Du Jiashu hadn't seen Xia Liuyue for a long time.
She was in excellent condition, her skin fair, a smile lingering at the corners of her eyes and brows. She had returned to being that radiant, dazzling Xia Liuyue.
He couldn't help but steal a few more greedy glances.
He was quickly blocked by Zhao Yunzhou, who said with a nasty tone, "What are you looking at? This is my sister. Did I say you could look?"
Du Jiashu turned his head away.
He explained:
"I have nothing to do with Tang Yinyao now. She's the one pestering me."
Tang Yinyao, upon hearing this, let out a bitter laugh and nodded repeatedly, saying,
"Right! Brother Jiashu's affections come and go quickly. He doesn't like me anymore now."
"It's all me pestering him, fine, I'm leaving now!"
If she stayed any longer, she was afraid she would lose all the face she had accumulated over twenty-plus years in one go.
Tang Yinyao fled quickly.
As she passed Xia Liuyue, she suddenly stopped and said to her, "You win! This time I've lost completely and utterly."
Xia Liuyue looked at the hostility in her eyes but remained calm.
She replied slowly:
"You did lose."
"But there is no winner."
"Because what you owe me forever is not the affection of one man or two. You indirectly caused the death of a child."
"Tang Yinyao, I want you to live in repentance for the rest of your life."
Tang Yinyao didn't understand these words at the time. It wasn't until much later that she gradually grasped their meaning.
In a car accident half a year later.
Father Tang, to save himself, yanked the steering wheel hard to the right. Tang Yinyao, sitting in the passenger seat, was severely injured. After a long rescue, she survived.
But she lost forever the possibility of ever becoming a mother.
Lying in the hospital bed, Tang Yinyao was lost in thought for a long time, pondering many things. So, was it that child coming for revenge?
Or was it done by those two men?
She didn't dare to think further, because they were now forces she could not afford to offend.
After Tang Yinyao left.
Zhao Yunzhou saw Du Jiashu still staring at the beautiful sister and raised an eyebrow in annoyance, saying,
"Hey, why are you still here? Why aren't you leaving?"
Du Jiashu withdrew his gaze and made as if to leave.
But Zhao Yunzhou changed his mind, reached out to stop him.
"Wait, since you're not leaving, then come with us upstairs to attend the board meeting. Although you have no right to attend it either."
"Board meeting?" Du Jiashu remembered the anxious expressions on his father and the chief assistant's faces when he left earlier.
Had something happened?!
Zhao Yunzhou nodded nonchalantly and said, "Yeah, today's the day Du Group changes its surname to Xia."
He then turned his head to look at Xia Liuyue as if presenting a treasure, his tone cheerful:
"Sister, I don't have any decent gift to give you, so I'll give you a company."
"Perfect to round out the shares you already hold."
Du Jiashu finally realized the severity of the situation.
They were going to acquire his family's company.
He couldn't help but say agitatedly, "Zhao Yunzhou, wasn't it agreed back then? I agreed to divorce Liuyue, and you wouldn't touch our Du family."
Zhao Yunzhou raised an eyebrow, a hint of mockery in his smile.
"That was the old man and Yan Hechuan who agreed with you, not me."
Seeing them talking, Xia Liuyue stepped forward and said, "Let's go."
Zhao Yunzhou immediately obediently followed by her side, saying,
"Alright, if sister says go, we go now."
"As for whether Du Jiashu wants to follow or not, that's up to him."
The group arrived at the 62nd floor where the board meeting was held.
Du Jiashu, of course, anxiously followed. So his father had been hiding all this from him these past days.
The conference room door opened. All shareholders were present. Father Du, sitting at the head, saw Zhao Yunzhou barging in and his expression showed he had expected this.
Du Group's stock price had always been stable.
But a few days ago, a scandal about financial report fraud emerged. Even though it was clarified as a rumor, the stock price plummeted.
Many retail investors sold off, but many institutional investors of scale began buying in batches.
Even the chairman and the minor shareholders had been attending more banquets recently.
Father Du knew they were selling their shares. As for who was buying...
Based on his understanding of Yan Hechuan, the other was a businessman of his word. If he promised not to touch them, he wouldn't. So, it could only be Zhao Yunzhou.
Seeing Xia Liuyue behind Zhao Yunzhou and his own son, Du Jiashu, with a deathly pale face.
Father Du sighed.
The tide had turned.
"So you've come." This was said to Zhao Yunzhou.
"I'll be handing the company over to you from now on, Liuyue." Father Du smiled, having made peace with it.
Xia Liuyue originally held 5% of Du Group's shares. Combined with the 43% Zhao Yunzhou had acquired, she became the largest shareholder of Du Group.
She was also pushed into the position of chairman.
Her first act after taking over was to dismiss Du Jiashu from all positions within the group, uprooting all of his trusted associates in the company.
Du Technology also changed its name, becoming Xia Technology.
Haishi's Xia Technology and the original Jiangshi's Xia Pharmaceutical Group formed a permanent alliance, pioneering the integration of medicine and technology for consultations, as well as smart home medical robots.
Not long after, Xia Liuyue was also ranked among the top ten youngest women on the national rich list.
All this, however, is for later.
After leaving the company, the two arrived at a bridal shop.
The shop owner welcomed them warmly, smiling and saying, "Miss Xia, please come in. Oh, and this must be the groom? So handsome."
The corner of Xia Liuyue's mouth lifted slightly. "No, he's not the groom."
The shop owner's smile froze for a moment.
But Zhao Yunzhou didn't mind at all. He raised an eyebrow, a hint of roguishness about him.
"I'm accompanying my sister to try on wedding dresses."
The shop owner, not detecting anything unusual, said,
"Oh, so it's her brother. Please, come in. We've just received many new wedding dress designs. Take your time to look."
This was a private haute couture bridal shop with its own independent designers, completely different from the cookie-cutter dresses on the market.
Yan Hechuan had also suggested, "Should I fly with you to Milan? We can find a designer for a custom haute couture piece?"
Xia Liuyue smiled faintly and replied unhurriedly,
"What? Only Milanese designers can create the most beautiful wedding dresses? Are you looking down on the new generation of designers in our country?"
"Whatever Yueyue says." Yan Hechuan expressed full agreement with his wife's words.
Today, Yan Hechuan was too busy with work, so Zhao Yunzhou seized the opportunity.
The shop owner had moved several main wedding dresses to the exclusive VIP room in advance. Before closing the door, she explained,
"We let guests try on dresses independently here, we never disturb them. Privacy is excellent. If you need anything, just call me."
"Okay."
Zhao Yunzhou waved with a smile.
After making sure the door was closed, he turned the lock, securing it completely.
Xia Liuyue was still examining the six wedding dresses of different styles before her, about to ask Zhao Yunzhou for his opinion, when she suddenly heard the sound of the lock clicking behind her.
She tilted her head slightly, puzzled. "Why did you lock the door?"
Zhao Yunzhou curved his lips and walked towards her step by step, like approaching his prey.
His voice was husky and captivating.
"I'm helping my sister change into her wedding gown."
