Stand-In Boyfriend Fu Zheng Ji

Chapter 498 Three Men
But by then, Li Xiang's figure had already disappeared from her sight.

She wanted to say something more.

It's too late!

Forget it.

It's almost time for lunch.

Waiting another half hour is fine.

Surely Li Xiang wouldn't avoid eating.

Thinking this, she continued walking with the maid towards the kitchen.

At the next bend, she encountered another unexpected person.

"No, Qi Diaozhe, don't you know that you're the last person I want to see? Please stay away from me from now on. I'm begging you."

It was as if Qi Diaozhe had installed a surveillance camera on her.

Her attitude towards Li Xiang had just begun to change.

This Qi Diaozhe just happened to jump out at the right time and ruin her mentality.

I really can't understand someone who keeps saying they love me.

Everything he did seemed to be as if he couldn't bear to see her doing well.

Is this what Qi Diaozhe calls love?

Just thinking about it makes it seem like she could never accept Qi Diaozhe's love.

"No, no. Zhang Ling, you've misunderstood me."

"Misunderstanding! How could there be a misunderstanding? The facts are right here. How dare you try to deny it? It's outrageous!"

"Zhang Ling, have you forgotten where you are?"

"here?"

Right!

This is the old lady's private Rose Castle.

Even Zhang Ling herself is a guest here.

Then what right does she have to decide who to invite as guests for her master?

Think of this.

A look of embarrassment flashed across her face.

Seeing that Zhang Ling's hostility towards him had lessened somewhat, Qi Diaozhe continued:
"Yes! I came here at the old lady's invitation. I really didn't expect to see you here. No, I'll leave now. What do you think?"

The tone of his voice made it clear that he regarded Zhang Ling as one of the owners of the roses.

Zhang Ling inexplicably became angry because of the other person's tone of voice.

She probably deeply resisted the idea that others had already accepted her as the mother and daughter of the old lady.

This is tantamount to spreading rumors to her face.

Zhang Ling is a person who hates evil as if it were her enemy.

How could she tolerate someone daring to spread rumors in front of her?

So she slapped the other person and then questioned them several times about what nonsense they were talking about.

Qi Diaozhe realized that his little scheme had been exposed.

I was originally planning to say a few more words in my defense.

Unexpectedly, the maid who was leading the way for Qi Diaozhe immediately reminded him to hurry up.

He said the old lady would be unhappy if he waited too long.

If it weren't for the fact that he still needed something from the old lady, Qi Diaozhe would have done it.

He really wanted to ignore the maid's reminder.

They wanted to take advantage of the opportunity while Li Xiang was away.

Completely win over Zhang Ling.

He was confident about this.

Because he still has crucial evidence that Li Xiang deceived Zhang Ling.

That is, Li Xiang once applied for a job as an engineer at Li Xiang Zhihua Technology.

Li Xiang is currently working at Zhihua Technology.

Li Xiang's name cannot be found in the payroll lists of many departments at Zhihua Technology.

What's even more outrageous is that Li Xiang's salary list is on a separate page.

Moreover, his monthly salary was higher than Chen Jian's payslip.

Qi Diaozhe believed that presenting this information to Zhang Ling was the best way to go.

With Zhang Ling's intelligence, she would surely be able to figure out who Li Xiang is.

However, Qi Diaozhe seemed to have forgotten one fact.

That is the old lady's Rose Castle.

The old lady was eager to reunite with her biological daughter, Zhang Ling.

Under these circumstances, how can we allow Zhang Ling to be targeted by an outsider inside the castle?
Therefore, the maids would naturally take the old lady's side and speak and act on Zhang Ling's behalf.

Qi Diaozhe hesitated after hearing the reminder from the maid beside him.

The old lady was invited to the castle this time to discuss the specifics of the cooperation.

of course!

This cooperation was requested unilaterally by Qi Diaozhe.

The old lady's family looked down on the collaboration that the Qi Diao family had offered.

That's why I agreed to discuss cooperation.

It was also because of some past relationship with the older generation.

But only to a certain extent.

Why emphasize "a little"?

For the old lady, no matter what kind of relationship there was, it was never as important as personal gain.

In other words, there were no benefits that would entice the old lady.

No matter how deep the friendship, they will ruthlessly say "no".

Therefore, Qi Diaozhe has always been fantasizing about rebuilding his relationship with Zhang Ling.

He was officially and legitimately bound to the old lady as her son-in-law.

They attempted to use this identity to help the lacquer carving family achieve glory under the protection of the old lady.

pity!

The old lady had already seen through Qi Diaozhe's thoughts.

The reason why the old lady was willing to meet with Qi Diaozhe to discuss cooperation was...

I also genuinely believe that the cooperation proposed by Qi Diaozhe has considerable benefits.

Instead of a charity meeting after Qi Diaozhe was deemed the most likely to become her prospective son-in-law.

Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Qi Diaozhe ultimately chose to follow the maid, bypass Zhang Ling, and continue forward.

and many more!

Zhang Ling watched Qi Diaozhe's departing figure with a huff.

A sudden feeling of unease, as if something big was about to happen, welled up inside her.

This is not an illusion!
This is the result of reasonable analysis.

If there really were two Li Xiangs.

The fact that there were two Li Xiangs among those who came to see the old lady was already chaotic enough.

Now, let's add Qi Diaozhe's words.

If someone doesn't control the battlefield well, it can lead to a chaotic free-for-all where everyone's brains are splattered.

Therefore, according to Zhang Ling's current logical analysis, the most unfortunate one should be Qi Diaozhe.

Thinking of this, she breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to herself, "It's okay."

The maid who was leading the way asked with some curiosity:
"Miss Ling, what did you say? I'm sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please repeat it?"

Zhang Ling turned her head to look at the maid beside her.

I wanted to shake my head slightly to indicate that it was none of the other person's business.

But then a strange thought popped into her mind.

To confirm her guess, she changed her tune and stared intently at the maid, saying:
"Didn't you hear me? Now you'd better listen carefully."

The maid nodded timidly and said "Mmm".

Zhang Ling then spoke again:

"I want to know if the appearance of those three people just now was arranged by the old lady?"

"Miss Ling, I..."

The maid was about to utter two words.

Zhang Ling interrupted immediately, as if she had sensed that the maid was about to lie to her:
"Wait! Don't even think about lying to me. I can tell if you're lying or not. If I find out you're dishonest, I doubt the old lady will let you off easily."

That's absolutely right.

The old lady was very cruel in punishing those who were dishonest.

Punishment including, but not limited to, cutting out the tongue.

So the maid, somewhat frightened, shook her head repeatedly to indicate that she would not lie.

After hesitating for two seconds, she then admitted that the three people were indeed deliberately arranged for her to encounter by the old lady.

Zhang Ling laughed when she heard this.

The laughter was somewhat eerie, so much so that the maid's body trembled uncontrollably.

At the same time, he kept emphasizing that he was absolutely not lying.

Zhang Ling waved her hand to signal the other party not to panic.

Then, with a touch of seriousness and a somewhat mystical tone, he said:
"Oh, I see. Let me think about it. Did your lady give you a few hypothetical scenarios, asking you to handle them differently based on my different reactions?"

The maid, with a somewhat surprised expression, blurted out:

"How did you know? The old lady only told me that. There's no way any outsider could know."

Zhang Ling really hates this kind of life that's been arranged for her.

She suppressed her anger and forced herself to smile as calmly as possible, saying:
"Alright! Tell me where the old lady met the three of them? Take me there now."

The maid stood frozen in place, her mind blank for a moment.

I thought to myself, "This isn't right!"

It didn't follow the old lady's script at all.

While the domestic helper was considering what to do next?

Zhang Ling, exuding a powerful leadership aura, urged the maid to quickly lead the way.

The maid's brain went blank for a moment.

Her body, like a marionette, mechanically led Zhang Ling towards the three men.

They walked for about fifteen minutes, twisting and turning.

The maid stood at the mahogany doorway, wiping the sweat from her brow, refusing to take another step forward.

Zhang Ling expressed her understanding upon seeing this.

If we just let the maid walk in and break down the door so brazenly...

The old lady might accuse the maid of failing to perform her duties properly.

Perhaps Zhang Ling felt a pang of pity.

I don't want to see the maid suffer an undeserved misfortune because of her.

She thought for a moment, then leaned close to the maid's ear and said:

"Forget it! We won't go in."

The maid turned around excitedly, grabbed Zhang Ling's arm, and asked uncertainly:
"Miss Ling, are you telling the truth?"

Zhang Ling, clearly displeased, scolded the maid to be quiet.

The maid managed to control her emotions.

He suggested taking Zhang Ling back to the kitchen to cook side dishes for Xiaodouzi.

But Zhang Ling's face turned cold as she said:
"Were you just instructing me on how to do things?"

The maid realized she had said the wrong thing.

He punished himself by slapping himself twice.

He repeatedly said he "dared not".

Zhang Ling looked at the maid and said in a serious tone:

"Among the many choices the old lady gave me, there must have been one that required you to take me to a special place."

The maid, momentarily confused, asked, "What?"

Zhang Ling continued:
"That's the place with the surveillance camera in this room right now. Am I right?"

The maid was stunned for a long time before nodding and saying, "That's right."

He didn't forget to ask Zhang Ling how she knew.
Zhang Ling smiled without saying a word and gestured for the maid to lead the way.

I waited a few seconds.

The slow-witted maid was still waiting for Zhang Ling to explain things to her.

But Zhang Ling noticed that the maid didn't respond.

So she impatiently urged:

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and lead the way!"

Some of the slower-witted maids finally understood what Zhang Ling meant.

Then he hurriedly walked towards a room at the corner of the right-hand corridor.

As for how Zhang Ling could have imagined that the old lady had prepared a surveillance room for her to watch the play.

Because the old lady had already done this once before in China, in front of Zhang Ling.

Based on her understanding of the old lady.

The old lady is very likely to do it again.

As she had predicted, the facts were indeed as she had expected.

I followed the maid into a room with surveillance cameras.

Following domestic procedures, the maid showed Zhang Ling the surveillance footage from that room.

The four people in the picture appear to be very quiet at the moment.

They sat quietly around the sofa, staring at each other without moving.

There's a feeling that all four of them are sculptures.

fortunately!

Just as Zhang Ling was about to lose patience to continue watching.

In the scene, Qi Diaozhe was the first to lose his composure and speak to the old lady:

"Madam, it seems you already knew that Zhihua Technology has always had two Li Xiangs."

The old lady smiled slightly but did not answer the question.

Her meaningful gaze shifted back and forth between the two Li Xiangs.

The two Li Xiangs acted as if they hadn't heard Qi Diaozhe's words at all.

They looked at each other as if in a mirror.

Qi Diaozhe did not receive a reply from the old lady.

It was as if he had figured out a problem.

After feeling completely relaxed and relieved, I lay back on the sofa and let out a long sigh, saying:
"Forget it, forget it. All this time... I never imagined the clown had always been me. All this time, I've been striving for that ridiculous goal. Haha..."

The laughter was tinged with a deep sense of sorrow.

It gave the impression that Qi Diaozhe had completely admitted defeat.

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Qi Diaozhe stared at the old lady for a few seconds, his eyes filled with resentment and anger, before saying:

"So, Madam, you've been conspiring with them to play me all along. You think going to Qi Diaozhe is stupid enough? Fine, fine, you're all quite something. Fine, I admit defeat. I really admit defeat."

Qi Diaozhe didn't really want to give up pursuing Zhang Ling.

He realized that he couldn't win Zhang Ling's heart through legitimate means.

So for him, there was only one path left to pursue Zhang Ling.

But if he were to take the only path, he would first have to lull everyone present into a false sense of security.

This led everyone present to mistakenly believe that he had completely given up on pursuing Zhang Ling.

This gave him the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

The old lady glanced at Qi Diaozhe with a hint of disdain.

He still didn't utter a single word to Qi Diaozhe.

When she shifted her gaze to the real Li Xiang, she slowly spoke:

"Are you ready to take revenge on the Li family? If you are, let me know, and I will fully support you."

Only then did Li Xiang turn to look at the old lady and say with a serious expression:
"The plan will officially begin tomorrow. If it succeeds, Madam, you can sell me my share if you wish."

The old lady and Zhen Li had agreed.

He helped Li Xiang successfully take revenge on the Li family.

As agreed, the old lady would directly take over 70% of the other party's assets.

What about the remaining 30%?

Zhen Li didn't intend to want it either.

The funds were directly converted into cash and deposited into a foundation he created to help impoverished groups.

The old lady didn't mean she didn't want to give Li Xiang his share.

She admired Li Xiang's talent.

She wanted to persuade Jin-ri to work under her.

If Li really likes women.

She was willing to do everything in her power to bring about a happy marriage between Zhen Lixiang and her biological daughter, Zhang Ling.

As for Li Xiang?
To be honest, the old lady really didn't approve of him becoming her prospective son-in-law.

The main reason is that Li Xiang does not have any assets that can prove he is worthy of marrying her daughter.

That's why he watched Qi Diaozhe make things difficult for Li Xiang as if it were a show after getting off the plane.

Perhaps this is a mother's selfish desire for her daughter.

In other words, the old lady felt that as long as her intentions for her biological daughter were good.

So Zhang Ling should forgive her for any excessive things she does.

However, the old lady seems to have forgotten something.

She envisioned that there must be a prerequisite for its establishment.

That is, Zhang Ling is a well-behaved child whom she has raised since childhood.