Chapter 30: If Only Xiaofeng Were Here...

At a time like this, she was still pestering him about such matters?!

In an instant, Lin Feng felt a surge of disgust. "Are you finished?" he snapped, his voice cold and harsh—the last remnants of his patience had clearly been worn away.

Xu Panzi seemed startled into silence, her words abruptly cut off.

Lin Feng continued, "I'm no longer part of your Xu family. I don't know where you get the nerve to ask me for money. Don't call me again, or I'll report you for harassment!"

Xu Panzi had never expected Lin Feng to speak to her so ruthlessly!

She hurriedly protested, "No, Xiaofeng, how did you become like this? You used to—"

"The past is the past. Now is now!" Lin Feng replied icily, then, without hesitation, hung up the phone.

On the other end, Xu Panzi was left in stunned silence, listening to the cold beep as the line disconnected.

Lin Feng had always treated her with respect and humility. After high school, she had gone abroad on her own. Though it was sometimes lonely, Lin Feng would often share stories from home with her, and she never had to worry about money.

After the recent incident at home, she too had thought Lin Feng had gone too far—after all, Xiao Jie was her own brother. The sight of him lying in a hospital bed had left her angry and upset.

After visiting home and seeing Xiao Jie, she had flown back overseas. Only a few days ago, her academic advisor had reminded her about her tuition, and she realized then that it had been a long time since any money had been transferred into her account.

She quickly called Xiao Jie; at first, he sent her two thousand yuan, but later complained that, having just taken over the company, he couldn’t free up more funds.

That was when she realized she was running out of money and instinctively called Lin Feng.

She never imagined Lin Feng would be so heartless now!

Angrily, Xu Panzi dialed her eldest sister Xu Zhiqing.

"Elder sister, did you ask them? When are you going to transfer the money? The school is already chasing me for my tuition!"

Xu Zhiqing was taken aback. "Xiao Jie hasn’t sent you the money yet?"

"No! It’s been days. The school says if I don’t pay by the end of the month, I won’t be allowed to stay..." Xu Panzi’s voice was tinged with anxiety.

"Don’t worry," Xu Zhiqing said quickly. "The company is in the middle of a major reorganization, and Xiao Jie just started, so he’s still unfamiliar with things. How much is your tuition for the year?"

"Two hundred and thirty thousand."

"So much?!" Xu Zhiqing was stunned. She hadn’t realized her younger sister’s tuition was so expensive.

"Yes! You forgot, didn’t you? I didn’t have the grades, so we had to pay for me to get in," Xu Panzi reminded her.

Xu Zhiqing pressed her lips together. It wasn’t that she forgot—she simply had never known about it.

Previously, Lin Feng had handled her sister’s tuition and all the household expenses. She herself only commuted to work, sitting in her office, drinking tea, signing documents, and never had to worry about a thing.

But now...

Forget it!

Xu Zhiqing shook off her thoughts. "I’ll speak to Mom and Dad. We’ll find a way to cover your tuition. Just focus on your studies."

"Alright." Xu Panzi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Please hurry, though. The school won’t wait."

"Yes, yes."

After hanging up, Xu Zhiqing rubbed her aching eyes, feeling a headache coming on. A thick stack of Xu Family Trading Company files was piled on her desk.

Ever since Lin Feng left, Xiao Jie had spent more than ten days in the hospital, leaving all the documents stacked up for her.

She’d been working overtime for half a month straight.

Previously, her days in the office were spent drinking tea and playing on her phone. As soon as Lin Feng told her where to sign, she’d simply write her name, nothing more.

She’d seen Lin Feng review documents with impressive speed and talk business with assistants in a highly professional manner, so she’d never interfered.

Now, only when she had to do it herself did she realize that every contract needed to be checked, page by page, on top of handling the daily affairs of the company and holding board meetings twice a week...

Everything had fallen on her shoulders.

If only Xiaofeng were still here...

Xu Zhiqing massaged her temples, eyes half-closed, and memories of Lin Feng drifted into her mind.

Back when she was playing video games, Lin Feng would stand behind her, massaging her shoulders while cheering her on.

"Sis, you’re amazing!"

"Wow! A triple kill!"

"My sister truly is the best! You’re incredible!"

But now...

"Elder sister, have you finished reviewing the contract? I have plans to go sing karaoke with friends tonight, so I’ll just sign it first..."

Just then, as she was brooding, Xiao Jie barged in, full of energy.

Seeing the bandage wrapped around his head, Xu Zhiqing couldn’t help but scold, "You’re still not resting when you’re injured!"

"It was an old classmate..." Xiao Jie scratched his head, noticing her disapproval and lowering his voice with a touch of grievance. "Sis, I’ve never been to a karaoke place before. My classmates invited me, so I thought I’d go see what it’s like..."

His voice was soft and pitiful, like an abandoned child.

A pang of sympathy welled up in Xu Zhiqing’s heart. Back then, although they never had much money, their parents ran a courier station, and she and her siblings never lacked for the occasional entertainment.

She said nothing more, nor did she scold him. "Alright, just be safe. You can sign the documents tomorrow."

"Thank you, sis!" Xiao Jie’s face instantly lit up with a smile as he dashed out in high spirits.

Xu Zhiqing looked at the fifty thousand she’d managed to save in her account, sighed, and finally transferred thirty thousand to Xu Panzi.

Then, picking up her phone, she called her father, Xu Tangde.

"Dad, did the contract we discussed with Yihan Group last month get finalized?"

Xu Tangde was silent for a moment. "Not yet. They said they’d contact us when there’s news. Why, is there a problem at the company?"

"Not exactly," Xu Zhiqing admitted honestly. "But in preparation for that big Yihan order, our cash flow has halved these past two months. If there’s still no confirmation from their side, maybe we should take on some regular orders for now."

"Don’t worry. I’ll check with them..."

...

Ziguang Mansion.

In her office, Chu Lingshuang sat upright in a white blouse, her long hair swept up high, exuding poise and authority as she reviewed the contracts on her desk.

When her gaze landed on the words "Xu Group," her brows arched slightly.

"Xueyan, has the logistics company for Yihan’s batch of goods for the first half of the year still not been signed?"

On the computer screen before her, Yu Xueyan looked up, thought for a moment, and nodded. "Not yet. It should be soon. The capital has developed quickly in recent years, and many new companies have sprung up. The board wants to try a different partner this time..."