Du Guo had only been working at the Xiao Group for about three years. It was exactly three years ago that Xiao Yu took over the company. Since then, except for Chu Beize, who often came, other members of the Xiao family rarely showed up at the company, including Xiao Zhenwei, the former president. And Xiao Zhenwei's wife was always traveling around the world and hardly ever in City S.
On rare important occasions, Huo Lin would return to the country. Other than that, it was very difficult to see her. So, Du Guo didn't know Huo Lin at all.
Now seeing Huo Lin behind him looking stern and angry, Du Guo just turned around out of curiosity and sized her up. There was also a hint of wariness in his eyes.
"Who are you?" Du Guo asked in return. He always felt that this woman in front of him probably had no good intentions.
Huo Lin just let out a sneer from her nose. "You're Ye Yanxi's friend, right?"
"That's right!" It seemed that this woman also came to visit Ye Yanxi. But Du Guo had met all the people around Ye Yanxi, including Mrs. He and those from the Jiang family. The person in front of him was a complete stranger. "Then who are you?"
Anyway, looking at the woman's haughty appearance, he assumed she wasn't Ye Yanxi's relative or anything.
As long as it was someone he wasn't familiar with, he wouldn't make way and let her in.
Ye Yanxi and He Chuyan were both resting now, and Xiao Yu wasn't around. After thinking for a while, Du Guo's gaze was firm as he blocked the door without any sign of giving in.
"Sure enough, birds of a feather flock together."
Hearing such sarcastic words, Du Guo wasn't happy. "Auntie, please watch your mouth. If you want to scold someone, just scold me. Why drag Yanxi into this? And again, who the hell are you?"
The word "auntie" was a blatant provocation. Huo Lin's temper flared up, and she raised her voice. "Who are you calling auntie?"
"You're the only one here. Who else could I be talking about?" Du Guo raised his eyebrows with a look of disdain and was about to scold her a few more times.
At this time, Ye Yanxi on the hospital bed had woken up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Du Guo standing at the door, seemingly arguing fiercely with someone. She quickly spoke up to stop them.
"Guoguo, what are you doing? Who are you arguing with?"
"A crazy person came from the mental asylum. As soon as she came, she started spouting dirty words. Yanxi, don't worry about it. I'll send her away." Du Guo rolled up his sleeves, looking ready for a fight.
But Huo Lin beside him took advantage of his inattention and pushed him away, then walked into the ward.
"I never thought you'd have a bodyguard." There was an ambiguous smile on Huo Lin's lips as she stared mockingly at Ye Yanxi on the hospital bed. "But I wonder, is he really just your bodyguard, or is there something more between you?"
It was obvious that there was a hidden meaning in her words. Huo Lin's intention couldn't be clearer. Ye Yanxi's face darkened.
"Mrs. Xiao, please watch your words. He's my friend."
"Friend? I'm afraid it's not that simple. He protects you so much. Can this be just an ordinary friendship?" Huo Lin snorted. After a pause, she stared at Ye Yanxi's abdomen thoughtfully. "I'd say... the child in your belly might not even be Xiao Yu's."
The conversation among them soon woke He Chuyan up.
She had met Huo Lin once in the mall. He Chuyan immediately recognized her. As soon as she saw her, she remembered the time when she was wrongly accused by her in the mall. Now seeing her come to the ward to cause trouble with a brazen face, she couldn't help but get angry.
"It's you again, you old witch. What are you talking about? Every time I see you, you bite people without even bothering to find out the truth. I think your rabies is acting up again, isn't it?" He Chuyan retorted without any courtesy.
"You... you... You're really birds of a feather." Huo Lin was extremely angry, but still held up her airs as Mrs. Xiao, straightening her back. Unfortunately, her tightly clenched fists and slightly twitching lips revealed her current emotions.
"Old woman, don't think that just because you're Xiao Yu's mother, we're afraid of you." He Chuyan said and was about to pounce on her, but was quickly stopped by Du Guo. This way, a fight was avoided.
Seeing that He Chuyan wasn't afraid of her at all and even seemed ready to fight, Huo Lin took a few startled steps back and looked at He Chuyan warily, always on the alert for her movements.
It took a long time for Du Guo to calm He Chuyan down, but Huo Lin never let her guard down.
Then her gaze fell on Ye Yanxi. She came here today for something important and almost forgot about it because of He Chuyan.
Huo Lin calmed herself down and gave Ye Yanxi a cold look. "Name your price!"
"Name my price? What do you mean?" Ye Yanxi pondered for a moment and then asked.
Huo Lin let out a contemptuous snort. "You went to such great lengths to seduce my son. Isn't it because you're eyeing the fortune behind Xiao Yu? Now you've gone to even greater lengths to get pregnant with Xiao Yu's child. I'm sure you want even more. So, tell me, how much money do you want?"
After a pause and seeing that Ye Yanxi didn't say anything, Huo Lin spoke again. "Let me be clear with you. Even if you marry into our Xiao family, we'll sign a prenuptial agreement with you in advance. By then, you won't get a single cent. It's better for you to name your price now. At least you can still get a sum of money."
"You think I'm with Xiao Yu just for his money?" Ye Yanxi gave a self - mocking smile.
Not only had she never thought about it, but even if she really wanted money, she could just go back to the He family. There was a fortune there, enough to last for several lifetimes.
But she didn't do that.
"Isn't that so?" There was contempt in Huo Lin's eyes, as if she was bestowing something on a beggar. "Okay, that's all I have to say. You're smart. You know how to weigh the pros and cons. As long as you're not too greedy, everything can be negotiated. You'll soon receive that sum of money."
"Do you mean that as long as I take the money, I should leave Xiao Yu, or..." Ye Yanxi's hands unconsciously stroked her lower abdomen. "Do you also want me to abort this child?"
"Of course. Do you think that after you leave Xiao Yu, you still want to keep this child and try to seduce him again?"
Gently stroking her still - flat abdomen, Ye Yanxi's fingers trembled slightly, and anger welled up in her.
Originally, she didn't want to be so confrontational with Huo Lin. But every word of Huo Lin's was so aggressive, and she even said such things... and even wanted her to abort the child in her belly.
How could she accept this? She would never give up this child no matter what.
After a moment of silence, Ye Yanxi sneered. "Then how much do you think would be an appropriate price, Mrs. Xiao?"
Huo Lin looked pleased, thinking that Ye Yanxi had agreed to this.
When she spoke again, there was uncontrollable excitement in her tone. "You're still young and haven't graduated yet. You'll surely meet good men in the future. Well, I'll give you ten million. That's a huge sum of money for you. You can do a lot of things after graduation."
"Ten million?" There was a smile in Ye Yanxi's eyes, but she was looking at Huo Lin mockingly. "Do you really think your son's love is only worth this much, Mrs. Xiao?"
Huo Lin squinted her eyes. "You still think it's too little?"
The contempt in her eyes became even more obvious. After a pause, Huo Lin said, "I knew your mind wasn't that simple. Then let's make it straightforward. One hundred million. How about that? This money is enough for you to live comfortably in City S for a lifetime. With this price, you don't really have a say in whether you agree or not."
"In your eyes, is love only worth one hundred million?" Ye Yanxi curled her lips in a mocking smile.
Huo Lin's eyebrows twitched. She stared fixedly at Ye Yanxi. "What? Are you still not satisfied?"
Looking at Huo Lin's expression, Ye Yanxi lowered her eyes. The smile in her eyes disappeared completely.
"In my eyes, love has always been priceless." Ye Yanxi continued coldly, "So, no matter how you force me or how much money you offer, I will never leave Xiao Yu. Because... the love between him and me is something you can never buy."
This time, Huo Lin was really furious. Her lips twitched violently.
He Chuyan, who had been standing aside listening to their conversation, now cheered loudly with a sense of satisfaction. She gave Huo Lin a sidelong glance. "See, old woman. You think you have a lot of money, but we don't even care about your stinky money. Just take your money and get out of here."
When it came to arguing, Du Guo really wasn't as sharp - tongued as He Chuyan, who had the ability to infuriate people. Moreover, the person in front of them was the president's mother. Anyway, Du Guo couldn't go too far. So he still nervously held He Chuyan back, afraid that she would do something too extreme.
However, Du Guo felt really good hearing what Ye Yanxi said.
Since Huo Lin appeared, she had always looked down on everyone and her tone was so aggressive.
Du Guo was really worried about Ye Yanxi, afraid that she wouldn't be a match for Huo Lin and would be bullied by her.
But the stubborn and unyielding Ye Yanxi he remembered was back. She wasn't willing to swallow her anger and dared to fight back. This was the Ye Yanxi he always admired.
So, Du Guo finally added, "Mrs. Xiao, Yanxi has made herself clear. Now please leave and don't disturb Yanxi's rest."
Huo Lin's gaze circled around the few people several times. Her eyes were almost spitting fire.
Finally, she pointed her finger at Ye Yanxi. "Ye Yanxi, you're really something. I came here today with sincerity to negotiate with you. This price is already an extra favor from me. As long as you accept it, everything can be negotiated. But... you're so ungrateful. You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"
Ye Yanxi's hands still rested steadily on her lower abdomen. Hearing this, her expression remained unchanged.
Xiao Yu had already explained everything to her. She had nothing to be afraid of. For the sake of her child, she couldn't hide behind Xiao Yu's protection weakly anymore. In order to prevent her child from getting hurt in the slightest, she had to stand up without hesitation.
"Mrs. Xiao, the love between Xiao Yu and me doesn't allow anyone to destroy it. Please bless us. I will be very grateful to you. But if you insist on breaking us up, I won't just sit back and let you do whatever you want." Ye Yanxi stared into Huo Lin's eyes and said word by word, "Also, as an elder, I really want to respect you. But if you keep slandering me, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to respect you in the future."