The Favored Heiress
Chapter 567: The Friend of a Beauty is Also a Beauty

Chapter 567: Chapter 567: The Friend of a Beauty is Also a Beauty

Li Qiao glared at Mo Jue, and from the clarity of her eyes, she could see her own reflection.

She curved her lips upward, casually handing out a small box.

Song Liao tilted his neck to look, seemed there was only one, not his share?

Mo Jue’s palm-sized face broke into a slight smile of delight as she took the box and was about to open it, but heard Li Qiao remind her, "Wait until we’re at Faliang to look."

"Oh, okay then..." Mo Jue felt the box for a moment, opened her cross-body bag, and carefully tucked it inside.

Just as Song Liao was about to ask where his was, a commercial vehicle stopped outside the police station.

Su Moshi and Shen Qingye, among others, got out of the vehicle; they were going to the airport with Song Lao Liu.

After a brief reunion, parting was inevitable; everyone would inevitably return to their own realm to continue shining.

Li Qiao stood in front of the police station, watching them depart.

No need for superfluous words, this joint operation to capture Mo Jue had once again built a solid fortress between them.

No matter when or where, the Five Sons were always the Five Sons.

In a flash, the commercial vehicle drove away, and after standing still for a few seconds, Li Qiao turned and got into a car to return to the Li Family.

Meanwhile, at the street corner, a figure who had been looking around for a long time stood beside the greenery; it was Li Yan.

...

The Li Family.

On the second-floor open-air balcony, Li Qiao sat in a wicker chair with two cups of coffee on the low table in front of her.

Without delay, Li Yan, still wearing last night’s garishly pink suit, came up.

He hung his head, his short hair disheveled, looking deflated like a frosted eggplant, as if he couldn’t muster energy for anything.

Li Qiao took a delicate sip of her coffee, glanced at him and asked, "Did you arrange Mo Jue’s identity?"

Li Yan nodded, replying dejectedly, "Mhmm."

Li Qiao gently placed the coffee cup on the table, "Adoptive son? You have the nerve?"

She had only found out the previous night that before meeting her second brother, Mo Jue had no identification at all, and afterward, she had been adopted in the Faliang region.

Her second brother was twenty-nine this year, Mo Jue twenty-three, and he had adopted Mo Jue in the name of father and son, becoming an early father.

Li Yan rubbed his forehead, sneaking a glance at Li Qiao, "I just...went with the flow. Mo Mo had no background information, the police couldn’t find any, and as it happened, a friend of mine is a police officer in Faliang, so I just casually created an identity for her."

After a moment of silence, Li Qiao fiddled with her coffee cup and looked at him with a quasi-smile, "Did you replicate all those paintings that Mo Jue stole?"

Li Yan coughed guiltily, "Uh, just... fancied them, wanted to keep a souvenir for myself."

By the end, his voice was as faint as a mosquito’s.

Li Qiao looked ahead, raised an eyebrow and debunked him, "Fancied? Didn’t you sell them off as high-quality imitations of rare pieces?"

Li Yan hung his head in silence, like a mischievous child being scolded.

Watching his dispirited state, a flicker of amusement crossed Li Qiao’s eyes, but it was fleeting, "Second brother, Mo Jue won’t be coming back for a while, and you...should rein in your feelings."

It was true that Mo Jue was at fault, but her second brother was hardly blameless.

He had let Mo Jue steal paintings and then made forgeries for resale; should responsibility be pursued, he wouldn’t escape punishment.

At that moment, Li Yan looked up forlornly, "Not coming back for a short time... what does that mean?"

"Just what it sounds like." Li Qiao glanced coldly at him and without further comment, stood up, pushing her chair aside, then asked another question, "How many paintings did you pick out for Elegant Villa Garden?"

Li Yan sighed, "I don’t know how many there are."

At his response, Li Qiao didn’t probe further and descended the stairs unhurriedly.

It wasn’t until one day much later when she went to Elegant Villa Garden to retrieve something, and entered the collection room, that she realized her second brother had indeed not lied.

Because... he took away all the paintings, even Li Qiao herself didn’t know exactly how many there were.

The art dealer struck by lightning.

...

At three in the afternoon, Li Qiao drove from the Li Family’s house to South Sea Technology Park.

She had planned to go to the headquarters to find Shang Yu, but as she stopped at the intersection, she suddenly saw the sign for Liye Building up ahead. She hesitated for a few seconds, then pressed the gas pedal and drove straight there.

Five minutes later, on the sixth floor, a venture capital firm.

Li Qiao walked out of the elevator and into the reception hall.

"Hello, what services would you like to inquire about?"

The front desk administrative assistant, who had been employed for less than a month, hadn’t seen Li Qiao before and brought out the visitor registration form while asking.

Li Qiao glanced at the office area behind the front desk and said to the administrative assistant, "Could you please find Zong Yue for me?"

"Oh, sure, please wait a moment."

The receptionist stole glances at her and took out her phone to open the company directory, then called Zong Yue directly.

Indeed, a beauty’s friends are beauties as well.

Zong Yue, the new HR Specialist who started on Monday, had only been there a few days, but had already stirred the interest of many male colleagues.

The company was predominantly male, with most being single men in sales.

Zong Yue was wealthy, attractive, and also had a good personality—on her first day, she bought coffee and afternoon tea for all the colleagues in the company.

A total of over 300 people.

Even if a coffee cost thirty yuan, plus so many pastries, the expense must have been at least tens of thousands of yuan.

She was fucking loaded.

It was said that the coffee shop downstairs closed for two hours just to make those over 300 cups of coffee.

In less than a minute, Zong Yue, dressed in a black business suit dress and wearing a badge, hurried over to the front desk reception area, "Qiaoqiao, how come you’re here?"

Upon seeing Li Qiao, Zong Yue was both surprised and delighted, sat down in front of her, and her smile was very genuine.

Li Qiao looked at her outfit and curved her lips warmly, "I was passing by, and I came to see how you’re doing. Are you adjusting well here?"

Zong Yue nodded repeatedly, "I’m very comfortable, the work atmosphere is great, and my colleagues are very enthusiastic."

At the front desk, the administrative assistant flipping through the files scoffed upon hearing that, thinking about how enthusiastic her colleagues were. She had been working for a month and still many didn’t even know her name.

They just call her "admin" all day long.

But looking at Zong Yue, who had only been working for three days, the HR Department was almost worn out from so many visits.

Those single men wandered into the HR office for no reason at all, making the company leaders think they were planning a collective resignation. They almost called for a motivational meeting.

At this moment, Zong Yue was eagerly sharing the company’s anecdotes with Li Qiao, clearly enjoying her time there, and even felt fortunate that she had chosen this fund company.

Li Qiao didn’t talk with her for too long and prepared to leave after about fifteen minutes.

Zong Yue was reluctant to let her go and said goodbye at the front door of the reception area until she entered the elevator, and then strolled back to the office.

...

In the lobby downstairs, Li Qiao walked out of the elevator and ran into someone head-on.

They were very close to each other, and both stopped at the same time as they brushed past.

The other party was a twenty-seven or twenty-eight-year-old woman, dressed neatly in a women’s suit, holding a limited-edition Hermes crocodile leather bag, with bright eyes and an aura of brisk efficiency.

Li Qiao turned her head, and the other also looked over.

When their eyes met, both were startled.