Chapter 102 - 96: Harboring Malicious Intentions Towards Qiao Jing
Chapter 102: Chapter 96: Harboring Malicious Intentions Towards Qiao Jing
Qiao Jing’s face was smeared with cake, which made her look unexpectedly adorable and somewhat irresistible.
As soon as Tang Yan came over, he saw Zhan Qipei staring at his phone.
What are you looking at?
Tang Yan was a bit taller than Zhan Qipei, so he could see the phone screen without having to move closer.
Is that Miss Qiao?
A gossip-hungry gleam appeared in Tang Yan’s eyes.
“Boss, what are you looking at?” Tang Yan asked, though he already knew the answer.
Zhan Qipei slid his phone into his trouser pocket.
“Meeting.”
Tang Yan clearly saw that just before Zhan Qipei turned off the screen, he had liked the post Qiao Jing had just uploaded to her Moments.
For ordinary people, liking a friend’s post is commonplace, but for their boss, it was an unusually rare occurrence.
After all, having followed the boss for so many years, he seldom saw him like anyone’s post.
So, the boss indeed treated Qiao Jing differently.
On Qiao Jing’s end, the cake had already been finished,
“Gan Lanlan, don’t go yet, I have something to ask you.” Qiao Jing called out to Gan Lanlan.
“Professor Qiao, do you have something you need me to do?” Gan Lanlan looked at Qiao Jing with stars in her eyes, her expression so vivid it was as if it were captioned.
“Please let me do it, whatever your instructions are, I am willing to do anything. Being able to work for you is an honor of a lifetime for me.”
Looking at such an expression, Qiao Jing couldn’t help but feel a bit headache-inducing.
“How’s your sister doing now?”
“My sister is doing well, she really wants to see you. Just yesterday, she begged me to bring her here to meet you,” Gan Lanlan quickly replied.
“That’s good to hear.” Qiao Jing had been worried that after such an experience, Gan Qiqi might have been left with psychological scars. Hearing Gan Lanlan say this eased his worries significantly.
“About your sister’s case, Captain Zhao is still investigating, but there hasn’t been any progress. Both Captain Zhao and I are analyzing whether it could be an enemy of the Gan family. Have you asked your family if there might be any enemies?”
“I did ask. My parents said we don’t have any known enemies at the forefront. But as you know, our family is in business; it’s inevitable we grab others’ cakes, so those unseen enemies are unknowable.”
The topic came to an end there.
“Alright, I understand. You can go back to your business,” Qiao Jing said before turning to tend to the plants on his desk.
Gan Lanlan stood there, showing no sign of leaving.
Turning back to look at Gan Lanlan, Qiao Jing asked with a puzzled tone, “Is there something else?”
Gan Lanlan took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and said, “Professor Qiao, our family is having a banquet tomorrow evening. Actually, it seems my grandparents are celebrating my admission to the research institute, so they invited quite a few notables. I would like to invite you to come as well.”
At this moment, Gan Lanlan’s heart was racing with nervousness and trepidation, after all, Qiao Jing was the high and mighty Professor Qiao, the top mogul in the agriculture industry. She hardly ever appeared in public; last time at the award ceremony, she didn’t even go up on stage, let alone come to a small dinner party held by their family.
But she really wanted to invite Qiao Jing, hoping she would attend.
“Okay,” Qiao Jing responded.
What?
Gan Lanlan was stunned.
What’s going on?
He agreed just like that? Without even a moment’s consideration?
After a brief moment of shock came the joy of being pleasantly surprised.
Gan Lanlan was so happy she almost danced on the spot.
“Thank you, thank you!”
“No need for such formalities, you and I are about the same age; I’m not used to such honorifics.” This was something Qiao Jing had been wanting to tell Gan Lanlan for a while.
“Sure, sure!” Gan Lanlan grinned from ear to ear, eagerly anticipating the early arrival of tomorrow night.
“By the way, I’ll be going tomorrow night as Zhan Qipei’s wife.”
On the way here in the car this morning, Zhan Qipei had mentioned this, asking her to free up the night to accompany him to the Gan family.
So even if Gan Lanlan did not invite her, she was going to the Gan family tomorrow night.
“I understand, I understand, you—don’t worry, I won’t reveal your identity. I wouldn’t even tell my own parents or grandfather,” Gan Lanlan pledged while patting her chest.
Qiao Jing nodded, “Get busy then.”
“Okay—” Gan Lanlan obediently left, her steps noticeably a bit floaty as she walked away.
The scene shifts.
Qian Family.
Qian Haisheng spun two jade beads in his hand, as usual, playing with the bird.
Not long after, his son, Qian Yuang, walked over.
“Dad, you wanted to see me?”
“Tomorrow night there’s a banquet at the Gan family, and you’re coming with me.”
“You’re taking me along? You’re going for business, what am I going there for? I don’t want to go. I’ve already made plans with some brothers to hit the club tomorrow. There’s a new girl there, a stunner, and she dances the electric booty dance pretty damn well,” Qian Yuang said with a lecherous look.
Qian Haisheng glared at him displeasedly, his frustration evident, “You’re always indulging in debauchery; continue this way, and you’ll soon meet your end over some woman’s belly.”
Qian Haisheng’s scolding fell on deaf ears for Qian Yuang, who simply didn’t seem to care anymore.
Qian Haisheng sighed heavily, paused a moment, then continued, “Tomorrow night, I’m taking you to get a chance to interact with that country wife from the Zhan family.”
Hearing this, Qian Yuang’s eyes instantly brightened.
“Are you serious?”
As the saying goes, ‘the father knows his son best,’ Qian Haisheng saw right through Qian Yuang’s thoughts.
“That country wife from the Zhan Family is indeed a beauty, but she is nominally a member of the Zhan Family right now. Do not harbor improper thoughts towards her before she divorces Zhan Qipei.”
Qian Yuang curled his lip, “I know. If I were to act rashly, I’d have done it long ago.”
That woman, he first saw her at Zhan Qipei’s wedding and couldn’t stop the itch in his heart; she was truly beautiful!
Too bad he couldn’t make a move.
“Dad, what do you want me to do?”
“Don’t underestimate her for being rural; she actually works at Professor Qiao’s research institute,” Qian Haisheng said.
“What? No way!” Qian Yuang looked at Qian Haisheng in shock. “The rumors said she was tilling fields in the countryside; how could she be working at Professor Qiao’s research institute?”
“Rumors? Ha! Most rumors in this world are unreliable. The rumors say that our Qian family and the Gan family have always had good business dealings and are in an excellent relationship. But who knows that our Qian family harbors deep animosity against them? This botched kidnapping will surely put them on guard. It will likely be difficult to find another opportunity for a while.”
Qian Yuang frowned, “That’s true, but anyone who can work in a research institute is no ordinary genius, unless—Qiao Jing is doing menial tasks there.”
“That’s exactly why I want you to get close to her, see if you can tease anything out?”
“Sure, leave it to me.”
The next evening, at the Gan family.
Gan Lanlan was absent-minded as he and his father, Gan Changfeng, greeted guests, feeling extremely anxious.
“Why hasn’t she arrived yet?”
Gan Changfeng turned his head towards Gan Lanlan.
“Who hasn’t arrived yet?” Gan Changfeng asked, puzzled.
“Oh—it’s—” Gan Lanlan had not finished speaking when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Qiao Jing just entering. His eyes lit up and he stared intently.
Gan Changfeng looked confusedly at Gan Lanlan, wondering who his son was waiting for, noticing his constant distraction.
Curious, Gan Changfeng followed Gan Lanlan’s gaze.