It was during dinner that Xu Qiao heard that a big event had happened to the Cheng family today.
Old Mrs. Cheng, who was far away in London, was very angry at yesterday's news incident. Not only was he angry at Cheng Jun who provoked the trouble, but he was also very dissatisfied with Cheng Lang's blatant tearing of his face.
But the old man is still reasonable, the two grandsons, the big fault lies in "right and wrong", and the minor fault lies in "seriousness", so it would be unreasonable for them to fall together.
Besides, in the past half a year, Cheng Lang first reversed the opinion of the board of directors against the wind, refuted the "Dream Island" project, pulled the group back on track, and then successfully acquired Long'an, which contributed to the group. The negative impact is really only a drop in the bucket.
Therefore, Cheng Zongyue's dissatisfaction with Cheng Lang was more of the meaning of "deep love and deep responsibility". In the end, Cheng Lang coaxed him with a copy of Lanchen Department Store's reform plan, but he was reprimanded privately on the phone .
But Cheng Jun didn't fare so well.
Competition among peers in the market is the law of survival of the fittest, but sibling rivalry, malicious internal strife and self-destruction of the city wall are taboos in business. At that time, the second room was competing with the big room for the family business, and almost touched the foundation of Lanchen. The old man Cheng hated it deeply. The reason why he favored Cheng Lang these years also meant to make up for the big room. Punish it.
So Cheng Zongyue found an excuse that sounded glorious, and "entrusted Cheng Jun with a heavy responsibility", transferred him from China to develop overseas markets, and gave him a one-year deadline, saying that he was "waiting for good news".
On the face of it, neither demotion nor salary cut seems to be a severe punishment, but Cheng Lang only landed in Lanchen for half a year and won half of the country. When a year passes, when Cheng Jun returns to China, will he still be able to secure that seat? , perhaps it is an unknown.
This matter may be big or small, but people in the circle have a keen sense of smell. As soon as the news spread, people rushed to flatter Cheng Lang, the future heir.
Originally, tonight, Jiang Fang and Shen Dang planned to hold Cheng Lang privately for a celebration banquet, but when Cheng Lang received news from New Jersey in the United States, he pushed back the invitation and came back to accompany Xu Qiao to handle family affairs.
Fortunately, the two of them used to fly all over the world, and their visas were still there. They flew to New York overnight, and then transferred to New Jersey by land.
When I arrived in New Jersey more than ten hours later, it was 10:30 p.m. local time.
Xu Qiao spent the night on the plane, because she was preoccupied with something, she was half asleep and half awake without a good rest. After landing, she was so sleepy that she couldn't open her eyelids. She sat in the car and leaned on Cheng Lang to catch her sleep until she was awakened by a jolt .
Cheng Lang protected her head at the first moment when the wheel sank into the pothole. Seeing her sleepy eyes open, he said in a low voice, "I woke you up."
Xu Qiao suddenly had the illusion that she seemed to be in another world.
She remembered that a similar scene happened when she got into Cheng Lang's car for the first time at the Xinglin Bay Toll Station, and she heard such a sentence.
In fact, it was just half a year ago, but the earth-shaking changes in her life made her feel like yesterday was far, far away.
Life will continue, and tomorrow will get better little by little, but time always has only one direction.
She will never be the eldest daughter of Jinlu Jewelry, and the Xu family will never have a family of four happily eating at the same table, and there will be no false prosperity that she maintains with her efforts to make concessions.
Xu Qiao squeezed the sore corners of her eyes, muttered, "What kind of broken road is this?", leaned against Cheng Lang for a while, and was gradually distracted by the scenery outside the window.
Before she fell asleep, there were rows of high-rise buildings outside the window, but now the road is getting more and more deviated, the surrounding buildings are getting lower, and the lights are becoming more and more sparse.
Xu Qiao sat up straight and leaned towards the window, her heart was half cold.
Cheng Lang seemed to understand what she was thinking, and without saying anything, he rubbed her cold hand into his palm.
The car continued to drive around for a while, the speed gradually slowed down, and it stopped slowly. The driver turned his head and said, "Mr. Cheng, it's not good to drive any further."
Xu Qiao looked up and saw a deep alley that was only wide enough for one car to pass through. Because several motorcycles were lying in a mess, the car could no longer drive through.
Cheng Lang nodded, turned his head and said, "It may be messy inside, you wait for me in the car."
"It's all here, let's go together." Xu Qiao glanced at the dark alley, "Have you brought bodyguards?"
"in front of."
"What are you afraid of?" Xu Qiao pulled open the car door.
The temperature in New Jersey in the middle of the night in early spring was still below zero. Xu Qiao was shivering from the cold wind and kicked her legs.
Cheng Lang got out of the car and came over, fastened the scarf for her, put her hands in his coat pocket, and led her in.
Although the alley is narrow, it is not empty and quiet. The convenience store at the entrance was dimly lit, with customers coming in and out. Further in, in a dark corner, someone threw away the crushed can, causing a "bang", followed by swear words, and several men who gathered under the street lamp to smoke burst into laughter.
Two Caucasian women supporting each other passed by on the ground, their footsteps were flimsy, the sound of their high heels changed from depth to depth, and they accidentally stepped on a homeless man lying on the side of the road, another swear word rang out in the long alley.
Xu Qiao used to be a regular customer of nightclubs who walked the streets and alleys. It's not that he has never seen this kind of scene, but it was after all in a prosperous city with order and order.
In such a dilapidated and dilapidated place, seeing these tall black and white people squatting in twos and threes, puffing clouds and smoke, randomly crushing Xinghuo's dying cigarette butts under their feet, yelling and cursing wantonly, it is a lie to say that they are not angry.
But this anger is more for Xu Lie.
She couldn't imagine how Xu Lie could work in such a place.
He used to be the proud son of heaven who grew up with a golden spoon like Cheng Lang.
Cheng Lang changed from holding Xu Qiao to walking with his arms around her shoulders, leading her to avoid the crowd.
Finally came to the end of the alley.
At the end of the bar signboard there are only three letters "bar" left, hanging crookedly by the door, and a gloomy red light shines through the half-covered door.
Six white men in suits and leather shoes came through the alley next door, met the two, opened the door for them, and told Cheng Lang in English that they were inside.
Cheng Lang walked in with Xu Qiao.
The smell of alcohol mixed with the smell of cheap perfume hits the face. I don't know if it's because he didn't have a good rest, or because he hasn't been in or out of sensual places for too long after his family went bankrupt, Xu Qiao felt dizzy in his head and ached in his temples.
She tried her best to block out the noisy voices and music, squinted her eyes, and began to search for Xu Lie's figure in the intertwined light and shadow.
The bar is not big, so I looked around roughly, and there were men and women mingling together in the scattered tables and booths, but I didn't see anyone. Xu Qiao was planning to go upstairs with Cheng Lang when she suddenly heard a sentence from the corner: "You son of bitch!"
Immediately afterwards, the scolding man kicked something.
Only now did Xu Qiao see clearly that there was a young man picking up fragments of wine bottles squatting beside the coffee table.
Because of the kick in the middle of the ribs, the boy propped his palm on the ground in self-protection when he fell sideways, and a piece of broken glass was instantly pierced in his palm.
Xu Qiao shuddered, and quickly walked over: "Xu Lie!"
Six white bodyguards lined up on both sides and quickly cleared the way for Xu Qiao and Cheng Lang.
The boy who stood up on his elbow froze and turned around.
Xu Qiao stepped forward and grabbed Xu Lie's arm, inspecting his bloody jaws: "Does it hurt?" Then she turned and looked at Cheng Lang, "Give me your pocket towel."
Cheng Lang pulled out the pocket square from his suit pocket, handed it to Xu Qiao, and walked forward.
Bodyguards swarmed up.
The man who kicked the person was obviously stunned by the battle.
Cheng Lang waved his watch, glanced at the other party coldly, and said to the bodyguard in English: "Please send this gentleman to the police station."
The man on the other side stood up aggressively for a moment, uttering foul words in English with an accent: "I just kicked this little bastard, where did you come from?" He stretched out his hand to push .
As soon as he raised his hand, the bodyguard at the side came up and twisted his wrist slightly. At the same time, the other five pulled out the guns at their waists.
The man screamed in pain. Beside him, several companions stood up and raised their hands to maintain a posture of surrender, looking at Cheng Lang in fear.
Cheng Lang glanced lightly at the opposite side, nodded to the bodyguard to signal to handle the matter, then turned around and took Xu Qiao and Xu Lie out.
Xu Qiao reluctantly wrapped Xu Lie's wound with a pocket towel, and looked at him back and forth, as if checking if he was injured elsewhere.
After looking at it, he noticed that he was only wearing a thin black sweater in the cold weather. There were many small red scratches on the exposed neck and collarbone, and there was a small bruise on the corner of his mouth. These are just superficial injuries.
Xu Qiao was shaking Xu Lie's arm because she was angry.
Xu Lie came back to his senses, took two steps, stopped, and gently took his arm away from her hand. His face had recovered from the trance, and he looked at her and said, "Why are you here?"
The words are interrogative sentences, but the tone is very indifferent.
"If I don't come, will you suffer here?" Xu Qiao raised her voice.
"I'm fine here."
Xu Qiao was laughed angrily by him, pointing to his bleeding palm: "Very good?"
"It's just an accident."
Xu Qiao was too lazy to talk nonsense, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out.
Xu Lie's feet were pinned to the ground and remained motionless.
Cheng Lang gestured to call two bodyguards, and patted Xu Qiao on the shoulder: "Go with them and wait outside."
Xu Qiao looked at Cheng Lang and saw him winking at her.
She secretly understood and followed the bodyguards out.
Cheng Lang looked down at Xu Lie: "It's too messy here, come out with me to treat the wound?"
Xu Lie walked back without saying a word.
Cheng Lang raised his arm to stop him: "Mr. Xu."
Xu Lie paused, as if he was a little surprised by this title.
"You turned eighteen last month, and you can be called 'Mr. Xu'." Cheng Lang smiled at him, "Adults have the right to decide where they want to go, and no one can force you to make a choice and deal with it." A wound does not mean that your personal freedom is deprived. What are you afraid of?"
Xu Lie didn't speak.
"It's just me and your sister here. We haven't contacted your mother yet, nor told your father about your current situation." Cheng Lang continued.
Xu Lie raised his eyes: "If you plan to take me back to China, I won't go with you."
Cheng Lang could understand Xu Lie's resolute attitude at the moment.
Like his older sister, this young man is very proud, his heart seems hard but he is not.
For Xu Lie, when his mother was in distress at home, he took away the last money. Regardless of whether he used the money or not, he owed his father and sister forever.
So he didn't want Xu Qiao to see his current desperation, nor did he want to be Xu Qiao's drag.
"You can stick to your opinion, we won't force you." Cheng Lang nodded, "It's just that you are injured now, you must ask a doctor to check carefully. The things here are not clean, and if you get infected, you will really lose it at that time free."
Xu Lie was silent, and finally turned around and walked out the door.
Cheng Lang went back the same way with him. When he approached the entrance of the alley, he stopped and said, "There is a clinic on the right ahead, and I will go there by myself."
"Do you have any money?" Cheng Lang asked.
Xu Lie didn't make a sound.
"If I give you the money now, you have to come to me again to pay back the money." Cheng Lang analyzed for him, "Why don't you go to a nearby hotel with me first, and I'll ask a private doctor to come directly to my door. Doctors are billed on a monthly basis, and there is no need for additional money to treat such injuries.”
If it wasn't for the inappropriate mood and situation, Xu Lie might have questioned, is this how he took his sister away step by step
Xu Lie frowned and looked at Cheng Lang.
Cheng Lang glanced at the thin sweater on his body and asked, "Is it cold?"
Xu Lie probably thought that the brother-in-law-to-be was going to take off his coat for him to wear, and was about to shake his head when he suddenly saw Cheng Lang pointing to him at the black car not far away.
He followed what he expected, and saw Xu Qiao standing outside the car with folded arms, trembling, stamping on the spot, rubbing his hands, and breathing mist out of his mouth.
"You are not cold, your sister is very cold." Cheng Lang said, "She heard about you and flew here for more than ten hours overnight. She hasn't closed her eyes or eaten a few bites of food. She has low Blood sugar, you should know."
Xu Lie confronted him in silence for a moment, and finally when Xu Qiao sneezed, he gritted his teeth and walked towards the car.
Xu Qiao looked at the two people walking this way, and sent a "perfect" eye signal to Cheng Lang from the air.
Bitter tricks are really tried and tested, no wonder Cheng Lang made such a slip before.
—
After taking Xu Lie to the hotel, the doctor also arrived.
Of course, Cheng Lang wouldn't even arrange private doctors everywhere in the United States. Such home visits are a different price.
Maybe Xu Lie also knew that he was lying to him, so he kept his face sullen and didn't speak.
It wasn't until I walked into the hotel suite and was questioned by a doctor that the atmosphere became less tense.
Cheng Lang accompanied the doctor to bandage Xu Lie's wound in the living room. Xu Qiao called the front desk of the hotel to order food from the back room.
The wound was treated quickly and there was nothing serious. When the doctor left, the hotel waiter just came to deliver the food.
Cheng Lang took advantage of the situation to stay and asked Xu Lie to accompany Xu Qiao to have something to eat before leaving.
The three sat down at the dining table in the living room.
Xu Lie remained silent, pretending to refuse to talk, and buried himself in the pasta, probably wanting to finish it quickly so that Cheng Lang would no longer have an excuse to keep people.
When the noodles on his plate were about to run out, Cheng Lang picked up his phone and sent a message to Xu Qiao who was opposite: "Honey, can you buy me some time? I need to have a man-to-man conversation with your brother."
No one in this world can escape Cheng Lang's mouth.
Xu Qiao thought for a while, and sent him an "OK" emoji, raised her hand to get the plate of tomato juice, and when she got it, she loosened her hands and poured the sauce on Xu Lie. placket.
Xu Lie was taken aback by this unexpected shock, and raised his head.
"Oops!" Xu Qiao pulled the napkin angrily and wanted to wipe it for him, "My sister has hypoglycemia and can't handle it!"
Xu Lie frowned and blocked her hand, and took the tissue himself.
Cheng Lang glanced at his miserable state: "Go to the bathroom and wash up."
"But his hand is injured and he can't get wet!" Xu Qiao answered.
"I'll take him to deal with it." Cheng Lang stood up, patted Xu Lie on the shoulder, "Come on."
Xu Lie followed Cheng Lang into the bathroom, waited for him to close the door, and sighed: "Her acting skills are still so bad."