She had called and messaged Zhao Jianhua, but he hadn't responded, as if he had completely blocked her.
People like him were indeed untrustworthy; he had deceived her again.
She decided she would never deal with someone like Zhao Jianhua again and would block him completely.
Feeling her world had gone quiet, she began to rethink her future.
She had lied to Ai Yifeng and dared not face him again, nor did she want to continue working at Aoxiang. But how could she investigate her father's affairs? She was at a loss.
She could only wait until her mother's surgery was over and she had recovered.
Yet, she couldn't stop thinking about Ai Yifeng, afraid he might contact her, but also hoping he would.
During these days of inner conflict, she hadn't received a call or text from Ai Yifeng.
One night, unable to help herself, she found herself missing Ai Yifeng. She carefully examined the silver chain on her wrist, noticing the two letters and the maple leaf, and understood its meaning.
She didn't want to continue feeling this miserable. She took off the silver chain, intending to put it back into the jewelry box.
When Ai Yifeng had given her the chain, he had also handed her the original jewelry box. On her way home, she had casually put it into her bag.
She found the bag she had carried that day, took out the jewelry box, and opened it. As she was about to place the chain inside, she discovered that the velvet lining where jewelry was placed could be moved.
She pulled aside the velvet lining and was surprised to find a bank card and a note inside.
Opening the folded note, she read, "Use the money in this card to pay for your mother's medical expenses. Don't go begging people like Zhao Jianhua anymore." The note was signed with a string of numbers, the password for the bank card.
She could no longer control herself, and tears streamed down her face. In a panic, she grabbed her phone to call Ai Yifeng, only to find his phone was out of service.
She was stunned, thinking she had dialed the wrong number. Wiping her tears, she redialed Ai Yifeng's number, but the voice prompt still indicated it was out of service.
She recalled his words during their last meal together. He had actually been saying his final goodbyes to her, and she hadn't realized it.
Only now did she understand that she might have lost this man forever. In a flurry, she put on her coat, not even changing her shoes, and rushed out of her rented room. She hailed a taxi and headed straight for Ai Yifeng's residence.
Arriving at Ai Yifeng's doorstep, no matter how hard she knocked, there was no response.
It wasn't until a neighbor returning from a night shift saw her repeatedly knocking and kindly said, "The gentleman who lived here has moved out. I saw him two days ago with two suitcases; he must have gone on a trip."
Xi Xianya's hand was still on the door as she murmured, "He's gone?"
The neighbor grunted and, not wanting to pry further, went into his own apartment.
Xi Xianya leaned against the door to steady herself, not expecting Ai Yifeng to be so resolute.
She suddenly thought of her colleagues at Aoxiang and called a colleague from the cleaning department with whom she had a good relationship, asking about Ai Yifeng.
The colleague replied somewhat bewilderedly, "You mean Manager Ai? I haven't seen him around the group. I don't know if he's quit."
Her heart sank further. Had he actually resigned?
It turned out he had planned to disappear from her life long ago. Only now did she truly realize she had completely lost the man who loved her.
...
In the following days, Zhao Jianhua hadn't even seen Zhan Jiayi, but he had no choice but to agree to all of Xie Corporation's terms.
The project he had worked so hard to obtain resulted in him only getting a meager profit, with all the benefits going to Xie Corporation.
Xie Zhendong was not in the corporation, but this woman was even more ruthless than Xie Zhendong.
He was furious and could only hope that Xie Corporation would be quickly absorbed by Huangfu Group, then they would see how long Zhan Jiayi could be so arrogant.
As for Xi Xianya, he had no intention of dealing with her.
For him, Xi Xianya had no further value. Whether those videos were kept or not was irrelevant; he had to first resolve the matter of signing with Huangfu Group.
After he signed the agreement with Xie Corporation, Xie Corporation finally sent back their network technicians, just in time to prepare the documents for the signing.
At the agreed time, he brought the relevant personnel to Huangfu Group and finally met the true person in charge, Huangfu Sisong.
In the conference room, Zhao Jianhua respectfully handed the prepared documents to Huangfu Sisong.
Huangfu Sisong smiled at him but didn't take them. Instead, he took out the proposal for building the online platform and instructed his assistant to tell him, "Just follow this proposal. I don't need to see anything else."
Zhao Jianhua glanced at the proposal given by Huangfu Sisong, not quite understanding it, and handed the document to a professional next to him.
The network technicians accompanying him all found the proposal to be excellent, but there were some technical issues they couldn't resolve.
However, they dared not voice this directly in the conference room.
Huangfu Sisong asked, "Can you create the online platform we need according to this proposal?"
The technicians dared not give a definitive answer, all lowering their heads in silence.
Zhao Jianhua quickly said, "Please rest assured, our company can handle any proposal."
"Are you sure?" Huangfu Sisong seemed to be asking him, but his eyes were fixed on the technicians he brought.
Zhao Jianhua subtly nudged the technician beside him, urging him to speak up.
The technician quickly said, "Yes, we can complete any proposal."
"That's good," Huangfu Sisong said. "If you cannot complete it, I suggest you can also subcontract it to Aoxiang Group's network company."
Hearing Huangfu Sisong mention Aoxiang, Zhao Jianhua felt very uncomfortable and said, "No, no need. Their network company cannot compare to mine."
Huangfu Sisong nodded with a smile and had his assistant bring out the contract, saying, "Then let's sign."
"Okay, okay." Zhao Jianhua took the contract drafted by Huangfu Group and handed it to their legal counsel.
Even if he wanted to align himself with Huangfu Group, he would have a legal professional review the contract, as these large groups were not to be trifled with.
After the legal counsel reviewed the contract, he quietly pointed out several points in the contract that Zhao Jianhua needed to pay attention to.
Zhao Jianhua, having been in the business world for many years, understood the legal counsel's meaning.
The contract stipulated that the online platform must be built according to the proposal provided by Huangfu Group. If it deviated from their proposed plan, Zhao Jianhua would not only not receive the final payment but would also have to pay a substantial penalty for breach of contract.
The legal counsel advised him to study the contract further before signing, especially to confirm whether the requirements listed by Huangfu Group in the contract could be met.
Zhao Jianhua, however, was dismissive and only asked the legal counsel, "Does the contract contain any hidden fraud or unreasonable terms?"
"No, there aren't," the legal counsel replied.
"Then it's fine."