A Lot Has Changed

Once the waiter left with their order, Li Qin Yao took a sip from the glass of water in front of her and lifted her face to look at the man who has been staring at her for a while.

She put down the glass and frowned. "You left your supporters to have lunch with me, aren't you afraid that they will be displeased and stop working together with you later on?"

Li Ming Han shrugged. "They won't mind. I have booked a place for dinner."

"Well, congratulation on winning that project," Li Qin Yao said casually.

"Fortunately, you decided to participate in the shareholder's meeting this time, and voted for me. Or else, I would lose the project to Li Mu Chen." When he thought that he had won the project due to Li Qin Yao's vote, the smile on Li Ming Han's face widened. "But Cousin Sister, you still have not told me why you decided to participate in this shareholder's meeting."

"This time, the shareholder's meeting was held to discuss QL Group's upcoming project. Of course, I came this time to propose a new project. As for what is it, you can only find out during the meeting."

Li Ming Han clicked his tongue.

"You just have to do your part and give me your vote when the time comes," she reminded him.

It didn't take too long for the waiter to come back with their meal. Li Qin Yao looked at the plate of fried chicken sandwich and fries and felt her stomach started to grumble. She took a few pieces of fries and munched it. A frown appeared on her face when the fries tasted a bit bland to her palate.

The two of them ate silently before Li Ming Han broke the silence. "A lot has changed since you left the company."

"But it looks like you're coping quite well. I heard that you were assigned to my previous project. I have to say that I do like the little adjustments you made. You did a great job."

"I'm flattered by your compliments."

Li Qin Yao laughed and continued. "Your power has grown and your supporters are not less than Second Auntie."

"It was the only way to survive. Second Auntie's influence among the shareholders and the board of directors has gotten bigger since Cousin Brother took the position as the president," Li Ming Han chuckled. "Wait. Instead of calling them Second Aunt's supporter, I would say that they are Brother Mu Bai's supporter. They only listened to Second Aunt because she is his mother." Li Ming Han let out a sigh. "Those shareholders only wanted to get on the President's good side."

"Second Auntie is a clever woman. Or else, she wouldn't stay in the company for this long." Li Qin Yao narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "Since you have won the development project, Second Auntie must be furious. You need to be more careful."

"Thank you for your reminder," Li Ming Han lifted his glass and drank a few mouthfuls of water. Then, he looked at Li Qin Yao again. "To be honest, I thought that Grandfather wanted you back to the company. That's why you showed up at the meeting today."

"Well, Grandfather did ask if I wanted to return to the Capital."

Li Ming Han's eyes grew wide. "What?"

Although he was expecting the news, Li Ming Han was still surprised to hear Li Qin Yao admit to it. After all, their grandfather had not announced it during the meeting. So, Li Ming Han had thought that it was nothing but a rumor.

Li Qin Yao reached for that glass of water and took a sip lazily. "But, I love B City. I don't have the intention to come back to the Capital City."

Li Ming Han thought over the matter for a while and spoke, "If you returned, Second Auntie's influence would lessen."

"Are you sure?" Li Qin Yao chuckled as she heard his comment. "There are many who had lost their trust in me after that scandal two years ago. If I come back to Capital City, I will only suffocate from their anger."

"Cousin Sister, don't look down on them. Not everyone believes in that scandal from two years ago," Li Ming Han said. "I, for example, from the very beginning, had never believed that you would make such careless mistakes."

Li Qin Yao lowered her head to evade his gaze. "Thank you."

"Cousin Sister, if you need my help, don't hesitate to look for me. I will help you with anything I can."

…

After they separated on their way after lunch, Li Qin Yao stayed in the toilet cubicle to avoid others for a while as her mind wandered off to the conversation she had with Li Ming Han.

In the past, her relationship with Li Ming Han was not that close. So, it was quite surprising to hear that he had never believed that she was guilty of the accident two years ago. However, as she looked into his eyes just now, Li Qin Yao could see that Li Ming Han was not lying. He had no reason to lie about such things to her.

When Li Ming Han had offered his help to her just now, Li Qin Yao had almost wanted to ask him to convince his supporters to support her project proposal. However, at the last minute, Li Qin Yao was hesitant.

Li Qin Yao was not sure of Li Ming Han's motive to get close to her this time, but she had no intention of putting Li Ming Han into a predicament. Li Ming Han had just won a fight with Zhao Wei, and if Li Ming Han and his supporters helped to support her, then, Zhao Wei will cause trouble to Li Ming Han.

Anyway, it was better to be on guard before everyone else.

Although Li Qin Yao knew that Li Ming Han was capable to protect himself, she did not want others to be implicated in their rivalry. Her auntie was despicable enough to harm others to achieve her goals, and Li Qin Yao did not wish for others to get hurt.

In the end, she can only trust that her grandfather's plan. He had ensured her earlier that even if Zhao Wei managed to convince others not to vote for the project in B City, the project will still pass and proceed as plan.

Surely, her grandfather knew what he's doing. As for what was her grandfather plan to do, Li Qin Yao could only wait until the meeting continued.