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Chapter 85: Xu Weinian

Under Hostility Perception mode, Lu Li clearly saw a white mist rising from Bai Luan.

The mist felt gentle and kind, completely devoid of aggression.

So he really is a simple, honest old butler…

Lu Li disabled Hostility Perception and looked at Bai Luan’s attire.

He wore a plain Han-style robe, his silver hair was neatly trimmed, deep nasolabial and crow’s-feet lines marked his face, and although his aged eyes looked a little cloudy at first glance, his energy was vibrant, and the leisurely air about him left a strong impression.

Imitating Xiao Mingyue’s tone, Lu Li narrowed his eyes and said, “Bring these people here.”

He raised his hand and placed on the desk the slip that listed the four names, all except CEO He Yong.

Bai Luan stepped forward, bowed, accepted the note, and lifted his clouded eyes in confusion, “Miss, these people are the backbone of the group.”

“Any problem?”

Bai Luan hesitated and said, “They already show Miss too little respect; if we summon them in the middle of the night, they may resent it.”

“I have already identified the traitor among them; they only need to come and confirm it.” Lu Li lifted eyes as dark as stars and spoke indifferently.

“I see, as expected of Miss!” Bai Luan’s face lit up. “This servant will contact them at once.”

He glanced at the paper, then suddenly paused.

“Something wrong?” Lu Li tilted his head slightly.

“Nothing.” Bai Luan hurried out; though he wondered why Xiao Mingyue’s handwriting looked different, he did not ask.

Lu Li breathed out and let his shoulders droop; speaking like Xiao Mingyue required him to stay tense because she radiated such queenly dominance.

“Your imitation is poor; your guilty conscience shows.” Xiao Mingyue spoke scornfully.

Lu Li rolled his eyes. “You’ve been aloof too long to know how to treat people kindly.”

“Kindness is useful?” Xiao Mingyue laughed coldly. “People fear power, not virtue; the good are bullied, the tame are ridden. Kindness only makes you look easy to push around.”

Lu Li shook his head dismissively. People have feelings; if you show someone respect, anyone reasonable will return it. Treating others kindly is never wrong.

Still, considering that Xiao Mingyue had taken charge of such a huge conglomerate at a young age, Lu Li felt unqualified to lecture her.

At her age, if she were gentle and giving all the time, she really would be taken lightly…

“There’s something I still need to ask you.” Lu Li cleared his throat.

“Speak.”

“Among the four people we called, does anyone have a personal grudge with you?”

“Why ask that?”

Lu Li said earnestly, “If they have entanglements with you, it might cloud my judgment. I need to know beforehand.”

After thinking for a moment, Xiao Mingyue said, “General Manager Xu Weinian was once my mother’s closest friend. She and my mother founded Mingyue Group together, and they should have been the largest shareholders.

But Mingyue Group once faced a major crisis, and to survive it we borrowed an enormous sum of my grandfather’s wealth, which caused Xu Weinian’s shares to shrink drastically.

Because of that, my mother became chairwoman, while Xu Weinian ended up only general manager.

My mother had promised to promote her someday, but she died suddenly when her hereditary asthma triggered complications in her heart. She only had time to pass the chairmanship to me and made no arrangements for Xu Weinian.

So Xu Weinian has always borne a grudge. Of the four people, the only one who resents me is her.”

So Xiao Mingyue’s mother had already died of asthma… Lu Li frowned slightly; he remembered that Xiao Mingyue’s status panel also mentioned “hereditary asthma.”

Xiao Mingyue asked Lu Li solemnly, “Under these circumstances, will it affect your judgment?”

“Relax, if it’s only Xu Weinian, the problem should be minor.”

“Should?”

Xiao Mingyue’s voice held doubt; what she wanted to hear was “definitely,” not a vague “should.”

She suddenly felt serious misgivings about whether Lu Li could catch the traitor.

Although Xiao Mingyue didn’t care about offending those people, Bai Luan had a point. They already lacked respect for her; dragging them over in the middle of the night might breed resentment.

If she summoned them yet gained nothing, her prestige would drop; that would hurt more than help.

“If you can’t find the traitor, don’t blame me for expelling you…” Xiao Mingyue muttered in her heart.

…

Half an hour later, outside the Xiao family estate…

General Manager Xu Weinian stepped out of a Maserati Quattroporte. She wore cold black-rimmed glasses and a tasteful, stately trench coat, her posture noble and elegant.

Although nearly 40, time seemed to have left no mark on her. She still had the lovely face of a city sophisticate, her whole being suffused with an ascetic charisma.

Xu Weinian could not fathom why, so late at night, Bai Luan had said nothing else, merely summoned her in Chairwoman Xiao Mingyue’s name and claimed there was important business to discuss.

Heh, if the corporate mole can’t be found, what business is worth discussing?

That mole is a thorn in the group’s side; until it is pulled, all discussion is useless!

As the daughter of her late best friend, Xiao Mingyue lagged far behind Xu Weinian in both experience and contribution to Mingyue Group, so Xu Weinian naturally refused to accept her.

Even so, she had no choice but to answer the chairwoman’s summons, so she dropped her work and rushed over.

Xu Weinian resolved that if Xiao Mingyue was just fooling around, playing the part of king calling his vassals, she would not indulge her indefinitely.

With the connections and wealth she had built in Mingyue Group over the years, she might not topple Xiao Mingyue, but she could certainly make the girl suffer.

“Yo, isn’t that President Xu? You were summoned by Chairwoman Xiao too?” No sooner had she walked a couple of steps than a portly middle-aged man hurried up from behind.

The man’s face was pale and beardless, his shifty eyes turning constantly; anyone could tell he was a slick character. He was Vice General Manager Ma Liang.

“You came as well?” Xu Weinian’s willow-leaf brows knitted.

Ma Liang chuckled. “Not just me. Except for He Yong, all our senior executives are here.”

“Li Chengfeng and Zhao Ping came too?”

“Mm-hmm, they arrived a bit earlier and are already in Chairwoman Xiao’s office.”

Xu Weinian’s frown deepened. Even President Li Chengfeng and Vice President Zhao Ping had been called…

What on earth is that little brat Xiao Mingyue trying to do?

Xu Weinian knew that Li Chengfeng and Zhao Ping were absolutely not people to mess with; compared with them, she herself was considered even-tempered.

If Xiao Mingyue irritated them, she would definitely pay for it…

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