.
Anjing had also calmed down these past few days and shifted his focus to other projects.
Their handling of the situation was considered their utmost kindness to Xi Xianya, hoping she would conduct herself with integrity in the future.
...
Since her mother was unwilling to go to another province, Xi Xianya decided to have the surgery for her mother at the hospital in Lancheng.
She had already confirmed the surgery date and planned to take care of her mother in the hospital during the day and sing at a bar at night to support their livelihood.