Chapter 922: Chapter 922: She is Just a Tool

Soon, the car smoothly drove out of the mansion.

Luoyu occasionally glanced at Li Qiao, wanting to say something, but stopped herself.

Li Qiao closed her eyes and leaned against the seat, pretending to nap. Detecting a slight sway of the car, she gently reminded, “Do you have something to say?”

Luoyu stared straight ahead at the road, gripping the steering wheel, “Today is Christmas Eve, aren’t you planning to spend it with the boss?”

After a moment of silence, Li Qiao opened her eyes, “Isn’t it still daytime?”

Luoyu was momentarily speechless; she spoke so reasonably.

At this point, Li Qiao lazily turned her head to look out the window, “Did Shen Qingye go out?”

“Yeah, he left at noon, said he’s taking Bai Luhui to find Yun Lih.”

Li Qiao lowered her eyelashes slightly, “Go to the fund company.”

…

Half an hour later, Xi Luo, resting her chin on her hand, gazed at Li Qiao and twirled a pen in her hand, “Kiddo, haven’t you been sleeping well lately?”

Li Qiao sat opposite her, tapping her fingertips lightly on the armrest, “From New Year’s Day to the Spring Festival, all investment projects at the fund company will be suspended.”

“Hmm?” Xi Luo raised an eyebrow in surprise, “Suspend them? So suddenly?”

Li Qiao drooped her eyelids and continued to ask, “How much cash flow does the company account have?”

“Over a billion, quite sufficient.” Xi Luo adjusted her posture, her expression very serious, “Some investment projects have already passed the verification stage; just need to draft contracts now. Suspending them might easily lose good projects, and…”

“I’ll bear the losses. For the next two months, don’t initiate any investment projects.”

Xi Luo was puzzled but recognized Li Qiao’s undeniable stance. She smirked and agreed cheerfully, “Anyway, you’re the big boss, we’ll do as you say. Tomorrow, I’ll inform the business department during the meeting.”

Responding, Li Qiao picked up a water cup to moisten her throat, “Do me another favor.”

Xi Luo was even more surprised, “What favor? Just say it.”

She had never seen Li Qiao ask so solemnly for a favor.

“Don’t leave the South Sea before I return.”

Xi Luo was taken aback, “That’s all?”

Li Qiao picked up her phone and then opened the cloud video surveillance, authorizing Xi Luo as a tiered administrator, “Watch over the Li family villa’s surveillance for me.”

Xi Luo licked her lips, looking at the prompt on the phone, squinting her eyes, “Are you worried someone might target them?”

“Better prepared than not,” Li Qiao explained calmly, “My people aren’t suitable for overt protection; it draws too much attention.”

Xi Luo nodded, “No problem, you can go with peace of mind, I’ll watch over the South Sea.”

After thanking her, Li Qiao stood up, Xi Luo gazed at her cold and clear figure, couldn’t help but curiously ask, “Does Master Yan know about this?”

“You can say it if you want, I won’t stop you.”

Li Qiao held the door handle and turned around to look at her.

Seeing this, Xi Luo leaned back in her chair with a sly smile, “Such a small matter, is there any need to tell him? I’m just curious, why don’t you let him send people to protect the Li Family? He is the Overlord of the South Sea, after all.”

“His people have other uses.” Li Qiao looked down at her toes, patiently explaining, “Besides… he would take his lethal subordinates away.”

Xi Luo: “???”

She took three seconds to react.

Turns out, she’s just a tool for fighting and killing?

Before Xi Luo could retort, Li Qiao calmly instructed, “If anyone truly dares to harm my parents, don’t leave any survivors.”

Xi Luo laughed meaningfully, “Killing is illegal, you know that, right?”

Li Qiao raised her eyelids, glancing at her eyes full of slyness, “Others commit crimes, you won’t.”

Xi Luo’s smile slightly froze, she brushed her eyebrows, hiding the subtle mysterious light in her eyes, “You… know?”

“Heard a bit.”

Li Qiao left, but Xi Luo’s mood remained unsettled for a long time.

She actually knew her hidden identity?

Is this kid human or ghost?

…

At the same time, at the neighboring Yan Emperor headquarters.

Shang Yu stood tall before the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, with the perfect view allowing him to clearly see the buildings opposite.

The place where the man’s gaze lingered was the Liye Building where the fund company was located.

Soon, Liuyun knocked on the door and came in, “Boss, domestic and overseas departments are all prepared; the video conference can start soon.”

Shang Yu took out his mobile phone to check, the screen was very clean, without any message notifications, just Li Qiao’s photo quietly lying there.

It was a solo picture of her, captured by Liuyun on the steps of Shuhe Peak.

The girl stood on the steps with a calm expression looking back, behind her was a wooden path flanked by uniquely red maple leaves.

Shang Yu rubbed the screen, returned to the table, picked up the cigarette box, and ordered in a low voice, “Delay it by half an hour.”

Liuyun nodded, went out, and acted accordingly.

He didn’t dare to ask much, afraid that he might lose his bonuses for the rest of his life due to a slip.

Recently, the boss’s condition seemed to have returned to the past; cold, dark, indifferent, unruly.

That was Shang Shaoyan’s normal state before meeting Madam Li Qiao.

He withdrew all his warmth and wrapped himself in full wildness again, making it difficult to fathom his true emotions.

Although the meeting was delayed by half an hour, nothing happened.

Near five o’clock, the man put down his phone, and with deep brows and eyes, he went to the conference room.

During the meeting, Liuyun silently sent WeChat under the table.

Less than half a minute later, Luoyu replied: Madam didn’t say she’d go to the headquarters. [Shrug]

Liuyun glanced at Shang Yu, then lowered his head to tap the screen again: Can’t you think of something?

Luoyu: You try.

Liuyun: …

He was helpless.

Just before the meeting began, the boss hinted at him; if Li Qiao came, notify him immediately.

Liuyun suddenly understood, no wonder he delayed half an hour, turned out he was waiting for Madam.

What a pity…

Liuyun looked at the message Luoyu replied to, sighed and shook his head, the boss would probably be disappointed.

Madam didn’t plan on coming at all.

And today’s cross-border video conference takes at least three hours.

Christmas Eve could only be spent working overtime.

…

At eight in the evening, Shang Yu finished the meeting, returned to his office, and picked up his phone to unlock the screen.

There were a few WeChat messages lying in there. He pursed his lips and opened the chat frame, most of which were sent by Zong Zhan and He Chen, while the pinned chat with Li Qiao remained quiet.

Shang Yu lit a cigarette, his deep eyes overlapped with a layer of dim light.

He restrained himself from seeking her, simply not wanting her to feel tired or confined.

Even if Li Qiao never explicitly said, he still saw her fatigue and helplessness at the casino that night.

He Chen said: Now Li Qiao is a caged bird with clipped wings.

She’s given up research, given up work, abandoning all her prospects and possibilities, just to pave a road for Shaoyan that is without bias or anxiety…

These words were something Shang Yu inadvertently overheard.

At that moment, his breathing became erratic, overwhelmed by a mix of emotions, obscure and unspeakable.