Ni Jingqiu did not treat Su Tao like an outsider. She got him to wait on the couch while she swiftly sorted out her matters. Watching her, Su Tao had to admit that Ni Jingqiu was more serious than he had imagined when she’s working.

In the whole matter, a director was called in and she reprimanded him for the wrong figures in the finance report.

Those that have seen a finance report should know that the numbers are insane, especially for a company like Newlight Media, since they would have different figures for each subsidiary company. Thus, one could tell how meticulous Ni Jingqiu was from how she managed to remember the profits and cash flow in the balance sheet.

After Ni Jingqiu sorted out her matters, she did not forget about Su Tao’s issue, and it was handled much more straightforwardly than he had imagined.

Soon, Su Tao received a call from Yan Jing. There was a result from the investigation. The Three Flavour Hall was fined ¥2,000 for maliciously registering patents that didn’t belong to them.

For the Three Flavour International, who wanted to be free from all the problems, ¥2,000 was nothing to them. It’s basically resolving a huge problem at a low cost.

At the same time, Yan Jing was also curious about how Su Tao resolved this matter, but Su Tao did not reveal that he was currently in Ni Jingqiu’s office. He only explained that a good friend of his helped him in this matter.

China might be a lawful society, but human relations were also important. At the same time, having money didn’t always work, but having a powerful network never fails.

Although Ni Jingqiu said that it’s a family banquet, it wasn’t like how Su Tao had imagined, with a few members of the Ni Family sitting down to have a meal. There would be tables all around with the Ni Family inviting their friends over as well.

Putting it in a nutshell, this was a gathering in Beijing where practically anyone influential would participate, that included both the business industry and government sector. They would gather together to build more connections, find opportunities, and exchange their resources.

Typically, the people invited were fixed, and new faces were rare. The initial intention was for descendants from the various families to get familiar with each other so that they could work together once they’ve grown up and inherited their family business.

But as time passed, it had been turned into a mutual understanding that the various prominent families would take turns to host it, which the Ni Family was responsible for organising it this time.

Generally speaking, Ni Jingqiu would have brought her fiancé with her if Huo Kun wasn’t in trouble. But after Ni Jingqiu broke up with Huo Kun, it became known throughout the entire circle in Beijing. Thus, everyone thought that Ni Jingqiu wasn’t willing to come along, which was why she got Su Tao to accompany her.

After Ni Jingqiu explained the motive behind this gathering, Su Tao wryly smiled. “If this was some other situation, it’s fine for me to accompany you. But this gathering is being hosted by your parents, and you have just broken up with Huo Kun. Won’t it be awkward for me to accompany you?”

“You’re pretty sensitive, but you cannot refuse it. I helped you, so you have to help me as well.” Ni Jingqiu smiled.

Su Tao knew that Ni Jingqiu wanted him to come along to treat her mother and divert the attention by using him as a topic to pull everyone’s attention from Huo Kun.

“I feel a little anxious!” Su Tao bitterly smiled. “What if we were misunderstood? After all, I have a girlfriend!”

“What misunderstanding?” Ni Jingqiu smiled.

“You’ve just broken up with Huo Kun, and you’ve got yourself such an outstanding and young man. People might think that I was the one that intruded into your relationship and broke the two of you up.” Su Tao analysed.

“Firstly, the fastest way to forget the old relationship is to start a new one. Secondly, you truly are the reason why Huo Kun and I broke up, so it’s not an exaggeration to call you a third party. Lastly, don’t sing yourself in praises. If I wasn’t finding an opportunity for you to take a look at my mother, it’s not hard for me to find a partner to this gathering. After all, a three-legged toad might be hard to find, but two-legged men are everywhere.” Ni Jingqiu countered.

“Your first and second part makes some sense, but there’s something wrong with your last point.” Su Tao smiled as he corrected, “Men are all three-legged; it’s not easy to find a two-legged one.”

His words left Ni Jingqiu in a brief stun before she smiled. “In the past, I had found that you’re pretty steady and even unsophisticated. But I never expected that your mouth was pretty formidable after getting to know you.”

Thickening his skin, Su Tao smiled. “I’m someone on the slow side, but once you get to know me, you will find that I’m pretty interesting.”

“You’re pretty good at singing praises to yourself. You must have cheated the hearts of many girls, right?” Ni Jingqiu was the same as other women who were auditory animals. After being together with Huo Kun for a long time, it was no longer as novel as the beginning. They’ve forgotten the joy of bickering, in which Ni Jingqiu found a new sensation from Su Tao.

Shaking his head, Su Tao solemnly replied, “Don’t misunderstand me. I never lie, especially to women.”

“That’s the biggest lie there.” Ni Jingqiu waved her finger.

Hearing her words, Su Tao became a little anxious, but he pretended to be calm and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I feel that you should confess it yourself.” Ni Jingqiu smiled.

Su Tao instantly knew that he could no longer hide the matter about him and Gu Rushan, so he sighed, “Living in this world, there are times where we’re required to tell a white lie without any benefits aside from helping others. I feel that this sort of lie should be forgiven.”

Looking at Su Tao with a smile on her lips, Ni Jingqiu felt that the former was interesting, so she pursued, “Carry on. I want to listen to what kind of twisted logic you have concocted before deciding if I should forgive you!”

Letting out a sigh, Su Tao explained, “Rushan is an independent and strong-willed woman. She can clearly live an easy life, but she has persevered in Beijing for so long to fight for her dreams. I was touched by her, and I felt that it’s worth it if I could change her life by going against my principle to tell a white lie.”

“Alright, I believe you. Actually, I’ve already found something amiss with you and Gu Rushan, but I just did not talk about it.” Ni Jingqiu sighed.

Nodding his head, Su Tao smiled. “This is a weak lie, and I also thought that you would continue to play along with us.”

Tilting her head, Ni Jingqiu briefly pondered before she smiled. “I have a better suggestion, and I’ll forgive you if you promise me.”

“Oh?” Su Tao gave a curious look towards Ni Jingqiu.

“The reason why you guys lied to me was because of Gu Rushan. She wanted to make use of me to obtain the role, so I have a request for you. You and I will keep it a secret from Gu Rushan.” Ni Jingqiu playfully smiled as she continued, “You have to promise me that you must not let Gu Rushan know that I’ve already seen through your lies.”

Letting out a sigh, Su Tao found that Ni Jingqiu was a pretty kind person. In this manner, Gu Rushan wouldn’t be placed in an awkward position. Thus, he smiled in disdain. “I really have no idea why you women like to live in lies.”

“It’s because the heart of a woman is like a needle in the bottom of the ocean!” Ni Jingqiu smiled.

Gu Rushan lied to her, so she lied to Gu Rushan as well. This was also an act of logical revenge.

Women were hard to decipher, and Su Tao recalled how his mother warned him not to believe in women who seemed harmless. From Ni Jingqiu, he caught onto a scent of danger. Although Ni Jingqiu was kind, she might also be faking it.

However, women generally showed their vicious side during battles against other women. At the very least, he could confirm it from how kindly Ni Jingqiu treated him.

Su Tao frowned, which Ni Jingqiu misunderstood that he was worried about Gu Rushan.

Hence, she smiled and explained, “You don’t have to be too worried. My impression of Rushan is pretty good, and she’s a diligent woman. I only want to play a joke on her.”

“You’re more playful than I’ve imagined!” Su Tao weakly smiled as his heart loosen up.

Letting out a sigh, Ni Jingqiu replied, “You’re pretty accurate about that, and I like it! But you must know that everyone has to be smart in this circle.”

“Your parents must have taught you since young that you must be flexible, right?” Su Tao evaluated.

“In the eyes of others, they must think that descendants of wealthy families must have something wrong with their heads, but that’s not the case. You can take a look at them yourself tonight, and they will surely change your mindset. There are quite a few monsters within.” Ni Jingqiu wryly smiled.

Su Tao agreed with Ni Jingqiu’s judgment. The chances of having a capable father and a useless son were low, and even ordinary folks knew that their kids cannot lose right from the starting line, not to mention those influential families. Under elite education, none of them were pushovers.

Shaking his head, he smiled. “I’m not interested in the conflict between them, so I will focus on your mother’s condition.”

“The reason why I want you to meet my mother under this circumstance is so that she won’t be nervous. My mother has seen many doctors, and there haven’t been any results. As time passed, she slowly built up a rejection for doctors.” Ni Jingqiu let out a lasting sigh.

Su Tao nodded his head. If Ni Jingqiu’s mother also had innate asthma, then she must have tried all sorts of treatments. Thus, he smiled. “It has been tough on you, but I will do my best.”