She carefully put Xie Qining's letter away and then proactively called Xie Zhendong.
He answered, asking in a gentle tone, "Are you out of the hospital? I've been a bit busy lately, so I haven't visited. I've been staying at a hotel next to the group's headquarters."
Zhan Jiayi didn't complain. "I understand. You focus on your work, and I won't bother you. Now that I've recovered, I want to return to a normal life. Can I still work at Xie's Group?"
Xie Zhendong didn't answer immediately, a moment of silence ensued.
Zhan Jiayi added, "I feel very depressed when I overthink things at home. If I had something to do and my life was more fulfilling, perhaps it would be better..."
"Alright, you can come to work anytime," Xie Zhendong agreed. "I'll have the HR department arrange some light tasks for you first."
"Okay, I'll do as you arrange." Zhan Jiayi really didn't want to be alone in this house anymore. "Can I go to work tomorrow?"
"I'm glad you're able to bounce back so quickly. Come when you're ready." Xie Zhendong hadn't visited Zhan Jiayi because he didn't want to dwell in his grief.
However, he strongly approved of her being able to pull herself together and wanting to resume a normal life.
"Then you must be busy. I won't keep you any longer," Zhan Jiayi said, hanging up first.
After experiencing so much, she understood that at any time, she could only rely on herself and shouldn't fantasize about having someone to depend on.
Whether it was parents, siblings, or loved ones... no one would be there for you to lean on forever.
Only by relying on oneself and being strong could one overcome any obstacle.
Xie Zhendong, in his office, put down his phone and sighed, feeling that Zhan Jiayi was indeed different from ordinary women.
Her ability to emerge from her grief and think about returning to work was something he greatly admired.
Now, there was no turning back between him and Feng Rou. Even if Zhan Jiayi couldn't have children in the future, his age made it difficult for him to have more children, but these things didn't matter.
He admired her and still loved her. As long as he could get custody of Jiejie, he and Zhan Jiayi would raise Jiejie together. Jiejie would become an excellent heir in the future.
After he had spoken to Sasha about this last time, Sasha still hadn't replied.
He didn't know what Sasha was considering. He would give her a few more days. If she considered his and their child's future, there was no reason for her not to agree to these terms.
At this moment, his phone rang again, breaking his thoughts. He saw it was Zhao Jianhua calling.
"Mr. Xie, the matters you assigned are all handled. That batch of goods has been transferred to Aoxiang Group through an intermediary."
"That's good," Xie Zhendong asked, "Are you sure they didn't discover anything?"
"Absolutely not," Zhao Jianhua said with certainty.
Xie Zhendong grunted and was about to hang up.
Zhao Jianhua quickly said, "Mr. Xie, regarding the new project you helped our company develop, we've encountered some technical difficulties. Could you have your group's technical personnel come and help us solve them?"
"Oh, this matter, no problem. I'll have the technical department send someone over tomorrow."
"Thank you, thank you."
Xie Zhendong didn't waste any more words with him. This time, he had let him gain quite a bit for free.
...
An Jing took Xiaoxiao to Alva's place and stayed at Alva's home for two days, observing the situation in his household.
Alva's family background was indeed very good, and his wife was also a gentle woman who didn't dislike Xiaoxiao.
Alva also told him some things about his family and his own past.
Actually, his mother was his father's first wife. At that time, they were well-matched, and both his parents had noble bloodlines.
But later, his father fell for another woman.
His mother was unwilling to tolerate this, and when he was a teenager, she divorced his father and left the family with him.
His mother raised him and supported his education on her own. At that time, he and his mother were not well-off, but their lives were still quite happy.
Later, when his mother fell ill, he decided to study medicine. However, he didn't attend a formal medical school, but instead chose to major in medicine at the community church school where they lived.
He was working in the hotel's medical office during the time his mother was critically ill. All the money he earned was used for his mother's medical treatment, so his life was very difficult then.
But when Shu Yan tried to humiliate him with money, he remained strong and refused to accept it.
Shortly after his mother passed away, his father found him, hoping he would return home and become the family heir.
At first, he was unwilling to go back and harbored some resentment towards his father.
When his father called him home, he had already divorced his second wife and realized that the woman he had married later didn't truly love his father, but was only after his family's wealth.
However, his family members would not allow the children of that woman to be heirs, as their family had always followed the tradition of inheritance by descendants with the most legitimate bloodline.
An Jing couldn't believe that in this era, people still talked about legitimate bloodlines, as if it were the Middle Ages.
"Then how does your family determine what is a legitimate bloodline? Through blood tests?"
Alva knew An Jing found this absurd and smiled wryly. "Not through hospital blood tests, but by checking if there's a natural birthmark on the arm."
Saying this, he rolled up his left sleeve to show An Jing the birthmark on his arm, a clear deep red.
An Jing thought of the birthmark on Xiaoxiao's arm. Its shape was indeed similar to Alva's, but it wasn't as deep in color or as clear.
"So, Xiaoxiao is also a legitimate descendant of your family?"
Alva nodded. "Yes, but this birthmark isn't very obvious when she's young. When Xiaoxiao grows up, the birthmark will be like mine."
An Jing fully understood now and said, "So, you eventually returned to become the heir."
"This is probably my destiny, I can't escape it," Alva said. "So, rest assured, Xiaoxiao will be treated like a princess here. Everyone in our family will protect and love her."
Only then did An Jing truly feel at ease. He figured Xiaoxiao would be better off with Alva than with him, able to be a noble and inherit everything in the future.
Therefore, despite his reluctance, he bid farewell to Alva early in the morning and left.
As he left, he thought Xiaoxiao was still asleep, so a formal goodbye wouldn't be too heartbreaking.
In reality, Xiaoxiao had sensed he would leave quietly. From her bedroom window, she watched his retreating back, crying and resenting him in her heart.
She didn't understand why he had to abandon her, just because she wasn't his biological daughter, and his wife didn't like her!
His words of love and treating her as his own daughter were all lies, all deceit!
In his heart, his wife and child were still the most important.
Xiaoxiao felt she would never trust anyone again. The only person she could trust in this world was herself!