We moved to Golden Courtyard

No sooner had they arrived than Bronya returned with Delta, Alicia, Sakura, and Anna.

Subsequently, Dr. Mei, along with Mebius and Vervier, also returned.

Even Aponia has returned. Gretchen originally wanted to come back too, but the nun ordered her to go back to her miserable school days.

Durandal, Theresa, Kevin, and Sue all arrived around the same time.

Before long, the Golden Courtyard, which was almost deserted during weekday days, was now full of people in the living room, as almost all the residents of the courtyard had come over.

Aside from a few kids who haven't taken the college entrance exam yet, there's Kosmo, Gretchen, and the Vodka sisters.

You want to ask about cats?

At this moment, he was clinging to Xu Qi's leg, crying and calling him "boss" repeatedly.

Those who don't know might think Xu Qi has already passed away.

"Okay, okay... I'm fine, why are you yelling at me from across the room?"

"I...I saw Jie say you went home first, and I felt something was off...But when I got back, everyone was already home! Boss, you can't be hiding anything from me! Waaah!..."

I felt that any bad mood vanished as soon as the cat interrupted me.

Xu Qi chuckled wryly as he picked up the cat, then, just like with a cat, laid her down on his lap and began to pet her.

Even the real kitten, Canned Food, was puzzled.

Am I the cat or is she the cat?

Upon seeing this scene, everyone smiled in unison.

Xu Qi looked around. He really hadn't expected that his slight lapse in composure would make everyone so concerned and attentive.

"I'm sorry to have worried everyone."

"What are you saying? We're family, that's why we do this. What's there to apologize for?"

Delta crossed his arms coolly and said this.

Xu Qi chuckled, while Bronya couldn't help but rub little Delta's head, only to have it impatiently slapped away.

Delta would be the only one to say something like that in front of so many people.

But this frankness is not at all annoying.

“Delta’s right?~~” Alicia leaned back on the sofa and poked Xu Qi’s cheek with her finger. “Xu Qi, you’re being too dramatic, hehe~~”

Xu Qi, who had originally wanted to say thank you again, suddenly smiled to herself.

We're family, that's why we care so much about each other.

They are family, which is why they rushed back immediately when they sensed something was wrong with each other.

Without asking the reasons or conditions.

This is Xu Qi's home, a new home he found after leaving his parents.

"so……"

Mei voiced everyone's thoughts.

"What happened? You look so upset... and you even went straight home?"

Knowing your personality, if you solved Xilin's problem, you'd probably be itching to go back to the company and show off in front of that little girl, right?

After Mei finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but laugh.

That's definitely something Xu Qi would do.

"Actually... I was just being a bit sentimental. When I left TX Group, I suddenly realized who the person who sent me the text message earlier really was."

Bronya's eyes lit up.

"You have an idea?"

"Yes, the person who leaked the secret that TX was trading Sirin to us in advance... was Sirin's mother."

846. For Mei, this would break her heart.

When Xu Qi said this, many people looked at him blankly.

How could this be? How could it be possible? Why would she do that?

But Bronya was different. After a little thought, she understood everything, and she finally understood why Xu Qi felt such a sense of loss.

"I couldn't believe my own speculation at first, but what Xu Houde said to me before he left made me realize what was going on."

The transaction involving Sirin is undoubtedly top secret to both companies. TX's security measures have always been excellent, and even if they are not perfect!

It's impossible that the contract was leaked on the very day it was signed, so Xu Houde probably started to suspect MH the moment Qianjie and I appeared.

Then I thought about it—indeed, it was such an important matter, just finding out about it was already a lot of work, let alone taking a picture of the document.

Xu Houde didn't have this information, but he still had a guess in the end—if the leak of the documents wasn't Xilin's mother, it must be related to the other party!

Such speculation is somewhat bold, but for Xu Houde, it is not unreasonable—he treats everyone as a tool, and naturally assumes that everyone is the same.

Following this line of thought, I recalled Xilin's mother's behavior that night—she didn't show any shock that I knew TX was trading Xilin.

Everything happened too naturally, but if she was the one who leaked the information to us, then everything can be explained clearly.

As for why that woman leaked the information to us, the reason is very simple..." Xu Qi couldn't continue speaking at this point.

Bronya then spoke up after he had been silent for a while.

"She wants to incite ET and TX to bid against each other. In the end, Celine will be like a commodity put up for auction, with the highest bidder winning."

However, she overlooked one thing—she didn't expect that Xu Qi, the supervisor of ET, would be so determined and unstoppable.

She never imagined that Xu Qi would go to such lengths for Xilin, just to stop the girl from being sold and traded like a commodity.

Xu Qi, this time... you did a great job.

Bronya looked at Xu Qi with a mixture of relief and emotion. Xu Qi... how could the help he had given her be described in just a few words? He had truly helped her so much.

However, Xu Qi's mood did not improve because of Bronya's praise.

He managed a weak smile, which served as a response to Bronya.

"No matter how well I do, what can I do? That child's mother... if she had even a little more consideration for Sirin, she wouldn't have done such a thing!"

She's her mother...

Xu Qi's words seemed to reveal the sorrow of countless people in the courtyard.

Mei thought of her father, Mebius thought of his childhood, and Sakura also lowered her head with a gloomy expression.

In this world, what betrayal could be more painful than that between family members?

If the truth is indeed as Xu Qi said, then after Xilin learned all this...

How should she deal with this?

How should she accept this?

Your mother didn't consider your own feelings at all; she just wanted to put you up for auction like a commodity, letting the highest bidder take you away.

She might have her reasons—whether you go to TX or stay in ET, you'll have better career prospects, and Mom is doing this for your own good!

But why won't you ask one more question?

Celine, where do you want to work? What do you want to do?

Perhaps the seeds of this were sown as soon as MH agreed to lease Sirin without hesitation.

Do you remember how Bronya evaluated the rental and non-sale items back then?

"The so-called non-sale items are just because the price offered is not high enough. We can rent Sirin, and we can naturally buy her at a higher price later if we want."

At that time, no one knew that the chairman of MH was Celine's mother.

"I don't plan to tell Sirin about this."

Everyone was taken aback when they heard this, but then they all understood.

Xu Qi took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"Regardless of the truth of this matter, I will not tell Sirin any of this... Please keep this matter to yourselves and do not speak of it."

Regardless, this is... far too cruel for Sirin.

Are you planning to carry this secret alone?

Mei tenderly stroked Xu Qi's cheek.

"What are you saying, Mei? Haven't I just told everyone this secret? Delta is right, we're family, there's nothing to hide."

It's really hard for me to bear this secret all by myself... but thankfully you're all here. Consider it helping me out, okay?

The crowd remained silent, and no one offered an opinion.

However, at this moment, Fu Xian'er suddenly stepped forward and said to Xu Qi in an unquestionable tone, "Tell Xilin everything."

"Sister Xian'er?"

“She’s not a child who necessarily needs someone to protect her. She’s an adult, and she has the right to know all of this. Find out what happened and then tell her. Xu Qi, do as I say.”

At this moment, the cat also sat up from Xu Qi's lap, and she looked at Xu Qi stubbornly and said.

“Boss, I’m sorry, but I can’t listen to you on this. I’ll go to that company tonight and investigate everything you’ve said! I’ll tell Miss Sirin everything… she can handle it.”

"Kitty..."

Even Kevin, who had been listening in for a long time, said, "Xu Qi, protecting someone doesn't mean you have to shoulder everything for her. I don't think Miss Xilin is that fragile."

"Boss Kevin..."

Xu Qi looked around at everyone and noticed that they all seemed a little evasive. Clearly, they didn't want Xu Qi to carry this secret alone.

Finally, Xu Qi let out a long sigh.

For some reason, even though his actions were met with opposition from everyone, he felt a sense of relief.

With a forced smile, Xu Qi nodded helplessly.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Accompanied by Mei, Xu Qi returned to her room.

Before leaving, the woman whom Xu Qi loved most quietly nodded to Fu Xian'er to express her gratitude.

She thanked Fu Xian'er for standing up for Xu Qi at that time.

Even if the truth cuts into one's heart like a knife, it is still worth knowing.

Moreover, Mei didn't want Xu Qi to carry a heavy psychological burden because of this, making him feel awkward every time he faced Xilin in the future.

Doing this will make her feel bad.

847. I'll play you a subtly suggestive violin piece.

"Mei, was my decision just now wrong?" Back in the room, Xu Qi sat on the edge of the bed with Mei by his side and asked the question with some hesitation.

Mei, though she also didn't want Xu Qi to keep the secret, gently took his arm and said softly, "At least that desire to protect others isn't wrong."

We've spent an unknown amount of time actually together, and even as lovers, it's been over a year.

Xu Qi knew perfectly well that Mei was just trying to comfort him.

He flicked the other person's nose and chuckled, "You... you always defend me. The moment I agreed, I actually felt much better."

At that moment, I realized that I had indeed made a wrong decision.

Mei leaned against Xu Qi's chest, listening intently to his strong heartbeat, enjoying the peace that belonged only to the two of them.

"It's normal to make mistakes, I make mistakes all the time. Like today? To tell you the truth, I actually sneaked out of school and skipped all my afternoon classes."

"When I go back tomorrow, I'm probably going to get scolded by my advisor again."

Xu Qi raised an eyebrow.