"..."
There was a moment of silence on the phone.
The woman stared in shock after being rebuked.
Bai Yuchen couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
Even a hint of amusement flashed across Xi Jiu's eyes.
It took the woman a while to recover before she raised her voice hysterically, "Ruan Qi! Is that how you speak to your elders?! Your grandparents asked me to take care of you, I know you're a country kid and wanted to show you the world, but how can you be so ungrateful! I—"
Click!
The call was disconnected, clean and swift.
Ruan Qi tapped her finger on the screen a couple of times, blocked the number, locked the screen, her actions smooth and practiced.
Her expression remained calm as she put her phone back in her bag, and when she looked up, she caught the curious gaze of Bai Yuchen and gave him an apologetic smile.
"Sorry for making a spectacle in front of Mr. Bai."
"Not at all, not at all, Miss Ruan, that was awesome!" Bai Yuchen sincerely gave her a thumbs up.
Xu Xiangyang: "Xiao Qi, is Ruan Chunhua causing you trouble again?"
Ruan Qi nodded gently.
Ruan Chunhua is the daughter of Ruan Qi's third grandfather's family, who moved to the Imperial Capital from Baicheng Qingyun Village thirty years ago.
In that era, moving to a big city was something to be proud of. As a result, Ruan Chunhua has always looked down on her poorer relatives from home.
Xu Xiangyang's face turned sour, "Have you told your grandfather about this?"
"No," Ruan Qi scratched the tip of her nose and wrinkled her little nose, "Grandpa has a good relationship with third grandpa. If my little aunt and I were to fall out, it would upset both of the old men."
Xu Xiangyang sighed helplessly.
"You're the only one who's so easy-going. If it were me, I'd spill all her dirty secrets. Next time she troubles you, let me know. I'll have a word with her."
"Ruan Chunhua?" Bai Yuchen spoke up then, his brow furrowing after giving it some thought, "I think I've heard that name before..."
Xu Xiangyang: "Ruan Chunhua is a senior executive at Fengyu Group. The Bai family collaborates with Fengyu, so it's normal for Young Master Bai to have heard of her."
Another fifteen minutes passed, and the car stopped outside Ruan Qi's apartment complex.
Xu Xiangyang expressed his thanks to Xi Jiu and Bai Yuchen, then helped Ruan Qi out of the car and slowly walked into the apartment complex.
Xi Jiu didn't start the car.
He sat in the driver's seat, his gaze lingering on Ruan Qi's retreating figure through the car window.
Bai Yuchen waved his hand in front of Xi Jiu's face.
"Ninth Master, snap out of it!"
Xi Jiu withdrew his gaze and shot him a cold glance before turning his head away.
Bai Yuchen leaned in, gossiping.
"Tell me, Brother Jiu, you didn't actually fall for Miss Ruan, did you?"
Xi Jiu slowly reached out and drew a military knife from the storage box beside the seat.
'Click,' the blade snapped out, and the man's slender fingers moved—
Clang!
The military knife was ruthlessly driven into the leather seat of the passenger side.
Bai Yuchen: "..."
Bai Yuchen was scared out of his wits.
He looked at the blade less than two millimeters from his thigh, swallowed hard, and shifted his buttocks to the side.
"Brother Jiu, let's not get angry over embarrassment, huh!"
Xi Jiu retracted his hand, tapping his jade-like fingers twice on the steering wheel.
"Fengyu Group."
Bai Yuchen: "What?"
Xi Jiu: "Tell your father to terminate cooperation with Fengyu Group."
Bai Yuchen: "...?...!!!!!"
"Holy shit, Ninth Master! Did you really fall for Miss Ruan?!!!" Bai Yuchen was astonished.
Xi Jiu remained silent, cold light flickering in his dark eyes.
He pressed the gas pedal and started the car.
The sound of the engine roared to life, and the black Maybach shot out like a leopard.
——*——*——
Xu Xiangyang brought Ruan Qi home.
"Go to sleep once you're home; your brain needs a rest. I'll come over again at noon tomorrow."
As he said this, Xu Xiangyang tapped his forehead, "Almost forgot, there's another thing. Remember Director Wang? The one who asked me for medical treatment at the engagement party."
Ruan Qi nodded.
Xu Xiangyang: "I recommended you to him before, but he objected because of your young age. After you showed what you could do at the engagement party, now he's eagerly asking me for your contact information."