24: Chapter 24 The Insignificant Character in a Pampered Novel 24

Initially, Xu Jiao was quite pleased. With Miao Jie dead, no one would know about her relationship with him anymore. She could pretend nothing had happened and continue being with A-Yan.

But before her joy could last a few days, she heard that the Li Family was arranging blind dates for Li Yan, and the candidate was actually Liang Yiqing, the girl who had been expelled from Yinghua back then.

Li Yan was suffering in silence. He had investigated Liang Yiqing long ago. Despite her claims of never forgetting him, in reality, after going abroad, this woman hadn't been idle at all. She had dated boyfriends of all skin colors and played around wildly.

But for now, since he wanted to cooperate with the Liang Family, he had no choice but to patiently humor Liang Yiqing. Fortunately, her demands weren't high. As long as he agreed to watch a movie, have a meal with her, and occasionally let her hold his hand or cop a feel, she would be overjoyed for ages, willingly handing over profitable projects.

Because of this, the operations of both Aode Technology and Xu Corporation became much smoother.

Everything was developing in a positive direction, yet Jiao Jiao just couldn't understand him. No matter how he explained that there was nothing between him and Liang Yiqing, that he was only trying to utilize the Liang Family's resources...

Xu Jiao was terrified inside, especially when she saw Liang Yiqing's current seductive appearance and then looked at herself. Her own figure wasn't bad originally, but standing next to Liang Yiqing, she looked like a primary school student.

Also, because of her affair with Miao Jie, she was afraid that if Li Yan found out, he might leave her because of it.

These two factors intertwined, creating an extreme psychological conflict within her. Finally, gritting her teeth, she took advantage of the day they were celebrating their seven-year anniversary to slip some drugs into Li Yan's drink, thus consummating their relationship.

This way, she wouldn't have to worry about her secret being discovered by Li Yan. Before falling asleep, the corners of Xu Jiao's lips were upturned.

The next day, seeing Xu Jiao exhausted from the night's activities, Li Yan felt heartache. Upon seeing the dried plum blossom stain on the sheets, his heart swelled with a sense of fulfillment. He had finally obtained his girl. Jiao Jiao was a good girl; he would definitely not let her down.

From then on, their relationship became even closer. Xu Jiao directly moved into Li Yan's personal apartment to live together. Unable to withstand her persistent pleas, Li Yan let her become his personal assistant. They went to work together during the day and returned to their little love nest at night, infuriating Liang Yiqing to the point of grinding her teeth.

The two had several confrontations. Liang Yiqing represented the Liang Family, her status clearly far superior to Xu Jiao, the young lady of a struggling enterprise. When Li Yan was present, it was somewhat better; he always protected Xu Jiao, after all, she was his girlfriend. But when Li Yan wasn't around, no one in the company dared to challenge Liang Yiqing, so Xu Jiao was left to be bullied.

What's worse, every time she complained to Li Yan, he always said he would stand up for her. In reality, he couldn't do much about Liang Yiqing either. What use was a light, dismissive warning to her? That shameless Liang Yiqing was as tough as old boots, completely disregarding Li Yan's warnings. She even dared to provocatively taunt Xu Jiao with veiled remarks right in front of Li Yan, all while wearing a smile.

Li Yan repeatedly assured her in private that he wouldn't fall for a promiscuous woman like Liang Yiqing, urging her to endure a bit longer. The cooperation between the Liang Family and Aode was at a critical juncture; they absolutely could not offend a major client. But in Xu Jiao's heart, she felt that Li Yan, having already had her, didn't love her as much as before.

Looking at the constantly sulking Xu Jiao, Li Yan felt physically and mentally exhausted. Who was he working day and night, swallowing his pride and humoring Liang Yiqing, seeking cooperation with the Liang Family for? Wasn't Xu Corporation also a beneficiary? He was now a major shareholder of Xu Corporation; the capital invested in Xu Corporation came from his Aode. Now, Aode, Xu Corporation, and the Liang Family were grasshoppers tied to the same rope.

Xu Jiao felt as if struck by a sudden blow. These words sounded terribly familiar. Weren't they exactly what she had said to persuade Xu Zhao several years ago?

Zhao Zhao, you have to endure it for now. We can't afford to offend the Liang Family...

Zhao Zhao, you have to consider the Xu Family. How can our Xu Corporation possibly be a match for the Liang Family?

Zhao Zhao, we still have a cooperative relationship with the Liang Family. Liang Yiqing is just making a small fuss. For the sake of the Xu Family, you must learn to endure.

Now that the situation had fallen upon her own head, she realized she simply couldn't endure it!

Taking advantage of Li Yan's absence, when Liang Yiqing poured a freshly made cup of coffee on her for the third time, she exploded!

Xu Jiao ran out of 'Aode Technology' in tears, only to unexpectedly bump into a familiar face.

Hearing that familiar, gentle voice reach her ears, Xu Jiao seemed to hear the most beautiful sound in the world. Her wide, watery apricot eyes opened in surprise as she exclaimed, 'Dr. Fan!'

...

On Gu Yunjing's graduation day, he proposed to Xu Zhao.

He couldn't wait to marry his wife-to-be and bring her home. His wife was so wonderful; he had to cut off any covetous thoughts early.

Unlike Gu Yunjing, who was so nervous he nearly fainted, stumbling over his words and stammering, Xu Zhao's expression was much calmer. She helped the man kneeling on one knee to his feet, then wrapped her arms around his neck. The corners of her lips lifted, her voice light and cheerful as she whispered in his ear, 'Alright, I accept.'

Xu Zhao genuinely thought Gu Yunjing was very good. She liked his purity and sincerity. Life was so long; having someone warm, accompanying, understanding, and steadfast was quite nice.

As soon as Xu Zhao gave her nod, the Gu Family arranged the engagement banquet clearly and thoroughly.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the day of the engagement to arrive.

Everyone tacitly 'forgot' about the Xu Family until Xu Zhao mentioned, 'Send an invitation to my parents.'

It wasn't that the Gu Family had forgotten; they were just afraid Zhao Zhao would be saddened remembering those biased parents and siblings. No one dared to bring it up first. Now, hearing Xu Zhao mention it, the Gu Family immediately felt moved, thinking Zhao Zhao truly was a good child, still remembering the Xu Family's upbringing and kindness.

The original soul really wanted to ask the Parents of the Xu Family why their love couldn't be shared with her a little? She didn't hate the Parents of the Xu Family; she hated herself more for not being stronger, for not daring to resist their decisions and insist on her own path.

The original soul didn't want to get involved in the relationship between Xu Jiao and Li Yan, let alone hate the two. But she wanted to personally ask Xu Congtao why, at the critical moment, he pushed her out to take the knife for Xu Jiao. Wasn't she his biological sister too? Was this his own idea, or was it the Parents of the Xu Family's intention?

Yes, the Wisher hadn't mentioned it, but Xu Zhao had extracted her memories—this segment of memory she was unwilling to recall and accept.

At that time, the kidnappers demanded a ransom. It was Xu Congtao who went to deliver it. But when the kidnappers realized they were surrounded and viciously stabbed the dagger towards Xu Jiao, Xu Congtao directly pushed the Wisher, who was standing nearby, out to block the knife.

Then, let's take advantage of the engagement to invite the Xu Family over. She would ask them personally.

...

In City A, Li Yan had been having a streak of bad luck recently.

He attended banquets and felt people in the circle were all laughing at him, all thanks to Liang Yiqing.

Recently, whispers in high society suggested that Li Yan of the Li Family and Liang Yiqing, the eldest daughter of the Liang Family, were having blind dates, and a marriage alliance between the Li and Liang families was very likely. Although Li Yan would never agree, he was indeed dealing with the Liang Family and Liang Yiqing. In his view, this was just a temporary expedient. What he needed was to use the Liang Family's influence to rise and cultivate enough power to match Li Shaoheng.

Once he finished using the Liang Family and took control of the Liang Corporation... then what would Liang Yiqing amount to? The one he loved was always his Jiao Jiao.

But before he could realize his grand ambitions, explicit photos of Liang Yiqing with various handsome men were exposed—all sorts of poses, utterly disgraceful. Her wanton appearance was probably something even professional escorts couldn't match.

Liang Yiqing's reputation instantly plummeted to rock bottom. Forget being a match for his Li Family, even ordinary families wouldn't dare take such a daughter-in-law. The Liang Corporation, implicated by her, saw its stocks plummet disastrously. The Liang Corporation's shareholder meeting was in complete chaos, and they could no longer spare any attention for his Aode Technology.

Xu Corporation and Aode Technology, which had just begun to improve, fell straight back into the abyss because they were linked with the Liang Corporation in cooperative development projects. Progress came to a standstill.

The Liang Corporation's PR department immediately jumped out, claiming the photos were doctored and that they would hold the parties spreading such rumors accountable. They spoke with such righteous indignation. Simultaneously, Liang Yiqing's father personally called Li Yan, demanding he immediately hold a press conference with Liang Yiqing to publicly clarify that the explicit photos were a smear campaign by the Liang Corporation's competitors. He wanted them to announce that the Li Family would soon form a marriage alliance with the Liang Family, requiring Li Yan, as the prospective fiancé, to express his complete trust in Liang Yiqing's character.

Forget that Liang Yiqing actually had this messy romantic history; even if she didn't, Li Yan considered himself to have a true love. How could he possibly agree to get engaged to Liang Yiqing?

But he was not in control. Seeing Li Yan's lack of action, Liang Yiqing's father bypassed him and directly reached an agreement with Li Yan's own father.

The next day, when Li Yan was pushed onto the press conference stage by his own father, his face was dark, as if someone owed him billions. He stared straight ahead, not even deigning to glance at Liang Yiqing, finding the very thought of such a woman standing beside him disgusting.

Although the press conference was held, Liang Yiqing and the Liang Corporation's image did not improve. Anyone could see the reluctance written all over Li Yan's face. While his mouth spoke of trust, his eyes offered none to Liang Yiqing beside him. As Liang Yiqing wept pitifully, lamenting herframing and mental anguish, Li Yan didn't even perform the gesture of handing her a tissue. This newly minted engaged couple seemed separated by a galaxy.

Naturally, Li Yan kept this press conference a secret from Xu Jiao. But an event as significant as the marriage alliance between the Li and Liang families—how could Xu Jiao, living in City A, possibly not know about it?

That very night, while attending a friend's birthday party, Xu Jiao was mocked by a group of fake friends. With everyone adding their piece, Xu Jiao learned about Li Yan and Liang Yiqing holding a press conference to announce their engagement.

Xu Jiao was heartbroken and called Li Yan to verify.

Li Yan was currently meeting with a very important investor. He just told her to go home and wait, that he would explain. But to Xu Jiao's ears, it sounded completely different—his tone seemed utterlyPerfunctory, and he didn't even have the patience tocoax her anymore. Xu Jiao directly hung up the phone. Before hanging up, she delivered a decisive statement: 'We're finished, Li Yan. We're breaking up.'

Only then did Li Yan realize the situation was bad. His Jiao Jiao was very fragile and saw him as her everything. Would she do something foolish?

Li Yan couldn't sit still anymore. Meeting with investors? If Jiao Jiao left him, what meaning would any of this have?

Not even taking time to grab his jacket, Li Yan snatched his car keys and rushed out.

While driving, Li Yan called Xu Congtao to ask where Jiao Jiao was now. Xu Congtao was also angry inside. This Li Yan was really something—claiming to love his Jiao Jiao on one hand, yet getting engaged to the Liang Family'sQianjin on the other! Clearly two-timing, not taking the Xu Family seriously at all. But angry as he was, the Xu Family still relied on the Li Family. After playing the role of the protective older brother and scolding him a few times, Xu Congtao still told him Jiao Jiao's whereabouts.

Li Yan drove his car, speeding all the way towards the location of that birthday party.