The Favored Heiress
Chapter 438: A Birth Mother Who Wishes He Were Dead

Chapter 438: Chapter 438: A Birth Mother Who Wishes He Were Dead

Li Qiao looked at her dazed expression, shook the beer can, and propped one leg on the coffee table, "Planning to confess?"

Xia Siyu had an epiphany, "Is it because you figured it out that you asked him to stay a few more days in South Sea?"

Li Qiao opened her eyelids to look at her, neither denying nor admitting.

But Xia Siyu chuckled with understanding, "Confess? The old lady never thought about it..."

With no possible outcome, why humiliate herself?

And, she absolutely believed that Li Qiao had no idea about Yun Lih’s thoughts.

"Then think it through for yourself. After these few days, he’s probably heading back to Nia State," Li Qiao took a sip of beer, "If you can win him over, that would be keeping the benefits within people we know."

Xia Siyu was somewhat surprised, "You think we are suitable for each other?"

"If you two like each other, who cares what others think? People who end up together are naturally suitable."

Li Qiao’s clear-cut view on relationships cleared away the gloom in Xia Siyu’s heart.

She looked at Li Qiao with a curious expression, then the next second, she wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed her cheek, "You are just too lovable."

Li Qiao looked at her expressionlessly, "I never thought that the formidable Xia Lao Wu from the border would hide in a corner, feeling blue. It really broadened my horizon."

Xia Siyu: "..."

...

At one in the morning, the small gathering finally came to an end.

Li Qiao had opened several suites upstairs in South Sea Entertainment City and after sending them back, she was ready to make her way home.

The laboratory didn’t have much work lined up recently, and the symposium just ended. Academician Jiang said he would give everyone a few days off.

And in two days, it would be the South Sea Conference.

Previously, due to Shang Yu’s unexpected injury, the South Sea Conference was postponed by a week, which conveniently avoided the symposium.

Although it was a coincidence in timing, overly coincidental things are usually orchestrated by someone.

Li Qiao watched as several people went back to their rooms, agreed on a time to meet the next day, and then turned to go downstairs.

She took the elevator directly to the underground parking lot. Just as she was about to use her phone to call for a substitute driver, as the elevator doors opened, a teasing voice hit her, "Isn’t this the lady of the house?"

Li Qiao looked up and unsurprisingly ran into He Chen, who was followed by He Ao, whom she had given a beating before.

He Chen’s turf was in West City, while South Sea Entertainment City was in a prime location in the city center.

What was he doing here in the middle of the night?

He Chen seemed to have a preference for pink shirts, casually leaving the top three buttons undone, exposing a swath of honey-colored chest and even the tattoo on his chest was faintly visible.

Li Qiao glanced at it briefly then looked away, gave a greeting, and stepped aside, intending to leave.

He Chen stood at the door, not moving, and tilted his head to look at her, "Little sister, I heard that South Sea Entertainment City belongs to your family?"

Li Qiao paused, "Yeah, Brother Chen, got any thoughts?"

She thought about it and still called him Brother Chen.

After all, his relationship with Shang Yu was out there, and he had specially made a trip to Chong City; calling him Mr. He would be too distant.

He Chen raised his eyebrows, his narrow eyes filled with amusement, "I happened to visit your casino today for a look around. Shouldn’t you, as the host, personally entertain?"

A boss of the underground gambling scene needing to learn from a legitimate casino?

To learn how to treat guests?

Li Qiao looked at the time, it was already one-thirty in the morning.

He Chen didn’t care whether she was willing or not, he simply gestured towards the elevator with his mouth, "Night life’s just beginning, youth isn’t for sleeping. Come with me."

Li Qiao tilted her head to look at He Chen, a thought flashed through her mind, and without hesitation, she followed him back to the elevator.

South Sea Entertainment Casino is a licensed gambling venue.

He Chen had wandered around and, upon occasionally glancing at the gambling tables, would let out a few sighs, "Too backwards, too mundane."

Li Qiao watched him with a cold eye, not bothering to strike up a conversation.

The underground casino in West City had no rules to speak of, and naturally, compared to that, the formal equipment of South Sea Entertainment Casino seemed pedestrian.

After about half an hour, He Chen glanced at the time and, growing impatient, said to He Ao, "Go hurry them along, why haven’t they arrived yet?"

Li Qiao followed him near a private venue on the second floor, taking two glasses of champagne from a waiter and handing one to He Chen as she asked indifferently, "Brother Chen, did you have an appointment tonight?"

He Chen took a sip of the champagne and leaned against the railing casually, "Mhm, don’t worry, it’s not your man."

Li Qiao, holding her glass with one hand, turned to look at the casino below, and asked seemingly without interest, "You’ve known him for many years, haven’t you?"

Although it was a question, she stated it with the tone of a declaration.

He Chen might have seemed frivolous and unserious, but he could guess her intentions from some of the things she said.

He smirked and raised his glass to Li Qiao, "Sister-in-law, what do you want to ask?"

Li Qiao had no intention of playing word games with him; after taking a sip of her drink to moisten her throat, she continued to look straight down at the casino, "I want to ask about something he didn’t directly tell me, but also did not hide from me."

He Chen’s mind took a sharp turn, his gaze deepened a lot, and with a half-smile leaning against the railing, he teased, "Let’s hear it."

Li Qiao simply threw out three words with a light tone, "Madam Xiao."

He Chen stopped drinking for a few seconds and turned to look at Li Qiao’s expressionless face, asking, "You found out about her so soon?"

"Madam Xiao, is she his mother?"

He Chen looked directly into Li Qiao’s eyes, tugged at his thin lips, and sighed as he looked into the distance, "Yes, a mother who wishes for nothing more than his death.

Li Qiao, don’t ask too much, and don’t mention it too much in front of him. The grudge between the Xiao family and the Shang family started from the previous generation.

He doesn’t want you to be involved; he only wishes to protect you. Madam Xiao... she’s the most heartless woman I’ve ever encountered.

Ha, compared to her, Shang Qiongying is not even worthy to be considered plain porridge and small dishes."

...

At two in the morning, Li Qiao returned to the underground parking garage.

She sat in her car, pondering over He Chen’s words.

——A birth mother who yearns for his death.

Hearing it herself made quite a difference compared to her own guesses.

No wonder... Shang Yu’s character is so paranoid.

With a mother who longs for his death every day, how could he survive without a strong will?

Li Qiao sat in her car for a long time without leaving, thinking of the Duke of the Xiao Family from the British Imperial; she might not get involved with them, but she would not let them bully her boyfriend.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the guest rooms.

Xia Siyu sat in the room, unable to sleep for a long time.

She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window with an excellent view, arms wrapped around her chest as she gazed at the myriad lights of the city, Li Qiao’s words playing in her mind.

Would Yun Lih notice her affection?

Or did she really perform that poorly?

Xia Siyu thought for a long time, an idea she couldn’t suppress growing within her.

Yun Lih’s room was right next to hers, to seek him out, or not?

Just as she hesitated, the sound of Shen Qingye kicking the door could already be heard from outside, "Elder Xia, are you asleep yet?"

Xia Siyu jumped in fright. Even if she had been asleep, that noise would have woken her up.