Yao Chunmei couldn't bear to scold her daughter. She kept giving her meaningful looks and even pinched her mouth. "You naughty girl! If you can't talk properly, just keep your mouth shut. The person I love most is your dad. You kids don't understand adult affairs. Don't spread rumors."
Bai Yunxi suddenly slapped away Yao Chunmei's hand. Her cold eyes slithered like a snake across everyone's faces. "You've all been laughing at me behind my back, haven't you? Well, I won't let you have your way!"
With that, she ran out without looking back. Yao Chunmei chased after her to the door, but obviously lost sight of her daughter. She returned dejectedly.
Chen Liangke stroked his chin. His teasing eyes glanced in the direction where Bai Yunxi had run off, and a hint of interest played on his lips.
"Alright, at least we've completed the task of taking the family portrait. I'll go back and work overtime tonight to edit the footage." Chen Liangke admired the photos on the camera and planned to crop out and enlarge Bai Wenxi's part separately.
"Let's continue to complete some interviews. We'll be able to see the finished documentary tomorrow."
"Ding-dong, ding-dong." Chen Liangke's phone rang twice. It was a special text message tone.
He calmly opened it and took a look. His heart skipped a beat. He felt even more excited than the first time he saw Bai Wenxi. The message on his phone touched the most hidden desires deep in his heart.
Even the regret of not being able to flirt with Bai Wenxi faded a lot. Chen Liangke continued to ask a few more meaningless questions, eager to end this meeting.
Jiang Beihuai noticed his strange behavior. Thinking of the ambiguous relationship between him and Yao Chunmei, he couldn't help but be a bit more cautious.
There was an art exhibition at the Starry Sky Art Museum today, and there were still quite a few visitors.
After filming the necessary materials, Chen Liangke was about to leave. Bai Wenxi didn't want to keep him at all. Only Yao Chunmei was reluctant to part with him and wanted to spend more time with him.
Chen Liangke left without looking back, which really aroused Bai Wenxi's suspicion. Usually, he would try to take a lot of verbal advantages before leaving. This time, he didn't even bother to make small talk with Yao Chunmei.
Moreover, he didn't seem to be in a hurry, but he was beaming with joy.
After being left behind, Yao Chunmei was really sulky for a while. But thinking that she would soon have a chance to show off, she comforted herself and went out shopping with her friends.
Bai Wenxi really admired her stepmother. She could just ignore the sufferings of those around her. If Bai Yunxi used to be the most important person to her, now that she was married, Yao Chunmei was simply living for herself.
She went traveling with a bunch of her friends every day or went in and out of high - end places, squandering money.
Bai Wenxi even wondered if the inheritance her father left for her would be enough for her to live on until old age.
Finally, the documentary about his father - in - law was completed. Jiang Beihuai was quite relieved that his wife would no longer have to deal with Chen Liangke. He put his arm around her shoulders. "Come with me to the company later. After I finish my work, I'll take you for coffee."
All he could think about was how to make his daily time with Wenxi more interesting.
He was willing to be with his wife every day. He even wanted her to take a break from her work at the art museum and accompany him on the rural research project.
Bai Wenxi stood in front of Yao Chunmei's portrait and refused to leave. Before, because of her inner conflict, she didn't want to look at this posthumous work of her father carefully.
Especially the few old paintings beside it. At that time, she hadn't recognized Yao Chunmei's hypocritical face, and she had even helped her father polish those paintings.
Whenever she got close to these paintings, she would think of her father's tenderness towards Yao Chunmei and her own tolerance for her in the past. Now it all seemed like a mockery. Just seeing them would remind her of the wasted warmth and kindness. Maybe Yao Chunmei had never regarded her father and her as family!
"Awen, what's wrong?" Jiang Beihuai tugged at her, but she didn't respond. Her eyes were fixed intently on the painting. "Is there something wrong with this painting?"
Bai Wenxi observed it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She thought she might be overthinking. "The painting is fine. It must have been painted by my dad."
She frowned deeply. "I'm just curious. Why would my dad suddenly decide to paint a portrait of her at night? He hadn't painted a picture of Yao Chunmei for years. The paintings beside it are all old works from a few years ago."
Jiang Beihuai didn't think much of it. "Maybe he just got inspired. He knew he had a social event at night. Since he had nothing to do at home, he might as well paint to kill time."
Bai Wenxi didn't think so. This painting seemed like a hasty work. Her father always polished his paintings carefully. He rarely painted so sloppily. It was as if he was in a hurry and just used his skills to finish the work perfunctorily.
Manager Li walked over with a glass of water. "Director, do you want me to take this painting down so that you can take a closer look?"
Bai Wenxi shook her head. "This painting uses very thick colors. Compared with my dad's previous works, it's too rough. It strains my eyes to look at it for too long."
She hooked her arm around Jiang Beihuai's. She didn't want to dirty her eyes. "Beihuai, go and do your work first. Anyway, I've asked my police friend to investigate. I believe the case will be filed soon."
The building of the Jiang Group was located in the bustling city center. Next to it were the headquarters of various multinational corporations.
Jiang Beihuai specifically took her to a famous coffee shop nearby first. It was located in a lush and elegant city park and only received regular customers.
Bai Wenxi sat by the French window, looking at the people strolling leisurely outside and sipping her mocha one by one.
"I heard from the housekeeper that you weren't used to drinking coffee when you first came to the Jiang family?" She looked at Jiang Beihuai curiously. He had ordered an iced Americano and was grimacing as he swallowed the bitter coffee. "Actually, you don't have to bring me here. We could just have something simple to eat here."
Jiang Beihuai held a piece of fruit candy in his mouth and took another sip of the Americano. His left cheek bulged, looking like a little hamster stealing food.
"If it were just me, I'd rather drink plain water." He pulled a long face and tried hard to suck the sweetness from the candy.
"But when dealing with the elites in the company, I can't not know how to drink coffee. And it really does a good job of keeping me awake."
Bai Wenxi smiled faintly. She thought his efforts to fit in were quite cute.
But no matter how hard he tried to blend in, he still had his own unique presence. Essentially, he was still that free - spirited and unruly young man.
Just like what He Feifei had said: Even if he put on a dragon robe, he didn't look like an emperor. He was still a bit of a scoundrel. But he was very responsible and always helped those around him without hesitation.
The more Bai Wenxi got along with him, the more she felt that this evaluation was on point. She thought of the photo that Feifei had sent her, a group photo of a bunch of young people. Jiang Beihuai still stood out in it.
She even thought that even if he were among these well - dressed white - collars on the street, his temperament and good looks would not be inferior. Su Yuning had once laughed at her and said that this kind of mentality was called "love is blind" and that she regarded Jiang Beihuai as the most handsome man in the world.
"Beihuai, it's a day off today. What business do you have to handle at the company?" She put down her coffee cup and took a bite of the rainbow cake.
Jiang Beihuai scratched his chin awkwardly and carefully chose his words. "It's nothing major. I just want to use the company's resources to attract a little investment for my personal project."
Bai Wenxi was shocked. A mouthful of cake got stuck in her throat. "You're going to embezzle public funds?"