The person who made the sound was none other than He Xia's husband, Qian Fei. He wasn't a good man either. It was obvious — he walked alone at the front while He Xia followed behind, carrying a bag and holding their child. Yet, when He Xia saw Jiang Hai approaching, she smiled and nodded politely, then walked over with the child in her arms. As for Qian Fei, he had already dodged Shang Ming and pushed him aside, wearing a servile expression as he looked at Qi Li.
"If you like to play and watch, come to the Internet," Qian Fei said smoothly. "Why is President Qi here? Oh, I really don't know. Your arrival truly brightens up our tent!" He smiled broadly at Qi Li.
Qi Li simply smiled and nodded in return, then glanced at He Xia and her son.
"Come here, nephew, come to your aunt," Qi Li said warmly, looking at He Xia's son.
"Yes, yes, go to President Qi. President Qi, this is my son..." Qian Fei spoke up, but seeing Qi Li ignore him, he didn't mind and continued with his ingratiating smile. His sycophantic behavior was impressively strong.
"Hey, handsome boy, do you recognize me?" Qian Fei asked, but He Xia's son, initially a little frightened, quickly hid behind his mother. Qi Li stepped forward, smiling as she looked at the child.
"Recognize, recognize..." The boy said quietly, glancing between his parents. Just as Qian Fei opened his mouth to speak, He Yue pulled him back, and Shang Ming — who had been about to grovel before Qian Fei — was also dragged away.
"Old Shang, brother-in-law, what are you doing? Didn't we come here to expose Jiang Hai? What's with this?" He Yue was furious. This was a slap in his face.
"Is she related to Jiang Hai?" Qian Fei, who had just arrived, looked confused at the scene. He sat down quietly, watching Qi Li and He Xia's son play with Jiang Hai, his expression curious.
"She's Jiang Hai's wife. Born with a coquettish look, you can tell she's no good just like Jiang Hai. Look at the cheap brand she's wearing — how dare she!" He Yue spat angrily.
"What do you know? This is President Qi..." Qian Fei interjected smoothly. "Let Shang Ming explain. President Qi, my son is quite smart, haha. I really didn't expect President Qi and my son to be so predestined. I didn't even know President Qi was Xiao Hai's wife. I'm embarrassed to call myself brother-in-law now. Come on, son, call me aunt." Qian Fei glanced sideways at He Yue and quickly resumed his ingratiating posture, walking over with a smile. If his ears weren't blocking it, you could see his grin.
"What's going on?" He Yue snapped, grabbing Shang Ming who was still trying to kowtow. "This is totally off script!"
"Your cousin's not as simple as you think," Shang Ming whispered. "Qi Li is the general manager of Qi Group. The chairman is her mother. This company is closely connected to the court and has assets worth hundreds of billions. That means the woman in front of you is worth over 10 billion. Compared to her, I'm just a tiny insect — not even worth a sesame seed. So, if you don't want to bankrupt me, watch your words."
He Yue was first confused, then incredulous, then convinced they had the wrong person.
They'd grown up with Jiang Hai and knew his fate better than anyone. He was a poor loser — how could he possibly end up with such a rich, white-collar beauty? Even if others believed it, He Yue did not.
No matter how tired or broken down this rich woman was, there was no way she'd be cheap enough for Jiang Hai.
So He Yue couldn't understand what was really going on. She was confused, and so were He Rui and her boyfriend Dong Jian. They all looked at Jiang Hai with disbelief.
Although Qi Li's net worth was huge, Jiang Hai was her husband. No matter how poor he appeared, he certainly wasn't short on money.
Especially Dong Jian — hadn't he just said that working for Jiang Hai paid only a basic salary of 3,000? What a slap in Jiang Hai's face! He must have been mistaken.
"Jiang Hai is not what you imagine," He Xia whispered to He Yue. "You should've gone there the day before yesterday. Jiang Hai's strength now is beyond your imagination. He lives in Boston and has adopted two foreign girls. According to my chat with them, Jiang Hai really is raising cattle in Boston. His estate is worth 280 million US dollars. They didn't say his yearly income, but judging by their appearance, it's definitely not small. Most importantly, between Jiang Hai and Qi Li, Jiang Hai is the main one. You know what that means!"
Hearing this, He Yue and He Rui's faces darkened further. They cast uneasy glances at Jiang Hai.
To be honest, they were in a bad mood. Someone they'd always looked down on had suddenly risen above them.
They were used to being arrogant snobs, but now they couldn't bring themselves to look Jiang Hai in the eye. He Yue left first. He Rui remembered her earlier expression and, if she were Jiang Hai, she wouldn't forgive herself. So she left as well.
Dong Jian wanted to please Jiang Hai but had nothing to say after He Rui left. He felt he'd insulted Jiang Hai the most — the 3,000 basic salary — what a slap!
He left in disgrace.
After playing with He Xia's child for a while, Qi Li sat next to Jiang Hai and told Shang Ming and Qian Fei firmly that they needed quiet. The two left reluctantly, glancing back every few steps.
Soon, word spread that Jiang Hai was successful and married to a CEO worth 10 billion.
Even Jiang Hai's uncles and aunts were alarmed. He Weihua, He Weiye, He Weian, and He Jiali all came with their families to chat. Shang Ming, Qian Fei, and Qi Li ignored them, but Jiang Hai's direct relatives couldn't speak out and could only smile politely. Their children approached Qi Li, some even asking for her phone number.
Facing this, Qi Li looked helplessly at Jiang Hai. Jiang Hai could only shrug — he couldn't help.
He had never intended to ask Qi Li to come; it was her insistence. So it wasn't his fault.
Before the banquet, Jiang Hai's place was the liveliest spot. After the banquet started, it became even more so. Everyone wanted to sit at their table, nearly causing a quarrel. Finally, seeing Qi Li unhappy, they restrained themselves.
But the banquet's theme was completely lost. It was supposed to celebrate Jiang Hai's uncle's 60th birthday.
Now, Qi Li was the star — and she could only laugh.
After lunch, Jiang Hai's uncle invited Jiang Hai and Qi Li to stay for dinner, but Jiang Hai declined. He could see Qi Li regretted coming, so he said he had something to do and left.
Outside, Jiang Hai looked at Qi Li, who seemed tired, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, laughing.
"You're really tired!" he said with a smile. Qi Li leaned into his shoulder.
"This is my first time dealing with something like this. Before, if I went to social events, I went if I wanted to — no one gave me the cold shoulder. This is real training," Qi Li said helplessly, rubbing her almost stiff face. She'd started as general manager of Liu Group, so her connections and wealth were high-level. Even as a woman, no one dared to show off to her. She'd never faced workplace struggles like ordinary female employees.
Seeing Qi Li's exhaustion, Jiang Hai tightened his arm. He wasn't sure what he felt — gratitude, excitement, love, family, friendship, old grudges, or guilt.
He was confused.
He didn't know what to say — their relationship was complicated.
That afternoon, Jiang Hai took Qi Li home. After playing with Ai Xiaoxi, Feng Yunchen, Darlene, Marian, and Azarina, Qi Li spent the night at Jiang Hai's place for the first time. Unfortunately, Jiang Hai slept on the sofa.
The next morning, Qi Li left early to return to work.
Ai Xiaoxi and Feng Yunchen left soon after. Jiang Hai asked if they'd decided to go to Boston with him, but the two women said they'd wait until next year.
It wasn't that Jiang Hai minded. After they left, Bernice and Xiaoya — no, now called Qi Jie and Zhao Ya — joined Jiang Hai and his family to return to Winthrop.
On February 29th, Jiang Hai and family stayed home two days. On March 2nd, they flew to the imperial capital, then from there to New York, and finally Boston.
There was no choice; only a few flights connected China to the U.S. Jiang Hai and family had to rush.
By March, everything had changed. Although Boston was the northernmost U.S. region — aside from Alaska — its latitude was similar to the imperial capital. In March, both places were in full bloom.
After landing, Robbins-Garcia and his team picked them up from New York to Boston. Jiang Hai saw that the snow had mostly melted. With March's average daily temperature around eight degrees Celsius, snow barely lasted on the ground. The melting snow nourished thriving new grass and budding trees. Flowers weren't blooming yet but had sprouted buds — full of life.
Seeing this, Jiang Hai's desire to return to the manor grew stronger.
Before heading to Winthrop, Jiang Hai's team toured Boston.
He'd heard his prized war shield was repaired. Qi Jie (Bernice) remembered Jiang Hai promising her a car and urged him to buy one first.
The fatigue from the long flight vanished instantly once they reached the car dealership. Jiang Hai didn't hesitate — he bought the car he wanted. No other way to do it; this was how Jiang Hai operated.
Since the decision was made, Jiang Hai said nothing. After a word with Robbins-Garcia, the two F750 vehicles turned off the highway and headed into Boston city. It looked like a convoy on wheels! Knowing Jiang Hai, once he goes to a dealership, it's impossible he won't come back with something.
Was it really just a car for Bernice? Ha! If Jiang Hai saw something he liked, he'd buy it — miracle if he didn't.
Robbins-Garcia and his team knew Jiang Hai's habits. He was willing to spend. No matter. They knew Jiang Hai had the money — just last year's cattle income alone was plenty. Soon, their fish farm would start selling, too.