My Angel, My Guardian (GL) - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Mingxi, starting next week, you will go to Guangqiang as the General Manager.”

Ying Jia’en handed the transfer order to Li Mingxi, who was sitting across from her. Li Mingxi wondered if there was something wrong with her hearing.

“Sister Ai’ai, I didn’t hear clearly. What did you say?”

Li Mingxi asked again, unwilling to give up. Ying Jia’en didn’t repeat herself; she simply pushed the transfer order toward Li Mingxi once more.

“You didn’t mishear. Guangqiang Group.”

“Sister Ai’ai, Guangqiang Group will declare bankruptcy in less than a year. Sending me to Guangqiang is no different from killing me.”

Guangqiang, a subsidiary under Nitian, is a company that operates supermarkets. At its peak, it had a thousand hypermarkets nationwide. However, consecutive losses over the past few years had brought the company to the brink of bankruptcy. At such a time, Nitian’s acquisition of this company seemed like a foolish decision in everyone’s eyes, but only Ying Jia’en and Xiao Zetong understood that Guangqiang could still be saved!

Li Mingxi had just returned from advanced studies abroad and had handled some very successful cases. They believed that Li Mingxi could restore Guangqiang to its peak and make it a leader in the retail industry.

“Didn’t you revive many nearly bankrupt companies while you were abroad? Why don’t you dare to accept the challenge?”

Having grown up together, she knew that Li Mingxi couldn’t resist a provocation!

“Yes! I really don’t dare to take on this challenge of Guangqiang! Sister Ai’ai! I still don’t understand why you wanted to acquire Guangqiang. Right now, Guangqiang is like a rat crossing the street—everyone hates it, and it has a foul reputation! First, they altered expiration dates, then there was food poisoning that killed people, and finally, they sold fake alcohol that caused deaths! Whoever can bring this kind of mess back to life, go find them! I don’t have that kind of ability!”

“Sigh, no wonder Jingchun would rather perform all over the place than be with you! When you encounter trouble, all you know is how to hide. If I were Jingchun, I wouldn’t want you either. Forget it, I’ll find someone else. I originally wanted to tell you some news about Jingchun! But now, never mind.”

Ying Jia’en feigned shaking her head and sighing as she prepared to take back the transfer order.

“Wait! You said you have news of my sister? What news exactly? Tell me quickly!”

Li Mingxi pressed down on Ying Jia’en’s hand, asking with a face full of anxiety.

“The matters of Guangqiang have given me such a headache that I’ve almost forgotten other things. If…”

“I’ll go, alright? Just tell me quickly, what’s happening with my sister?”

“No taking it back! I exchanged texts with Jingchun two days ago. She said she’s tired and plans to come home to rest.”

Ying Jia’en spoke slowly. After hearing this, Li Mingxi’s grin practically stretched from ear to ear.

“Then did my sister say what date and what time the flight is?”

“The first year’s revenue for Guangqiang…”

Ying Jia’en did not directly satisfy Li Mingxi’s curiosity; instead, she shifted the topic to Guangqiang’s revenue.

“I can only guarantee it won’t be in the red!”

“Tomorrow afternoon, the three o’clock flight.”

Having obtained the result she wanted, Ying Jia’en was no longer stingy with the information she knew.

“Sister Ai’ai, I’m taking a leave of absence.”

Mingxi stood up and was about to run out.

“Wait!”

Ying Jia’en stood up and called out to the excited Li Mingxi, who could no longer tell north from south. Ying Jia’en picked up the transfer order from the table and walked over to her.

“I look forward to Guangqiang’s financial report this time next year.”

“I’ll do my best. You know the situation with Guangqiang; it will be very difficult to revive it. I will try my best, but as for what it will become, I can’t give you any guarantees.”

Li Mingxi did not like promising things she couldn’t achieve. Guangqiang was unlike the cases she had handled abroad; while those were tricky, they didn’t involve disputes over human lives, whereas Guangqiang already had two deaths on its back… In the retail industry, the most important thing is the reputation among the common people, and Guangqiang’s reputation has already rotted to the bottom. Whether it can be brought back to life is an unknown variable.

“Doing your best is enough.”

Ying Jia’en also knew the current state of Guangqiang. In buying Guangqiang, she had made two preparations: even if Guangqiang truly couldn’t be saved, there was still so much land. No matter how the math was done, Nitian wouldn’t lose out.

“Mm, then I’m leaving first.”

Li Mingxi took the transfer order and walked quickly toward the elevator. Ying Jia’en turned back and sat down in her chair.

“What are you dazing about?”

Xiao Zetong pushed the door open and walked in. Ying Jia’en looked up and smiled at her.

“Nothing, just thinking about when you will agree to my pursuit?”

Ying Jia’en stood up and approached Xiao Zetong. Ying Jia’en herself was a few centimeters taller than Xiao Zetong, and since she liked wearing the highest heels possible, she was completely looking down at Xiao Zetong as she stood before her.

“I said, it depends on your performance.”

Xiao Zetong handed the folder in her hand to Ying Jia’en.

“Have you really decided to transfer Shen Jingwen back to the country?”

Xiao Zetong sat in a nearby chair and fiddled with the digital photo frame on Ying Jia’en’s desk, which was filled with photos of them from childhood to adulthood.

“Mingxi’s ability is good, but if she has to face the messy affairs of Guangqiang all by herself, I’m afraid she’ll be worried to death. Where would I find another Li Mingxi to pay back to Jingchun? So I decided to transfer Shen Jingwen back to assist Mingxi.”

Ying Jia’en sat back in her seat, opened the folder, signed her name at the very end, and handed it back to Xiao Zetong.

“Do you know why my Mommy transferred Shen Jingwen away in the first place?”

Xiao Zetong asked casually while looking at photos she had likely seen countless times.

“Wasn’t it just because she liked your Mama! But it seems Shen Jingwen didn’t actually do anything; she didn’t sabotage the relationship between your Mommy and Mama, nor did she do anything out of line. She just liked her silently in her heart. For that, your Mommy didn’t hesitate to spend a fortune opening a branch abroad just to transfer Shen Jingwen away. I have to say, your Mommy is quite narrow-minded.”

Ying Jia’en curled her lip. Instantly, she felt the temperature around her drop. She cautiously met Xiao Zetong’s eyes. Hiss! So cold.

“Why look at me with that kind of gaze? I’m not wrong.”

Ying Jia’en continued to curl her lip, but she was clearly lacking confidence.

“It’s precisely because she did nothing that Mommy let her live peacefully until today; otherwise, she’d probably have been dead for eight hundred years.”

Xiao Zetong sat up straight and spoke with total seriousness. If it were her, she would have made the same decision as Xiao Xiao. Xiao Zetong fixed her gaze on Ying Jia’en across from her. Ai’ai, you are mine. You’d better not let me know you’ve done anything to betray me, otherwise, anyone who gets close to you is going to have a bad time!

Xiao Zetong couldn’t bear to do anything to Ying Jia’en, but the survival of others was none of her concern. Ying Jia’en caught the dangerous signals in Xiao Zetong’s eyes and subconsciously swallowed the saliva that had instantly built up. She knew Xiao Zetong’s methods better than anyone; this lady looked so harmless on the outside, but she was incredibly “black-bellied” (scheming/sly)! Anyone who provoked her would definitely not have a good ending.

“Uh… anyway, the matter with Shen Jingwen is settled. Shall we go see a movie?”

Ying Jia’en rolled her eyes and changed the subject.

“Sure! But before the movie, accompany me to the mall. I saw a bag a couple of days ago that was quite nice.”

Hearing Xiao Zetong say this, a row of cold sweat appeared on Ying Jia’en’s forehead. Xiao Zetong meant that she was going to be exploited again today. But there was no helping it—a wife must be pained and pampered. But the key point is that Lele isn’t her wife yet! She’s not even her girlfriend!!! But… there was no helping it; it seemed that since they were small, she only knew how to dote on Lele and could never say no to her.

“Sure! I’ll go change.”

Ying Jia’en got up and headed toward the lounge. She didn’t like wearing suits after work. Xiao Zetong sat in her place, watching the photos in the electronic frame constantly change, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Before long, Ying Jia’en walked out of the lounge. A black casual shirt, beige cargo pants, and white sneakers; the light makeup on her face had been removed. At this moment, Ying Jia’en’s attire suited her actual age—twenty, the age with the most drive. The smile on Xiao Zetong’s lips continued to widen. Sometimes she felt that Ying Jia’en had a dual personality; entering the company, she was the high-and-mighty, cold-hearted CEO, but after work, she was like a college student. Walking through a crowd, no one would recognize her as the CEO of Nitian.

“Let’s go!”

Xiao Zetong stood up and came to Ying Jia’en’s side, taking her arm as they walked out of the office and into the elevator. Every time she went shopping with Xiao Zetong, it was the time Ying Jia’en found most taxing. With a great beauty beside her, holding her arm, those elastic peaks would occasionally “unintentionally” press against her arm. Just as Ying Jia’en wanted to make a move, Xiao Zetong would bring up the excuse that they were still just friends to make her behave. It was a classic case of “the magistrate being allowed to set fires while the commoners aren’t allowed to light lamps,” but there was no helping it—who told her to love her? Even if she felt very wronged, she had to endure it and couldn’t show it.