The Favored Heiress
Chapter 245: Li Guangming Paves the Way for Li Qiao

Chapter 245: Chapter 245: Li Guangming Paves the Way for Li Qiao

Of course, no matter what the family doctor said, Li Qiao still returned to the Li Family on Friday evening, three days later.

Because tomorrow, she would attend an internal gathering of the Five Giants with her father.

In the past few days, she had been staying in the South Sea Mansion, where her daily meals were taken care of by someone specifically responsible for them, and even her schedule was strictly controlled.

Under such meticulous care, her sickly pallor had left her face, and her eyes and brows were as delicate as before.

Half an hour later, Li Qiao sat with her legs crossed in the study, blowing on the steam rising from her tea, while listening to her father’s ramblings with a touch of helpless resignation in her eyes.

"So, my girl, it’s all to your advantage to attend more functions of the Five Giants,"

Li Guangming stroked the bead string in his hand, looking at Li Qiao with a gaze full of tenderness.

At that moment, Li Qiao took a sip of tea, looked up at Li Guangming, and with a forced smile said, "Mm, Dad makes sense."

"Right," Li Guangming nodded, clearly relieved, "It’s about time for our Li Family’s little princess, who has been hidden for so many years, to let everyone see her.

Girl, don’t think I’m nagging, but taking you to this gathering, I also want to expand your network.

In the South Sea region, having a broad network makes things go smoothly. It’s always good to be prepared, whether or not you will need it in the future."

Li Qiao lowered her gaze and fiddled with the tea cup in her hand, smiling thoughtfully, "Dad, why do you think I need to expand my network?"

She didn’t have a business to run in the South Sea, nor did she need to make public appearances; what was the point of knowing those people?

At this, Li Guangming’s expression became startled as he looked at Li Qiao’s indifferent eyes, "Do you think I’m doing unnecessary things?"

"Not at all, just a bit curious." Li Qiao spoke and brought the tea cup to her lips again, her gaze fixed through the rim on Li Guangming.

After a short while, father and daughter sat in silence, and Li Guangming picked up a cigar box lying next to him, examining it in his palm, "Curiosity is good.

Let me put it this way, these years, we’ve kept you hidden at home, and scarcely anyone outside knows of your identity.

Now, since so much time has passed since the kidnapping case, I want to reintroduce you to society.

At the very least, people should know that the Li Family has not only three sons but also an even more outstanding daughter.

Qiaoqiao, the status of The Five Great Families is pivotal in the South Sea; if you could build friendships with them, whatever you do in the future would have a solid chip in your hand, you understand?"

Li Guangming spoke these words with earnest gravity.

No matter how one looked at it, his desire to pave the way for Li Qiao was very strong.

Li Qiao naturally understood the stakes involved, but... why suddenly paved the way for her?

With this question in mind, after finishing the conversation with Li Guangming, she returned to her room.

She sat on the balcony enveloped in the thick night air, staring into the black night sky, her thoughts churning.

Soon after, Li Qiao took out her phone and quickly operated it; the information about the family members of the South Sea Five Giants soon appeared before her eyes.

...

The next day, Saturday, at ten in the morning.

Three cars drove out from the Li Family’s gates, heading toward the Eastern Suburbs.

The gathering of the Five Giants this time was to last two days, and it was to take place near the sparsely populated Tangxi Mountain.

It was heard that the entire Tangxi Mountain had entered a state of alert in advance, and several helicopters had even landed at Tangxi Square near the terraced villas.

In the car, Li Qiao sat in the back seat with her second elder brother, Li Yan, whom she had not seen in a while.

As they entered the highway, Li Qiao glanced at Li Yan, who was dozing off, "What have you been up to lately?"

She had not seen her second brother for a while. The Art Tycoon was always on the move, and was likely chasing after some rare painting or calligraphy, racing from one end of the earth to the other to trade it.

At this moment, Li Yan, dressed in a pink leisure shirt, was perched with one knee bent on the storage box between the front seats, pinching his eyebrows and muttering, "I just got back from abroad, and if it wasn’t for today’s gathering, I wouldn’t have come back so soon."

He had landed at midnight the day before, still hadn’t gotten over the jet lag, and was dragged onto the car early in the morning.

Hearing this, Li Qiao lightly curled her lips and turned her head to look out the window, "Tell me about the gathering."

"I don’t mind telling you, but why does our dad insist on bringing you this year?" Li Yan straightened up suspiciously, eyeing Li Qiao’s indifferent expression, "Had I known you were going, I wouldn’t have gone."

Li Yan mumbled his doubts for a while, and when he lifted his eyelids, he met Li Qiao’s slightly impatient deer-like eyes.

He immediately sat up straight and began counting off the details on his fingers.

Li Yan talked all the way, and Li Qiao quietly listened.

Soon, the car entered the vicinity of Tangxi Mountain. The surrounding roads were somewhat deserted, and as they approached Tangxi Square, the atmosphere became more austere.

The Five Giants of South Sea represented money, interests, and power.

Just bringing up any one of them could cause quite a stir in the South Sea.

The security measures were, of course, extremely strict.

Li Qiao, looking at the row houses outside the window, narrowed her eyes, "Is big brother not attending?"

Li San was at the border, rarely involved in the affairs of the South Sea families.

If the members of the Five Giants’ families would all be present, then why wasn’t big brother there?

At that moment, Li Yan, stretching his shoulders, chuckled, "Ever since big brother became the South Sea Secretary-General, he has never attended again.

After all, given his position, if he were to rashly join the financial families’ private gatherings, and his political enemies found out, they would certainly accuse him of using his public role for private gain, which would be a loss not worth the risk."

As they spoke, Tangxi Mountain was already close at hand.

Amid the grandeur of green hills, there stood a manor as magnificent as an ancient castle.

This was the base where the Five Giants regularly convened for major discussions.

Li Qiao and Li Yan got out of the car, both dressed in a very casual and comfortable manner, without fancy clothes or elaborate hair and makeup, more like visitors on a tour.

In front of the mansion, there were already quite a few luxury cars parked side by side.

Li Guangming and his wife got out of the car one after the other, waving to Li Qiao, "Qiaoqiao, come here."

Li Yan, with one hand in the pocket of his track pants, had just taken a step forward following Li Qiao when Duan Shuyuan instructed him, "Second child, go tell the steward of the mansion to arrange Qiaoqiao’s room for tonight next to ours."

According to the tradition of previous years, the rooms of the heads of The Five Great Families were on the top floor suites.

The younger members of each family stayed in guest rooms on the floor below.

Li Yan’s steps halted, he touched his nose, and resignedly went to arrange a room for his sister.

Li Qiao walked unhurriedly towards Duan Shuyuan, her gaze sweeping across the mansion ahead, where by the fountain lawn there were already many people standing.

Each one of them was dressed to the nines, handsome men and beautiful women.

The service staff also moved expertly among them, the scene not much different from an ordinary social event.

However, there were several bodyguards arranged around the mansion, ensuring a very high level of security.

At this moment, Duan Shuyuan, eyeing Li Qiao and worried she might be nervous, took her hand reassuringly, "Sweetheart, there’s no need to be nervous, everyone here today is from our own family, forming a community of interests, with hardly any outsiders.

Also... among our families, there are quite a few young talents, and you should take the opportunity to interact more with them when you have time."

The last sentence was quite abrupt.