The time of the city

Chapter 182 Looking for Answers

Thanks to the extensive pre-launch publicity and promotion, the popularity of the Ni's press conference livestream soared exponentially. In just a few moments, the number of viewers surged to 10 million. And once the reservation channel opened, the scene was even more popular than expected. In less than half an hour, the number of reservations soared, surpassing the previous record.

This miraculous achievement was beyond Ni Jiamu's imagination. However, compared to the huge success of the new product launch, what Ni Jiamu cared about more deeply was that after finishing his busy work, he could finally spend plenty of time with Mo Yu.

Just as Ni Jiamu was immersed in joy, Leng Xiyan approached with graceful steps. She was wearing a finely tailored dress that perfectly outlined her graceful figure. She had a proper smile on her face, but a subtle hint of expectation was hidden in her eyes.

"Jiamu, congratulations! Ni's stock has gone up several points. After the press conference, do you want to celebrate together?"

Ni Jiamu nodded slightly, his eyes instantly becoming distant: "No, Miss Leng, thank you for your kindness."

After he finished speaking, he took out his cell phone, opened the monitoring software, and looked at the screen. While watching Mo Yu's situation, he hurried out without noticing the disappointment that flashed in Leng Xiyan's eyes.

Leng Xiyan watched Ni Jiamu's receding figure, a pang of bitterness welling up in her heart. Just then, Hao Qingqing folded her arms, a mocking smile on her lips, and slowly approached.

"Miss Leng, why are you still so immature? When I was in junior high school, I heard that you were always chasing Ni Jiamu. How come so many years have passed? Why are you still like this?"

Leng Xiyan's fair cheeks flushed instantly when she heard this. Her brows knitted tightly together, and a flame of anger ignited in her eyes. She turned her head and stared coldly at Hao Qingqing, saying word by word:

"Ms. Hao, our two families have never had any business dealings, and I don't think I've ever offended you in any way, right?"

Hao Qingqing, however, acted as if she hadn't heard Leng Xiyan's questioning. She chuckled and waved her hand, "No, no, I'm just kindly reminding you not to cling to Ni Jiamu. Your persistent pursuit has spread throughout our circle. I also heard that you accepted Lin Haoqing's proposal, and I thought you had finally come to terms with it. I didn't expect that Miss Leng is still so 'loyal' today."

Hao Qingqing thought to herself that she would never tell Leng Xiyan that she had been keen on gossip about these two people in the high school department since junior high school. After so many years, this matter was still a topic of conversation that she enjoyed talking about.

Leng Xiyan was so angry that she was shaking all over. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down: "I advise Miss Hao to watch her mouth." After that, she swung her skirt hard, turned around angrily and left the venue, leaving Hao Qingqing standing there, smiling triumphantly.

Meanwhile, in the Qiao Building, the Nishi press conference was a hot topic among the employees. Groups of people gathered, whispering about the new Nishi products and expressing admiration for Ni Jiamu. Nan Feng, passing through the office area, naturally overheard snippets of their conversation.

After returning to his office, Nan Feng sat at his desk and, with a hint of curiosity and doubt, searched the Internet for some information about Ni's new products.

When he saw the information Ni had recently released about Qiao stealing trade secrets, he was stunned. He clearly remembered Qiao Zhengrong once swore to him that this was a conspiracy by Ni Jiamu to maliciously frame Qiao.

But he just couldn't understand, if he was really slandered and framed, with Qiao Zhengrong's temper and tough style, why didn't the Qiao family make any response and just silently endured it all?

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to dig out some useful clues from the depths of his memory, but his mind was a tangled mess, becoming increasingly confused the more he thought. Every time he forced himself to recall, it felt like his head was being hammered, the pain making him break out in a cold sweat. In desperation, Nan Feng decided to go back and ask Qiao Zhengrong in person.

In the evening, Nan Feng returned home. As soon as he entered the castle, he noticed an oppressive and tense atmosphere.

The servants all lowered their heads, carefully cleaning, their movements so gentle that they could barely hear a sound. Seeing Nan Feng walk in, they simply greeted him in a whisper before quickly lowering their heads and returning to their work, as if they were afraid of getting into trouble over the slightest mistake.

Nan Feng looked at the scene before him, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity. He subconsciously slowed his pace and slowly ascended the stairs. As he reached the door of Qiao Zhengrong's study, he heard the rhythmic tapping of a cane on the floor. "Dong, dong, dong," each sound seemed to strike at Nan Feng's heart, causing his headache to ache even more.

"Ni Jiamu has stolen the limelight this time. Look at how he's praised online. Some say the Ni family is becoming more and more prosperous, while my Qiao family is on the decline." Qiao Zhengrong's voice came from the study, full of anger.

"If it weren't for Ah Feng's mischief, it would be Ni Jiamu who would be scratching his head now." Another voice echoed.

Nan Feng was startled when he heard his name, and subconsciously reached out and pushed open the study door. "Grandpa, did I do something wrong earlier? I don't understand what you're saying. Is the new product Ni's launched today related to Qiao's?"

Faced with Nan Feng's sudden intrusion and this series of questions, Qiao Zhengrong was slightly stunned at first, then cleared his throat, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring.

"Afeng, grandpa just thinks that if you do this, you will definitely do it better than Ni Jiamu." Qiao Zhengrong's gaze pierced through the swirling smoke and fell on Nan Feng's face, with an elusive look in his eyes.

"But……"

"Don't think about the past. Grandpa can't harm you. Your only goal now is to expand the Qiao family. Go out, and don't come back unless necessary."

Nan Feng was extremely upset because all his questions were not answered. He said goodbye to Qiao Zhengrong and left the castle.

He always felt that he had lost a precious memory, and the harder he tried to remember it, the more distant those memories seemed to become.