Huo Jinyao ended the call, then looked at Su Qingsang with guilt. 

  “What’s wrong?” Seeing the look on his face, Su Qingsang could guess what was going to happen. 

  “There’s an emergency at the office. I need to go back and deal with it.” 

  “Then……” Was he not going back to Lin City together with her? 

  “You go first. I’ll fly to you this afternoon.” 

  Huo Jinyao wasn’t sure if he could make it or not. There was a serious look on his face. 

  “Alright then.” Su Qingsang looked at his face, thought for a moment and then added, “It’ll be fine if you can’t make it. Work is more important.” 

  Upon hearing that, Huo Jinyao kissed her cheek and said, “don’t worry, I’ll handle it.” 

  Su Qingsang surely believed him, but still, she had a faintly uncomfortable feeling in her chest. 

  Huo Jinyao drove Su Qingsang to the airport first, then left in a haste. Su Qingsang looked at his back turned, suddenly feeling a sense of emptiness in her heart. 

  They had said goodbye to each other merely a few seconds ago. How did she start to miss him already? ……

  Lin City. 

  Li Qianxue had asked Yuu and the other house workers to prepare Su Qingsang’s room. All the beddings in that room were aired. 

  It was still not good enough for her. Once again, she checked the entire room. Su Yuxin was standing nearby, watching Li Qianxue examining every corner of the room. 

  “Mom,” he said with a faint smile. “You have forgotten about me now that my sister is coming back.” 

  “What are you talking about?” Li Qianxue turned and gave him a glare. Her eyes were actually filled with joy. 

  “She lives in Rong City alone. Apart from Old Master Huo, no one in the Huo Family is easy to get along with. I’m just worried about her.” 

  Li Qianxue couldn’t help but worry about Su Qingsang every time she thought about that, especially about Liu Tongjia, even though she knew that Huo Jinyao was very nice to Su Qingsang. She knew nevertheless, that he would certainly take good care of her. 

  To survive in a family like that, merely love from her husband was not sufficient. 

  Li Qianxue never let Su Qingsang know how much she worried about her, and Su Qingsang never complained to her about her life in Rong City. 

  Li Qianxue understood that Su Qingsang didn’t want her to worry. Based on what she knew about Su Qingsang, she understood that the girl wouldn’t tell anyone even if something bad happened to her. 

  “Don’t worry, my sister is smart. She wouldn’t let herself fall prey to such disadvantages.” Su Yuxin came to know Su Qingsang better after spending some time with her. She was a quiet girl, but she always knew what to do. 

  The Huo Family members might not be able to hurt her even if they wanted to. After all, Su Qingsang wasn’t that weak also. 

  “That’s for sure. She’s my daughter after all.” 

  Li Qianxue said that with a proud look. Sensing how delighted she was, Su Yuxin really didn’t want to ruin her good mood. However, something had to be said. 

  “Mom, it’s my grandpa’s birthday tomorrow. Do you think Peizhen will……” 

  Li Qianxue pulled a long face once she heard Su Peizhen’s name. 

  That day, on impulse, she hadn’t let Su Peizhen stay with the family. However, she didn’t really want to kick her out of the family or cut off her relationship with that girl. 

  She had spent over twenty years raising her, after all. If she told anyone that she didn’t love that girl, it would be a lie. 

  But what about what Su Peizhen did? Ever since she left the Su Family, she didn’t even give Li Qianxue a call, let alone come to visit her. 

  She raised that girl after all. They had been mother and daughter for over twenty years. How could Su Peizhen be so cold-hearted? Did the girl expect Li Qianxue to take the initiative and reach out first? 

  Li Qianxue couldn’t do something like that. She was a proud person too. 

  Su Peizhen didn’t see Li Qianxue as her mother, so Li Qianxue saw no reason to see the girl as her daughter. 

  “If Peizhen comes to celebrate grandpa’s birthday, we……” 

  “She’ll still be one of the Su Family’s daughter if she comes.” 

  The girl would no longer be her own daughter, though. 

  Old Master Li had loved Su Peizhen so deeply in the past twenty years. Su Peizhen would surely show up tomorrow if she wasn’t heartless. If she didn’t show up, Li Qianxue would, for real, no longer see her as her daughter anymore. 

  Su Yuxin stayed silent. In fact, he had been trying to reach Su Peizhen lately. Sadly, Su Peizhen never responded to him. 

  She hadn’t answered his calls nor replied to his messages. He even sent her an email after that, but still, no response was received. 

  He knew that Su Peizhen had problems accepting the fact that she wasn’t Li Qianxue’s real daughter. However, for some things that had already happened and could never be changed, accepting them was the only way to go forward. 

  Su Yuxin didn’t know what he could do if she kept acting like that. 

  As the topic of discussion was currently Su Peizhen, both Li Qianxue and Su Yuxin didn’t sound very happy at the moment. 

  But soon, Yuu told Li Qianxue that Su Qingsang had arrived. Li Qianxue immediately gave a smile and quickly went downstairs. 

  Su Qingsang had given Li Qianxue her flight number earlier, so Li Qianxue sent someone to pick her up at the airport. 

  Old Master Li was happy to have her back at home. He also looked behind her when she came into the house. 

  “Where’s Jinyao?” 

  “Grandpa, Jinyao has some urgent work to do in the company, but he promised me that he’ll fly here once he is finished.” 

  Su Qingsang didn’t give them a specific time, because she had a feeling that Huo Jinyao’s problem wouldn’t be solved so easily. 

  In fact, she had been noticing some changes in Huo Jinyao recently. He obviously had more work dinners to attend than before and had been spending more time on work. 

  She could see the exhaustion in his eyes, but she couldn’t help him. 

  “It’s okay, as long as you’re back.” Old Master Li hadn’t seen Su Qingsang for quite a while already. He really did miss her. 

  He looked at her from head to toe, then asked with discontent, “Why do you look like you have lost some weight? Has your work been too demanding?” 

  “That’s not true,” said Su Qingsang. She squeezed her own arm while speaking. “I’ve gained weight, actually.” 

  “I think you’ve lost weight.” 

  Li Qianxue came downstairs. She also found her daughter thinner than before. “Have you been working too much? I think you’re always tired, so maybe you should switch to another job. Being a doctor is really exhausting.” 

  “Mom, my job is actually very easy.” 

  The emergency department, the surgery department, and almost all the other departments in the hospital were busier than the gynecology and obstetrics department. 

  “Easy?” Li Qianxue walked up to her daughter and held her hands. She looked at her up and down and then said, “I’m sure you’ve lost weight. You don’t have to be a doctor. You can do an easy job in Huo Jinyao’s family, by just being Mrs. Huo.” 

  “Mom,” Su Qingsang almost laughed. “What can I possibly do in his company? Bring him tea and coffee?” 

  “How dare he make you do those things?” Li Qianxue wasn’t happy to hear that. “My daughter will never be the coffee girl, not even for Huo Jinyao.” 

  Then, she continued with her eyes glowing, “maybe I can start a branch company in Rong City, and you can work from there.” 

  She considered that a wonderful idea. Su Qingsang hurriedly discouraged her from that. “Mom, stop it. I know nothing about business. You’re going to open me a company? What can I possibly do in there?” 

  “Sit there and watch other people work.” 

  “Mom,” whined Su Qingsang. She found that idea both funny and annoying. Before this, she never knew that Li Qianxue could be so willful. 

  “Aren’t you afraid that I might lead the company to failure?” 

  “No big deal. We can always start another one.” 

  Su Qingsang couldn’t stand that. She now finally understood why Su Peizhen was such a spoiled girl. 

  Li Qianxue was clearly good at spoiling her children. 

  “Mom, don’t worry about me. I promise you that I’ll look after myself. I’ve been a little busy lately indeed, but later I’ll have more time to rest.” 

  The government had recently passed the bill to allow a second child in every family. It was reasonable for the workload in the obstetric department to grow a little heavy. Su Qingsang believed that her job would become easier in a few months. 

  “I hope what you say is true.” Li Qianxue looked at Su Qingsang, worried that she was lying. “I’m gonna be so unhappy if you don’t gain some proper weight when I see you the next time.” 

  “I promise.” 

  Su Qingsang raised a hand and gave her a salute. Not only Li Qianxue, but Old Master Li and Su Yuxin also burst out in laughter. 

  Su Qingsang presented the gifts that Huo Jinyao had prepared. 

  Old Master Li and his family didn’t care what those gifts were. All Old Master Li cared about was the kindness of his granddaughter and grandson-in-law. 

  The atmosphere in the family was very warm and comforting. Sensing that pleasant vibe, Su Qingsang forgot about her slight sadness caused by Huo Jinyao’s absence. ……

  Huo Jinyao returned to the company together with Yang Wenchang. 

  Some people blocked their way when they were heading upstairs. 

  He Xuanyao and Ding Qing were standing face to face. He Xuanyao seemed to be trying to get into Huo Jinyao’s office. 

  Ding Qing was stopping her from doing that. 

  “I’ve told you that President Huo isn’t here today.” 

  “I don’t believe it. I heard you talk to him on the phone. He said he’ll be back right away, didn’t he? It’s been so long, he’s back already, right?” 

  “He’s not back here yet. You……” 

  Huo Jinyao and Yang Wenchang arrived before she could finish. 

  Seeing Huo Jinyao, He Xuanyao gave Ding Qing a piercing glare and then walked up to him in big steps. 

  “Huo Jinyao.” 

  She was probably very unhappy. The tone of her voice didn’t sound very friendly. She didn’t call him President Huo, or even Jinyao. 

  Huo Jinyao had some serious work to do at the moment. He had no time for that spoiled girl. 

  But once again, she blocked his way as Huo Jinyao tried to walk past her into the office. 

  “Huo Jinyao.” 

  “How can I help you?” asked Huo Jinyao looked coldly. 

  “Am I not allowed to talk to you unless I need your help?” 

  He Xuanyao’s voice was filled with sorrow when she said that. In fact, her life had been miserable ever since she came to work in Tianyu Group. 

  She wasn’t expecting Huo Jinyao to cruelly put her in the marketing department to let her ‘learn’. 

  The so-called learning was nothing but being tortured by her ugly, short-tempered superior. 

  She was required to do marketing research. Under the cold weather, she stood out there right in the bone-piercing wind, waiting for people to show up and fill her questionnaires. No one was there! 

  How ridiculous was that! She was the princess of the He Family. Was marketing research the work for someone like her?

  Chapter 513: It Turned out That He Can Be so Cruel to Other People

  He Xuanyao refused to believe that the headquarter of Tianyu Group needed their own people to fill in their questionnaires. 

  Even her family’s company had other people doing the data-collecting, let alone a huge company like Tianyu. 

  She didn’t want to do the job, so her ugly superior had told her to leave. She didn’t want to leave either, not like that, at least. She hadn’t shown Huo Jinyao her ability yet. How could she leave? 

  She tried so hard and even begged some people. Finally, she collected the information needed. However, the ugly man said the information she had collected was unreliable, as there was too little data. 

  What did he mean by that? The man definitely did that on purpose. She, He Xuanyao, wasn’t stupid. 

  The same thing happened today. The man said the data she had collected couldn’t be used, so she needed to do repeat the work once again. 

  He Xuanyao had a fight with her superior downstairs earlier on. She told him that she was going to quit, and then quickly left. 

  However, she recalled what Liu Tongjia had said to her, and didn’t have the heart to leave for real. 

  She pondered upon her current situation, then decided to come upstairs to see Huo Jinyao and ask for an explanation. 

  “In what capacity are you talking to me?” Huo Jinyao looked at her and asked with a very cold attitude. 

  “I’m simply talking to you. What do you mean by in what capacity?” He Xuanyao was very angry. 

  “Oh.” Huo Jinyao looked at He Xuanyao as if looking at an idiot and said, “If you’re talking to me as an employee, you can write what you want to say to me in a report and give it to your superior, then ask him to hand it to me. If you’re talking to me, not as one of my employees, I’m sorry, there’s nothing to be said between you and me.” 

  “Huo Jinyao.” 

  He Xuantong lived like a princess since she was little. All the pain she suffered was because of Huo Jinyao. 

  “Why are you doing this to me? I did nothing wrong. I’m just fond of you.” 

  “Since you are fond of me, do I have to do what you want?” That definitely sounded ridiculous. 

  “Besides, I have a wife. Don’t you know that already?” 

  “She’s not good enough for you,” He Xuanyao said, growing irritated. “Not even your mother likes her. How can such a woman be good enough for you?” 

  “And you’re good enough for me?” Huo Jinyao mercilessly scanned He Xuanyao’s body with his eyes. He then said with a cold look, “Miss. He, I guess you didn’t look at yourself in the mirror before you left home today.” 

  He Xuanyao almost cried. She never thought that Huo Jinyao could be so sharp-tongued. 

  “I am Li Junsheng’s cousin after all. You and my cousin are such good friends. How can you bully me like this?” 

  “Junsheng is my friend, but you are not. If you keep being unreasonable, I’m not gonna show you any more respect, not even for the sake of Li Junsheng.” 

  The look on his face told He Xuanyao that he meant what he had said. 

  He Xuanyao burst into tears, then turned and left without looking back. 

  Yang Wenchang and Ding Qing were both there at the scene when Huo Jinyao was talking to the girl. 

  Yang Wenchang already knew that Huo Jinyao would give He Xuanyao a hard time. It was him who had told Zhang to be mean to the girl, actually. 

  Unlike him, it was the first time Ding Qing was seeing that side of Huo Jinyao. She stood there motionlessly, staring at Huo Jinyao. 

  It turned out that he could be so cruel to a woman who was not his wife. Ding Qing wasn’t expecting that. 

  Huo Jinyao was never too nice to her but was always polite to her. She believed in her own ability, after all. Occasionally, she even got Huo Jinyao’s compliment. 

  At that very moment, she realized that Huo Jinyao was quite nice to her, even though she generally found him cold and strict. 

  Huo Jinyao found his secretary in a daze. With a slight frown, he asked, “Miss. Ding, is something wrong?” 

  “I’m sorry, President Huo,” said Ding Qing, apologizing as quickly as possible. “I’m really sorry. I tried to stop her but she just wouldn’t listen to me.” 

  “It’s okay. It had nothing to do with you.” 

  Thinking about the call he had received earlier, Huo Jinyao had no mood to worry about He Xuanyao anymore. 

  If she wanted to stay, she would have to follow the rules of Tianyu Group, and if she wanted to leave, Huo Jinyao would happily let that happen. 

  “Oh, President Huo, I’ve put the materials on your desk. You see……” 

  “I’m gonna deal with it now.” Huo Jinyao walked straight into the office. Ding Qing dropped her eyelids, stopped thinking about anything other than work and followed Huo Jinyao into the office. ……

  Old Master Li only planned to throw a small party to celebrate his birthday this time. 

  He only invited his cousins, their children, and grandchildren. It was pretty much the same people Su Qingsang had invited the last time. 

  Li Qianxue had prepared a room for Su Qingsang, but that was because she thought Su Qingsang would come back together with Huo Jinyao. 

  Since Huo Jinyao didn’t show up, she, of course, asked Su Qingsang to sleep together with her. The two of them spent almost the whole night chatting. 

  They were so close that Su Yuxin looked like he was full of jealousy the next morning when he saw them. 

  “Mom, don’t you love me anymore? You haven’t been talking to me since my sister got home.” 

  Seeing her son’s envious face, Li Qianxue poked his forehead with a finger and asked, “how old, are you? How can you still be jealous of your sister? You’re a boy! Aren’t you aware of that? What? Do you still need mama to hush you to sleep?” 

  Su Yuxin put an arm around Li Qianxue’s arm and said, “mom, I’m really jealous of her. You’re allowed to pick your favorite child, so I am allowed to be jealous.” 

  Su Qingsang laughed after hearing that. “Don’t be jealous of me. I’ll only be here for a few days. I’ll give mom back to you after that.” 

  Then, she put on a serious face, looked at Su Yuxin and said sadly, “my little brother, I won’t come home again if I’m not welcomed by you.” 

  “Don’t say that! I was just joking.” Su Yuxin hurriedly put an arm around her shoulders and said, “don’t take it to heart, sister.” 

  Su Qingsang looked at his hand which was on her shoulder and burst in laughter. “I was joking too. Don’t take it to heart.” 

  “I can’t believe you did that!” 

  While speaking, Su Yuxin attempted to tickle Su Qingsang. Su Qingsang, of course, didn’t let him do that. 

  She gave a small scream and rushed downstairs. 

  Su Yuxin followed closely behind her. Li Qianxue watched her children play around with each other as if they had always been this close. 

  She turned up the corners of her lips in a smile. She loved how she felt at that moment. It was so perfect. If only Su Qingsang and Su Yuxin could keep her company forever. 

  However, she was aware that it was an unrealistic wish. Su Qingsang was already married. She was a part of the Huo Family too. 

  Su Yuxin was still young, but he had already been recommended for an admission to a college. He would be leaving home to study soon. 

  She would be all alone again when he grew up and left home. 

  That thought lingered in her head until she went downstairs and saw Su Yuxin and Su Qingsang sitting together. 

  Wherever they would go in the future, they would always be her children. At least right now, they were both with her. That was enough for her already.