Volume One, Chapter 8: Su Wanning Joined Yongfang? Dismiss Her!

Su Wanqing and Zheng Lu finally had a quiet meal. She had thought the matter was settled, but just minutes later, Su Wanning returned carrying a plate of yam. Beside her was Xie Yancheng. It seemed they had finished eating and were about to leave.

Su Wanning placed the yam on their table, blinking and smiling as she said, "Sister, I overheard you say you wanted to order an extra serving of yam, so I kindly asked the waiter to bring it over. No other reason. We barely touched this plate, so why waste money ordering another?"

"This place isn’t cheap. Since you’re not working, you probably don’t realize how hard it is to earn money. We need to be frugal."

With that, she set the yam down on their table.

Su Wanqing looked up, scrutinizing Su Wanning’s outfit; she was meticulously dressed from head to toe, even her hairpin costing thousands. And yet, she came over with a plate of half-eaten yam, lecturing her on saving money?

Moreover, Xie Yancheng had gone so far as to rent out the entire restaurant just to dine with her alone. Compared to such extravagance, what harm was there in one serving of yam?

She spoke, "If you’re so frugal, why didn’t you pay attention when ordering? This place isn’t cheap. You don’t even have a job, so how can you afford such an expensive restaurant? And you rented it out too?"

At that, the smile in Su Wanning’s eyes deepened. She straightened her back and proudly declared, "Ah, today’s a special occasion. I’m going to intern at Yongfang Technology next week. Today, Brother Yancheng is rewarding me."

"You probably don’t know, since you’re not working, but Yongfang Technology is incredibly hard to get into. Without some real skills, even if you were the king himself, you wouldn’t make it in..."

Su Wanqing and Zheng Lu were stunned. Zheng Lu’s face twisted in disgust, frowning deeply. "You got into Yongfang Technology?"

Although Su Wanqing’s disbelief was less obvious, a fleeting glint of incredulity flashed in her eyes, which did not escape Su Wanning.

Like a proud peacock, Su Wanning lifted her chin and boasted, "Yes, in a few days Brother Yancheng will hold a celebration banquet for me. I’ll invite my colleagues from Yongfang Technology as well..."

She glanced up and down at Su Wanqing and Zheng Lu, smiling slyly, "You both be sure to come."

"Well, I won’t keep you. Brother Yancheng and I have things to do. Remember to eat this yam, don’t waste it."

Throughout all this, Xie Yancheng hadn’t uttered a word, though when he heard Su Wanning mention Yongfang Technology, a flicker of pride crossed his eyes.

Watching the two of them walk away arm in arm, Su Wanqing suddenly understood.

From the moment she saw them, everything Su Wanning said was deliberate, designed to reveal her acceptance into Yongfang Technology.

In Haicheng, there were two major factions. One was the elite aristocracy, exemplified by Xie Yancheng’s family, whose business empire permeated every aspect of life—finance, technology, hospitality, healthcare, and more.

The other faction was Yongfang Technology, founded solely by Professor Xu Qiuyun.

Their breakthroughs in algorithm research were not only leading in Haicheng but also nationwide and even globally. Nowadays, anything related to technology had some connection to them.

The Xie family had become Haishi’s wealthiest through generations of accumulated riches starting from Xie Yancheng’s ancestors.

The Xu family, however, rose through sheer grit and determination by Professor Xu Qiuyun alone. She wasn’t the wealthiest, but her patented core technologies made every noble family covetous.

If anyone secured a patent and developed their own system, their wealth would at least double.

Yet, Xu Qiuyun was stubborn, sharing core technologies only with the government and rejecting all noble families who came to negotiate.

Recently, it was rumored they were developing a new technology called visual inspection. Due to its complexity and advanced nature, it required massive investment, and now they were seeking partners.

Xie Yancheng was determined to obtain it.

But for some reason, every envoy he sent to Yongfang was immediately turned away. Last time, Professor Xu even boldly declared she would never cooperate with them.

Su Wanqing knew a bit about this but never intervened because Xie Yancheng disliked her meddling, and she herself had angered the professor before. She had no intention of begging on his behalf.

Seeing Su Wanning’s arrogant demeanor now, she suddenly pieced it together.

Meanwhile, Zheng Lu stared angrily at the nearly cold plate of yam, pounding her chest in frustration.

"Ah! This infuriates me! Is Yongfang’s HR out of their minds? They hired someone like her!"

"No, I’m calling right now to revoke her acceptance!"

Zheng Lu grabbed her phone to make the call.

Su Wanqing chuckled, placing a piece of braised pork in her bowl. "Relax, she’s just an intern. Do you really need to get involved?"

"Eat quickly; this meal isn’t cheap!"

Zheng Lu watched Su Wanqing calmly enjoying her food and grumbled, "That pair of lovebirds really don’t care about appearances. It’s disgusting."

"Qingqing, you have to divorce. This time, don’t be soft! If you keep pitying that scoundrel, I swear... I swear..."

Zheng Lu trailed off, unsure how to threaten her, then her eyes landed on Xie Kexin, quietly eating nearby.

"I’ll just take my good daughter away! She doesn’t need a mother who’s lovesick!"

Su Wanqing laughed at her antics, covering her mouth for a while before nodding solemnly. "Don’t worry, I’m serious about the divorce."

She looked up, but Xie Yancheng and Su Wanning were already out of sight.

She then turned to her daughter, Xie Kexin, lost in her own world as she ate obediently. A grain of rice stuck to her small cheek, so Su Wanqing gently brushed it away, saying softly, "Having Kexin is enough for me."

She wanted nothing else—no more filth.

Back home, Su Wanqing received a call from Su Guoxing.

In her twenty-five years, Su Guoxing had never appeared in the first twenty, and in the last five years, his first call was to ask her to marry Xie Yancheng in place of Su Wanning.

Since then, every call from him was about demanding benefits for the Su family from Xie Yancheng.

In short, whenever Su Guoxing called, it was never good news.

Su Wanqing frowned and didn’t answer.

But after missing one call, Su Guoxing called again. She realized if she kept ignoring him, he would just keep calling.

She glanced at her daughter playing nearby, picked up the phone, walked to the window, and answered with a distant tone: "Hello."

On the other end, Su Guoxing was no more enthusiastic, only coldly stating his demand: "Come home tomorrow. I have something to discuss with you."

Su Wanqing’s frown deepened. After a moment’s silence, she replied, "Can’t you say it over the phone?"

His voice immediately rose, "I said come home, so come! No more nonsense! You must be back by tomorrow night!"

Before she could respond, the line went dead.

A wave of helplessness washed over her. Years ago, she had angered the matriarch so much because, besides loving Xie Yancheng, she had a lingering question she needed the Su family to answer.

Raised in the countryside and abandoned at five, though someone took her in, she had always wanted to ask her biological parents why they gave birth to her if they didn’t want her.

Sadly, to this day, no clear answer had ever come.