“Assertive?” Zhao Youlin cocked one of her eyebrows and smirked. “No, this is not me being assertive. Today, I came to tell all of you this, not because I want to reject you for who you are, or what you have done to Li. I am warning you as Li’s good friend as well as her superior. If you treat Li well and you do it with a sincere heart, I would naturally give you guys my blessing. However, if you have an ulterior motive and hurt Li, don’t blame me for being hostile to you. Although the Zhao family’s status is inferior to the four greatest families in Shalnork, Mr. Ling, trust me, as long as I’m willing, I will have a thousand ways to make your life a living hell. Please be careful, Mr. Ling.”
“Ms. Zhao…” Ling Ran wanted to defend himself. However, Zhao Youlin did not give him a chance to do so. She just walked past him and entered the elevator.
As he watched her silhouette gradually disappearing behind the elevator door, Ling Ran felt that his future was looking bleak.
If he knew that tipping her off would bring trouble to himself, he certainly would not have spoken a single word to Ye Yan even if he had to bear the risk of being called a traitor.
He had been a virgin who had never been in a relationship over the twenty-something years of his life, and it had not been easy for him to finally meet a desirable woman. On top of that, it was very rare for him to find a young lady who actually did not despise him.
‘Sob, Brother, you’re getting me into so much trouble this time!’
On the other hand, the moment Zhao Youlin watched the elevator door close in front of her, she heaved a sigh of relief.
In fact, she had quite a good impression of Ling Ran. Therefore, she had quietly watched him when she found him delivering meals to curry favor with Li.
Unfortunately, Ye Yan’s sudden appearance had immediately pulled down the score of her impression toward Ling Ran. She inevitably sensed a hint of conspiracy with the all too fortuitous development.
So much so, it had led to her subconsciously assuming that the people who were related to this incident had ulterior motives. As a precautionary measure, she had warned Ling Ran.
She wanted him to have his eyes opened and have better judgment so that even if he wanted to plot a scheme against others, he would not scheme against people around her. She might not have many strengths. But the only strength she had was that she protected those who were close to her!
If Ling Ran were to really play with Li’s feelings, she certainly would strike him to the point that even his mother could not recognize him.
“General Manager, all of Mr. Han’s information is here.”
Zhao Youlin received the documents which Xiao Jingyao had passed over to her. She cast a cursory glance at them. Then, she frowned and asked him, “Han Yichen is an orphan?”
“Yes. According to the information shown, he was discovered at the entrance of the orphanage. At that time, he was only a few months old.”
“He’s an abandoned baby?” Zhao Youlin was slightly shocked. She never thought Han Yichen was also an abandoned child, just like her.
“Yes, Han Yichen was an abandoned baby. At the time he was abandoned at the orphanage, he was wearing cheap baby clothes. The person who abandoned him had not left behind any clues. Therefore, no one knew when he was born, much less who his parents really were. He adopted the surname of the director who had taken him into the orphanage at that time. Even his name was given by the director.”
“In other words, Han Yichen’s actual surname is not Han?”
Although Xiao Jingyao did not understand why Zhao Youlin had asked this question, he answered her, “Yes.”
Zhao Youlin was deep in thought for a brief moment before she nodded, signalling Xiao Jingyao to continue.
“Han Yichen stayed in the orphanage until he became an adult and moved out. After that, he worked and studied part-time until he went to college. He had started planning on setting up a business with his classmates on their own in his second year in university.”
Even though Xiao Jingyao had only briefly introduced Han Yichen, a hint of admiration showed up in his eyes.
One had to admit that the young man whom Zhao Youlin had asked him to investigate was truly very capable. Although he did not come from a privileged background, he had an unparalleled market insight and ability of foresight. He raised a security company of his own at a very young age from scratch. His strength was not inferior to the heirs of the great families whom those families had put in effort to cultivate.
The only pity was that the young man still lacked experience in society. He came from a lower-level society. Although the life there had shaped him to become someone who was level-headed, reliable and free from arrogance, he lacked the ability to discern between friends and enemies.
He had put too much trust on his partner, resulting in his partner absconding with the donations and escaping, leaving a huge mess behind for him. This had been the young man’s greatest failure in his life.
This had been a huge blow to Han Yichen. Ever since then, he was never heard of in Shalnork.
He gained brilliant achievements after working hard for a few years, but all of that had collapsed in a short period of time. Anyone who faced such a blow would be unable to get back on their feet and be in a constant state of anxiety, let alone a young man at such a young age.
In spite of it all, after reading all the experiences of this person from his childhood to adulthood, Xiao Jingyao felt that he did not look like one who had been struck down by all this.
The difference between a mighty person and an ordinary person was that the ordinary person went with the flow in adversity, while the mighty person stood up against adversity and rose from failure like a phoenix from the ashes.
So, which category did this young man belong to?
Zhao Youlin flipped through the documents in her hands. She did not say anything further. She occasionally rapped the surface of the table with her long and slender fingers. Her expression looked incredibly intriguing. At that moment, no one could not see through her thoughts.
“General Manager.” When Xiao Jingyao saw Zhao Youlin remaining still after some time, he could not help but call her.
It was only then that Zhao Youlin snapped out of her daze. She organized the information in her hands, rose up, and said, “Alright, let’s put this information here first. I’ll read them when I have the time. Uncle Xiao, go and deal with the matter I just mentioned. I will call you again should anything arise.”
Xiao Jingyao cast a glance at Zhao Youlin. He felt there was something wrong with her. However, seeing that Zhao Youlin was reluctant to say more, he got the hint and nodded. He retreated from Zhao Youlin’s office.
Zhao Youlin watched Xiao Jingyao leave. The next moment, she rested her gaze at the stack of documents on the table once again. She subconsciously frowned, and her eyes shone with a spark of some sort of emotion. A resigned sigh came out of her office after a long time.
Zhao Youlin had been staying inside the office for the whole day. Today, she left work early for no other reason other than the fact that Joy was on holiday as well.
The sound of a car engine rumbled from the outside of the Zhao family’s main residence. Zhao Youlin got out of the car. Before she reached the entrance, she heard the sound of footsteps rushing out from inside.
It did not take long before Zhao Youlin saw her cute and precious son lunging at her like a little cannonball. He hugged her thigh tightly, and his eyes sparkled as he called, “Mommy!”
Sparta rushed out too, as it had been following behind Joy closely. It had grown up a lot compared to the time when they had just bought it. When Sparta saw Joy hugging Zhao Youlin’s thigh, it also happily ran around the mother-son duo.
Zhao Youlin caressed Joy’s small head. Just then, two figures walked out of the house.
“Youlin, you’re back.”
Zhao Youlin smiled at Duan Yarong before she turned around and looked at the other person. She smiled gently as she said, “Madam Mu.”
