No reconciliation, no forgiveness! Mr. Pei leaves with nothing.

Pei Zhan extinguished the cigarette butt in his hand, and the ashes fell to the ground.

The weather isn't good today; there's a chilly wind outside, and it looks like it'll rain again later.

Jiang Hua poured herself a glass of water and turned around to see the person outside. He had appeared behind her at some point. Pei Zhan lowered his eyes and immediately saw Jiang Hua, who had tossed her hair to one side, revealing her swan-like neck. There was a red mark on the back of her neck, blocking her way. Jiang Hua frowned in dissatisfaction, "You're blocking my way, you country bumpkin."

"I went to look for you yesterday, but I didn't see you at the school."

Jiang Hua leaned against the counter, looking languid, with drowsiness still lingering in her eyes. She had come down to get a glass of water because she was thirsty, and then she saw Pei Zhan standing outside all night. He had a proud and arrogant air about him, thinking the Jiang family was dirty and preferring to stand outside all night. However... none of this concerned her.

She didn't believe Pei Zhan's words at all. "You're looking for me? Weren't you in a hurry to go to Qianqiu Manor to celebrate Song Qingran's success with the association?"

Jiang Hua pressed her fingers against his chest and pushed him away. "Don't say things like that anymore. I don't want to dwell on how things started between you and Song Qingran. It was just because you were still useful. As for our private lives... I still prefer us to live our own lives and not interfere with each other. The only thing between us is a marriage certificate."

"If it weren't for Dad's words that woke me up, do you think Song Qingran would still be able to appear in front of me unscathed?"

"Wake up, you country bumpkin. We... have nothing but an exchange of interests."

"You don't actually think I like you?"

"Why should I like you?"

“I… Jiang Hua! Born into a noble family, pampered and adored. For me to even glance at you is an honor. In the past… you wouldn't even have the right to step into Yulong Bay, let alone see me, let alone stand before me and dare to look me in the eye. I am different from you, who have lowly blood. You were born into a lowly family, without parents…”

"See the sign outside? I'm not taking it down... just to remind you that in my eyes, you're not even as good as a dog, except for the fact that you're in this position because of the Jiang family."

"Don't really think that just because you've been around for a few years, you can take yourself seriously."

"Association, if she wants it, then take it."

"You can just live your lives in the capital. Even if you... have sex in front of me, if I'm in a good mood, I might even watch and observe your technique."

Jiang Hua's carefree attitude caught Pei Zhan's eye, causing his gaze to darken and his eyes to seem shrouded in a stormy cloud.

"What's all this noise so early in the morning?" Jiang Weiguo walked in from outside, carrying a bucket with a fish inside. It looked big enough for three or four people. The maid took the fishing rod from him and put it away. "Huahua, come and see how we're going to cook this fish for lunch?"

Their conversation abruptly ended. Seeing the unpleasant look on Pei Zhan's face, she felt much better and deliberately bumped into his shoulder as they left.

"This fish is really ugly. Dad, you can cook it however you want. Call me when it's lunchtime. I'm going to take a nap."

After Jiang Hua went upstairs, Jiang Weiguo walked to the sofa, took off his straw hat, and placed it on the tea table. The maid immediately brought over a bowl of Chinese medicine. "Didn't you sleep a wink last night?"

"Is it because of company matters, or because of Huahua?"

Jiang Weiguo waved his hand, and the servants in the hall understood and all withdrew.

Pei Zhan's eyes flickered slightly.

Before he could speak, Jiang Weiguo slowly said, "I've never seen you come to me about the company's problems before, probably because of Huahua."

"You don't need to worry about Wen Qian's matter. I won't let anyone ruin your relationship with Hua Hua. But similarly... if I find out again that you have an ambiguous relationship with other women, I will no longer care about Hua Hua's private feelings."

Pei Zhan: "What will Chairman Jiang do?"

Jiang Weiguo also spoke frankly, "So you don't need to worry too much. Besides... this Wen Qian is the son-in-law of the Bai family and Bai Rui's husband. They will be getting married soon, so he won't threaten your relationship with Huahua."

"There's no need to take it to heart, just do your own thing."

"Yes."

Jiang Hua, standing on the stairs, overheard everything. Her expression changed completely; it became icy, just as it had been with Wen Huaishi, and now with Wen Qian…

She just didn't understand why her father did that.

The thought of Pei Zhan's appearance made her angry, but she forced herself to hold it in. As she went upstairs, she stomped her footsteps loudly, as if afraid they wouldn't hear her. When she got back to her room, she slammed the door shut.

Jiang Weiguo: "Don't worry about it. If she can figure things out, she'll calm down on her own."

Bai Rui didn't see the photos sent to her phone until six in the morning. She suddenly felt palpitations in the early hours of last night, so she got up, took her medicine, and glanced at the time when she saw these dozens of photos.

It's a scene from yesterday's show featuring Liang Chuan and Jiang Hua...

Each photograph was jarring to the eyes, the expressions sorrowful, and a dull ache ran through my heart.

Later, she pretended not to see them and could only delete them one by one...

Bai Rui: No matter who you are, you can't ruin my relationship with my husband. Please stop posting these photos.

After that night, Bai Rui never closed her eyes again, staring at the sky outside the window until dawn…

Fengwu Mansion.

Xia He personally wrote out the invitation list and showed it to Song Qingran, asking, "Is there anything I've missed?"

Song Qingran had just been discharged from the hospital and didn't expect that attending a banquet would require her to learn so many etiquette rules. She wasn't used to wearing high heels because she couldn't afford them, and she almost fell several times. She was wearing the employee uniform of Jiang's Group. She had been injured before and now she should go back to the company, otherwise... her projects would fall behind schedule.

She stumbled forward, "Aunt Xia, wait a moment..."

On the list above, Song Qingran immediately noticed Mr. Pei's name.

All the important figures in the capital city will be here tomorrow night. This banquet was originally scheduled to be held much earlier, but because of... she made it happen.

"By the way, Aunt Xia, can you get in touch with the eldest daughter of the Jiang family?... Old Master Jiang said that no one knows more about jewelry restoration than her, and... the Jiang family has always been the inheritors of jewelry restoration. If she could join, the association would definitely run very smoothly."

"Her?" Xia He frowned slightly. Did Qing Ran not know that Jiang Hua was the eldest daughter of the Jiang family?

Never mind, it’s better if she doesn’t know.

However, she's just Jiang Hua; compared to Qing Ran's current status, she's really not worth mentioning.

She will make amends for everything she did to Pei Zhan when he returns to the Huo family.

"Auntie will think of a way to handle this. You go back to the company first, and put everything else aside for now."

Song Qingran: "Okay, then I'll be going now, Aunt Xia."

As Song Qingran walked out of Fengwu Mansion, a private car was already waiting for her outside. She had originally planned to take the bus, but it was getting late.

Not far away, Bai Rui pushed Wen Qian over. Given their current relationship, she should call her "sister".

Bai Rui's expression was blank, and her aura carried a distant atmosphere, making her seem unapproachable. "You can call me 'sister' when the banquet starts. You can call me Miss Bai like everyone else." Her tone was full of confidence.

Song Qingran gripped her bag tightly and called out timidly, "Miss Bai..."

The driver behind them urged, "Miss Qingran, we should go."

Song Qingran turned around and quickly got into the car. Her heart was pounding the whole time, and she only relaxed the moment the car door closed.

As they approached the Jiang Group Building, Song Qingran, not wanting her Bentley to be spotted too far forward, asked the driver to stop nearby. Just then, a car drove past her. Song Qingran recognized the vehicle; the man inside had striking, deep-set features that swept across her vision…

After regaining her senses, Song Qingran walked into the building. The receptionist saw her but didn't greet her. The two of them just watched her gossip and waited for her to get on the elevator.

"She...wasn't she fired from the company a long time ago? Why is she still coming to the company?"

"Yeah, she's still wearing her company uniform. Could she have missed her company emails?"

Another receptionist laughed and said, "The HR department is ruthless. As soon as the resignation notice is issued, they kick her out of the work group in no time."

"There's something fun to watch now."

Design Department.

Song Qingran pushed open the glass door, only to find that her seat had already been taken by someone else. Song Qingran recognized her; she was Zhu Zhu, who had won second place in the school's jewelry competition. Zhu Zhu was chatting and laughing with other department members, and even ignored Song Qingran who was outside the door.

Feeling excluded and unable to fit into the atmosphere, Song Qingran suddenly spoke up, "I... I'm back to report for duty," but no one paid any attention to her.

No one paid attention.

Song Qingran stood there, completely at a loss. When the door to the conference room next to her opened, Xu Zhoulan was followed by Susan and others.

Song Qingran, "Director Xu."

"Team leader, I..."

The team leader said to Susan beside him, "You handle this."

"Yes." Then Susan turned to Song Qingran and said, "Come with me to the meeting room."

Song Qingran sat nervously in the chair. Susan poured her a glass of water and placed it in front of her. "I have a group meeting in five minutes, so I'll keep it short."

"Our company has investigated the jewelry repair incident. It is clear that you abused your position to profit the school's studio. Client privacy is confidential to the company, and you have now leaked it and caused this incident. After discussion at the higher level, you have been dismissed from the company."

Expelled?

A bolt of lightning struck Song Qingran, leaving her stunned. "Expelled?"

"That's not how it is, Susan, please let me explain. Those people were actually me..."

"Stop!" Susan said sternly. "This is a company, not some playhouse you set up in school. You're the one who violated the company's contract first. The company was just following the rules, and there's nothing wrong with that."

"We've already packed your things for you. They're in the design department's warehouse. You can go get them yourself in a bit."

"I can tell your heart isn't in the design department. You should go back to school and attend classes soon."

With half a minute left, Susan left the meeting room, leaving Song Qingran alone, still processing the sudden turn of events. She didn't know why this had happened.

In the first few minutes of the group meeting, everyone watched as Song Qingran walked out looking dejected. They thought she would throw a tantrum and demand an explanation, but to their surprise, she accepted it so quickly.

Her belongings were placed in a cardboard box and carelessly tossed behind the door. In the end, her employee ID was returned to the HR department.

She couldn't log into the department's backend and thought it was a program error, but little did she know... she had been fired.

With red eyes, Song Qingran walked out of the Jiang Group building. When she reached the bus stop, she finally couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears...

"Drive slowly." Jiang Hua sat in the back passenger seat. It was drizzling outside, and there were puddles on the ground. Looking at the person squatting on the ground crying outside the car window, she thought she was seeing things. But it really was Song Qingran. Seeing her disheveled appearance, she felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

It seems he just found out he was fired by the Jiang family.

"Uncle Wang, drive faster, drive over that puddle on the ground."

Just as Song Qingran was about to stand up, a car suddenly sped towards her. She didn't dodge, and the dirty water on the ground splashed all over her. The cold water soaked through half of her clothes, and her face was covered in mud. She was now in a terrible state.

However, this scene was witnessed by Pei Zhan, who was on the phone.

Zuo Xiangnan said, "Just now... that car seemed to be... the young lady's car." He was a little hesitant to speak.

Pei Zhan pursed his lips, his brows furrowing slightly.

The receptionist was gleefully discussing Song Qingran's departure from the company.

But just then, the smile in front of him froze instantly. "President Pei, hello."

Pei Zhan walked in with one hand in his pocket, exuding an air of authority. Song Qingran followed behind him, her head down, soaked to the bone and looking quite disheveled.

Zuo Xiangnan was still holding Song Qingran's cardboard box in his hand.

However… she brazenly followed Pei Zhan into the president's private elevator.

We arrived at the president's office.

Song Qingran remained silent.

"Go find her a clean set of clothes."

Zuo Xiangnan: "It's President Pei."

Soon, only the two of them remained in the CEO's office. The unusual atmosphere made Song Qingran nervously fidget with her fingers, while Pei Zhan walked to the desk and pressed a button in a hidden compartment. "Go take a shower and tidy yourself up."

"Don't catch a cold."

A simple, seemingly insignificant question deeply touched Song Qingran, her eyes brimming with tears. In the blink of an eye, a tear fell to the ground, bursting into a bloom. Her voice choked with emotion, "I am no longer an employee of Jiang's."

Pei Zhan unfolded a document, picked up a pen, and was about to sign it when he heard this. He put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and looked at her with a sharp gaze. "...It only shows that you are not capable enough to establish yourself in the Jiang family. You were able to enter the Jiang family because of your own merit. All I did was give you a chance."

"Consider this incident as a test of your character."

"You don't only have the Jiang family as a choice."

"Go back to school and get on with your work."

Pei Zhan's words sounded like those of an elder brother.

Song Qingran: "But..."