The Unveiling of Intentions

Only after watching the woman enter the residential area did Grandpa Fan leisurely begin the registration process.

As she scanned the code, her identity information was already logged.

“He Manyu, a local resident of the provincial capital, no close contacts, no dangerous travel history, visiting her daughter in Ayahua Residential Area…”

Having jotted down that line, Grandpa Fan settled back into the guardhouse, casually tossing his pen aside.

‘Still claiming to be visiting her daughter,’ he mused. ‘Who visits their daughter empty-handed? Even Jingjing knows to pick up a couple of dishes on her way home from school.’

‘Now that’s what I call genuinely caring for your daughter.’

****

Meanwhile, upstairs in Building 2, Unit 1, Xia Chu had already risen and prepared herself.

Her mother’s impending visit caught her somewhat off guard; though it had been mentioned last week, she hadn’t truly expected her to show up.

Ding-dong.

In the time it took Xia Chu to pour herself a glass of water, the doorbell rang. She hesitated for a moment, took a sip, and then walked over to open the door.

Fortunately, Bai Jingjing had likely gone out to buy groceries; otherwise, witnessing such an awkward family affair would have been mortifying.

Click, the door opened.

The woman stood before her, just as she remembered: not ostentatiously adorned with jewels, but every inch of her conveyed an undeniable sense of expensive taste.

As her mother would put it, she was the type whose identity was instantly recognizable.

“Xiao… Xia Chu,” He Manyu began, but seeing her daughter’s indifferent expression, she refrained from using the familiar address she’d used in her messages. “Why did it take you so long to open the door? Didn’t I send you a message beforehand? Did you see it?”

Xia Chu’s lip curled. “I saw it.”

As for why she was slow to open the door, she had no desire to explain.

He Manyu stepped inside, casting a perfunctory glance around. “Xia Chu, look at you. It’s been years since you left home, and you never talk about coming back to visit. Your brother and I have been thinking of you, worried you’re out there, struggling alone…”

Xia Chu’s eyelid twitched. She walked back, picked up her cup, and took a drink of water.

‘Calm, collected,’ she told herself. ‘I’m an adult now; I must approach these matters and these people with reason and composure.’

“Just look at you,” He Manyu said, her tone grave. “You’ve been away from home for so long, you’ve gotten so thin.”

‘Thin?’

Xia Chu couldn’t hold back. She remembered that when she’d run away from home years ago, her ‘assets’ hadn’t yet developed so ‘proudly’ – how to put it? Back then, when Luo Xuan helped her out and she lived at her best friend’s place, she could even fit into Luo Xuan’s bras.

‘Just look at the immense change now! And a mother actually has the gall to say ‘thin’? Was that even heartfelt?’

‘More like just going through the motions!’

“Xia Chu, I know you feel wronged, but hasn’t all that passed now? It was just a suggestion back then, and you weren’t willing, so now Mom won’t bring it up again,” He Manyu said with a smile. “Look, when will you come home? Even if you don’t care about your mom or your brother, your grandfather and uncles are all thinking of you too.”

Xia Chu truly couldn’t hold back any longer, letting out a cold laugh.

‘So many years have passed. You didn’t think of it before, you didn’t think of it later, but now you do?’

Of course, Xia Chu actually knew precisely why it was now.

“I’ve actually, in the past few months, accidentally stumbled upon some information.”

Her daughter’s sudden cold expression made He Manyu’s face stiffen.

“What information?” He Manyu forced a smile. “I just came to see you…”

“The family company’s stock prices are volatile, its industrial structure transformation is stalled, and the capital chain is stretched,” Xia Chu said, blinking calmly, finishing her statement in one breath. “Simply put, you’ve run into trouble.”

‘She finally said it.’

‘For the first time, she had laid everything bare, calmly and without reservation, using the coldest words.’

‘Her voice hadn’t trembled; she had delivered it all in one perfect breath, without a single misspoken word.’

‘She even felt a small thrill because of it.’

“You, look at you, child, why say such things the moment I arrive?” He Manyu’s expression shifted, and she forced a smile. “I already said, I just came to see you today…”

“I find it quite incomprehensible, and rather peculiar, Mother,” Xia Chu said, picking up her cup, addressing her with an archaic and distant formality. “In the years since I left home, I have indeed relied on a small measure of talent to barely sustain my own life. But to expect me to revive the family… your and your brothers’ company, that’s surely asking too much of me.”

At the very least, it was still a large company, one of the Xia family’s assets, even if it was just a fractional part.

While the money Xia Chu had earned over these past few years was considerable for her personally, it was still utterly insufficient when compared to a large corporation.

He Manyu chuckled. “Look at you, don’t you think Mom understands? That’s why I said, I specifically came to see you today, not for that particular matter.”

‘Hmm.’

‘Come to think of it, she had indeed shot herself in the foot.’

Xia Chu, her rhythm broken and her composure slightly flustered, said, “Since that’s the case, then you should leave. I have urgent matters to attend to today, and it’s not convenient.”

“Wait a moment, oh, what urgent matter could be more important than what I have to tell you?” He Manyu said, employing a tactic of feigned retreat to advance her true agenda. “To be frank, this is a great thing for you, a tremendous opportunity that I worked hard to secure.”

Xia Chu scoffed, a laugh tinged with anger. “A tremendous opportunity? Don’t tell me some young master from another family is interested in an arranged marriage again. I’ve long since said, if you want to go, you go yourself, or ask which of my two older brothers is willing to go.”

“Look at you, still holding a grudge after all this time,” He Manyu said, stepping closer to her. “Mom has always kept an eye on your achievements these past few years. Everyone in the family has heard about them, even your grandfather.”

Xia Chu paused, slightly startled.

She suddenly recalled that earlier, when He Manyu had first said she “missed her,” she had specifically brought up her grandfather.

“I always said, my daughter is truly talented, far more capable than others in this regard,” He Manyu continued with a smile. “Your grandfather and the others are interested in having you take a position at the Xia Family Foundation, allowing you to use your talents where they’re most suited. Tell me, isn’t this a great opportunity?”

Xia Chu was utterly astonished.

To be frank, compared to any company, the Xia Family Foundation was the true behemoth. If she were to take a position there, and a significant one at that, the operational funds she would manage would far exceed all the wealth she had accumulated in recent years.

But very quickly, she understood in an instant. “Your meaning is, you want me to use the Xia Family Foundation’s money to help your company overcome its difficulties?”

‘Good heavens, they want her to go through hell and high water for them. No wonder she’s being so polite today.’

He Manyu’s face suddenly darkened. “Xia Chu, how can you say such a thing? Do you truly think we’re so sinister?”

“…Hmm.”

He Manyu, who had been speaking amicably and with a smile all this time, suddenly had her expression drastically change, and her tone became entirely different. This abrupt shift caught Xia Chu completely off guard.

Only today had she finally resolved to gather her courage and speak plainly. Yet, faced with an unexpected turn of events, she found herself at a loss for how to respond.

At that very moment, Bai Jingjing, having just returned with her purchases and reached the door, suddenly heard such a loud shout from inside that she froze in her tracks.

‘What’s going on? Better listen first.’