After signing the contract, Jiang Chen returned to East Sea with Shi Qianxi.
On the plane, Miss Shi had her eye mask on the whole time, comfortably asleep, leaving Jiang Chen relieved that this madam was finally not clinging to him anymore. However, once they landed, he realized he had celebrated too early.
Upon seeing her parents show up together, Shi Qianxi rushed forward, her pretty oval face beaming with genuine happiness.
Shi Zhenhua and Meng Meiling had actually come to pick them up together.
Had these two reconciled?
Hiding his inner doubts, Jiang Chen also smiled and caught up with Shi Qianxi’s pace, greeting them, "Uncle Shi, Aunt Meng."
"Director Shi, Director Meng."
The staff from Jiuding Group who had returned from Capital City greeted them one after another.
"You’ve worked hard. Take a week off and get some rest," Shi Zhenhua said kindly.
"Thank you, Director Shi!"
The subordinates, visibly delighted, then tactfully boarded the vehicles arranged for the pick-up.
There was only a Lexus left by the side of the road.
"Jiang, get in the car," Shi Zhenhua called out warmly.
Jiang Chen glanced at Shi Qianxi. The lady had already latched onto her mother’s arm, chatting with Meng Meiling, unconcerned with his gaze.
"Ahem, Uncle Shi, I might need to go back to the office first..."
"It’s the Mid-Autumn holiday now. What office are you going back to? No matter how urgent the matter, it can wait until after today," Shi Zhenhua said while feigning a stern face. "Your Aunt Meng and I came especially to pick you up. You’d give me face, and surely you wouldn’t deny Aunt Meng’s face, would you?"
Jiang Chen gave a wry smile.
With things said to this point, what more could he say?
The driver opened the door.
"Get in," Shi Zhenhua gestured, leaving no room for Jiang Chen to refuse.
Jiang Chen and Shi Zhenhua sat in one row.
Shi Qianxi and Meng Meiling, mother and daughter, sat in another row.
"Ms. Lan didn’t come back with you?" Shi Zhenhua asked.
"The company has just been established, she needs to stay in Capital City to take charge of things," Jiang Chen replied. "Things should get better once this busy period is over."
Shi Zhenhua nodded, "Starting anything is hard, especially for such a large-scale enterprise. It has really been tough on Ms. Lan."
"Dad, she’s not here to hear all that, and she won’t get your gratitude," Shi Qianxi teased.
Shi Zhenhua wasn’t embarrassed, laughing and scolding, "I’m just speaking the truth. You don’t understand how difficult it is to build a company from scratch; it’s not something that can be achieved in an instant with money."
"Isn’t there Jiuding Group?"
Shi Qianxi said dismissively, "With Jiuding Group backing us, any problem can be solved immediately."
Shi Zhenhua was about to say something when he saw Shi Qianxi still clinging to her mother’s arm, "Dad, as you said, it’s the Mid-Autumn holiday, can we not talk about work?"
Left without a response, Shi Zhenhua laughed, "Alright, we won’t talk about it."
It was clear that this semi-retired business tycoon was in good spirits and quite well, probably having recovered from his brush with death.
"Uncle Shi, where are we going?" Jiang Chen couldn’t help but ask.
"We’re going to her uncle’s place for a meal. We were supposed to go yesterday, but your Aunt Meng suggested we wait until you were back," Shi Zhenhua replied promptly.
Jiang Chen of course knew who he was referring to.
He had met him in Huainan.
Getting together for Mid-Autumn was understandable, but the issue was that he was an outsider!
"Uncle Shi..." Jiang Chen said with a touch of awkwardness, "Isn’t that somewhat inappropriate?"
"What’s inappropriate about it?" Shi Zhenhua countered. "It’s not like you haven’t met before."
This wasn’t a question of having met before or not.
Having been to the Shi family estate was one thing, but visiting someone’s relatives would make his already delicate relationship with Shi Qianxi even more ambiguous, wouldn’t it?
Jiang Chen instinctively turned to look at Meng Meiling.
He hadn’t forgotten the agreement they had made.
Yet this matriarch of Jiuding Group, who had initially tried to send him away with a bank card, was now looking at him saying, "Her uncle has already called; the meal is ready. They are just waiting for you to go over."
Jiang Chen was speechless. For a moment, he felt like he was being kidnapped by a family.
There was no chance to get out of the car now.
The Lexus entered a high-end villa community and stopped in front of a European-style villa.
"Brother-in-law, Sis!"
Meng Jiye greeted them personally at the door, and Jiang Chen, who had gotten out of the car, noticed a woman with a beautiful appearance standing next to him.
Undoubtedly, this was Shi Qianxi’s aunty.
Behind them stood a teen, dressed fashionably, clearly someone chasing the latest trends. He didn’t look at Shi Qianxi and her family but kept his gaze on Jiang Chen, seemingly quite interested in him.
Shi Qianxi greeted warmly, as if the past unpleasantness between them had never occurred.
Jiang Chen understood that Meng Jiye bore undeniable responsibility in the assault on Shi Zhenhua, but clearly, the Shi family hadn’t pursued the matter.
Of course, necessary actions must have been taken.
After all, they were family.
"You kid, why are you hiding?"
Shi Qianxi noticed Meng Bei lurking behind his parents, waved him over, and gave orders, "Come here."
The boy who was known as a minor king in school approached like a mouse in front of a cat and came forward with a slimy face, sucking up, "Sis, you’ve become even prettier after not seeing you for so long."
Although they were siblings, they indeed didn’t see each other often.