"Sister Xinyi, where are you? I have been looking around for you but you are not anywhere around." Li Xue spoke over the call as she looked around to check. But no matter where she looked, neither Lin Xinyi nor Su Fai came to her sight.
"Aye, Xiao Xue, sorry. We forgot to tell you before. But something cropped up in the company and we had to leave urgently. The day must have been hectic for you. Since there is nothing else to do today, you can also go back and rest. We will talk later." Lin Xinyi said on the other side of the call and even without waiting for Li Xue to reply, she disconnected the call.
"Sister Xin…" The beep of disconnection came too abruptly for Li Xue to take. She had just begun her words when she had to stop it, arching her brow up. She knew that it was hard to take in the information of her being princess. But she never expected it to be this tough where people would suddenly turn so awkward.
Nope, this would not be the way in which things would be turning. She was at fault for not telling this to anyone before but now that she had already made a mistake, she would rectify it as well.
Looking into her phone for a moment, Li Xue texted a message to Lin Xinyi. "Sister Xinyi, let's talk tomorrow. There is a lot I have to explain and I know you will keep some time to hear me." She wrote and waited to receive the reply. But when she didn't receive any for a good time, she just gave it some more time then turned to look back at the people waiting for her.
Smiling, she went back to stand on the side of Chen Rui.
Chen Rui looked at her expression and once again, without her speaking, she understood her internal thoughts. Rubbing her hair softly in adoration, she said, "Don't worry, sweetheart. Give her some time and it will get better."
Li Xue hummed and nodded. While on the side, Shin You Jun also felt guilty. He just wanted to tell people that she was his sister. He never thought it would cause complications.
"Sorry, I didn't want it this way. It was just that when I heard them talking about you, I wanted to let them know that you are my sister and I can also do things for you like Pa did. But I never thought this would turn serious." Feeling regret, Shin You Jun apologized softly and Li Xue heard him well.
Pursing her lips at him, she looked around first. Only after seeing that they were hidden from the public's gazes, she reached out to twist his ears softly to say, "You know to apologize now. Come on, tell me what you did wrong first and I would accept your apology."
She said, and Shin You Jun was further embarrassed. He wanted to pull back his ears. But even though her hold was gentle, it was firm. So, no matter how he pulled away, it was of no use. "Aye, why are you twisting my ears? Come on, leave it fast."
He said, glaring at his sister, but Li Xue simply shook her head. "I am not leaving it until you tell me what you did wrong."
She said and Shin You Jun simply opened his mouth to tell his wrong. But nothing came out. He did call Li Xue to be his sister but he wasn't wrong to say that. That was the truth and he just accepted it out loud.
Li Xue perfectly read his expression. So, knowing that the boy had nothing to speak, she said, "Exactly my dear little brother. There was nothing wrong you did for which you have to apologize. It was just that you were being childish. And I can't blame you for being childish because you are a child who has just grown in height and not in brain."
She said and Shin You Jun turned grumpy at her words, "You …"
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Li Xue asked and the boy could only pout at her.
"Hmph I am not going to talk to you anymore. I was being nice saying sorry to you but you have to make fun of me." he said, while Li Xue let go of his ear and shook her head at him.
"I am not to be blamed. Every time you ask it yourself." She said and at that time Shin Tingming appeared.
Li Xue turned to look at him while Chen Rui asked with a serious expression. "Is it done?"
The man hummed and nodded. "Yep, things are under process. We can find a date soon." He said and Chen Ruin nodded in understanding.
Li Xue was confused. But she didn't think that it was her place to ask them things, so she didn't pry into the topic. Instead, looking up at the man for a moment, she said, "Pa, thank you for everything today. It would have been tough without you." She said and then stepped forward awkwardly but surely to hug the man.
Shin Tingming was stiffened for a moment, but when he realized what the girl had actually said and done to him, he couldn't help but feel warmth in his heart. Patting softly on her back, he appreciated her before saying.
"That was the least I could do for you, dear. I am your father and I can't let my daughter suffer alone. From the next time if something like this happens, make sure to let me know beforehand. We are there for you and you don't have to face anything alone." He said, hugging Li Xue with care while turning to look at his wife with happiness.
Chen Rui also smiled looking at them and nodded in appreciation.
After a small while, Li Xue pulled back and nodded to the words of her father. "Definitely, if things turn up severe again, I will definitely come to you." She reassured with a smile.
"Okay then, since everything is settled here now, let's go back home." Chen Rui said, not missing the note of the time. Then looking at Li Xue, she asked, "Xiao Xue, you are coming with us, right?"
Li Xue looked a bit apologetic. Shaking her head, she said, "Ma, WeiWei would be at home. It would be better if I returned to her. Soon in her school, she will be having a cultural fest. She is giving a performance in it and recently I have not been able to give her proper time. I think today that I have time, I better spend it with her."
She said and Chen Rui nodded in understanding. "Okay. You should spend time with her but don't forget to take her to the palace this weekend. It's been a really long while since I last met her. I would love to have her at the palace for some days."
She said and Li Xue nodded. "I will bring her with me. Since that would be the last shoot day for the Royal Cultural Project, it won't be an issue." She said and Chen Rui nodded.
Then bidding all three people goodbye, Li Xue left.
And soon after she left, the family of three also went back.
But while at one side there was peace returning. The other side was all oblivious to the storm that was brewing beneath the depths of the Earth.
The moment Li Xue's success hit the trending topic on the internet, the news of the downfall of Zhang Corporations shares prices also crawled up slowly and slowly. With every passing hour the price was getting decreased and decreased. The people had no idea what was going on. But then the announcement of a whistleblower popped in their notification and everything seemed to make sense.
But still things seemed quite suspicious. After all, Zhang Corporation was not a small company that would stagger on its aged long footing just in the case of one whistleblower.
People were not able to understand what was happening. In the company people were running from department to department to check but no one was able to understand the reason. They were trying to reach Zhang Xiaotong for assistance, but her number was out of reach.
In the end they have no other way but to reach the President of the company itself.
When Zhang Xiaotong's father came to know this, he could no longer stay away from the company. Asking the people to wait for him, he at once ordered his secretary to arrange his way back to Chiboa.
He even tried to make a call to Zhang Xiaotong. But the more he heard her phone coming out of reach, the darker his expression became. All this while he stayed away from the matter of her daughter. But it seems like it was his time to step in.
Calling his wife at once, he said, "Where is Xiaotong? Ask her to be at home. I will be arriving home soon."