The Favored Heiress
Chapter 518: Li Qiao is the Mascot

Chapter 518: Chapter 518: Li Qiao is the Mascot

Li Qiao drove away from the Mansion.

She had made an impromptu decision to go to the British Imperial, and there was simply no time to apply for a visa.

So, she’d have to use another method.

Li Qiao steered the car single-handedly as she put on a headset, making a call while driving back to the Li Family home.

Upon entering, Duan Shuyuan was sitting in the living room chatting idly with Zong Yue.

The TV in front was broadcasting silent images, and the two seemed very harmonious, laughing and talking.

"Qiaoqiao, you’re back."

Zong Yue saw the figure at the entrance of the living room and greeted her with a slight surprise.

Li Qiao acknowledged her with a faint expression and intended to go straight upstairs, but Duan Shuyuan called out to her, "Oh, Qiaoqiao, can you come back earlier tomorrow evening?"

She stopped in her tracks, "Mom, what’s up?"

Duan Shuyuan beckoned to her and, with a smiling face, said, "Your grandfather wants us to come over for dinner tomorrow night to discuss some matters. Remember to ask for leave from the research institute, and we’ll go to your grandfather’s place together at five in the afternoon."

Li Qiao’s expression flickered, "Alright, got it."

Duan Shuyuan watched her go upstairs with a smile, then glanced at Zong Yue beside her and patted her hand, "Alright, you’ve kept me company all morning. Since Qiaoqiao is rarely back, why don’t you go and spend some time with her?"

Upstairs, Li Qiao shut the door as soon as she entered. The sound wasn’t very loud, but impatience was clearly etched on her face.

She couldn’t miss the family dinner arranged by her grandfather tomorrow.

Consequently, she would have to postpone her trip abroad by a day.

Li Qiao sat at her desk and rubbed the strands of hair by her cheek, her gaze drifting over to the bookshelf.

She stood up, approached the bookshelf, and opened it to regard the small black safe inside, tapping idly on the door of the cabinet.

Shortly after, she took out several small books, flipped through them, and eventually slipped a green one into her pocket.

The moment she relocked the safe, Zong Yue knocked on her door, "Qiaoqiao, may I come in?"

Li Qiao closed the bookshelf door and then emerged from her bedroom.

After lunch, Zong Yue, feeling bored and not wanting to disturb Li Qiao, followed her to the research institute.

Downstairs of the building, she looked around and asked, "Qiaoqiao, I’m not a research associate here—are you sure my wandering around won’t cause you any trouble?"

Although she enjoyed Li Qiao’s company, she didn’t want to bring her any trouble.

Li Qiao, with one hand in her pocket, answered calmly as she walked in front, "No, it won’t."

"Oh." Zong Yue wore a sun hat and adjusted the brim as she hurried to keep pace with Li Qiao.

As they walked up the steps to the entrance, Zong Yue’s gaze flitted curiously around.

In just that moment, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a green booklet peeking from the pocket of Li Qiao’s pencil pants.

Although only a third of it was visible, it was enough for her to recognize it as a passport.

Hmm? A green passport?

Domestic passports are clearly maroon.

Curious as she was, Zong Yue didn’t lose her sense of boundaries and ask out of turn. After a couple of glances, she looked away.

...

In the conference room of the research institute, Li Qiao set down her notebook computer and began to type swiftly with all ten fingers.

It caught Zong Yue off guard.

She had never worked a formal job. After graduation, she joined the Military Department and married Li Jun after retiring this year.

Now, watching Li Qiao work with such intense focus, a hint of envy arose within her.

It seems... finding a job in the South Sea isn’t out of the question.

Soon, while Zong Yue was lost in her wild thoughts, the printer beside her had already printed out two sheets of paper.

She didn’t act like an outsider and said, "I’ll get that for you," before getting up and walking over.

Zong Yue didn’t look at the content of the printouts, instead deliberately turning them over to hand to Li Qiao.

But her sister-in-law didn’t seem to care; she took the documents with a thank you and casually threw them onto the table.

Zong Yue curiously glanced at them; they were a bilingual travel application report.

Before she had finished reading the content, Li Qiao had already made a phone call, "I’m going to the Medical Alliance the day after tomorrow, join me?"

On the other end of the phone, Xia Siyu kept yawning, sounding very sleepy, "The Medical Alliance, isn’t that Su Lao Si’s territory? What for?"

Li Qiao was concise, "For fun."

Xia Siyu took a sip of water and shook her neck, "Oh, alright, I happen to be free recently; I’ll head straight there from Cloud City."

Li Qiao ended the call in response, just as she put her phone on the table, she noticed a strong gaze on her.

She raised an eyebrow and turned her head, seeing Zong Yue’s eyes shining brightly at her, "Qiaoqiao, are you going for fun..."

As she spoke, she glanced at the report on the table, which clearly stated it was a travel application report.

Li Qiao rolled her voice, "Do you want to go?"

The reason she had filed the report was simply to facilitate the research institute granting her leave.

Besides, she was visiting the Medical Alliance on observational grounds; the research institute had no reason to deny it.

In the past week, the research module she was responsible for had already completed the work for the following month; taking off for about ten days wouldn’t affect anything.

In any case, she was determined to make this trip.

Zong Yue wanted to nod but still tentatively probed, "Can I go? I won’t disturb you; I can bring my own bodyguards."

Talking about it was kind of embarrassing; she hadn’t been out of the country for many years.

As a child, her mother Liang Wanhua did take her abroad a few times, but due to the family background, going abroad was a sensitive matter for the Zong Family.

Late her father passed away, and she joined the military, going abroad then required submitting an application report to the highest command level.

The internal audit process was very cumbersome, and without a necessary reason, it generally wouldn’t get approved.

At this moment, Li Qiao looked at her full of expectation and blinked, "If you want to go, just go, but I might be very busy indeed and have no time to accompany you."

"You don’t need to accompany me; my foreign language skills are slick."

And so, with Li Qiao’s consent, Zong Yue joyfully began preparing for the trip abroad.

Three minutes later, she held her phone with a drooping face, "Qiaoqiao, you’re leaving the day after tomorrow?"

"Mmm, what about it?" Li Qiao sent another application email from her computer.

Zong Yue pouted, sighing, "I can’t go, my visa won’t come through on time."

Li Qiao closed her laptop with a faint smile, "You can go with me; you don’t need a visa."

Of course, at this time, Li Qiao couldn’t imagine that once they arrived in the British Imperial, her seemingly gentle and virtuous sister-in-law would turn out to be so strong and impressive in action.

...

The next day, Monday, before nine in the morning, Li Qiao’s travel application was approved with superfast efficiency by the research institute.

Usually, this kind of approval process needed at least three days.

But now, Li Qiao was considered by the research institute as their darling daughter plus a mascot; anything concerning her was exempt from review.

Li Qiao received the notification while she was on a phone call in the hallway with Shang Yu, asking him when he would be back.

On the other end of the phone, the man’s low and mellow voice carried a magnetic rasp, "I’ll be in the South Sea by Wednesday evening, do you want to pick me up at the airport?"