Qin Xi's actions left all the onlookers stunned.
Wang Jian's face burned with humiliation. His public confession had not only been rejected, but the woman he loved had also been taken away by a penniless loser holding a wildflower.
Watching Yang Chen and Qin Xi walk away, Wang Jian angrily threw the bouquet of roses to the ground, his eyes red with fury as he growled, "Yang Chen, I won't let you off!"
Yang Chen drove while Qin Xi sat in the passenger seat, still holding the small wildflower. Her gaze was weary as she stared out the window, lost in thought.
"What's on your mind?" Yang Chen suddenly asked.
Qin Xi snapped out of her daze and shook her head lightly. "It's nothing. Let's go pick up Xiaoxiao."
"Alright!" Yang Chen had been thinking the same thing.
But he couldn't shake a faint sense of worry. Qin Xi clearly had something troubling her, but she wasn't willing to share.
Soon, they arrived at Lantian Kindergarten.
When Xiaoxiao saw her parents coming to pick her up together, she was overjoyed. Even before leaving the kindergarten, she was already jumping up and down, shouting, "Daddy! Mommy! I'm here!"
"Look! That's my daddy and mommy! They came to get me together!"
After waving excitedly at her parents, Xiaoxiao proudly boasted to her little friends beside her.
It was dismissal time at the kindergarten, and parents were lining up as teachers called out the children's names one by one.
Standing in the queue, Yang Chen watched his daughter's animated face, his heart aching with even more guilt.
When the teacher called Xiaoxiao's name, before Yang Chen could step forward, the little girl squealed, "Daddy!" and dashed toward him.
Yang Chen lifted her up and spun her around, smiling. "Did you miss Daddy?"
"Yes!" Xiaoxiao giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Then, as if sensing her mother's unusual mood, she quickly added, "I missed Daddy, and I missed Mommy too."
Qin Xi, however, seemed distracted and didn't hear her daughter's words.
Xiaoxiao pouted, her little face crestfallen.
"Xiao Xi, Xiaoxiao said she missed you," Yang Chen reminded her gently.
Only then did Qin Xi snap back to reality. She quickly reached out to take Xiaoxiao into her arms, forcing a faint smile. "Mommy missed Xiaoxiao too!"
"Mommy, the teacher praised me today! She said my drawing of 'Happy Family' was really good!"
"Xiaoxiao is amazing!"
"Daddy, come here! You have to hold Mommy's hand!"
...
The family chatted and laughed as they left the kindergarten.
But Qin Xi's mind kept wandering, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.
"Xiaoxiao, Daddy will video call you tonight, okay?" Seeing his daughter's reluctance to part, Yang Chen quickly promised a video call, which brightened the little girl's mood.
"Yang Chen, I have something to do tonight. I might be back late, so don't wait for the call," Qin Xi interjected.
Yang Chen was slightly taken aback. He wondered where she could be going so late.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
Qin Xi shook her head quickly. "No need!"
"Alright. If you need anything, just let me know," Yang Chen said.
After parting ways with Qin Xi, Yang Chen made a call on his way home. "Find out if Qin Xi ran into any trouble at the company today."
"Yes, Chairman!"
As soon as Yang Chen arrived home, Luo Bin called back.
After learning what had happened at the company, Yang Chen's face darkened with anger.
Since returning to Jiangzhou, he had lost his temper multiple times—each time because of Qin Xi and their daughter.
"That foolish woman. Doesn't she know everything I have belongs to her? Why does she still let others bully her?" Yang Chen fumed.
With that, he turned his car around and drove off.
After Yang Chen took control of Sanhe Group, he had purged all the Qin family members from the company. But for the sake of operations, he couldn't dismiss all employees and had retained many staff members.
When Qin Xi was still the chairman, she had been strict with the company, earning her many enemies. Now that she insisted on starting from the bottom as a regular employee, it was no surprise she faced significant resistance.
That day, Qin Xi's direct supervisor—a low-level department head—had assigned her a task that was far beyond her responsibilities.
The task required Qin Xi to negotiate a partnership with Xiong Boren, the general manager of Daye Group.
But coincidentally, Daye Group was owned by the Xiong family, and Xiong Boren happened to be the father of Xiong Wei.
The venue for the negotiation was Boren Entertainment, another Xiong family business.
Yang Chen wasn't sure if this was connected to him, but one thing was certain—he would never cooperate with the Xiong family.
At Boren Entertainment, Qin Xi stepped out of a taxi in her professional attire, her high heels clicking as she hurried inside.
Qin Xi never visited nightclubs. If not for the business negotiation, she would never have come to such a place alone at night.
"Hello, I'm Qin Xi from Sanhe Group. Your General Manager Xiong invited me here to discuss business," she said to the receptionist.
"General Manager Xiong is waiting for you. I'll take you to him," the receptionist replied with a professional smile.
Qin Xi had assumed Boren Entertainment had an office, but she was led instead to a private suite on the top floor.
"General Manager Xiong, Ms. Qin is here," the receptionist announced as she opened the door.
Inside the suite, a middle-aged man stood by the floor-to-ceiling window.
He turned around—a heavyset man in dress pants and a white button-up shirt, his belly straining against the fabric, his eyes shadowed with something dark.
Xiong Boren had only heard of Qin Xi before; this was their first meeting. He couldn't help but marvel inwardly—she truly lived up to her reputation as Jiangzhou's most beautiful woman.
"Ms. Qin, you're even more stunning than the rumors say," Xiong Boren said with a smile, extending his hand.
Qin Xi smiled politely and shook his hand. "You flatter me, General Manager Xiong."
Xiong Boren didn't let go. Instead, he smirked. "I'm just stating facts. With your beauty, I doubt there's a man alive who wouldn't be captivated."
The remark was blatantly inappropriate. Qin Xi frowned and subtly pulled her hand back, exerting a bit more force to free herself.
She was beginning to sense that this negotiation wouldn't go smoothly.
If not for Sanhe Group's sake, she would have walked out the moment Xiong Boren made that comment.
"General Manager Xiong, let's focus on business. Sanhe Group's current growth momentum is strong. With Yan Chen Group and the Su family actively seeking partnerships, our future is bright."
Qin Xi was assertive, emphasizing Sanhe Group's powerful allies as a subtle warning to Xiong Boren—if he missed this opportunity, future cooperation would be difficult.
But what she didn't know was that Xiong Boren had no intention of partnering with Sanhe Group. His goal was revenge.
"I understand what you're saying. Partnering with Sanhe Group would be an honor for us," Xiong Boren said with a smile.
Qin Xi wasn't sure what he meant by that and waited for him to continue.
Xiong Boren picked up a bottle of premium red wine from the coffee table and poured two glasses, offering one to Qin Xi. Just as she was about to decline, he said, "Since you've put it that way, refusing would make me ungrateful. A toast to our successful collaboration!"
Qin Xi hadn't expected the negotiation to go so smoothly. It felt surreal.
Her guard lowered momentarily, and she accepted the glass with a smile. "Thank you, General Manager Xiong."
She took a small sip before setting the glass down.
Xiong Boren leaned back, settling into a more comfortable position. "I heard your husband's name is Yang Chen?"
Qin Xi was taken aback, unsure why he'd bring up Yang Chen. She nodded slightly. "You know my husband?"
Xiong Boren chuckled. "Of course. We're quite familiar, in fact."
Qin Xi had no idea about the incident where Qin Yi was nearly assaulted by Xiong Wei here, nor did she know their father-son relationship.
"How do you know each other?" she asked, suddenly curious.
A sinister smile curled on Xiong Boren's lips. "Have you heard about the incident at First Residence a few days ago?"
Qin Xi was puzzled. Of course she knew—Qin Fei had been caught in a scandal with a young member of the Xiong family.
The Xiong family!
Xiong Boren!
The connection suddenly clicked in Qin Xi's mind. Along with the events at First Residence, she began to piece things together.
When her supervisor assigned her this task earlier, she had been solely focused on securing the partnership for Sanhe Group, unaware of Daye Group's background.
Now, she realized something was terribly wrong.
"It seems you're aware of the incident. It was your husband who turned my worthless son into a laughingstock across Jiangzhou," Xiong Boren continued, his tone still eerily calm, as if unbothered.
Then he added, "Ms. Qin, don't you think it's only fair that I return the favor by making you the center of attention in Jiangzhou?"
Qin Xi's face paled, and she shot to her feet.
Only now did she understand—Xiong Boren had no intention of discussing business. His target was her.
But the moment she stood, a wave of dizziness crashed over her, the room spinning wildly.
"You—you drugged me?" Qin Xi gasped in horror.