Chapter 37: Strike Back

"Later, when I was in high school, she began to neglect me, intentionally letting people lead me astray and encouraging me to be shiftless."

"Every time my father asked about my studies, she would always say that I was still young and that it wouldn't be too late to join the company after I finished college."

"I actually believed her." The man gave a bitter laugh.

Qiao Xu let Xu Si'an lie on her lap while she used a dry towel to wipe his hair. Xu Si'an rested his head on her lap, his face pressed against her lower abdomen as he hugged her waist.

"It wasn't until my father had a sudden cerebral hemorrhage that he told me before he died: I must watch over the company, take care of myself, and be wary of outsiders."

"Do you know, Qiao Qiao? I thought the 'outsiders' he meant were Xu Shiran."

"I knew from a very young age that he wasn't my brother from the same father, but at least we shared the same mother."

"So, when he wanted the company, I didn't fight him for it."

He lay flat, looking up at Qiao Xu. The redness at the corners of his eyes made Qiao Xu's heart skip a beat. She lowered her head and kissed his eyes. "Aren't you ashamed? You look a mess."

"The day you met me at the mall, Xu Shiran didn't have time to try on his suit, so he asked me to go in his place, and I agreed."

"Later, when I ran into Shen Zhiwei, I wanted to leave, but she called and said that as long as I accompanied her to finish trying on the wedding dress, once they were engaged, she would never interfere with you and me again."

Who would have known that the fiancé remained him, and he simply refused to compromise, preferring death over submission? Qiao Xu had never known about any of this.

"I'm sorry."

Xu Si'an raised his hand and pinched her chin. "You have a mouth but never ask, and eyes but only look at the wrong things."

"I would rather you argue with me, call me a cheater, call me a scumbag—I don't want you to say you don't love me."

Xu Si'an sat up and pinned her to the bed. "Do you know I went half-mad when I lost Cherry?"

"You actually came back secretly to steal the dog, but you didn't steal me away too."

Qiao Xu pulled his neck down to coax him. "I wanted to, but, well, there was only the dog at home. I'm sorry, Xu Si'an."

Xu Si'an chuckled softly. "I forgive you."

"So, are we making up now?"

Qiao Xu pouted, her eyes rolling twice. "Let me think about it."

"Still thinking?"

"Can we do 'A'?"

Qiao Xu shook her head. "No."

"I have to go to work tomorrow, Mr. Xu. You should go to sleep."

Qiao Xu pushed the man off her and got out of bed, but as soon as her feet touched the floor, she was grabbed by the waist and pulled back.

"Where are you going?"

"To sleep."

"I don't have a guest room here. Do you want me to sleep in the doghouse?"

Qiao Xu curled her lips. "That's not impossible."

Xu Si'an's eyes widened. "I'm in this state, and you won't even pity me?"

"What state? You look fine; you're not missing any arms or legs." She deliberately poked the bruise on his face. "Isn't this kind of injury just a daily occurrence for you?" Back in college, he and He Yanxun had brawled more than once.

"I have no family left; isn't that pathetic enough?"

Qiao Xu covered his eyes. "What can I do then? Should I be your mother?"

Xu Si'an's expression changed instantly. "Don't mention that. I feel physically sick just hearing that word."

In the end, Xu Si'an didn't have the heart to wear her out; after all, she hadn't slept well the night before, had taken a long-haul flight, and hadn't adjusted to the time difference.

Three days later, when Qiao Xu was browsing Weibo, she learned that Xu Si'an had sued Shen Zhiwei for defamation. Shen Zhiwei was detained for seven days. Meanwhile, several projects that the Xuxing Group had been negotiating were intercepted by the Xu Group.

Qiao Xu placed a black coffee on his desk. "Will the parent company blame you for the projects being intercepted?"

Xu Si'an beckoned her over. Qiao Xu walked to his side and was pulled into his arms. "Worried about me?"

"Don't worry. I told you, your man sits in this position because of his ability."

"The Xu Group started rotting from the roots after my father passed away. Whatever orders Xu Shiran snatched away, I will make him spit them back out tenfold."

Qiao Xu was a bit worried. "But the Xu Group was your father's life's work."

Xu Si'an’s thumb brushed over her lips. "He's dead; what's the point of life's work? It’s not mine anyway, so why not just run it into the ground?"

The phone on the desk rang. Qiao Xu stood up. "I need to get back to work."

He hooked her wrist and tilted his chin up. "Give me a kiss and I'll let you go."

"Stop fooling around. This is an office."

"This is *my* office. Hurry up, or I'll drag you into the lounge for some of humanity's most primitive, harmonious exercise."

Qiao Xu gave him a perfunctory peck on the lips and tried to leave. The bastard didn't intend to let her off that easily. He pressed her head down and kissed her until she was nearly gasping for air before letting go.

Qiao Xu kicked him. "You’ll have to beg me to enter this office in the future."

Xu Si'an licked his lips. "That's fine. I'll go to your office, and you can lie on the desk."

Qiao Xu: "......"

In the assistant's office, the landline rang. "Assistant Qiao, there's a lady at the front desk claiming to be Mr. Xu's mother. Neither Mr. Xu's direct line nor Assistant Song's line is answering."

"The lady doesn't have an appointment, and we don't dare let her in. Could you please come down and handle this?"

Qiao Xu hesitated for a few seconds. "Alright, I'm coming down."

Mrs. Xu was sitting on the sofa. Seeing Qiao Xu emerge from the elevator, she rushed forward and landed a slap on Qiao Xu's face before she could react. The speed was so fast that neither the security guard nor the receptionists could react in time.

"You little slut, you've even seduced a man into the company! You shameless bitch, you acted all high and mighty when I offered you money, and now you've crawled into your boss's bed."

"Today, I'm going to let everyone in this company see that it was this bitch who seduced my son, your Mr. Xu."

"This position as the president's assistant was clearly slept her way into."

One receptionist stepped forward to block her, while another frantically called Assistant Song. When no one answered, they called the secretary's office. Hearing that Qiao Xu was being beaten, Ye Yurou rushed toward the conference room without a second thought.

Qiao Xu pulled her phone from her pocket and made a call. The other side answered instantly. "Qiao Qiao?"

"Xu Si'an, your stepmother is hitting me." If it's about tattling, who doesn't know how?

Xu Si'an left the meeting room. "Hit her back, Qiao Qiao."

Hearing Qiao Xu call her a stepmother, Mrs. Xu lunged forward again. "You filthy whore who's been slept into ruin! He was raised by me, how dare you call me a stepmother!"

At first, Qiao Xu had been caught off guard, but not anymore. Qiao Xu grabbed her wrists and used Mrs. Xu's own hands to slap her own face. She didn't want to use her own hands—she thought it was dirty.

A loud "slap" echoed in the air.

"You must be a hybrid breed, so vicious. It's a good thing I've had my rabies vaccine."

"How dare you call me a dog!"

"It's true what they say: having no parents means having no manners."

Mrs. Xu's words completely ignited Qiao Xu's fuse. She grabbed Mrs. Xu’s hair and slapped her left and right.

When Xu Si'an exited the elevator, he saw Mrs. Xu's hand about to claw at Qiao Xu's face. He rushed forward, grabbed Mrs. Xu's hand, and flung her aside. Qiao Xu was pulled into his arms, his palm gently stroking her face.

"Are you all dead? Can't you help?"

"Get the hell out of here, all of you!"

The slap Mrs. Xu had landed on Qiao Xu earlier had scratched her cheek with her fingernails. Xu Si'an's cold eyes revealed a ruthless, simmering rage.