Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

Xu Qingcheng curled her fingers into her palm. Her face was adorned with exquisite makeup, with slender eyebrows and bright red lips that accentuated her beauty with sharp, angular features that made her difficult to look directly at.

"Uncle Chen, this isn't something you can make me step down with just a few words." Xu Qingcheng tilted her head. "Everyone was satisfied with the report card I presented at the last shareholders' meeting. Now, if you have this idea, you can go through the normal procedures; I won't stop you. However, the decisions that everyone has already discussed and passed in the meeting before that will continue to be implemented."

She made a decisive move, forcefully and without room for discussion, temporarily suppressing the matter.

End of the meeting.

The moment Xu Qingcheng returned to her office, she felt completely exhausted, a lingering effect of intense mental stress.

Yu Sheng poured her a glass of water.

Xu Qingcheng took it. "The legal department has sent me the draft acquisition contract for review regarding the sale of the laser business. This matter must be pushed forward with all our might and as quickly as possible. You will personally oversee it."

Yu Sheng nodded, "Yes, don't worry."

Xu Qingcheng closed her eyes and asked Yu Sheng to leave first, then she remained silent.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Xu Qingcheng told them to go through the shareholders' meeting voting process if they had any opinions, because she felt that they couldn't reach a consensus on the majority of opinions in a short time, and she still had time.

After leaving Shengshi, Xu Qingcheng went to the hospital first. The caregiver was taking care of Xu Shengchang's meal, and a lot of things were falling out of her pocket.

Zhao Lan's face was still pale, but her emotions were relatively calm.

Xu Qingcheng stayed for a short while, but the company matters made her restless, so she prepared to leave.

Zhao Lan called to her, "Come here."

Xu Qingcheng looked at Aunt Wang, who gave her an encouraging look.

Qingcheng understood; it must have been Aunt Wang who had told Zhao Lan what she had been instructed to do.

"Mom." Xu Qingcheng sat down in front of the hospital bed.

Zhao Lan cut to the chase and asked her, "Are you really in a relationship?"

"Um."

"Can you let go of Ye Tinghong?"

"There's nothing to let go of." Xu Qingcheng lowered her eyes. "There's no possibility between him and me in this lifetime. Life always goes on; it won't stop just because someone leaves."

The name Ye Tinghong still brings a dull ache to her heart. But she has to let go eventually; he belongs to the past and will no longer be a part of her future.

Xu Qingcheng was so clear-headed that she wouldn't leave herself any room for hope.

Zhao Lan watched her sitting there obediently. Her daughter was beautiful. Even when she was being so well-behaved, she could be gentle and considerate, like a lady from a respectable family.

"The Fu family is a step up for us. Actually, I think you should find someone less well-off, but someone who treats you better. That way, you can have more say at home and won't have to compromise all the time." Zhao Lan sighed softly, realizing that women always have more difficulties than men.

"Mom, it hasn't come to that yet, so I didn't know how to tell you before." Xu Qingcheng smiled. "I know the Fu family is well-off, so I didn't want to accept him at first. But he's really good to me, and I want to date him and see if we're meant to be, and see if I can still... have a life to look forward to, someone to look forward to."

Xu Qingcheng's words were not true at all, but by the end, her nose felt dry.

Everyone has expectations for the future, but she doesn't know where her future lies.

If Xu Qingcheng used to be living in a sweet dream, now she is facing a field full of thorns, and her thoughts are completely different.

Even so, a spark still burns deep within me, hoping that one day I can still pursue the life I yearn for.

The phone rang, and Xu Qingcheng saw that it was Fu Jingting calling. The call couldn't have come at the right time.

She cleared her throat discreetly. "Mom, I'll take this call. It's Jingting calling."

Xu Qingcheng got up and walked to the side to answer the call.

"Where?" Fu Jingting asked directly.

"I'm at the hospital, with my mom," she said sweetly.

There was no deliberate affectation, yet it was different from her usual coquettish softness.

This sound only penetrates deep into my heart, tickling my heart and making it itch unbearably.

Fu Jingting was silent for a while before saying, "I'll have the driver pick you up in an hour."

Does this mean he wants her to go to his place?!

She had a lot on her plate, but Xu Qingcheng handled it smoothly. "Pick me up? No need. You're so busy, I can go back by myself."

Fu Jingting, "..." He didn't say he was going to pick her up, did he?!

The man rubbed his neck, not bothering to unbutton his shirt which was only half-undone. He sat on the sofa, talking on his phone, leaning back in a comfortable position. "You said you were at the hospital with your mother, and you changed your phone screen to a picture of you and me. The news said I was deeply in love with you. Miss Xu, is this love drama you're putting on for outsiders and for your mother too?"

Some people are just too smart, and people who are too smart are prone to going bald!

Xu Qingcheng gritted her teeth, lowered her eyes, and said in a shy, girlish voice, "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm hanging up."

She was in a hurry to hang up, afraid that the more she talked, the more she would give herself away.

But the voice made the man's scalp tingle. Fu Jingting said slowly, "You can hang up now. Once you hang up, I won't be able to resist going to the hospital ward to explain our true relationship."

Xu Qingcheng, "..." Bitch! Dog of a man!

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" she asked through gritted teeth, lowering her voice.

The image of her gritting her teeth but not daring to explode naturally came to mind.

Fu Jingting smiled and couldn't resist teasing her. "Nothing to say."

"You wouldn't let me hang up even though I didn't want to say anything."

"I'd like to hear what other stories you have up your sleeve." Fu Jingting got up and poured himself a glass of water.

Xu Qingcheng was speechless; this man was addicted to making her jealous.

She rolled her eyes and went along with his nonsense, her voice soft and sweet, as if she were flirting with a lover. "You're so annoying. I didn't make this up. Everything I said is true. Who else would I have feelings for if not you? Are you jealous? It might seem like a bit chauvinistic, but I'm actually quite happy about it."

Fu Jingting almost spat out his water, which made him cough several times, and it was especially noticeable through the receiver.

Xu Qingcheng couldn't help but smile. Serves you right, you'll get what's coming to you.

"You can hang up now." A remarkably calm voice came from the other end of the phone.

Xu Qingcheng hung up the phone with a grin, and in her mind, a little Qingcheng excitedly raised a statue of the goddess of victory and happily made a V sign.

Zhao Lan looked at her, and the words "Fu Jingting is not suitable" stuck in her throat.

When Xu Qingcheng returned, Zhao Lan only said, "Girls need to know how to protect themselves."

"Mom, don't believe the rumors outside. I won't joke around with my own life," Xu Qingcheng knew the hidden meaning in Zhao Lan's words. In the end, she was still worried about her messy relationships. "I just want to hand Shengshi over to Qingyao properly and hope that he will at least have a good future. Even if it's just... my way of making it up to him as his older sister."