Zong Yanxi suddenly stood up and said coldly, “Aren’t you thinking too highly of yourself? I don’t want to make a bet with you because I don’t like you. Why should I be afraid of you? You’re no man-eating monster. Also, I’m not interested in listening to your love story. Could you please refrain from telling me about your ex-wife? It’s annoying. Seriously, this is probably the worst meal I’ve had in a while.”
The lady then turned around and walked towards the door, leaving Jiang Mohan behind as his eyes followed her footsteps.
Is she angry? Did I pressure her too much? Jiang Mohan tightened his fists. Maybe I should take another approach…
When Zong Yanxi walked out of the villa, she immediately made a call.
The proposal was the first step to the acquisition. With that taken care of, the next step was to prepare a large sum of money to swing the target company’s stock price.
Jiang Mohan was clear that he could never get the money back even if he could acquire the company in the future, as it would be a shell corporation. Yet, he still invested in the proposal, knowing full well he would lose everything.
One day, Gu Xian suddenly told Zong Yanxi that he was going home. To him, Country Z was just a place he worked at. His home was the country in which he grew up with his mother.
As his friend, Zong Yanxi took him to the airport without even asking for the reason for his sudden trip.
Even if she’d asked, Gu Xian would not have the answer because even he himself had no idea why his mother wanted him to return on such short notice. Since he was raised by his mother, her orders were absolute to him.
After seeing Gu Xian off, Zong Yanxi went back to her car where Tian Qifeng was waiting for her.
After getting into the car, Tian Qifeng said, “I’ve looked into the matter you’ve requested. Looks like Nan Cheng is investigating a car accident that happened in the past.”
After Zong Yanxi left Jiang Mohan’s villa, she had a feeling that the man had somehow guessed her real identity, which was why she had Tian Qifeng and Tian Qilang follow Nan Cheng. She wanted to figure out what her ex-husband’s most trusted subordinate was up to.
Just as she had expected, Nan Feng was looking into what happened in the past, which meant that Jiang Mohan was highly certain that she was his wife.
As the car passed through the city, Zong Yanxi looked out the window expressionlessly. How did he even find out? I don’t think I did anything that aroused his suspicion…
Tian Qifeng noticed her puzzled look through the rearview mirror and said, “Mr. Guan once intentionally showed up at Xinhai Investment.”
“What did you say?”
“I think Mr. Guan did it on purpose to attract Jiang Mohan’s attention.”
Hearing that, Zong Yanxi quickly took her phone out but stopped her movement when she was about to hit the “call” button.
She finally realized that things would never go as she had planned because the elders would always try to “help” her out. Zong Yanxi sighed and smiled bitterly.
“I believe all Mr. Guan wants is to test if Jiang Mohan still has feelings for you,” Tian Qifeng explained.
Guan Jing did what he did because he wanted to know if Jiang Mohan regretted his action, and to see whether the young man would fall for such a blatant trap.
Being a seasoned veteran, Guan Jing couldn’t have made such a careless mistake. It was clear that he did so on purpose. The man had held Jiang Mohan in high regard, believing that the latter could take good care of Zong Yanxi, but he was proven wrong.
Zong Yanxi was amused. How can a man driven purely by hatred feel anything else? Even if he regrets his past actions, I will never love him ever again.
Seeing how things had turned out, she had no choice but to go with the flow. She could tell that Jiang Mohan had agreed to her proposal with the knowledge that it was a trap she’d set for him.
I see. If that’s how you want to play it, I’ll end this quickly.
Zong Yanxi immediately increased the monetary value of the contract and brought it to Jiang Mohan again.
The man didn’t even ask why she had changed the amount of money required for the acquisition. Like before, he signed it without even reading the terms and conditions.
It wasn’t until the due date of the second instalment of funds when Jiang Mohan received a call from his finance department.
Since a large amount of money was involved, his staff did not dare to make the transfer hastily, even when Jiang Mohan’s signature was already on the transfer request form. They were calling to make sure it was indeed his intention to utilize the money.
The president of the company stood by the window and turned to look outside. This is what I owe her…
“That’s correct; there’s no mistake,” Jiang Mohan asserted.
Since their president was firm on his decision, the finance department did not question him any further.
Back at the hotel, Zong Yanxi immediately received a notification when the fund transfer was made.
Soon. It’ll all end soon.
She had decided that once everything was over, she would head overseas to undergo another round of plastic surgery to regain her original face before returning to her parents.
There were also other people she yearned for dearly, such as Zhuang Jiawen and Aunt Qin Ya.
One year… It’s neither long nor short…
Ding dong!
The doorbell suddenly rang and she quickly answered the door, only to find Jiang Mohan standing outside.
She wasn’t surprised to see him and smiled calmly. “President Jiang, what brings you here?”
They were now in an awkward situation: Jiang Mohan had no idea that Zong Yanxi knew he had learned of her real identity.
“Let’s just say I want to see you. Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Jiang Mohan pretended to be calm, but deep down his heart was racing because he had no idea how to regain her trust.
It was clear that he made her angry the last time they met, which was why he was reluctant to use the same approach this time.
“It’s pretty messy inside,” replied Zong Yanxi.
“I don’t mind.”
“Is that so? Then, please, come in.”
Jiang Mohan walked into the room and scanned his surroundings before making a suggestion. “Why don’t I rent a place for you? Isn’t it troublesome to live in a hotel?”
“No, thanks. I won’t be staying here for long.” Zong Yanxi closed the door behind her.
“Are you leaving?”
“This is not my home from the beginning. I’ll be leaving once the work is done.” Zong Yanxi sat down on the couch and signaled her guest to take a seat as well.
Jiang Mohan became anxious. He was regretting his decision to sign the contract without thinking twice. Had he not done so, he could have used it as a reason to make her stay.
The man was out of options now.
“Ms. Lin…”
“Here, have some mango cake.” Zong Yanxi cut his sentence short by offering him a dessert.
She used to love mango, but she stopped eating it because Jiang Mohan was allergic to the fruit. She never brought one when she lived with him because she was worried that he might fall sick.
She had no idea why she bought the mango cake that day. Perhaps she simply missed its taste. Or perhaps she was looking for her past subconsciously.
Jiang Mohan took a glance at the mango cake before turning back to Zong Yanxi. “Thank you for treating me.”
“It’s natural to treat one’s business partner.”
