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Chapter 20: The Illegitimate Child of a Mistress Cannot Enter the Xie Family!

Xie Yanli stood with a cold expression, silently staring at the stranger before him.

Although Shen Yao had never met Xie Yanli in person before, she had already seen plenty of reports and photos of him in entertainment gossip magazines and financial journals.

Seeing his indifferent and silent demeanor now, she became even more convinced that the rumors about him online were true. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow—he really was the stereotypical domineering CEO: aloof and cool.

She smiled nonchalantly at him and casually said, “You’re here to see Qiao Qiao, right? Hi, I’m her good friend.” As she spoke, Shen Yao politely extended her hand.

Xie Yanli noticed the leftovers she was holding and felt a surge of anger. Song Qiao would rather eat this kind of junk food from outside than the meal he brought her. His expression grew even colder.

When Shen Yao noticed him staring at her hand without any response, she suddenly understood. Smiling, she said, “Sorry, let me throw away this trash first.”

She promptly tossed the leftovers into the trash can, and the remaining food and soup splattered all over the insulated container.

Xie Yanli’s gaze instantly turned dark and menacing. He had specially prepared the food, making it soft and easy to digest for Song Qiao, yet now it was treated like this.

Unaware of Xie Yanli’s shift in mood, Shen Yao took out a tissue from her jacket and carefully wiped her hands. Then she looked back at him and extended her hand again, only to see him glance at her coldly and walk away briskly without a word.

Shen Yao pulled her jacket tighter, curled her lips, and sighed, “This man is indeed handsome, but he’s also icy cold. If you spend too much time with him, you’ll probably catch a cold from the chill. No wonder Qiao Qiao and those reporters say he’s difficult to get along with.”

After lamenting, she returned to the hospital room and told Song Qiao about seeing Xie Yanli.

Song Qiao’s gaze deepened. Why had Xie Yanli come at this time? And since he came, why didn’t he come in?

Shen Yao’s thoughts were different from Song Qiao’s. At first, she had assumed Xie Yanli was a typical cold-on-the-outside, warm-on-the-inside CEO and that he helped Song Qiao out of genuine care for her. Compared to Chen Yang, she had hoped Song Qiao would be with Xie Yanli.

However, after her brief interaction with him, she found him utterly unfeeling and excessively cold-blooded. Regardless of whether he truly liked Song Qiao or not, she no longer supported the idea of them being together.

Seeing Song Qiao lost in thought, Shen Yao quickly interrupted her: “Qiao Qiao, I take back what I said before. I think you misunderstood him. He doesn’t hate you; he probably treats everyone the same way. I’d never met him before, yet he gave me the same hateful look. Xie Yanli really is frighteningly cold.”

Song Qiao frowned and asked in confusion, “Yao Yao, then why did he take me to the hospital, buy me so many things, and even buy sanitary pads?”

Shen Yao thought for a while but couldn’t figure it out. She sighed and said, “Hey, Qiao Qiao, just consider it a sudden act of kindness—or maybe because you’re his ex-girlfriend? Forget it, Qiao Qiao, let’s not waste our precious brain cells on this. Right now, what matters most is that you focus on recovering.”

Although Song Qiao agreed on the surface, many questions about Xie Yanli still lingered in her mind.

Shen Yao stayed with Song Qiao in the hospital room until her IV drip was finished and then got up to leave.

She had been at the hospital for three to four hours, and during that time, Chen Yang had not shown up once. Before leaving, she wrapped an arm around Song Qiao’s shoulder and reminded her, “Qiao Qiao, trust your sister’s words—men are meant to regulate your hormones, not mess them up. If a man makes you upset, no matter who he is, tell him to get lost immediately.”

Song Qiao knew Shen Yao was worried she’d get angry because of Chen Yang. She smiled and nodded. “Okay, I got it.”

“Since you’re so quick to agree, how about you listen to me and break up with Chen Yang right now?” Shen Yao teased.

Song Qiao froze and didn’t respond.

Shen Yao knew she couldn’t bear to break up with Chen Yang. She spoke earnestly, “Qiao Qiao, even though I still don’t fully understand Xie Yanli, I can clearly see through Chen Yang. He’s definitely no good. And that fellow townsman of his, Lin Shiyu, is no innocent either. Every time they meet, they act like strangers—it’s way too deliberate and reeks of guilt. From my experience, they’re probably already having an affair.”

As a woman, although Song Qiao could tell Lin Shiyu liked Chen Yang, she still trusted Chen Yang’s character.

She gave Shen Yao a sidelong glance and teased, “Yao Yao, your experience? You talk as if you’ve been in love. I’ve had at least two relationships—you haven’t had a single one, you know?”

Shen Yao scoffed dismissively. “Qiao Qiao, the reason I don’t date is precisely because I’m a relationship expert. I know all the tricks men play. My brain is like it has a built-in fraud-detection app. If I’m not single, who else should be?”

Song Qiao: “……”

“Forget it. I know you don’t believe me. Let time prove me right.”

After speaking, Shen Yao put on a regretful expression and said dramatically, “Qiao Qiao, if I weren’t worried my boss would realize the company runs the same with or without me, I’d definitely take two days off to stay with you.”

Song Qiao was amused by her antics and laughed. “Alright, I appreciate the thought. It’s getting late, you’d better head home.”

At the same time, Xie Yanli had left the hospital and returned to the Xie residence. As soon as he entered the front courtyard, the Xie family’s butler, Duan Lingxiao, was already waiting. Upon seeing Xie Yanli, Duan Lingxiao bowed and stepped forward. “Young Master, Master is waiting for you in the study. He asked that you see him immediately upon your return.”

Xie Yanli responded with a quiet “Mm” and headed toward the back hall. When he arrived at the study, he saw Xie Changfeng sitting at the desk reading. Reluctantly, he said, “You wanted to see me?”

Xie Changfeng’s face hardened when he saw Xie Yanli. He put down his book and coldly questioned, “What’s the meaning of today’s news?”

Xie Yanli replied casually, “It’s just a fake news story. Treat it as entertainment—why get so worked up over it?”

Xie Changfeng was infuriated by his indifferent attitude and slammed the desk forcefully. He scolded, “Xie Yanli, if the news is fake, then explain why you walked out of today’s matchmaking meeting halfway? Do you have any idea how many people I’ve offended because of your reckless behavior?”

Xie Yanli’s expression remained calm and unaffected as he looked at Xie Changfeng and said indifferently, “That’s your fault for making decisions on my behalf. I never asked you to arrange any blind dates for me.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Changfeng’s fury nearly exploded. He took a deep breath, trying to suppress his anger, and issued a stern warning:

“Xie Yanli, let me tell you something. Your grandfather doesn’t have much time left. He still holds 30% of Xie Corporation’s shares. All these years, your second uncle has been eyeing our family greedily, and your cousin Xie Lingyuan is already married. If you don’t get married and have children soon, I can’t guarantee where those shares will end up.”

“If you called me back just to say this, then I’ll repeat what I’ve always said—I’ll only marry a woman I love.” After pausing briefly, Xie Yanli added, “I’ll go visit Grandpa.”

With that, he turned and began to walk away, but he hadn’t taken more than a few steps before Xie Changfeng called out, “If you won’t listen to me, I’ll have no choice but to pin my hopes on Chenyu instead.”

Xie Yanli’s gaze darkened, and he froze in place. His long fingers clenched tightly within his sleeve, and his eyes turned frosty, even colder than an ice cellar.

Controlling his emotions, he turned back to Xie Changfeng and said slowly and firmly, “I absolutely will not allow the illegitimate child of a mistress to enter the Xie family.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, there was a loud crash—the sound of glass shattering outside the door.

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