Jiang Pinhao noticed her unease and said, "You’re already out, so there’s nothing to worry about. Take a cab and head back quickly. I’ll come to your apartment building later. Don’t be afraid."

"Mm." She nodded.

After finishing the call with Jiang Pinhao, her anxiety eased considerably. She put down her phone, hailed a cab, and went home.

On the way back, her heart was racing uncontrollably. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

What should I do? He’s clearly leveraging my work to get close to me—no, not me—but to get close to Xiaoxiao.

That child... he still has doubts, suspecting she’s his own flesh and blood.

No way. Tomorrow, I’ll return to the company and resign. I absolutely cannot give him the chance to get near my daughter.

With this thought, her mood calmed down considerably.

As she neared the gate of her residential complex, her phone rang.

She glanced at the screen—it was Boss Ma calling. It was just perfect timing. She answered, "Hello, Boss."

"Xiao Liang, have you come back from the Golden Island Mansion yet? Did you check out the structure of the house?"

"Yes, Boss, I..." She intended to bring up her resignation during the call, but before she could finish, Boss Ma’s voice rang out again, "Hmm, as long as you’ve taken a look, that’s good. I trust your capability, Xiao Liang. You’ll definitely be able to design a house that satisfies the client."

Liang Anya took a deep breath and said, "Boss, I’m sorry. I can’t take this case, and I’ll be resigning tomorrow."

"What!?" Boss Ma’s shrill exclamation almost blasted Liang Anya’s eardrum. If not for the phone separating them, she felt like he’d nearly rush over to grab her by the collar. "You’re kidding, right? My dear lady! The company’s business is booming right now, and you’re talking about resigning? How am I supposed to find someone to replace you at such short notice? Are all you young people this irresponsible?"

"I’m truly sorry. It’s for personal reasons that I can’t continue working." She knew that abruptly resigning would probably mean forfeiting her salary for the month, given Boss Ma’s miserly reputation. Though it pained her, she had no choice.

"Xiao Liang, I just had the company’s finance team approve a 30% raise for you! Tomorrow, I planned to hand you two additional project proposals so you’d earn more commissions and bonuses. And now you’re telling me you’re resigning? Thirty percent isn’t enough? How about fifty percent—does that work?"

Liang Anya swallowed hard. A 50% raise would surpass the industry standard by a wide margin. To say she wasn’t tempted would be a lie, but she ultimately steeled herself and said firmly, "No, Boss Ma, I’m really sorry. I truly have personal matters I need to attend to."

"Xiao Liang, honestly, I’ve been looking to bring talented young people into the company for collaboration. You’re extremely capable, and I’ve even wanted to nurture you. If you stay a bit longer, I may even consider offering you shares in the company, making you a boss yourself one day. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and yet you’re still resigning? Fine, fine. I won’t press you any further right now. Go home and think it over carefully. Don’t act impulsively. Let’s talk again tomorrow at the office."

"Boss... Boss... Hello? Hello?" Liang Anya tried to respond, but Boss Ma had already hung up.

Helplessly, she placed her phone back in her handbag.

Boss Ma’s offer was indeed tempting, but when she thought of Si Yuheng becoming her company’s client and her having taken on his project, she knew that no matter how attractive the offer was, she had to quit this job.

Arriving at the entrance of her residential complex, she paid the fare and got out of the cab. At the gate, she saw a familiar figure who had been waiting for her for quite some time. It was none other than Jiang Pinhao.

Her eyes lit up, and she walked forward. "Mr. Jiang, you’re here."

"Are you alright?" Jiang Pinhao seemed relieved once he saw her return safely.

"I’m fine."

The two of them found a bench in the small park outside the residential area and sat down to discuss.

Since Si Yuheng had entered the picture, appearances needed to be maintained. Jiang Pinhao agreed to visit the Liang Family’s home more often, to at least create the illusion that the two of them were genuinely in a relationship.

After finishing their conversation, it was already late, so Jiang Pinhao left first.

Before leaving, Liang Anya expressed her gratitude, "Mr. Jiang, thank you so much for this."

He paused for a moment, patted her shoulder, and said softly, "It’s nothing."

The warm and tranquil aura of the man enveloped her, making her momentarily dazed, as if transported back to the night she confessed her feelings to him for the first time.

Back then, filled with a surge of girlish emotion, she had impulsively thrown herself into his embrace and refused to let go. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know where she’d found the courage at the time.

But the person she was now likely wouldn’t have that boldness anymore.

After going through so much, she was no longer the person she used to be. Her feelings for her former crush, Jiang Pinhao, had changed and could never return to how they once were.

Lost in thought, she gripped the thin strap of the shoulder bag on her shoulder tightly. Only after a long pause did she finally turn and enter her apartment complex.

...

Once she climbed the stairs to her apartment, she forced herself to act as if nothing had happened, opened the door, and cheerfully called out as usual, "Dad, Brother, Xiaoxiao, I’m back—"

After entering, she bent down to change her shoes, pondering how to tell Liang Tao and Liang Jue about her resignation. At that moment, she saw Liang Jue walking toward her, his voice lowered, "Anya. Come here."

Seeing that he seemed to have something to discuss with her, Liang Anya hesitated but followed him to the balcony.

"What’s wrong, Brother?"

Liang Jue glanced outside the balcony, ensuring that their father was in Xiaoxiao’s room tending to her. Only then did he say, "I’ve decided to resign."

Liang Anya was startled. She hadn’t even mentioned her own resignation yet, and her brother had beaten her to the punch. "What happened? Why do you want to resign?"

Liang Jue’s youthful face revealed a faint trace of guilt, but his tone was firm and unwavering:

"I’ve been thinking about starting my own company recently. But since Dad’s savings are limited and businesses require huge upfront costs, I worried about not being able to manage. So I dropped the idea. However, just a few days ago, an old classmate from Italy contacted me. He wants to invest in the domestic market and asked if I’d be interested in partnering with him. As for the startup funds, he’s willing to cover ninety percent of the cost. After hearing this..."

Liang Anya understood immediately. With someone covering the costs, of course her brother would be tempted. After all, he’d never wanted to work for someone else; his real dream was to have his own business.

Still, even though the partner would bear ninety percent of the cost, Liang Jue’s ten percent would still be a significant amount. On top of that, starting a business typically meant losses in the initial stages. If Liang Jue ventured out, it meant he wouldn’t be able to contribute to family expenses for quite some time.

Seeing her remain silent, Liang Jue said, "If you think this isn’t the right time, then I won’t resign or pursue this. I’ll tell my old classmate it’s off. I haven’t talked to Dad about this yet. I understand that Dad’s out of business now, and we’re living on savings. It’s like draining our reserves every day. At this time, I shouldn’t be starting a company."

"No, such a good opportunity can’t be wasted!" Liang Anya interrupted him. After thinking for a moment, she said firmly, "Money can always be earned later, but opportunities, once missed, are gone forever. Brother, go ahead and focus wholeheartedly on starting your own company."