Xiao Ying took her phone out of the villa and called Long Ming.

  It rang for a long time. Just when Xiao Ying thought that no one would answer, the call went through.

  Xiao Ying immediately asked, “Long Ming, Sister Wen said that the royal family and LY Group have canceled their cooperation and that the royal family wants to work directly with our company on the gas project?”


  The man on the phone coughed. “Miss Ying, I’m Mo Tian. The King is in a meeting.”


  “You’re Long Ming’s confidant. You should know of some of his decisions, right?”


  Mo Tian replied, “Yes, the King wants to work with your company directly.”


  “Why?”


  “It’s not easy for us to guess the King’s thoughts as his subordinates. However, if you’re worried about Miss Lou, you don’t have to be. The King has always been in charge of whom the royal family works with!”


  Mo Tian remembered that after the royal family canceled the cooperation with LY Group, Lou Lan called the King and he had replied her directly. He could not cooperate with a person who was not clear between work and private matters. If Lou Lan had any objections, she could look for him directly. If he dared to make trouble for Number 21 again, he would not be polite.

  Mo Tian was very clear about the grudges between the King and 21. The King was protective of Number 21. He could hit and scold her himself, but others could not!

  Mo Tian still had to continue the meeting, so Xiao Ying had no choice but to end the call.

  Entering the villa, Sister Wen, who was playing with Wan Bao, stood up and walked to Xiao Ying’s side.

  “Sister Ying, have you thought it through? Sister Wen really doesn’t want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Don’t worry, I’ll bring my nanny over and let her take good care of Wan Bao for you. I’ll let you be in charge of the branch company and return your shares…”


  Xiao Ying looked at Sister Wen’s expectant gaze, her heart conflicted.

  With her understanding of Long Ming, if she did not agree, he had countless ways to force her to agree.

  In terms of benefits, they had actually profited from working with the royal family.

  After weighing the pros and cons, Xiao Ying could only nod. “I’ll do my best!”


  …


  With the support of the royal family, the branch company opened very quickly.

  Sister Wen had brought her nanny who had been by her side for more than twenty years to take care of Wan Bao for Xiao Ying.

  Xiao Ying was busy with work in the day and accompanying Wan Bao at night.

  Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Ying had not seen Long Ming nor contacted Tang En.

  After Wan Bao saw that Tang En was taken away by the Young Master that day, she had been in a bad mood. It was only after Xiao Ying played the recording left by Tang En that a smile appeared on Wan Bao’s face again.

  Although she missed Papa Tang, she still had Mommy by her side and was happy every day.

  After the branch company opened and everything was running normally, Xiao Ying received a call from Mo Tian, asking her to bring her team to the forest in the afternoon.

  Hearing the words ‘the forest’, Xiao Ying’s heart skipped a beat.

  That was where Long Ming had almost died!

  However, Xiao Ying also found out recently that there was natural gas there and they would be mining there.

  Xiao Ying knew that Mo Tian wanted her to go because of work, so she did not refuse. “Okay.”


  …


  Xiao Ying brought her team and drove to the forest.

  Coming here again after so many years, Xiao Ying’s mind was filled with thoughts.

  When they arrived at the entrance of the forest, Xiao Ying saw several luxurious black cars parked there.

  After a while, the door of a car in the middle opened and a tall man got out.

  That person was dressed in exquisite black, his shiny leather shoes stepping on the mud road domineeringly. Under his short hair, his facial features and face looked like they had been carved by a knife.

  The moment he got out of the car, he attracted the attention of everyone in Xiao Ying’s team.

  Long Ming was tall and handsome. Although he looked cold and distant, the male hormones he exuded were really charming and made people blush uncontrollably.

  It was a custom-made black shirt with gold thread on the collar and sleeves. His long pants were ironed perfectly without any creases. It was a classic outfit with broad shoulders and a narrow waist.

  Xiao Ying heard a young girl behind her cover her mouth and gasp. She could not help but frown when she heard her soft screams.

  Was he that handsome?

  If those people from the capital appeared here, wouldn’t they faint?

  Long Ming looked over. He had dark sunglasses on his tall nose and Xiao Ying could not see his expression.

  But she vaguely felt that he was watching her.

  Long Ming walked over with his men.

  Xiao Ying straightened her back unconsciously. No matter what his purpose was, he had to make her stay here. But since they were working together, they could not act like strangers or enemies.

  Xiao Ying took a few steps forward, planning to greet Long Ming.

  Before her slender hand could reach out to shake his hand, his tall figure walked past her and left.

  He treated her like air.

  Xiao Ying turned back to look at him, but she could not see his face clearly. She could only see his back that was colder than the lake in winter.

  Xiao Ying pursed her lips and glanced at the team she had brought. “We can’t drive here. We can only walk. Let’s go!”


  When the people in the team saw that Long Ming was ignoring Xiao Ying, they could not help but feel uneasy about this cooperation.

  …


  Xiao Ying did not know if it was because Long Ming had come to the secluded forest, but after entering the forest, his expression had been cold and he exuded a coldness that kept people away.

  Xiao Ying tried not to talk to him. If there was anything she needed to communicate to them, she would look for Mo Tian.

  The investigation continued until night time. The royal family had built an temporary shelter in the secluded forest. They still had to stay here tomorrow, so everyone stayed in the temporary shelter to rest at night.

  There was a canteen in the temporary shelter and Mo Tian had arranged for a chef so that they would be able to eat after returning from their investigation.

  The royal family sat at one table while Xiao Ying and the team sat at the other.

  Long Ming also came to eat with everyone but he only ate a few mouthfuls before leaving.

  Xiao Ying did not have much of an appetite, so she ate a little and went out of the canteen.

  The moment she went out, she saw the man smoking a cigar in the yard.

  His back was tall, but there was an inexplicable loneliness.

  To him, this place was filled with betrayal and hurt.

  Coming here, his mood must be heavy and depressed.

  Xiao Ying did not know how to comfort him. After all, she was the one who had hurt him.

  All she could do was to try her best to avoid showing up in front of him.

  Xiao Ying planned to go back to her room, but the man standing in the yard smoking seemed to have eyes behind his back. Just as Xiao Ying was about to leave, his cold voice trailed over. “Number 21.”


  When Xiao Ying heard him calling her Number 21, her emotions surged uncontrollably.

  She walked in front of him, looking up at his well-defined face as she said with furrowed eyebrows, “Long Ming, I have a name. My name is Xiao Ying. If you call me Number 21, you’ll be the one who feels terrible.”


  …