Chapter 617 - Kick Down the Ladder
Jiang Qifei’s face showed sadness. “Qingyun, no matter what, we once…” she said.
“Don’t mention the past.” Nian Qingyun hurriedly raised a hand and said, “We were young. We made mistakes, and we paid for it.”
“Alright, let’s talk about Shuangwei, then. Earlier, you promised that you’d be responsible for her, but now you’re eating your words.” Jiang Qifei lowered her head, wiping her tears. “Who’s gonna be responsible for my daughter now? You lied to us. You promised us before. Now, Shuangwei is awake, and you didn’t even breathe a word about what you said. Isn’t that unacceptable?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to keep our word,” Nian Qingyun replied awkwardly. “First, Junting doesn’t want to marry her. Second, the Murong family doesn’t want him to marry her. You see, Murong Cheng and I got divorced because of this. What else can I possibly do? I can’t put a knife to his neck and force him to register for marriage at the civil affairs bureau, can I? Besides, Junting never listens to me.”
Jiang Qifei was aware of that. “How do you plan to solve this, then? Are we supposed to just let it go? Who’s gonna make it up to my daughter for the harm and loss that she’s suffered?” Jiang Qifei sobbed, covered her face, and continued, “Do you want her to stay single her entire life? Or do you want her to marry a divorced guy? You and your family are really going too far in bullying us.”
“Shuangwei saved my mother. My whole family is grateful to her. I will try my best to help her with her career, and I’ll treat her like my own daughter. My family and I will do anything we can to help her. She can’t get pregnant now, and I’m really sad about it. I’ve done all that I can, but my son refused to listen to me. I now can only promise you that I’ll certainly find a good man for her in the future.” After saying that, Nian Qingyun stood up and said, “I still have work to do, so please leave.”
“Qingyun, you’re kicking down the ladder,” Jiang Qifei said in disbelief.
Nian Qingyun frowned. “That’s not what kicking down the ladder means. Qifei, Shuangwei is a soldier. The government pays her, and saving people is her duty. This time, she’s been awarded and promoted to a higher position for what she did. I believe that she won’t demand that my family be responsible for her because of what she did. Leng Zhe didn’t do it, either. Only you are insisting.”
“She and her father care about their reputations and responsibilities, so of course, I need to do this.” Jiang Qifei raised a hand to wipe her tears while saying, “But I didn’t expect you to turn me away so cruelly.”
“If I had wanted to turn you away, I wouldn’t have even let you in. You should know clearly what this place is.” Nian Qingyun rubbed his temples, then called one of his subordinates and asked him to show his guest out.
“Qingyun, I didn’t think that one day we’d become like this.” Jiang Qifei gave a bitter smile, then picked up her bag and left.
Nian Qingyun spent a short while sitting there, tired, then returned to his desk. Seeing the files on his desk, he frowned slightly. When Xiao Xue returned, he knocked on the desk and said, “Why didn’t you lock these files in a drawer?”
Xiao Xue was puzzled at first, then lowered his head guiltily and responded, “Sorry, I forgot. I was too busy.”
“You forgot?” Nian Qingyun said coldly. “What if these files are highly important and confidential? Have you thought about the consequences? This isn’t the first time you’ve made such mistakes. Go and put these in the shredder. Xie will be responsible for my daily routine from now on, and you’ll be responsible for reception.”
“Yes, sir.” Xiao Xue’s face paled as he picked up those files and left.
…
In a meeting room in Shengting.
Since April began, the weather in Xia City had gradually grown hot. Nian Junting casually sat in a chair with Luosang by his side. An Lan and a few other lawyers were sitting in front of him.
“So… I hired a group of lawyers, but the lawsuit has been dismissed.” After listening to the report, he knitted his eyebrows and frowned.