Chapter 262: The Cunning Jiang Xiaoning

Today, Li Zhengsheng unexpectedly had some free time.

Taking advantage of the lull, he made his way to his daughter’s company.

In truth, he just wanted to catch up and talk about some family matters.

But as soon as he arrived, he was recognized by the security guard downstairs.

And that was the beginning of the chaos.

The entire building went into a frenzy. One boss after another came over like it was New Year’s, lining up to greet him.

It gave Li Zhengsheng quite the headache.

But among these bosses were some notable figures, people he couldn’t just brush off. So he had no choice but to exchange a few polite words with each of them.

Only after everyone had finally left did Li Zhengsheng have a moment to focus on his daughter.

Looking at the smiling young woman in front of him, pouring tea with a cheerful expression, he smiled as well.

“Mingyu,” he asked, “how’s the company doing lately?”

“Same old, same old. Two or three orders a month,” Li Mingyu replied as she finished pouring the tea and set the pot aside, still smiling. “Don’t expect me to support the family. Otherwise, we’d all be out begging on the streets.”

It was rare to see his daughter being playful like this.

Li Zhengsheng let out a hearty laugh.

“Silly girl, I’d never let my daughter go begging.”

“If anyone’s going, it’ll be your dad.”

Li Mingyu gave a faint smile at her father’s familiar line.

She didn’t argue.

Because she knew her father loved her.

He’d always been strict with his sons but lenient with his daughter.

If it weren’t for the Women’s Federation director at home keeping things in check, Li Mingyu figured she might’ve grown up with the temper of a spoiled heiress.

“Dad, how come you had time to come by today?”

“Didn’t you just complain a few days ago about how busy work’s been?”

“It really was hectic for a while,” Li Zhengsheng said as he picked up his teacup, blew on the floating tea leaves, and took a small sip. “But I just wrapped up a phase of work. Figured I’d take half a day off.”

Hearing that, Li Mingyu rolled her eyes and shifted slightly on the sofa, letting out a soft snort.

“Yeah right.”

“I don’t believe the second-in-command of the city has absolutely nothing to do.”

Seeing his excuse so bluntly exposed by his daughter, Li Zhengsheng chuckled and took another sip of tea.

“You really are my daughter, so sharp…”

As he spoke, he set down the teacup and adjusted his expression.

“Actually, I came today to talk about Xiao Fang…”

“Secretary Fang has mentioned it to me several times now…”

“Why don’t you at least meet him and see how it goes?”

Li Mingyu had clearly anticipated her father’s real reason for visiting.

When she heard it confirmed, she simply shook her head.

“Dad, Fang Zhuoxin is a good guy.”

“Graduated from a top university, started a successful business on his own.”

“But… I just don’t feel anything for him.”

As expected, Li Zhengsheng sighed helplessly.

“Sweetheart.”

“You’re already 28.”

“If you don’t find someone to be with, what will you do when your mom and I grow old?”

“I’ll grow old with you two.”

As she said this, Li Mingyu’s lips curled into a smile. She rested her chin on her hand, elbow propped on her knee, and gave her father a look he couldn’t quite read.

“Oh come on.”

“You rarely visit.”

“Let’s not talk about such buzzkill topics.”

Just then, a knock came from outside the door.

A secretary’s voice followed.

“President Li, President Tian and Miss Jiang from ‘Shi Ning Ji’ are here…”

Upon hearing this, Li Mingyu immediately responded.

“Let them in.”

She said it without the slightest concern for the man sitting on the sofa.

And of course, Li Zhengsheng couldn’t say anything.

After all, he truly doted on his daughter.

Even though he knew she was using these guests as an excuse to change the subject.

But what about Old Fang’s side…

How was he supposed to explain this?

As he was pondering, a porcelain beckoning cat suddenly appeared in front of him.

Right behind it was a pretty face that seemed vaguely familiar, peeking out from behind the cat with a strange smile.

“Hello, Uncle Li~”

The girl stepped past the young man beside her and came straight up to him.

Smiling brightly, she held out the lucky cat.

Her smile was radiant.

Her brows arched like willow leaves, slightly raised at the ends.

Charming and lively, with a touch of mischievous cuteness.

“You’re Jiang Ning, right?”

“I’ve seen your reports on TV.”

“National Olympic gold medalist!”

“Very impressive! Excellent!”

Li Zhengsheng gave her genuine praise as he glanced at the beckoning cat in her hands.

It looked familiar.

But he couldn’t quite recall where he’d seen it before.

After a moment’s thought, he accepted it and placed it on the table.

Meanwhile, Miss Jiang, faced with the father-in-law’s compliments, actually blushed a little—something rare for her.

“No, no…”

“Uncle, you’re the impressive one. So young and already in such a position.”

“Managing the lives of an entire city’s people all by yourself.”

“That’s what I call impressive.”

“Uncle, you’re amazing!”

For some reason, Li Zhengsheng felt there was something hard to put into words about this girl’s attitude toward him.

Was it flattery?

While Mr. Li Zhengsheng was still trying to figure it out, Li Mingyu, sitting to the side, was half amused and half exasperated.

Because she noticed that the lucky cat Jiang Ning had brought as a “gift”…

Was actually the one from the front desk of her own company.

This girl…

She really was cunning to the core.

Coming empty-handed was one thing.

But she even helped himself to her stuff…

For a moment, Li Mingyu didn’t know what kind of expression she should be wearing.

At this point, Li Zhengsheng seemed to finally catch on.

He thought of his lovesick, foolish son.

Then, his expression suddenly turned warm and friendly.

“Come, come,” he said. “Have a seat.”

As he spoke, he called out to his daughter, who was standing nearby with an odd smile on her face.

“Mingyu, go find our best tea. No, wait…”

Li Zhengsheng suddenly realized the girl in front of him was still quite young. He quickly turned back around, his face full of kindness as he asked:

“Xiao Jiang, is there anything you’d like to drink?”

“Nothing special, just tea is fine.”

“And anything you’d like to eat?”

“No, I’m not hungry.”

His overly friendly attitude left Miss Jiang a bit caught off guard.

But she didn’t think too much of it.

She simply assumed her future father-in-law was just naturally this easygoing.

In fact, she was even thinking to herself how surprisingly good-tempered the old man was.

Meanwhile, Tian Wenhao gave a respectful greeting from the side.

But from the slight tremble in his voice, it was clear the young man was feeling a bit intimidated.

Still too young, after all.

Miss Jiang smacked her lips lightly in amusement.

From there, the three of them began chatting, going back and forth over a variety of topics.

Though, for the most part, it was Li Zhengsheng asking questions and Miss Jiang answering.

As for Tian Wenhao, after asking two fairly normal questions, he went completely silent.

He just sat there like a decorative statue, smiling dumbly.

Li Mingyu, on the other hand, played the part of a graceful attendant, smiling as she served tea and poured water.

As the conversation deepened, Li Zhengsheng grew increasingly curious about the girl sitting across from him.

Why would a second-year high school student have such aligned views with someone like him, the second-in-command of a prefecture-level city?

Some of her opinions were even so insightful that he found himself inwardly applauding.

After quite a while, seeing that time was getting on, Li Zhengsheng let out a sigh, clearly reluctant for the conversation to end.

But that sigh startled Miss Jiang, who had been doing her best to make a good impression.

Nervously, she asked, “Uncle Li, is something wrong?”

Hearing this, Li Zhengsheng realized he’d given her the wrong impression.

He quickly chuckled and said, “No, no, nothing at all.”

“I was just feeling a bit emotional, thinking how impressive the younger generation is.”

“To be honest, if you ever decide to follow the same path I did, you’d be another outstanding woman.”

Ugh…

That compliment made Miss Jiang blush. She shyly replied:

“No, no, not at all.”

“I’m just an ordinary student. It’s all thanks to my school’s good teaching.”

“Hehe… hehe…”

At her words, Li Zhengsheng simply smiled and shook his head.

Before leaving, he suddenly turned to Miss Jiang and asked:

“Xiao Jiang, are you free next Saturday?”

A question like that usually carried some kind of deeper meaning.

Even if it was coming from her future father-in-law, Miss Jiang still cautiously asked:

“Why do you ask, Uncle Li?”

“There’s an investment promotion event in the city next Saturday evening.”

“Your ‘Shi Ning Ji’ is considered a pretty solid company in the city.”

“You should come take a look.”

As everyone knows, investment promotion events are typically organized by government agencies to attract high-end talent, projects, and capital.

To better draw in investment, the government often offers a range of favorable policies to entice major companies and individuals.

So, receiving an invitation to such an event usually meant you were a group or publicly listed company of some standing.

If ‘Shi Ning Ji’ could attend such a promotion event, it would do wonders for its reputation.

Given that, Miss Jiang had no reason to refuse.

She accepted with a bright smile.

However…

After her future father-in-law left, and while her cousin went to the restroom, Miss Jiang sidled up to the elegant Li Mingyu and asked with a grin:

“Sister Mingyu, how’d I do?”

“I was pretty good today, right?”

But to her surprise, Li Mingyu gave her a meaningful smile.

“You were definitely good.”

“Maybe a little too good.”

Huh?

What’s that supposed to mean?

Miss Jiang looked completely confused.

But Li Mingyu didn’t seem interested in explaining.

She simply hooked a finger under Miss Jiang’s chin and teased:

“Little Jiang Ning.”

“Don’t forget the promise you made to your big sister~”

(End of chapter)