The Billionaire's Hidden Affection-Chapter 652 - 649: Nothing is Bigger Than Death5_1

She composedly pulled open the drawer. When Brother Zheng saw the large red envelope and weighed it in his hand, his smile deepened. "I knew it, Xiaoyan, you’re a smart one. Far smarter than your manager. Tsk, tsk. Now *that’s* someone destined for great things..."

Still smiling, she said, "Brother Zheng, are you free tonight? Let’s have dinner together."

"Sure, I’m free! If you’re treating, Xiaoyan, I’m free any day... But hey, nothing too extravagant. A simple working meal will do. We need to be thrifty, understand? These days, everyone’s advocating for frugality..."

Yan Xixi replied readily, "Then let’s make it tonight. Just a few simple dishes will be fine. Don’t worry, Brother Zheng, I’ll definitely be frugal. I absolutely won’t put you in a difficult position..."

Brother Zheng laughed, his eyes mere slits.

As he was leaving, he said to the others, "Forget it, I’m too tired today. We’ll deal with this another day."

The others took the hint, pushed aside the jumble of messy receipts, and cheerfully departed.

Xu Xiaoya and two other staff members hurriedly gathered all the receipts again and put them back.

When they returned to the office, Xu Xiaoya immediately asked, "Xixi, does giving them that red envelope mean they’ll let us off?"

Yan Xixi replied calmly, "It’s far from over. This is just the first step. Now that they’ve accepted this red envelope, they’ll be waiting for countless more..."

Xu Xiaoya was completely bewildered. "Then why did you still give it to them? Won’t this just make them greedier? I’m afraid they’ll cause us even more trouble in the future..."

Yan Xixi replied calmly, "Let’s take it one step at a time. Xiaoya, don’t you worry just yet."

How could she not be anxious?

The shop had been running smoothly for so long. She’d even thought it was all peace and prosperity. But unexpectedly, things had taken a sharp downturn in the last few months. Before, they were just testing the waters, not causing any major trouble. But now, they were showing up right at their doorstep. With the slightest misstep, she feared the shop would face increasing harassment.

"Sigh... now that Young Master Wan is gone, we have no one to back us up. It looks like making a living won’t be so easy anymore. Xixi, if things stay this troublesome, what are we going to do?"

Yan Xixi became pensive and said nothing.

When Wan Donglin was around, she could manage. Now that he was gone, she certainly wasn’t going to kill herself. Was a living person supposed to just let themselves be suffocated to death without a fight?

"Xiaoya, book a nicer restaurant for tonight."

"Are you really going to dine with that fat jerk? I’m worried he has ill intentions."

Yan Xixi replied nonchalantly, "He’s always had ill intentions."

Xu Xiaoya exclaimed, "Then why are you still going?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Don’t worry. There are some things I want to settle once and for all."

Xu Xiaoya wore a worried frown, completely at a loss.

Only now did she truly understand how difficult it was to put down roots and get things done in a place without enough connections.

It was only then that she picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts, one by one.

So many old acquaintances, a past she had thought would never be revisited...

She sighed with emotion. After a long moment, she made seven or eight calls in succession.

The weather had been hot for a while now. The summer evening felt like a steam bath.

While still in the lobby, Yan Xixi noticed the motorcycle parked by the entrance.

She walked over.

Yang Wei looked incredibly smug.

He didn’t enter, merely stood at the doorway. His vigilance had clearly increased lately.

Seeing Yan Xixi approach, he lowered his voice, "Well, well, little missy, finally fallen into my hands, eh? HEH HEH..."

Yan Xixi stared at him curiously, taking in the undisguised, smug grin on his face—an expression that suggested he felt he could crush her as easily as an ant.