Xu Xiaojiao stood at the back of the crowd, her face as calm as the sea and dark as water.
At first, when Grandpa announced his intention to give the company she had poured her heart and soul into over to Mu Jinyu, she didn't utter a word, though deep inside she still thought that being connected with Mu Jinyu meant Grandpa was looking out for her.
But then, upon hearing that the remaining ten percent of the shares weren't in her hands, but had been transferred to Xu Qingya...
In her mind, suddenly, there was a loud boom, as if a bomb had exploded, blowing her head into a buzzing daze, and she could no longer hear what Grandpa was saying afterward.
Feeling the pity and sympathy cast upon her by the people around her, Xu Xiaojiao, with her shattered mentality, felt they were all mocking her. At that moment, she truly wanted to rush up and slap them, telling them to get lost. What were they looking at...
But her last shred of rationality prevented her from creating such a scene.
Her palms, however, were pierced by her slightly sharp nails, bleeding profusely.
She stood powerless at the back of the crowd, her head hung low, letting Xu Tianzheng transfer her ten percent of the shares to Xu Qingya, letting him unjustly strip away the essence of her hard work, feeling as if her heart was dripping blood, drop by drop.
Reflecting on the recent past, she had spent all kinds of energy and connections to promote the upcoming new cosmetic product; now, it had all been for nothing...
A sense of unwillingness slowly mounted in her heart!
If she had mocked Mu Jinyu before and had to pay a price for it, today, hadn't she already slapped herself several times as punishment? She had accepted that punishment.
But why should she, after being punished, have to hand over what originally belonged to her to someone she didn't even like?!
Just because Mu Jinyu wouldn't like her, just because Xu Qingya wouldn't make Mu Jinyu feel disgusted and could gain his favor, could Grandpa be so fickle and let her essence be used to benefit Xu Qingya?!
She, could not accept this!!
To give up something that was already within her grasp certainly wouldn't make many jump for joy, willingly.
Naturally, Xu Xiaojiao did not possess such a magnanimous spirit, to disregard her own gains and losses and to consider the greater good of the Xu family.
All she knew was that she had become a sacrificial lamb, her hard work a wedding dress for Xu Qingya!
Just like Family members of the Xu family who were not favored by Grandpa before, when they had decent resources, the partial Grandpa would transfer them to herself usually.
She had not understood their feelings before, but now, suddenly, she did.
And because of this, she harbored thoughts of revenge, impulsively wanting to follow the path of 'Jade and Stone Burn Together'.
…
Xu Qingya stood aside. After hearing Grandpa's words, she was initially stunned, and then, as comprehension dawned on her, she quickly began to waver with weakened hands, whispering timidly, "Grandpa, this… this won't do! It's not right!"
Upon hearing this, Xu Tianzheng thought Xu Qingya was saying it was inappropriate to casually give away the cosmetics company to Mu Jinyu, and his face darkened immediately, he asked displeasedly, "Won't do? What won't do?! What's not right?!"
Seeing that her Grandpa seemed somewhat displeased, Xu Qingya's tone became even weaker, and she explained in a low voice, "I… I've never managed any company, how can I manage a company? Moreover, that company was originally sister Xiaojiao's, it's not right for me to take her shares. I think it's better to give that ten percent of the shares and the cooperation with Little Mu in business matters to sister Xiaojiao. After all, she has been involved with the company for some time now…"
Xu Qingya's words stunned everyone present at the Xu family, all of them looking towards her, standing at the door, with disbelief.
They really didn't expect that, faced with such huge benefits, with such a juicy piece of the pie coming their way, she would actually choose to refuse and then defer?!
Was she spoiled and arrogant, aware that Xu Tianzheng wouldn't change his mind again, so she intentionally rejected the offer falsely, trying to gain Mu Jinyu's favor while also showing off to Xu Xiaojiao?
Seeing her timid and self-effacing gaze, everyone knew she didn't come from a privileged background and had always been bullied by everyone; she didn't have such thoughts.
Even if her acting skills were good enough to fool them all, they would still feel inferior to her and accept their defeat without complaints.
Even Xu Tianzheng, upon hearing Xu Qingya's words, felt very startled.
He had thought, by giving the ten percent of shares to this granddaughter, whom he hadn't favored much initially, one, he could compensate her, and two, he could also bridge the gap with Mu Jinyu, but he never expected that she would refuse.
In the many years he had controlled the Xu family until now, he had never seen anyone who would refuse when they heard he was going to allocate resources to them!
Even those who were deceitful and good at hiding their true intentions wouldn't dare to refuse such a distribution of benefits. They wouldn't falsely claim, "I'm not suitable, give it to someone else."
None of them dared to bet that he would not suddenly change his mind. If he took their words to heart and really gave the resources to someone else, they would truly have nowhere to cry.
Therefore, when it came to dividing interests, they would never pretend again, but would just laugh and tacitly agree by keeping silent.
To be honest, Xu Tianzheng had never seen a rejection like Xu Qingya's before.
Startled for a moment, Xu Tianzheng also felt his authority was being challenged, and said, "Are you sure?"
"Qingya is sure," Xu Qingya said, biting her thin lips and nodding slightly.
The Xu family members sensed that Xu Tianzheng seemed angered and might change his mind. They couldn't help but snicker to themselves, thinking that it served her right for her pretense, her feigned nobility; now that the old man is angry, that juicy piece of the pie is about to fly away.
Xu Xiaojiao felt the same way; some of her dissatisfaction, frustration, and anger dissipated. She stared hatefully at Xu Qingya, feeling much more relieved.
'Go ahead and act all noble, now look at you. If Grandfather gives the shares and the position back to me, don't expect any gratitude from me! You bitch!'
Xu Xiaojiao sneered inwardly.
"Alright, alright, alright..." Xu Tianzheng, seeing Xu Qingya's determination, sneered several times and was about to give the order to return the ten percent of the shares to Xu Xiaojiao.
However, Mu Jinyu suddenly said, "What makes you unsuitable? I think you're very suitable. If it were anyone else with me in that company, I would directly kick her out of the company, leaving her without a position, just like any other shareholder, only awaiting dividends."
Mu Jinyu's statement was very straightforward—if they didn't give Xu Qingya that share, he would similarly not allow that person to help him manage the company but would instead tell them to get lost.
Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Xu Tianzheng's expression fluctuated, and Xu Xiaojiao's face turned pale as she stared at Mu Jinyu, wishing desperately she could devour him alive.
Her hatred at this moment was even more intense than when her grandfather informed her yesterday that she had to slap herself a hundred times.