Upon seeing this, Su Tong could only try to persuade her son. “Dongdong, your father is very busy so it’s natural that he’d get impatient sometimes. When you grow up and are able to share his burdens, everything will be fine. All you have to do now is to study hard and focus on your studies. When your grades are good, your father will naturally be happy as well. You have to listen to him; you’re his only son after all. In the future, the Ning family will be yours so you have to work harder, alright?”

Ning Dong slowly turned to look at Su Tong before he said, “Mother, father doesn’t like me. What if he doesn’t hand over the Ning Group to me in the future?”

Su Tong did not take his words to heart. She said, “You’re being silly. You’re his only son after all. If he doesn’t hand the Ning Group to you, who’s he going to hand it over to? Let me tell you, families like ours are similar to the Imperial Family in ancient times. Most emperors disliked the crown princes because the crown princes would inherit the country. Son, you just have to bear with it for now, okay? Don’t contradict him. The Ning family and the Ning Group will eventually be yours.”

Ning Dong said coldly, “I have an older sister, right?”

Su Tong stared at the tense expression on her son’s childish face in shock.

Ning Dong continued to say, “Since I have an older sister, if she returns to the family one day, there’s no guarantee father will let me take over the Ning family.”

Su Tong squatted down, drawing level with her son, before she said, “Son, can you help mother? It’s for our future…”

Ning Dong looked down at Su Tong, waiting for her to continue.

“I need to contact a few people outside, but your father keeps a close watch on me. Can you help me? I promise I won’t let Ning Xia return to the Ning family. I won’t let anyone be a stumbling block to my son.”

…

Ye Cheng looked at his assistant expressionlessly as his assistant reported the results of the investigation to him.

“Song Ning is a Ph.D. student in M University’s Department of Chinese Medicine. Her grades are very good. It’s possible that she’ll continue to work with the hospital she’s attached to after her graduation; it all depends on her ability. Her family background isn’t very strong. Both her parents died, and her mother left her an undisclosed amount of inheritance. She also has an embroidery store that’s on the verge of closing down. Most of her employees have left. However, recently, the store suddenly closed for renovation. Cheng Che has been coming in and out of the store as well. It’s likely that President Mu is helping her with the store.”

The assistant continued to say, “Song Ning and Fu Le, the Young Master of the Fu family, used to be a couple. Later on, Fu Le cheated on her with a nurse called Feng Man who’s also working in the same hospital as her. After breaking up with Fu Le, Song Ning registered her marriage with President Mu and moved to Cloudy Peak Villa on the same day. Since she studies Chinese medicine, she’s been taking care of Old Madam Mu’s health. It seems like Old Madam Mu likes her very much as well.” After that, he said, “Fu Le’s father is Fu Guo. Fu Guo reached out to you for financing previously.”

Ye Cheng looked up. “Oh? I don’t have much of an impression of him. I don’t think I agreed to his proposal, right?”

The assistant, Chen Chen, said respectfully, “No. However, you’re interested in the patents and the trademark of a private brand called Zhuang Ji that Fu Guo mentioned. You told him that you’ll discuss financing him if he obtains the trademark and patents.”

Ye Cheng looked at Chen Chen. “So this means Fu Guo doesn’t own the trademark and patents…”

Chen Chen nodded. “That’s right. The trademark and patents belong to Song Ning…”

Ye Cheng’s eyes brightened immediately, and he straightened his back. “And?”

“Fu Guo forced Fu Le to reconcile with Song Ning. Song Ning did not agree to it so the Fu family’s Old Madam used her illness as an excuse to check-in into the hospital. I’m sure she did everything she could to convince Song Ning, but her efforts were in vain. Moreover, Song Ning is aware of their intentions. For this reason, the Fu family is at their wit’s end now.”

Ye Cheng rose to his feet and laughed. The world was really small. Not only were these people somehow linked to each other, but their relationships were complicated as well. This was too exciting. There was bound to be a good show to watch.

On the contrary, Chen Chen seemed worried. “President Ye, since Song Ning’s married to President Mu, if he’s interested in the trademark and patents, it’s highly likely that he’ll be able to obtain them. If President Mu joins this industry as well, it won’t be favorable to us…”

Ye Cheng waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry, Mu Chen isn’t that kind of person. You don’t understand him. He’s rather prideful so he won’t covet his beloved wife’s assets. He has shrewd business acumen, but he has his flaws as well. In the past, Mu Chen, who’s like an impenetrable fortress, has one soft spot: his grandmother. However, Old Madam Mu is very capable. Therefore, even if Mu Chen has a soft spot for her, she did not become his weakness. In fact, she even became his armor. However, Mu Chen now has Song Ning as well. Song Ning is different from Old Madam Mu. If we want to take down Mu Chen, we’ll have to start with Song Ning.” A smug smile appeared on his face at the end of his words.

Chen Chen could not help but feel slightly excited upon hearing this. After a beat, he added, “However, we couldn’t find anything about Song Ning before she was 16 years old…”

Ye Cheng furrowed his brows slightly, “What do you mean you can’t find anything?”

Chen Chen considered his words carefully before he said, “It seems like she lived in a small town in Jiangnan before she turned 16. However, everything is very vague, and there’s no concrete evidence to prove that.”

‘Jiangnan?’ Song Ning’s beautiful face appeared in Ye Cheng’s mind for a moment. ‘Indeed. She has the gentle temperament of a Jiangnan woman.’

After a moment, Ye Cheng said indifferently, “It doesn’t matter. What we have is enough…”