Chapter 19: The Old Master Wishes to Meet His Granddaughter-in-law
“All the clues point to him.” Chu Xiangxiang spoke with certainty. “Think about it—the foundation is led by his family, the key signature is his, the timing matches perfectly. Who else could it be?”
She watched Qiao Xi’s complicated expression. “Qiao Qiao, what are you going to do? Should you try to arrange a meeting with him? Thank him in person?”
Qiao Xi was silent for a moment, her eyes filled with conflicting emotions.
“Let me… think about it,” she murmured.
“I have to see him, at least once.”
In the end, excitement replaced doubt.
Lu Yanzhi…
Because he was the sun in her heart, he had illuminated the darkest moments of her life.
—
Night fell.
Fu Yancheng lounged lazily on the living room sofa, his posture relaxed.
Qiao Xi, hugging a cushion, curled up at the other end of the sofa, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine.
Her mind was still circling around thoughts of Lu Yanzhi.
Fu Yancheng put down his tablet and suddenly stood up, crossing the room in a few strides to stand before her.
Qiao Xi was startled and instinctively tried to retreat, but he blocked her path with one arm braced against the sofa back.
“Why are you trying to hide?”
He leaned in, his tall figure casting a shadow over her.
Qiao Xi’s heart raced from his sudden closeness and intimate gesture.
Her cheeks grew warm as she turned her head, trying to avoid his touch. “President Fu…”
Fu Yancheng wouldn’t let her escape. “Keep your weekend free.”
“Huh?” Qiao Xi was taken aback. “The weekend? Is something happening?”
A smile, both captivating and enigmatic, curled on Fu Yancheng’s lips. “Come with me to the old family home.”
“The old home?!” Qiao Xi’s eyes widened in shock, nearly bouncing off the sofa. “You mean… the Fu family’s old home?!”
She stared at him in disbelief, her voice trembling.
“Why? What am I supposed to do there?”
Fu Yancheng watched her bewildered panic, the amusement in his eyes deepening.
“The old master wants to meet his granddaughter-in-law.”
He paused, then said word by word, “I’m taking you… to meet the family.”
The old master Fu?
The man whose mere footsteps sent tremors through the business world?
Qiao Xi’s face flushed instantly.
She opened her mouth, stammering, “This is so sudden, I… I’m not ready.”
“Ready for what? Even the plainest daughter-in-law must meet the parents.”
Fu Yancheng chuckled softly, his gaze lingering on her reddened ears, his amusement growing.
“Besides… my Mrs. Fu isn’t plain at all.”
—
“I…” Qiao Xi hugged her cushion, her cheeks so hot they could fry an egg.
“By the way, tomorrow… there’s an urgent project you need to attend.” He said, “Prepare yourself mentally, Qiao Xi. It’ll be tricky.”
“Huh?” Qiao Xi blurted out, “How tricky?”
Fu Yancheng’s voice was low, “You’ll know tomorrow.”
—
The next day.
Qiao Xi returned to the company, the atmosphere tense.
Fu Yancheng had abruptly called an emergency meeting for the R&D and technical teams.
“Huiyao Group released a ‘Reverse Age Rejuvenation’ serum yesterday. Its main ingredients and effects are over ninety percent similar to the core formula we’re about to launch.”
Fu Yancheng’s voice was icy as he tossed a report onto the table.
The meeting room erupted instantly.
“That’s impossible, our formula is top secret!”
“How did they get it?”
“If we release ours now, we’ll be accused of plagiarism—all our early investment will be wasted!”
Qiao Xi sat in the corner, stiffening the moment she heard “Huiyao Group.”
Her trembling hands picked up the report, scanning the ingredient list.
Her face went pale as paper, cold sweat breaking out.
How could it… how could it be this?
The formula Huiyao Group had just launched—
It was the very one she’d sold, years ago in university, to the predecessor of Huiyao’s small lab, desperate to raise money for her mother’s surgery.
She’d thought the lab would only use it for research, never imagining it would become a commercial product.
A wave of shock and inexpressible guilt overwhelmed Qiao Xi.
She gripped the report tightly, not daring to look up, or meet Fu Yancheng’s gaze.
She… had caused trouble for the Fu Corporation…
At that moment, Fu Yancheng’s deep voice sounded: “Now isn’t the time to assign blame.”
His sharp gaze swept across the room.
“Engineer Qiao.”
Qiao Xi jerked her head up, meeting his profound eyes.
Fu Yancheng looked at her pale face and the panic she couldn’t hide, his expression softening for a moment.
“You and the second R&D team, immediately start the final adjustments on the ‘Youthful Complex’ project.”
He gave a direct order. “I remember you’ve been optimizing that new formula, and the performance data is outstanding.”
Fu Yancheng paused, his voice filled with trust and encouragement: “Qiao Xi, I believe in your abilities.”
“Lead your team, make it happen, make it the best.”
“Huiyao only stole yesterday’s trash. We’ll use ‘Youthful Complex’ to show them what the real future looks like.”
He… was entrusting such a critical project to her at this crisis?
And believed in her so firmly?
—
Qiao Xi gazed into Fu Yancheng’s eyes, which seemed to contain everything, her nose tingling as her eyes grew moist.
“President Fu…”
Her voice was filled with excitement and resolve, “I… I’ll give it everything I’ve got!”
Fu Yancheng nodded gently. “Good.”
He then turned to the others, his tone crisp and commanding: “Everyone else, fully support Engineer Qiao’s team.”
“I want to see ‘Youthful Complex’ on the market in the shortest possible time!”
With that,
His final gaze rested on Qiao Xi again, focused and silently supportive, bordering on indulgence.
As if saying: Go ahead, do your best—if the sky falls, I’ll hold it up for you.
Qiao Xi took a deep breath, wiped the dampness from her eyes, and straightened her spine.
Her gaze became unwavering.
This time, she would not let him down again!
—
The next day, at the Fu Corporation R&D Center.
Qin Yiren sat in her private office, looking rather flustered.
“Engineer Qiao!”
Qin Yiren, clutching several documents, her brows furrowed, forced composure as she walked to Qiao Xi’s desk.
“This experiment process needs optimization. Redesign it according to my approach and hand it in before the end of the day.”
Her tone was naturally commanding.
Qiao Xi looked at the flawed plan, her heart mocking, though her expression remained calm. “Understood, Dr. Qin.”
She quietly accepted the task and returned to her desk, immersing herself in work.
She knew well that Qin Yiren didn’t understand the core data at all—she was just making arbitrary decisions.
A few hours later.
Qiao Xi handed the optimized plan to Qin Yiren.
Qin Yiren leafed through it theatrically, then nodded, satisfaction on her face.
“Not bad, pretty efficient.”
She even boasted, “I came up with this approach last night after burning the midnight oil. Seems you understood it well.”
Qiao Xi lowered her lashes, hiding the sarcasm in her eyes. “Yes, thank you for your guidance, Dr. Qin.”
Qin Yiren immediately headed to the president’s office.
“President Fu.”
She placed the plan on his desk, smiling. “This is the final plan I completed. Please review it.”
Fu Yancheng glanced at the plan and nodded. “Thank you for your hard work, Dr. Qin.”
“It’s my duty.”
Qin Yiren felt secretly delighted and seized the opportunity. “President Fu, I have some ideas I’d like to discuss with you privately.”
“I wonder if you’re free tonight… perhaps we could talk over dinner?”
Her gaze was enchanting, bewitching.