CHAPTER 623: CHAPTER 372: TROUBLE

Xiang Province Provincial Committee Meeting Room, the annual summary meeting was underway, with attendees that included members of the Provincial Committee and provincial government as well as heads of various departments.

The Deputy Director of the Office, Li Nianping, carefully pushed open the door of the meeting room and handed a slip of paper to Qiao Aimin’s secretary, Wang Miao.

Wang Miao unfolded the note and, after hesitating for a moment, still passed it to Qiao Aimin.

Qiao Aimin opened and glanced over it, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly before returning his gaze to the Finance Department Director who was delivering a report.

An hour later, after the meeting had ended, Wang Miao followed behind Qiao Aimin back to the office, murmuring to himself that a storm was about to descend!

Even though the Governor’s Wife did not reside in Xiang Province, every time she came, it always resulted in unpleasantness with the Governor. Those of us who serve under him privately sympathize with the Governor—a man so sensible and upright, how could he have married such a woman?

Outsiders say that the Qiao Family owes its success to the Governor’s Wife’s influential family. However, having worked closely with the Governor for over two years and witnessing his desperate efforts, I’ve come to believe that even without his wife’s family’s powerful help, it wouldn’t have been impossible for him to achieve his current position!

Of course, whether the other members of the Qiao Family could have reached their current positions without such help, I wouldn’t dare to conjecture.

"Please, don’t be anxious, calm down. Governor Qiao will be back soon. Today’s meeting was truly important. I assume the Governor couldn’t extricate himself. Please wait a little longer, would you?"

"Wait, wait, wait! I’ve already waited for over an hour. Does he think I’ve got nothing better to do than to run here and wait for him?"

"Look, this is really a coincidence, please calm down. I’ll get you another glass of water..."

"No need for water, hurry up and urge him again, tell him if he doesn’t come over, I’ll go straight to the meeting room to find him. It’s an emergency, if it drags on, it’ll be too late for anything!"

"Yes, yes, I’ll go check right now..."

Wang Miao stealthily evaluated the Governor standing motionless by the door, swallowed hard and said: "Governor..."

"Governor..." Li Nianping also caught sight of Qiao Aimin, muttered nervously, and looked at him uncertain of what to say.

Qiao Aimin waved his hand: "Go about your business, all of you."

"Yes, Governor!" Wang Miao and Li Niangping quickly vanished from the doorway.

"So, you know to come back? Do you even have us, mother and daughter, in your heart? Do you still consider Xiaowan your own flesh and blood? Qiao Aimin, are you even a man? When your wife and child are bullied, do you not care at all?"

The instant the office door closed, Lian Qinghua barraged him with a series of questions. Qiao Aimin simply glanced at her and sat down at his desk, turned his head, and stared out of the window in silence.

"Daddy..." Qiao Xiaowan looked at Qiao Aimin with grievance: "You must help me, otherwise, I won’t be able to fulfill my filial duties in front of you in the future, nor will I be able to frequently visit Grandpa and Grandma."

Seeing Qiao Aimin still staring out of the window motionless, Lian Qinghua angrily grabbed a small teacup from the desk and threw it at him. The cup struck Qiao Aimin squarely in the chest and then spun on the desk, the water splashing out and wetting Qiao Aimin’s clothes. He seemed to lose all sensation, not even a furrowing of his brow.

"Daddy..." Qiao Xiaowan called out sorrowfully.

Finally, Qiao Aimin turned his head, sighed, and looked at his daughter seriously: "Xiaowan, I have told you more than once, before doing anything think carefully about the consequences and whether you can bear them..."

"Can you utter a single word that makes sense, Qiao Aimin?" Lian Qinghua interrupted him.

"Can you at least show some class?" Qiao Aimin’s gaze was indifferent as he regarded Lian Qinghua: "You always claim to be a lady of high upbringing, looking down on this and that. Why don’t you look at yourself in the mirror?"

"Qiao Aimin, are you deliberately picking a fight? If this drags on, even begging your father won’t help..." Lian Qinghua stood up: "Now tell me, are you going to handle this matter or not?"

"No!"

"You..." Lian Qinghua’s lips trembled, unable to speak.

"Daddy, am I not your own daughter?" Qiao Xiaowan’s tears fell pitter-patter: "You should know how much influence the GF Group, General Politics Headquarters, and Army Division A have. If this matter becomes a public scandal, I will have no place in this country, and will become a huge joke in high society circles. Do you think, with your daughter disgraced like this, it will reflect well on you?"

Qiao Aimin sighed: "Xiaowan, if you had already established a relationship with Xiao Xuan and it was Luo Ye who intervened and ruined it, regardless of what you did, Daddy would help you."