Chapter 82 - The Unscrupulous Stepmother

“You slut, I’m talking about you!” Xiao Ding said with a venomous look.

Xiao Haimei was furious and yelled, “Someone, come here, get this bastard out!

Out!”

Immediately, several towering bodyguards rushed in from outside, and without a word, they began to push Xiao Ding out.

Xiao Ding kept cursing, “What are you trying to do?

What are you trying to do?

I am the eldest young master of the Xiao Family, the future heir of the Xiao Family.

If you dare to lay a hand on me, you’ll all be out of a job!”

However, those bodyguards were all loyal to Xiao Haimei alone and paid him no attention, looking at him as if he were a fool.

Before long, Xiao Ding was expelled from the chairman’s office.

Suddenly, the office became much more peaceful.

“This prodigal son, he almost squandered the family’s business, and he still thinks he will be the future of the Xiao Family?

Dream on!

It’s not the old times anymore where only sons, not daughters, inherit.

Hmm, I must work hard and live up to Grandfather’s expectations,”

Xiao Haimei swore to herself.

Thinking of her kind and amiable grandfather, warmth filled her heart.

Suddenly, she remembered the approaching birthday of her grandfather.

Yet, she had not prepared a birthday gift for him, which made her feel undutiful.

At that moment, an idea popped into her mind.

“Right, that prodigal brother Xiao Ding just mentioned that Ye Haochuan obtained an authentic piece by Gu Kaizhi, didn’t he?

Why don’t I contact him and buy it from him?”

With this thought, Xiao Haimei reached for her phone to dial Ye Haochuan’s number.

But at that moment, the ringtone for an incoming call sounded.

She looked down and saw to her surprise that it was a call from Mommy!

As soon as she pressed the answer button, a hysterical voice came through the speaker, “Xiao Haimei, you little bitch, now that you’re the chairwoman of Haishan University, you think you’re on top of the world, huh?

Let me tell you, you better fire that Ye Haochuan, or I won’t let this go!”

A look of disgust immediately appeared on Xiao Haimei’s face.

She was about to retort, but the other party hung up with a snap.

“Crazy!” Xiao Haimei rolled her eyes.

It might be hard for others to understand the terrible relationship between mother and daughter because this Mommy was not her birth mother, but her stepmother—the biological mother of that so-called big brother, Xiao Ding.

In fact, before her father married her mother, he was already entangled with her stepmother, who later gave birth to Xiao Ding.

So, after her mother died in childbirth with her, her father took the woman who had climbed up the social ladder as the “other woman” to be his new wife.

Ever since the stepmother entered the Xiao Family, she brought Xiao Ding along with her.

From then on, Xiao Haimei suffered constant abuse from her stepmother.

Even her father showed great disdain for her, blaming her for causing her mother’s death.

In the entire Xiao Family, only her grandfather treated her like a precious gem, nurturing and taking care of her, allowing her to weather through her twenties.

Her hatred for her stepmother stemmed not merely from the abuse she endured, but also from her meddling in Haimei’s marriage.

It was just last year when she returned from studying abroad in America that her stepmother introduced her to her nephew from her maternal side, evidently her stepmother’s former husband.

Initially, she was quite resistant to this match-making, but as the ex-husband proved to be adept in love affairs, and persistently pursued her, she gradually thawed and eventually agreed to be with him.

After dating for half a year under her stepmother’s persuasion and her father’s prodding, along with her grandfather’s eagerness for her to settle down, she passively chose to have a shotgun wedding.

However, on the night of her wedding, she unexpectedly found in her ex-husband’s WeChat messages that he had affairs with multiple women and that two were even pregnant with his children.

In that instant, she felt as though her entire world had collapsed; the betrayal of her feelings was something she couldn’t accept.

So, that evening, after the guests had livened up the bridal chamber, she took out all the evidence from her ex-husband’s mobile WeChat.

Her ex-husband was speechless at that moment.

Afterward, she refused to share a bed and slept in the spare bedroom.

But unexpectedly, her beast of an ex-husband crept into the spare bedroom, trying to force himself on her.

Luckily, she had learned some Taekwondo when she was young, and this allowed her to escape his clutches.

Since that night, she had moved out of the matrimonial home, lived separately from her ex-husband, and, when it could no longer be hidden, began preparations for a divorce.

But her ex-husband, being the shameless man he was, kept refusing to sign the papers, which was why the divorce was dragging on.

Therefore, she found the irresponsible marriage-pushing by her wicked stepmother even more repellent.

In fact, as the divorce scandal broke out, her furious grandfather sent people to investigate her ex-husband’s background; it turned out that the pursuit by her ex-husband had all been instigated by her stepmother.

The stepmother’s calculations were meticulous: she wanted to drive her out of the Xiao Family so that her own son could monopolize the family’s entire inheritance.

It was for this reason that her grandfather, in a fit of rage, had severely reprimanded the stepmother and stripped Xiao Ding of his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors at Haishan University, though he kept his seat on the board of the Xiao Group.

And as compensation, she had taken over as the Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at Haishan University.

Haishan University, founded by the Xiao Group, wasn’t like the other subsidiaries with significant authority, but its importance was exceptional.

All of the Xiao Group’s future talents were concentrated there.

Whoever controlled the university controlled the future of the Xiao Group.

Now, the stepmother’s phone call to threaten her was nothing more than another complaint to her father, prompting her father to reprimand her, as usual.

However, she had long since grown accustomed to this and had long given up any expectations for her father, who took advantage and betrayed his own.

At the moment, what was most important was preparing a birthday gift for her grandfather and fulfilling her duty of filial piety.

With that in mind, she dialed Ye Haochuan’s number, and soon, from the other end of the phone, came the giggly voice of that big lecher: “Hey, Sister Mei, is it your cervical spondylosis acting up again, do you need me to give you a massage?”

This bad rascal was always so improper.

Xiao Haimei couldn’t help but feel helpless but thought it best to talk face to face with him about getting the original work by Gu Kaizhi, so she said, “Yes, Doctor Ye, I feel some pain in my neck and waist again, I wonder if you’re available now?”

“Available?

Of course, I am available.

Right now, all four girls in the dorm have gone to class, and I’m bored sick here alone, heh heh.”

“Then come to my office.”

“Okay!”

After hanging up the phone, Xiao Haimei suddenly remembered something, called in her secretary, and said, “Go, fetch me the travel bag in my dressing room.

Remember, don’t unwrap it, do you hear me?”

“Yes!”

On the other side, Ye Haochuan, after hanging up the phone, was looking excited.

Damn, it’s been a day or two since he last teased the beautiful Chairwoman!