102: Chapter 102 (Completed) Good heavens! No wonder Xia Ning is so cold; it turns out she lacks a father's love!

"Mr. Qin plans to downgrade the brand while others are upgrading theirs. His approach is unconventional."

Qian Yunfa looked at Qin Xun and suddenly burst into loud laughter.

"Unconventional approaches... attract unconventional talent!"

"Talent!"

He laughed a few more times.

"Anyway, our company has been arguing non-stop. Given their situation, they'd keep arguing until the end of the year without reaching a conclusion."

Suddenly.

He stood up. Qin Xun extended his hand and said solemnly.

"The brand... uh... downgrade and transformation of Dudu Tea is entrusted to President Qin."

He slowed his speech, his voice deepening.

"My career is also entrusted to President Qin!"

Qin Xun stood up and shook his hand.

Sun Hua was completely baffled, feeling like he'd seen a ghost!

Has Mr. Qian gone mad?

Huh?

He never seemed like a good-tempered person before?

An Ke looked at Qian Yunfa with astonishment, then shifted her gaze to Qin Xun's face, finally letting it rest lightly on Xia Ning's face.

She frowned slightly, lost in thought.

...

The next two hours followed the standard procedure: reviewing the contract, examining it, and signing.

The entire process went so smoothly it felt like a dream to Cheng Wan.

They had lunch together, toasting and celebrating in a joyous atmosphere.

After the meal, it was time to part ways.

At the hotel entrance.

Qian Yunfa pointed at the smiling An Ke.

"President Qin, I'll leave Xiao An here to participate in your work. For any coordination needed, please feel free to tell her."

"We will fully cooperate."

Sun Hua was still somewhat annoyed.

Damn, acting like a client who's also the service provider.

Spending 10 million to be treated like a grandson?

An Ke smiled and extended her hand to shake Qin Xun's.

"President Qin, I look forward to your guidance."

Qin Xun looked at her warm, spring-like smile, feeling a slight stir in his heart as a phrase popped into his mind.

"Top-tier green tea?"

He was lost in thought for a moment.

Then he heard An Ke say with a smile.

"President Qin?"

Qin Xun snapped back to reality and quickly released her soft, tender, and smooth little hand.

Xia Ning watched from the side, expressionless.

...

After seeing off Qian Yunfa and his group, Qin Xun asked Xia Ning to take An Ke to the hotel to arrange her accommodation.

He returned alone to the general manager's office and locked the door behind him.

He turned on the computer and searched.

[Who is the chairman of Dudu Tea?]

Soon, the result popped up.

[Xia Shujie]

His face turned slightly cold as he typed again.

[What is Xia Shujie's daughter's name?]

But he found that none of the search results provided useful information.

Just as he was feeling disappointed, wondering if he should resort to torture for answers.

He suddenly noticed a related search at the bottom of the browser.

[Cold and aloof wealthy beauty, niece of the Xia Group chairman, becomes popular on campus]

Qin Xun clicked on it and saw it was posted three years ago.

The news was about the Xia family heiress capturing the hearts of many men at university due to her aloofness and looks.

On that day, a handsome, well-off top student confessed his feelings to her.

But Xia Ning coolly said one sentence.

"You're not worthy of me."

The top student was so heartbroken he jumped into the school lake.

Yet the aloof Xia Ning remained seated on a bench by the lake, reading a book as if nothing had happened.

There was also a picture attached.

It showed Xia Ning sitting quietly under a large willow tree by the lake, her head bowed as she read a book.

Seeing this, Qin Xun leaned back in his chair and propped his legs up on the desk.

"Alright, alright!"

"So that's how you want to play it?"

"Tricking me into working for your uncle?"

"Just wait until you come back. I'll press you down on this desk and give you a good beating!"

...

Immediately after, he thought of something else and quickly typed [Oak Tree] into a business inquiry website, finding that the legal representative was indeed "Niu Xiaojun."

Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Scared me to death. I thought I'd been calling the president a son of a bitch to her face every day!"

...

An hour later.

A knock sounded at the door.

Qin Xun walked over, turned the lock, and saw it was Xia Ning. He let her in.

Then, he immediately locked the door again.

Xia Ning glanced at the locked door, turned to look at Qin Xun, and frowned slightly.

"What do you mean by this?"

Qin Xun's face was slightly cold, his expression clearly unhappy.

"President Xia."

"Don't you have something you want to explain to me?"

Xia Ning's face immediately showed a hint of nervousness as she looked away.

"You... what are you talking about?"

"I don't understand at all!"

Angry, Qin Xun grabbed Xia Ning's hand, pulled her to the desk, and pointed at the news article on the computer screen.

"Explain to me, who is this female student in the picture who looks exactly like you?"

"Who is she?"

He looked at Xia Ning and said loudly.

"Don't tell me she's your twin sister!"

He saw a faint, slightly mocking smile appear on Xia Ning's face.

He hesitated and changed his words.

"Could she be your twin sister?"

Xia Ning shook her head.

"It's me!"

Qin Xun: "..."

"Then why were you acting so tough just now?"

Xia Ning didn't answer. She leaned over to browse the news article and snorted coldly.

"These self-media nowadays are really bored. How can they write such things as news and post them online?"

He watched as she copied the URL into a document.

Qin Xun was puzzled.

"What are you doing?"

Xia Ning didn't even look up, answering coldly.

"My family values personal privacy highly. I'm going to send a lawyer's letter to this self-media journalist."

Qin Xun: "..."

Hah—

Haha—

You're ruthless!

Qin Xun looked at Xia Ning's profile and questioned her.

"Did you take on the Dudu Tea project just to teach your uncle a lesson?"

"You're all family!"

Xia Ning glanced at Qin Xun faintly.

"Are the relationships among your relatives that harmonious?"

Qin Xun was taken aback and had no response.

His father was an only child, but his uncles had three children each, and now they weren't even speaking to each other after constant arguments.

What left the deepest impression on him was a family gathering where his eldest and second uncles suddenly started fighting at the dinner table.

He didn't even get to eat the big chicken drumstick!

All the good dishes ended up on the floor!

Xia Ning continued, her voice a bit cold.

"Dudu Tea belongs to the Xia Group. The group's chairman is my uncle Xia Shujie, but the original CEO of Dudu Tea was... my dad."

"Qian Yunfa used to work under my dad."

Qin Xun was stunned for a moment, imagining a series of bloody and brutal family struggles, then asked.

"Your dad..."

He swallowed the words "is he dead" and instead asked.

"What's his name?"

Xia Ning: "Xia Shuhao."

Qin Xun nudged Xia Ning aside, sat in the chair, and typed [Xia Shuhao] into the browser.

Several pieces of information actually popped up.

[Dudu Tea CEO Xia Shuhao detained for drunken assault]

[Xia Shuhao detained for late-night street racing]

[Xia Shujie fined for public urination, ordered to do community service]

[Xia Shuhao caught in bed with mistress by his wife]

...

His expression turned strange. He quickly closed the browser and looked up at Xia Ning, whose face had darkened.

"Xiao Xia, your dad is really... really... a man of strong character!"

He saw Xia Ning's face grow even colder.

"Let's not talk about this."

Qin Xun nodded.

He seemed to understand why Xia Ning was so cold—it must be due to the lack of paternal love she experienced growing up!

The atmosphere in the office became awkward.

A moment of silence followed.

Qin Xun felt somewhat embarrassed.

But a faint trace of satisfaction flickered in Xia Ning's eyes.

A secret delight at a scheme succeeding.

Suddenly, she heard Qin Xun ask.

"Why did you hide your identity as a Xia family heiress from me?"

Xia Ning turned her head silently, looked into Qin Xun's eyes, and said seriously.

"I was afraid you'd think you weren't worthy of me."