Chapter 2311: Regain Her Senses
Qian"e glared at Qiao Mei without refuting her. After all, what Qiao Mei said was the truth. By now, she could be considered to be prominent in the capital"s business world and reputation was very important to her. Given the occasion today, if she did not turn up and other people found out about it, they would gossip about her.
"Mom, h.e.l.lo..." Before Nan Dong could finish his sentence, Qiao Mei interrupted him.
"Hold on! The two of you are not married yet, so don"t try to act as if you are a relative," Qiao Mei said.
Li Gui also had a cold expression on her face as she said, "Yes, you should address me as Auntie Li."
Qian"e looked a little uncomfortable. She knew that Qiao Mei did not agree with this decision of hers, but she did not expect Li Gui not to show any understanding for her as well. She was always so nice to Li Gui! As expected, a G.o.ddaughter was not as cherished as a biological daughter. The moment Li Gui"s biological daughter returned home, Li Gui did not care about her at all anymore.
Qiao Mei gave Li Gui a look. Li Gui held onto Qian"e and led her upstairs. Nan Dong also wanted to follow closely behind, but Qiao Mei blocked his way.
"They need to talk about something. Give them some time," Qiao Mei said.
"Miss Qiao, I don"t know how I have managed to offend you and why you are so hostile towards me?" Nan Dong asked as he put on an aggrieved look.
Qiao Mei snorted coldly and said, "Hostile? I"m afraid you"ve misunderstood. I have no interest in you and I also don"t think you"re a threat to me. After all... there"s no need for me to be interested in a scammer, don"t you think so? Mr. Zhou Kai."
Nan Dong was worldly enough. Even though he was being exposed in public, he did not lose his composure. He looked at Qiao Mei confusedly and asked, "Why do you address me by that name? Miss Qiao, you must have gotten the wrong person. My name is Nan Dong."
"It doesn"t matter to me who you are. What"s important is Qian"e and who her husband is. No matter what, you won"t be able to get a single cent from Qian"e. Put a halt on your intentions before I make you my target," Qiao Mei advised.
"I don"t understand what you"re saying," Nan Dong said in a serious manner.
Qiao Mei shrugged and did not force Nan Dong to carry on with the conversation. A smart person would understand what she meant by now. It was enough for her to know that she had put him on notice. Recently, the three children had gone to stay in the army base to gain more life experience. No matter how capable Nan Dong was, it was impossible for him to barge into the army base to harm the children.
When Li Gui and Qian"e reached the private room, Li Gui took out the brocade box from her bag and said, "This is a small gift from me."
Li Gui did not even give Qian"e any chance to reject her. Before Qian"e could even react, Li Gui slided the jade bangle onto her wrist. Qian"e slowly started to calm down from her agitated state just now and she suddenly felt a little dizzy for no reason.
"Xiao"e, what"s wrong?" Li Gui asked worriedly.
"I"m fine, I"m fine! Perhaps I haven"t taken any proper rest recently as I have been busy with work at the factory," Qian"e said weakly as she sat down on the chair.
Qiao Mei could see what was going on in the private room by making use of the big tree outside the restaurant. She turned to Nan Dong and said, "Let"s go. It"s about time. We should go upstairs."
The two of them pushed open the door to the room and walked in. When Nan Dong saw that Qian"e was feeling unwell, he quickly walked over and asked worriedly, "Are you alright? How do you feel?"
"I"m fine. Everyone, take a seat," Qian"e said.
Qiao Mei sat next to Qian"e while Li Gui sat in the master seat facing the door of the private room. The four of them remained silent and no one spoke.
The owner of this restaurant was one of Li Gui"s business partners and the two of them knew each other quite well. Back when the restaurant faced a shortage of ingredients, it was Li Gui who had helped to solve the issue!
"Sister Li! Why haven"t you told me that you will be here! You should have told me about such an important occasion! All the expenses today will be on me! We"ll give you the best that the restaurant can offer!" the restaurant owner said excitedly as he pushed open the room door. "This is just a normal family meal. Moreover, this is the first time I"m meeting my future son- in-law," Li Gui said as she looked into the restaurant owner"s eyes.
The restaurant owner immediately understood what Li Gui meant. He sized up Nan Dong and noted that Nan Dong had no presence in the capital. Between the Xia family, the Qiao family and Nan Dong, anyone with a brain would know who to side with.
"Oh my! How can that do! I"ve already asked the kitchen to prepare the dishes!" When the restaurant owner was saying this, he had turned to stare at Nan Dong.
"It"s fine. Just go ahead. As long as Auntie is happy, anything is fine," Nan Dong said mildly. "Good, good, good! Then I"ll go to the kitchen to keep an eye on things! You guys go ahead and have a good chat! Have a good chat!" The restaurant owner left happily.
After the door closed, the four of them fell silent again. Li Gui was the first to break the awkward silence. She looked at Nan Dong and asked, "Xiao"e has previously spoken to me about you. I remember that your name is... Nan Dong, right?"
"Yes, Auntie. I"m very happy to meet you today," Nan Dong said.