"Oh, then take me to the garden here," Tianyi suggested.
Susu agreed, "Okay, I'll go find a wheelchair and take you out to breathe some fresh air."
Tianyi nodded. Susu quickly found a wheelchair and pushed him to the small garden belonging to the hospital room.
Having stayed with him for a few days in this private hospital, she hadn't noticed how nice the environment was.
In winter, the pine and cypress trees were lush and green, and there were some cold-resistant flowers. Unfortunately, Tianyi couldn't see anything now.
Susu pushed the wheelchair and accompanied him on a tour, telling him about the year-end meeting hosted by Ao Xiang. Suddenly, she remembered something and said, "Oh dear, Yi Feng gave me some documents, but I forgot to bring them when I rushed to the hospital."
Tianyi tilted his head up, feeling the good sunshine today, his whole body warmed by it. He smiled and said, "Even if you brought them, I wouldn't be able to see them."
Susu's heart trembled. She squatted by his wheelchair and said, "I can read them to you."
"How confident is the expert An Jing found about the surgery?" Tianyi asked abruptly.
Susu smiled and lied, "The confidence should be quite high, otherwise he wouldn't have personally invited them."
"Mm," Tianyi said calmly, "That's good. Before the surgery, I still want to stay at home. Can you let me stay home for a few days?"
"Given your current condition, it's better to stay in the hospital. Think about it, if there's an emergency, there won't be any delay..."
"Susu, I know you're all doing this for my own good. But even if the expert An Jing invited is very skilled, there's no hundred percent guarantee. Before the surgery, I just want to spend more time with the children." Tianyi wasn't throwing a tantrum; he was serious. He knew the probability of the surgery's success very well.
Susu felt sad, but she couldn't refuse him. "I'll go ask the doctor for their opinion and see how An Jing's progress is. If it's possible, we'll go home first."
As she spoke, she placed her hand in his palm, slowly overlapping the gaps between their fingers, clasping them tightly. She then pressed her face against the back of his hand.
He stroked her hair. How could he bear to leave her? But life was unpredictable, and he had to prepare for the worst.
Susu wished time could stand still at this moment, so she could accompany him like this forever.
...
The news that Qin Tianyi and Xiao Anjing had not attended Ao Xiang's most important annual year-end meeting quickly reached Xie Zhendong's ears.
He had someone investigate. Xiao Anjing had suddenly gone abroad a few days ago, saying he was going to see his wife and daughter.
As for Qin Tianyi, he was reportedly resting at home with a severe cold, and his wife had hosted the meeting in his stead.
Their actions left Xie Zhendong utterly perplexed. Had the bidding been postponed, and were they devising some new scheme?
Qin Tianyi was indeed a formidable opponent. He couldn't afford to be careless any longer and let them seize another opportunity to outmaneuver him.
He thought for a moment and decided to have someone from the Qin family visit Qin Tianyi's residence under the guise of a visit to find out if Qin Tianyi was actually at home or if he was using some trick.
After he made these arrangements, he realized it was almost noon, and Xie Qining still hadn't appeared before him.
He pressed a button on the desk phone and asked the secretary outside the door, "Did Xie Qining report to the HR department?"
The secretary replied fearfully, "Mr. Xie, not yet... he hasn't reported."
"Unacceptable!" Xie Zhendong hung up coldly.
The secretary outside the door had to call the HR department again. The reply was still that the eldest young master had not come to the group at all.
Zhan Jiayi, holding some documents that required Xie Zhendong's signature, was about to enter his office when she saw the secretary, Manny, looking dejected.
"What's wrong? Is Mr. Xie in a bad mood today?" she asked.
Most of the staff in the President's office were male. Only Zhan Jiayi and Manny were female, so they sometimes talked.
Therefore, Manny wouldn't hide anything from Zhan Jiayi.
She nodded and complained, "The eldest young master was supposed to report to the group today. Mr. Xie even prepared a separate desk for him, but today the eldest young master didn't come at all, and Mr. Xie is in a terrible mood."
"Are you talking about Xie Qining?" Zhan Jiayi looked at the office area outside and asked curiously, "There isn't a new desk."
Manny whispered, "Besides Xie Qining, who else could be our group's eldest young master? His desk isn't outside. Mr. Xie specially set up a desk for the eldest young master in his own office so he could personally supervise him."
"Oh, that's good. Mr. Xie can teach his son anytime," Zhan Jiayi said without making a fuss and was about to go in with the documents.
Manny kindly reminded her, "Be careful when you go in, don't anger Mr. Xie."
Zhan Jiayi made a gesture of understanding.
...
Xie Qining had finally regained his freedom, but his father wanted him to work at the group.
However, he didn't want to go at all. He just wanted to breathe freely after being cooped up and didn't want to be restrained again.
When he left, he said he was going to the group, but halfway there, he dismissed the driver and drove himself to a quiet club to play cards with some of his cronies.
While playing cards, he also called a few charming beauties to keep him company.
He hadn't had such unrestrained fun in a long time, making him particularly frivolous towards the women around him.
These beauties, who were accustomed to the superficial world, were overwhelmed by his advances.
The person playing cards with him laughed, "Young Master Xie, you must have been bored at home. Why don't we stop playing for now and let them accompany you for whatever you need?"
The others couldn't help but burst into laughter. Xie Qining, however, had no further intentions. He said, "No, I love playing cards more than women. You all have to play with me to your heart's content today. No one is allowed to leave first."
A woman leaning beside him playfully said, "Young Master Xie, you're so wicked. Let me help you draw a card."
Xie Qining pinched her and said, "Stay put and don't touch my cards. It's bad luck."
The woman then withdrew her hand sheepishly.
The men continued to play cards. These beauties were merely decorative elements for their leisure.
Xie Qining asked the man sitting to his left, "What's the latest with Lan Yu and Xiao Anjing? Are they... are they still doing well?"
This was the task Xie Shao had assigned him: to closely monitor Xiao Anjing and Lan Yu's every move.
He quickly replied, "They adopted a daughter. Lan Yu looks like she's about to give birth. Xiao Anjing sent Lan Yu and their adopted daughter abroad. Xiao Anjing also went abroad recently..."
"They've all gone abroad?" Xie Qining hadn't expected this. Now he couldn't settle the score with them immediately. "Do you know their specific location abroad?"
"This, this... I'm not sure yet." This person thought that since Lan Yu had gone abroad, Xie Qining would eventually give up, no matter how unwilling he was to let her go.
Xie Qining said unhappily, "Find out their location by any means necessary."
"Yes, Young Master Xie," the person replied.
Someone nearby smiled to ease the atmosphere and said, "It's rare for Young Master Xie to come out and have fun. Let's not spoil the mood. Let's talk about happy things, play cards, play cards."
As he spoke, he deliberately played a card that Xie Qining needed.
Xie Qining immediately rejoiced, "A winning hand!" His momentary displeasure vanished. As he collected his winnings, he kissed the beauty next to him.