Chapter 341: Chapter 341

Li Sulan grabbed Xiao Ning’s hand with no sense of boundaries, "Xiao Ning, don’t be . I know you’ve been at odds with us lately. We’ve been together for twenty years— even a dog would develop feelings in that time, let alone us, your parents. Are you really this heartless, wanting to sever ties with us?"

"Haven’t we already severed them?" Xiao Ning forcefully pulled her hand back, her face expressionless.

Li Sulan didn’t give up and continued her shameless familial plea, but Xiao Ning remained unmoved, keeping clear boundaries with her.

After so much effort trying to appease Xiao Ning, she still refused to show a hint of goodwill. Li Sulan’s patience was wearing thin, and her face was beginning to collapse.

However, considering the stakes of the situation, Li Sulan forcibly suppressed her urge to lose her temper.

Li Sulan refrained from further touching Xiao Ning, no longer attempting to bridge their distance through physical contact. Instead, she straightened up and said, "Alright, it seems your feelings towards your parents have indeed dwindled. Mom won’t say much more. The reason we invited you here today was to ask for a small favor."

Xiao Ning scoffed internally, finally cutting to the chase, huh?

"What favor? Is it troublesome?" Xiao Ning replied.

Li Sulan was thrilled, her eyes lighting up. Was Xiao Ning implying that she might agree?

She quickly shot a glance at Chu Tian, who immediately chimed in to explain to Xiao Ning, "Xiao Ning, don’t worry, this favor is not troublesome at all. You only need to say a few nice words to your boyfriend, ask him to agree to collaborate with the Chu Family. Isn’t that simple? Not troublesome at all."

Xiao Ning’s lips curled slightly. Chu Tian talked about this as if it were completely reasonable— absolutely shameless.

"Sorry, but my boyfriend doesn’t have that kind of authority. Whether or not Hai Chuan collaborates with the Chu Family isn’t within his power to decide," Xiao Ning rejected.

Chu Tian grew displeased, thinking Xiao Ning was deliberately making excuses. Still, he forced a smile, "Xiao Ning, we’re family. Talking doesn’t make sense. The CEO of Hai Chuan Group— are you seriously saying he doesn’t have the authority to decide? Then who does?"

At first, Xiao Ning didn’t pay close attention to the keywords in Chu Tian’s words. But when her brain processed them a second time, she suddenly caught on. Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Chu Tian, "Hai Chuan CEO? Who are you talking about?"

Still acting, right? Chu Tian’s dissatisfaction with Xiao Ning grew even more, but his smile didn’t waver, "Xiao Ning, stop joking with us. Li Juezhou— Mr. Li, of course! You’ve been dating him for so long. How could you not know his identity?"

Li Juezhou? Hai Chuan Group’s CEO?

Xiao Ning could understand each word on its own, but when pieced together into this sentence, she was utterly dumbfounded.

Stunned, Xiao Ning was briefly speechless. A sarcastic remark broke the silence beside her, "Seeing Xiao Ning doesn’t look like she knows her boyfriend’s real identity. Seems like he’s quite guarded with her, probably afraid she’s no different from those gold-digging actresses who want to marry into a wealthy family."

After Chu Xi’s remark, Xiao Ning remained immersed in her silent world, not immediately retorting. Chu Xi, feeling victorious for having momentarily bested Xiao Ning, raised her chin slightly in pride, displaying the posture of a triumphant victor.

That is, until Chu Tian shot her a menacing glare, instantly wilting her resolve. She lowered her head bit by bit, avoiding Chu Tian’s gaze completely.

Xiao Ning recalled the recent occasion where she joined Li Juezhou for a night jog, murmuring to herself, "Oh yeah, he did tell me he was the CEO of Hai Chuan Group. But what did I say then? I probably thought he was crazy or something. There’s no way he could be, right?"

Every word Xiao Ning uttered was caught by both Chu Tian and Li Sulan. The two exchanged a meaningful glance.

Chu Tian felt assured— Li Juezhou didn’t mind exposing his identity to Xiao Ning. That indicated significant trust and affection for her. The key to the collaboration came down to swaying Xiao Ning.

"Xiao Ning, how can he not be? Don’t you know you’ve been sitting on a gold mine this whole time?" Chu Tian teased Xiao Ning.

Xiao Ning raised her head to look at Chu Tian, "What proof do you have that Li Juezhou is the CEO of Hai Chuan Group?"

The shock was there, but for Xiao Ning, after the shock passed, it was replaced with a clear-headed sense of rationality. She was genuinely curious what evidence Chu Tian held.

"I am the evidence!" A familiar voice rang out, instantly drawing everyone’s attention.

Before Xiao Ning even looked up, she could tell from the voice who had arrived— one of her least favorite enemies. When she finally did look up and saw Duan Wenhu’s overly meticulously made-up face, her mood soured even further. So this whole dinner was just an assembly of unpleasant acquaintances?

Duan Wenhu clicked her high heels against the floor, the crisp sound accompanying her strides as she sat down across from Xiao Ning, her position perfect for direct conversation.

Duan Wenhu elegantly placed her designer handbag on the table. Both Chu Tian and Li Sulan greeted her one after another, while the younger Chu Xi followed Chu Tian’s instructions, standing up respectfully to greet President Duan. Xiao Ning, on the other hand, remained seated, unmoving.

Duan Wenhu smiled faintly, sporting the benevolent expression of an elder delighted to see a beloved junior, "Xiao Ning, soon we’ll be family. Why are you acting so distant with your aunt?"

"So tonight’s dinner theme is some kind of ’family reunion game’?" Xiao Ning arched an eyebrow, her tone decidedly sharp, "And what kind of aunt are you supposed to be to me? Sorry, but I could never have the honor of being related to someone like President Duan."

"Xiao Ning, Aunt knows you’re young, but don’t speak so harshly. I’m Li Juezhou’s aunt, and you’re his girlfriend. Naturally, you should call me Aunt, no?" Duan Wenhu said, making an effort to be friendly.

Although Xiao Ning hadn’t drunk any water, she suddenly felt a wild urge to spit some out. Duan Wenhu, Li Juezhou’s aunt? What kind of bizarre breaking of the Dimension Wall was this?

"Say it again— I dare you to say it again!" While confirming it, Xiao Ning delivered the line in a tone resembling a threat.

Duan Wenhu got the distinct impression Xiao Ning might grab a knife and deal her a couple of blows at any second. Her expression faltered as her tone involuntarily softened, "I-I said... I’m Li Juezhou’s aunt. Is there a problem?" Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚~𝙣𝙚𝙩

Indeed, there was a huge problem. Xiao Ning rubbed her forehead; turns out her boyfriend’s family had been sabotaging her all along?

"Just wait," Xiao Ning said to Duan Wenhu, her tone carrying the weight of a threat.

Then, suddenly rising from her seat, she quickly left the private room, leaving the people at the table staring at each other in confusion.

Outside the private room, Xiao Ning walked to a somewhat secluded corner of the hallway and immediately dialed Li Juezhou’s number.

Rather than listening to what others had to say, she preferred confirming things for herself.