Xiaoxiao indifferently took out her phone, glanced at it, and tossed it to the man, saying, "It's dead. What does he want with me?"
"Sir wants us to bring you back," the man said with a stern face, glancing at Xiaoxingxing as he spoke. He then turned to Xiaoxiao and said forcefully, "Miss, please."
Xiaoxingxing looked at the group of people. Were they servants from Xiaoxiao's biological father's household? He tried to communicate with them, saying, "Everyone, I'm not a bad person. I'm her friend. She was with me last night..."
These men, dressed in formal black suits, ignored what he was saying and moved to forcibly take Xiaoxiao back.
The leading man sternly told Xiaoxingxing, "It's none of your business. Get out of the way!"
Seeing that they intended to use force to take Xiaoxiao back, Xiaoxingxing refused to stand by. He only wanted to protect Xiaoxiao and began to fight with them.
But he was young and outnumbered.
The man ordered his subordinates to apprehend both of them. Just then, the man's phone rang.
He walked aside to take the call, then told his subordinates, "Take them both back."
"Yes."
Xiaoxingxing and Xiaoxiao were stuffed into an expensive antique car.
Xiaoxiao was still arguing with the man, unconvinced. Xiaoxingxing learned from their conversation that the leader was a butler, acting entirely on the orders of Xiaoxiao's biological father.
Xiaoxingxing kept looking out the car window. The car drove towards the castle he had visited earlier.
The car stopped in an open space within the castle grounds, and they were led into the castle by the butler and several male servants.
As Xiaoxingxing entered the castle, he discovered that in contrast to the dilapidated exterior walls, the interior was truly magnificent, like an ancient European palace.
At that moment, a middle-aged man with refined attire, blonde hair, and blue eyes descended the dazzling golden staircase. He looked at Xiaoxiao with a stern expression and asked, "You were with this boy last night?"
Xiaoxiao looked at the middle-aged man and defiantly replied, "Yes, we spent the night in a hotel room."
"Uncle, please don't misunderstand," Xiaoxingxing said, thinking this blond man must be Xiaoxiao's biological father. "We are good friends. She slept on the bed, and I slept on the sofa in the hotel room."
The blond man ignored him, staring only at Xiaoxiao and asking, "What are you wearing? You're getting more and more out of hand. If you continue like this, you're not fit to be a member of our family. Don't force me to kick you out?"
"I don't care! Kick me out now! I want to be with Brother Xingxing!" Xiaoxiao shouted at the blond man, as if it were what she desired.
The blond man angrily slammed his hand on the banister of the stairs. "Someone, lock Miss Ilena in the attic! She's not allowed to eat until she apologizes!"
"Yes, sir." The butler again had people grab Xiaoxiao and prepare to take her away.
Xiaoxingxing tried to intervene, "Uncle, listen to me. I'm from Lancheng. Xiaoxiao and I have known each other since we were children. We really didn't do anything..."
"You shut up!" The blond man had Xiaoxingxing restrained by others, preventing him from interfering.
Xiaoxingxing watched as Xiaoxiao was led upstairs, and she kept turning back to him, shouting, "Brother Xingxing, save me! You must come and save me!"
"Uncle, you are Xiaoxiao's father. Why can't you talk things through properly? Why treat your own daughter like this?" Xiaoxingxing had been locked in a small attic as a child, and the memory still gave him nightmares.
He felt that for children, this was the most terrifying form of punishment, a destruction of their spirit and psyche.
The blond man then slowly walked down the stairs and stood before Xiaoxingxing, saying, "You are Qin Yuxing, aren't you? How old are you? How did you end up here?"
Xiaoxingxing nodded and said, "I came abroad to study not long ago. I had a holiday, so I came to see Xiaoxiao. Uncle, Xiaoxiao and I are very well-behaved..."
"Well-behaved?" the blond man said, looking directly at him. "You're the one who's well-behaved, aren't you? Xiaoxiao is not. Otherwise, in the years since she returned to me, she wouldn't have opposed me at every turn."
"Her personality is a bit unusual, but that's because she went through too many terrible things as a child. You should show her more love and patience, and I believe she will get better."
The blond man pursed his lips and smiled, saying, "You speak like an adult for a child. I don't need you to teach me. You should leave, and don't look for Xiaoxiao again."
"Uncle! Can you let Xiaoxiao out so I can talk to her..."
"Please leave!" the blond man said impolitely, issuing an eviction notice. "Don't have any more designs on Xiaoxiao. I will raise her to be a true noblewoman, and then she will marry a nobleman who matches our family's status, understand?"
Xiaoxingxing still wanted to persuade him, "But you're not raising her, you're hurting her..."
The blond man no longer wanted to listen. He waved his hand at the household servants, signaling them to drag him out.
Xiaoxingxing was helplessly escorted out by several servants.
He thought of Xiaoxiao's last plea for him to save her and circled the castle again, but he couldn't find any place to sneak in.
How was he to save Xiaoxiao?
...
Lancheng,
Mengqi had approached several large corporations about potential collaborations, but no one was willing to co-invest in the land project with their Huangfu Group.
With the deadline for the contract with the relevant departments approaching, failure to commence construction would result in enormous compensation.
After repeated consideration, Mengqi decided that mortgaging the Financial Building to Qin Tianyi was the only option left.
She asked Old Yao to arrange another meeting with Qin Tianyi.
This time, Qin Tianyi went to meet Mengqi with An Jing. He was confident it would succeed and wanted to make An Jing happy.
Upon their second meeting, Mengqi agreed to mortgage the Financial Building to their Aoxiang Group for ten years. If the International Freight Center Financial Port project could not turn a profit within ten years, the Financial Building would belong to Aoxiang Group.
However, if the project's profit after ten years exceeded Aoxiang Group's five billion investment, the building would remain with Huangfu Group.
Qin Tianyi objected to the mortgage period, requesting it be changed to five years.
Recovering five billion within five years after the project's completion was the limit for their group. They absolutely could not accept their five billion funds being gambled for ten years.
Even with Yao Feili acting as a mediator, Qin Tianyi's stance remained firm, unwilling to compromise.
Seeing that the negotiation was about to break down again, Mengqi had no choice but to compromise and agree to five years.
She knew that five billion was not a small sum for Aoxiang Group, and she had confidence in the project.
Lancheng did not yet have such an international freight financial port. Once completed, it would not only benefit Lancheng but also radiate throughout the Lancheng region, driving the international financial industry in the entire area.
Once everything was roughly agreed upon, both parties planned to draft the detailed terms before signing the formal contract.