Three years after our breakup, my ex-boyfriend dragged me to get our marriage certificate.

Before she was completely dead, Qiao Suining sighed again.

"I have to find that woman."

"But isn't this a misunderstanding?" Lin Qingyi bit her lip. "He Zhixu buying paintings from me and such matches the person you mentioned."

"No." Qiao Suining's eyes darkened. "This person definitely exists."

Lin Qingyi didn't dare say anything more.

"Qingyi, He Zhixu is too meticulous," Qiao Suining said helplessly. "I have no other choice but to go through you."

"Okay." Lin Qingyi simply couldn't resist those sincere eyes. "I'll think of a way."

Qiao Suining nodded happily, "Okay, then when you go back, think about opening an art studio too."

Lin Qingyi twitched the corner of her mouth.

She really can't laugh right now.

She couldn't very well give herself to Qiao Suining...

As Lin Qingyi left the banquet hall, she seemed somewhat absent-minded.

She sat down in the back seat, and while Ji Yuhuai and He Zhixu chatted in the front, she had no interest in joining in.

However, before getting out of the car, Ji Yuhuai repeatedly told her not to say anything carelessly.

"I understand." Lin Qingyi nodded perfunctorily.

Ji Yuhuai raised an eyebrow. What had triggered her? Why was she suddenly so obedient?

Although the He family's old house is decorated in a modern style, once you enter, you feel a sense of oppression that forces you to be serious.

Lin Qingyi broke out in a cold sweat when she saw Old Master He sitting in the main seat.

Such a serious, old-fashioned, and reserved old man...

Even if she doesn't speak and just sits there, she makes people afraid to look directly at her.

No wonder Ji Yuhuai and He Zhixu were intimidated by the old man.

Lin Qingyi hesitated, wondering whether she should wait for Ji Yuhuai or He Zhixu to introduce her, or whether she should speak first and introduce herself to the old man.

To everyone's surprise, the originally stern old man instantly beamed with a kind smile, and before she and Ji Yuhuai could speak, he beckoned her to sit next to him.

"You little girl, you've probably forgotten me." Seeing her staring blankly at him, Grandpa He explained helplessly, "When you were about this tall, you received a big red envelope from me."

I want to hug you, but you're ignoring me after taking the money.

More than a decade ago, he went to Beicheng on a business trip and stayed at his son-in-law Ji Kun's house for a period of time.

He admired Ji Kun's good friend Lin Hwai-min, who was a very outstanding young man.

He was not only exceptionally talented, but even his daughter was so adorable.

The He family has had only one daughter, He Ling, across four generations.

So when he saw Lin Qingyi as a child, he took an instant liking to her.

Lin Qingyi was surprised at first, then remembered something, and her face instantly turned hot.

"The red envelopes weren't just for me; Shi An and A Huai both received them."

Lin Qingyi retorted, "You just wanted to hug me and said you wanted to take me away, of course I was scared..."

He Zhixu's heart was in his throat.

No one had ever dared to speak to Grandpa like that before. Even if Ah Huai was a good-for-nothing, he still had to behave like a grandson in front of Grandpa.

Ji Yuhuai stared at Lin Qingyi; it turned out she had been a money-grubber since childhood.

"Hahaha." Old Master He was amused. "It's been so many years since we last met, and you're still as bold as ever, young lady."

"How are you doing?"

Lin Qingyi asked.

"All is well." Grandpa He looked at Lin Qingyi with eyes full of pity. "When I heard about your father's situation, it was already too late... I was unable to help, which is a great regret in my heart."

Lin Qingyi shook her head. "Please don't say that. Things happened so suddenly that we were all caught off guard."

Uncle Ji picked me up and took me home, and Aunt He also took good care of me.

I know that you must have had something to do with it.

Lin Qingyi doesn't like dealing with this kind of person.

How did I say it again?

Hindsight is 20/20...

If he really wanted to help, he wouldn't have never come to see her and her mother after her father died and the Lin family went bankrupt.

Anyone can say nice things.

For a high-ranking leader like him to say such things in front of a nobody like her.

Either their conscience wouldn't allow it, or they had ulterior motives.

as predicted.

The next second, Grandpa He spoke again, "Girl, you were a top student at UCL University, and later transferred to Tsinghua University in China."

Where are you working now?

"I...I was slightly injured before and have been recovering," Lin Qingyi explained gently. "I haven't had a job since graduation."

"This... truly is a hidden gem in Jing Mountain."

Grandpa He shook his head regretfully, "Ah Xu has been transferred to Beicheng, and he can't be without his own people by his side."

"Have him assign you to the project team. With your qualifications and abilities, I believe you'll be able to handle things independently very quickly."

Lin Qingyi could clearly hear fireworks exploding in her head.

The job she had always dreamed of, the department she had gone to great lengths to get into.

Just when she thought she was still lingering at the foot of the mountain, Old Master He actually sent her directly to the summit.

She was so excited she felt like she was about to explode.

But his face remained calm.

"No," Ji Yuhuai said before she could, his tone urgent and resolute. "She hasn't worked since graduation and is not up to the task."

The old man raised an eyebrow. "Ah Huai, do you think my arrangements as an old man are inappropriate?"

Ji Yuhuai's face turned ashen from being cornered.

He certainly felt it was inappropriate, but he also knew very well that no one could go against his grandfather's decision.

"I'm just worried that she hasn't had a job for so long since graduation, and she might not be able to adapt to a high-intensity job all of a sudden."

As Ji Yuhuai spoke, he narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Lin Qingyi.

He spoke bluntly, and Lin Qingyi could understand it.

Lin Qingyi accepted Ji Yuhuai's signal and chuckled softly.

Before a butterfly emerges from its cocoon, it must endure a long period of solitude in the darkness.

But that period was the necessary path for them to complete their most perfect transformation.

Under Ji Yuhuai's astonished gaze, Lin Qingyi spoke clearly to the old man, word by word.

"Grandpa, thank you."

If I hadn't met you today, I might still be cowering, afraid to face this cruel world.

You believe me, and I have no reason not to believe in myself.

Grandpa, I will try my best to adapt and become Mr. He's help as soon as possible.

"Good." Old Master He nodded in satisfaction. "I knew Huaimin's daughter could never be an ordinary person."

Lin Qingyi smiled, her eyes crinkling, and glanced at Ji Yuhuai.

very nice.

With this job, she no longer had to indulge Ji Yuhuai's nonsense.

Ji Yuhuai felt a tremor in his heart when he saw her gaze.

That look in his eyes was like a child who had just received a beautiful toy and then discarded an old, worn-out one that they were tired of playing with...

There was no resentment or lingering affection in that look, only a clean and decisive rejection.

Ji Yuhuai was not used to this feeling.

He was clearly in the dominant position all along, and he was the one who was constantly on guard against Lin Qingyi getting close.

But now, it seems she would never look at him again.

He felt no relief, only endless emptiness and panic.