Reversed Life: Chapter 27 - Villain: I Think I Can Still Be Saved
Chapter 27: Villain: I Think I Can Still Be Saved
At exactly ten o’clock on a weekday morning, a new message suddenly popped up in the group chat for the corporation’s assistant department.
After one minute of dead silence, the entire office erupted into chaos. Someone happened to push open the office door carrying documents and froze at the war-zone-like scene inside. “What’s going on? Did something huge happen? …Don’t tell me that new project ran into problems again?”
That shouldn’t be it. Although the newly launched project had encountered plenty of setbacks, it shouldn’t be enough to make this group of battle-hardened veterans panic like this.
The people hurriedly tidying their desks all turned to look at her with indescribable expressions. After a long pause, someone finally spoke: “Hurry and notify your department head. Avoid bad luck this morning—Chairman Qiao brought the young master here.”
“…………”
The sound of documents dropping to the floor.
**
The business van was extremely spacious. Mu Xiangxiang sat in the last row, while Father Qiao and Qiao Rui sat in the middle. Actually, back in the garage, Father Qiao had suggested splitting into two cars—he could ride with Mu Xiangxiang alone—but Qiao Rui ignored him completely and directly told the driver to switch to a vehicle with more seats.
Mu Xiangxiang had assumed he wanted the family together to chat. Who knew that once they got in the car, nobody spoke at all. From beginning to end, Qiao Rui sat with a furrowed brow, staring seriously at the tablet in his hands as if handling documents.
After a little thought, Mu Xiangxiang roughly understood the situation. She didn’t know much about the Qiao family business, but over the past few days at home, she’d occasionally overheard father and son discussing it. Apparently, a project the company had started last year had been going poorly. A major problem had already erupted before the Lunar New Year, and even now it still hadn’t been fully resolved.
She didn’t know exactly how troublesome the issue was. But these past few days, she had personally witnessed the father and son’s routine at home. She herself was already the type of student who pushed desperately hard—studying and reviewing constantly while only allowing herself about six hours of sleep each day. Yet every night before going to bed, she would still see Qiao Rui and Father Qiao working. The scariest part was that by the time she woke up the next morning, the two of them were usually already awake as well.
Although they weren’t her real family, after living together for a while she had still grown emotionally attached. Watching them ignore their health and work this desperately left a bitter feeling in her chest.
Her own family had once experienced something similar. Back then, her father’s health problems had worsened because of repeated weather changes, triggering lingering complications from a past accident and forcing him into hospitalization. The enormous hospital and medical expenses made their already poor finances even worse. Even Mu Xiangxiang’s competition prize money couldn’t fill the gap. In desperation, Mother Mu gritted her teeth and took on two more part-time jobs, running around recklessly every single day.
The level of desperation was probably about equal to that of this father-and-son pair.
Her own family, and Qiao Nan’s family—though their professions differed—were ultimately both just parents working hard to support their households.
At the time, Mu Xiangxiang had felt terrible for her mother. She wasn’t good at expressing emotions, so whenever her mother returned home exhausted late at night, all she could do was pour her a cup of hot water and massage her shoulders.
Now that it was Qiao Nan’s father and brother, she still couldn’t help much, nor did she know how Qiao Nan usually handled situations like this. So she could only try her best to stay quiet and obedient, avoiding causing trouble for them.
Thinking of Qiao Nan…
She lowered her head and stared at his profile picture in her contact list. Their conversation still remained at the single message Qiao Nan had sent during his period: [Come over.]
Mu Xiangxiang typed a few words, then slowly deleted them again.
Through the rearview mirror, Assistant Xiao Lou noticed her slightly furrowed brows and nearly suffocated in the deathly silence filling the car.
Thanks to work, over the years he had encountered quite a few wealthy families. Their common trait was that they were all exceptionally good at pretending. Even if they were privately tearing each other apart so badly that everyone in the industry knew about it and gossip spread everywhere, the so-called heirs could still stand face to face and act like affectionate brothers.
But the Qiao family truly did not follow the usual script. Right in front of the family patriarch, they were openly performing “I’m treating you like air”?
By the time they got out of the car, Assistant Xiao Lou’s back was almost soaked with sweat. Holding the documents, he walked in front so stiffly that he nearly moved in sync with both arms and legs, praying in his heart that none of the executives would recklessly walk into the line of fire today.
After the assistant ran ahead to press the elevator button, Father Qiao suddenly remembered what he’d neglected during the drive. He hurriedly stopped and turned toward his youngest son walking behind them. The calm expression on his son’s face made him somewhat at a loss. “Uh, Nannan…”
Qiao Rui, whose mind had been immersed in work, was abruptly snapped back to reality by those words. He immediately turned around too, suddenly filled with regret. When he’d opened the tablet earlier, he’d only intended to check for important schedule items. But out of habit, he’d unconsciously started working just like before, completely forgetting that they’d switched cars and his younger brother was sitting in the back seat. Thinking about it now, his brother hadn’t made a single sound during the ride. Had he gotten angry from being ignored?
Qiao Rui wanted to explain, but he was terrible with words. His brows knotted tightly. Mu Xiangxiang, who had fallen slightly behind, finally caught up with the group. “Hm?”
Father Qiao studied his son’s unreadable expression. In the past, his pride would never have allowed him to explain himself over such a small concern. But perhaps because he’d already experienced how much warmer the family atmosphere became once he started taking initiative, after a moment’s thought he still spoke: “Uh… were you bored on the way here? Some company documents came in earlier, and before I realized it, I neglected you…”
Mu Xiangxiang had thought he’d stopped her for something serious and had been a little nervous. Hearing this, she immediately relaxed. “It’s fine. Your work is more important.”
Warmth instantly welled up in Father Qiao’s chest, and his expression softened involuntarily. “As long as you’re not angry.”
Mu Xiangxiang was baffled. “Why would I be angry? You’re already busy enough. Don’t worry so much about me.”
The moment those words came out, not only Father Qiao but even Qiao Rui beside him froze briefly. The father and son exchanged a glance, both visibly moved. A moment later, Father Qiao turned around to hide his reddening eyes, muttering repeatedly: “Good, good, good…”
There was laughter in Qiao Rui’s gaze as well. The unpleasantness from that morning instantly vanished. As he turned toward the elevator, he proposed, “Once we get upstairs, come back to the general manager’s office with me—”
Before he could finish, Father Qiao interrupted from ahead: “No need, no need. Don’t you still have to go out this morning? Let him stay in my office instead, otherwise you’ll have to arrange someone to look after him later.”
A few seconds later, Assistant Xiao Lou—waiting inside the elevator—was greeted by a general manager whose face was dark as the bottom of a pot.
The company’s upper management had already received the news through their own channels. Those forced to come report work so early in the morning were inwardly miserable—especially when the elevator doors slowly opened to reveal Qiao Rui’s terrifyingly cold expression.
Everyone’s legs nearly gave out as they trembled forward clutching documents. “Chairman Qiao, General Manager Qiao…”
Already in a terrible mood, Qiao Rui took one look at their pathetic appearances and immediately knew something had gone wrong again. His voice was so cold it nearly froze the air. “Give it here.”
Taking the documents respectfully handed over by his subordinate, he had barely opened them when Father Qiao’s voice came from behind: “Then you discuss things with them first. I’ll take Nannan upstairs.”
Before Qiao Rui had either the time or reason to stop them, those figures quickly disappeared from the corner of his vision. Lowering his eyes to the document, he discovered that it was indeed the same project that had exploded with problems on New Year’s Eve, preventing him from going home to celebrate with his younger brother. His jaw tightened. “…Useless trash!”
The tightly huddled department managers collectively whimpered and nearly burst into tears.
**
“Holy shit, holy shit, did you hear? The young master came to the company today!”
“Your news is outdated! Not only did he come, Chairman Qiao personally brought him into his own office!”
“I heard he took him away right in front of General Manager Qiao!”
“The head of the marketing department saw it this morning. Said General Manager Qiao’s expression looked absolutely awful!”
“Damn, what does Chairman Qiao mean by this? Is he pushing the younger son into power? Did General Manager Qiao stretch his influence too far over the past few years and threaten his position?”
“Could be! General Manager Qiao’s been in the company for years. He’s probably built up plenty of loyal followers. I heard several directors on the board wanted to push him into power too…”
Mu Xiangxiang knew nothing about the storm of speculation raging inside the corporation. Not long after following Father Qiao to his office, he was urgently dragged away by a group of executives rushing in to report updates. Apparently, another issue had arisen with some problematic cross-border merger project. When he left, his steps were so anxious they practically cut through the wind.
Mu Xiangxiang was left alone in the office, completely at a loss.
Father Qiao’s office was extremely spacious. The décor was wooden throughout, luxurious yet old-fashioned. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, one could practically overlook the entirety of City A.
All of it felt unfamiliar to Mu Xiangxiang.
Out of politeness, she didn’t touch or rummage through anything. After slowly finishing a cup of tea in the guest seating area, she carefully recalled all the strange looks she’d received on the way upstairs. Only then did she realize she might have been thinking about coming to the Qiao company far too simply.
The people in the company all seemed to recognize Qiao Nan. And from the reactions of a few people who failed to fully hide their expressions, Mu Xiangxiang also realized they seemed extremely surprised that “Qiao Nan” had come to the company at all. Completely clueless about the reasons behind it, she frowned in thought for a while before silently taking out her phone.
Honestly, these past few days she hadn’t really wanted to contact Qiao Nan very much…
The call was picked up almost the instant it connected. Qiao Nan’s voice came through the receiver: “…Hello?”
Even though it was technically her own voice, for some reason Mu Xiangxiang’s ears started itching. She scratched them lightly, suddenly at a loss for words. After a pause, she bit her lip. “…Hello… it’s me…”
Qiao Nan scoffed. “Are you stupid? Like I wouldn’t know who you are?”
Mu Xiangxiang fell silent. Qiao Nan also stopped speaking. Only the steady sound of breathing remained through the phone.
The atmosphere once again slipped into that strange, indescribable territory. A moment later, Mu Xiangxiang remembered Qiao Nan’s impatient and irritable personality. Afraid he’d hang up, she hurriedly called out: “Qiao Nan…”
“Mm?”
A response almost gentle enough to count as tender sounded beside her ear.
At that moment, time suddenly seemed to slow down. Somewhat awkwardly, Mu Xiangxiang raised a hand to tuck back her hair— Then she realized she was currently using Qiao Nan’s body. Her rationality instantly returned.
Briefly and clearly, she reported: “Your dad and your brother brought me to the company today. Your dad left me in his office.”
“…” Qiao Nan’s voice immediately turned more serious. “Did you run into trouble?”
“Not exactly.” Mu Xiangxiang walked over to the office door and cracked it open, checking outside to make sure no one would suddenly overhear before quickly explaining her concerns.
“…Everyone’s acting really strangely. Why?”
Qiao Nan: “…………”
Of course Qiao Nan knew why. Which was precisely why, upon recalling all the glorious moments when he’d smashed things and fought with his father and older brother at the company, he suddenly felt deeply ashamed. Naturally, he had never reported these dark chapters of his history to Mu Xiangxiang. And because of his current mindset, it was even harder to admit now. After a long silence, he finally replied casually: “Maybe I left them with a bit of an impression before. It’s fine. Just pretend you don’t know anything. If there’s something you can’t handle, just yell at them directly.”
After all, he once held the record for personally smashing apart the door to Qiao Rui’s general manager office with his bare hands. Presumably nobody at the company had a death wish strong enough to proactively provoke him.
Mu Xiangxiang listened in confusion and was about to ask more when Qiao Nan quickly cut her off: “How about this—if you still feel uneasy, then if anything happens, just go directly to the business division and find the department head, Shi Jiajun. Don’t explain too much. Just use my name and tell him to help you solve it.”
Shi Jiajun? The name sounded vaguely familiar to Mu Xiangxiang. Thinking carefully, she remembered hearing it earlier from the group that had come to meet with Father Qiao. Curious, she asked, “What’s your relationship with him? A friend? Relative? Are you close?”
Housekeeper. Qiao Nan let out a soft laugh. “He’s my uncle.”
“Your uncle? Your mother’s younger brother…” The words had already left Mu Xiangxiang’s mouth before she remembered Qiao Nan’s mother had passed away. “Uh…”
“Mm. My mom’s youngest biological brother.” Qiao Nan’s tone didn’t sound particularly affected. He remained unusually patient. “My brother and I stayed with our grandmother’s family for a long time when we were little. He’s always been protective of me. If something happens, just go find him. Don’t worry.”
After hearing that, Mu Xiangxiang gave an “oh.”
Silence fell again. Listening to each other’s breathing, neither of them hung up. After a while, Mu Xiangxiang hesitantly spoke again: “Um… are you okay? Does it still hurt?”
Qiao Nan snorted lightly. “What do you think?”
Mu Xiangxiang said softly, “Putting something warm against it should help a little.”
Qiao Nan, tortured nearly beyond human endurance, mocked her without thinking: “What warm thing? You?”
Mu Xiangxiang: “……”
Qiao Nan: “……”
Qiao Nan immediately reacted. “…I mean—”
Mu Xiangxiang raised her voice. “I’m hanging up!”
“…………” Qiao Nan stared silently at his phone, his face dark as the bottom of a pot. A moment later, he suddenly lifted his head and roared at the members of the school basketball team sprawled miserably across the floor after practicing sit-ups all morning: “What are you staring at?! Keep training! With your current core strength, you think you can beat Jiahe?!”
One of the miserable green-haired boys lying there had tears brimming in his slanted eyes. Enduring intense pain in his abdomen, his mentality was already nearing collapse. Staring at the short-haired girl sitting cross-legged lazily on the mat—who had acted unbelievably arrogant since the moment she appeared—he finally shouted aggrievedly: “I’m not doing this anymore! Who do you think you are?!”
Qiao Nan tightened his grip on the phone and slowly turned toward him, killing intent gradually condensing in his eyes after suffering endless torment from menstruation.
Green-haired boy: “…………”
Suddenly, his abdominal muscles were filled with strength again!
After hanging up, Mu Xiangxiang stared blankly at the darkened phone screen for a while. She secretly pressed the back of her hand against her cheek, only snapping back to reality when she heard movement outside the office door.
The door opened. Led by Father Qiao, a group of stern-faced people flooded into the room. Mu Xiangxiang heard a bespectacled man beside him speaking rapidly: “…The merger project was handled in the later stages entirely by Department Head Shi. Now so many problems have surfaced, yet he says he knows nothing—”
The instant his gaze met Mu Xiangxiang’s, his voice cut off abruptly as though someone had grabbed his throat. Regret instantly appeared on his face, while the expressions of the people around him also turned strange.
As Mu Xiangxiang was wondering suspiciously about this, Father Qiao coughed. “That’s enough. This matter probably has nothing to do with Shi Jiajun. I know you suspect him, but I’ve known him for many years. I know exactly what kind of person he is.”
The bespectacled man responded awkwardly. From their conversation, Mu Xiangxiang immediately pieced things together. Oh. They were talking about Qiao Nan’s uncle.
Looks like Qiao Nan really was very close to him. These people were so afraid of “Qiao Nan” overhearing criticism of Department Head Shi that they practically stopped themselves mid-sentence. Perhaps they were worried “Qiao Nan” would get angry because of it?
Whether Qiao Nan would get angry or not was unclear. Mu Xiangxiang definitely wouldn’t. So under everyone’s nervous gazes, she merely nodded calmly.
The crowd visibly relaxed. A trace of pride and gratification flowed through Father Qiao’s eyes as his gaze swept across the idiots around him, carrying the mentality of a nouveau riche proudly showing off hidden treasure.
Just then, the office door—recently closed behind everyone—was knocked on again. Already seated, Father Qiao spoke steadily: “Come in.”
The door opened, and a tall, thin man walked in. He looked to be in his early thirties, dressed in a neat, spirited suit. He was fairly handsome, with a high nose, large eyes, and very thick lips. A faint smile rested on his face. Both his appearance and temperament gave off an honest, reliable feeling.
He didn’t seem particularly scheming. His gaze very obviously swept around the office once before landing on Mu Xiangxiang. He immediately smiled. It was the kind of affectionate smile family members gave each other.
Mu Xiangxiang was still hesitating when Father Qiao beside her spoke, addressing him just like a younger relative at home: “Jiajun, you’re here. Come sit, come sit.”
Mu Xiangxiang instantly realized— This was Shi Jiajun. Her thoughts flashed lightning-fast through her mind, and she quickly curved her lips into a faint compensatory smile.
Shi Jiajun, as expected, noticed nothing unusual. He responded with an “Ah,” walked over, withdrew the gentle gaze lingering on Mu Xiangxiang, then stopped beside Father Qiao, suddenly becoming somewhat restrained. “Chairman Qiao.”
Father Qiao smiled. “Why so formal? We’re all family here. Just call me brother-in-law.”
Shi Jiajun shook his head. “No, no, Chairman Qiao. That’s different in private. At the company, you’re my boss, hehe.”
Father Qiao felt a bit helpless about his brother-in-law’s dutifulness remaining unchanged after more than a decade, but it was also the thing he appreciated most about him—never borrowing others’ prestige for his own gain.
And because of that, Father Qiao trusted him deeply. He got straight to the point. “Tell us about it. The Guanghai merger project has been having problems since before the New Year. It’s a major project, and the company invested a great deal into it. Now they’re saying the leak regarding the operating price may be connected to your business division?”
Shi Jiajun’s face immediately turned pale. “That’s impossible!” he hurriedly explained. “I personally handled all those materials…”
He seemed extremely nervous, stumbling over his words, though his explanation itself was very clear. In essence, the confidential materials for the merger had been kept under very tight security. Aside from himself, only a tiny number of people in the business division could possibly have had access.
But instead of sounding like he was clearing his name, it almost sounded as though he was desperately pulling suspicion onto himself.
Yet the expressions of the executives in the office, led by Father Qiao, visibly eased. Even the bespectacled man who had spoken earlier silently turned his head away in exasperation. There was a trace of disdain in his gaze toward Shi Jiajun, but it seemed to be simple contempt rather than genuine suspicion.
By the time Shi Jiajun finally finished talking, he looked close to tears. Father Qiao listened to the explanation smiling amiably and said good-naturedly, “Alright, we’ll continue investigating this matter. Don’t get so worked up. Sit down and have some tea together. It’s been a long time since you’ve seen Nannan too, right?”
Shi Jiajun’s face was still flushed red. It took him a while to calm down before he looked toward Mu Xiangxiang with a nostalgic smile. “Yeah. Nannan really takes after my sister. The older he gets, the more handsome he becomes.”
Mu Xiangxiang met his gaze calmly, unsure how she should respond, so she simply picked up the small teapot from the kung fu tea tray and casually poured a cup for Father Qiao, who looked somewhat tired after the meeting.
Shi Jiajun paused at the sight. Something flickered in his eyes. “He’s also become more mature than before.”
Holding that tiny teacup, Father Qiao nearly trembled all over. If he hadn’t been too afraid to overdo things in front of his son, he probably would’ve outright asked Mu Xiangxiang to feed him.
The atmosphere in the office became much more harmonious. The three of them clearly looked like one family, so before long the “outsiders” tactfully rose and took their leave.
Shi Jiajun, who remained behind, looked a little uncomfortable. He shifted awkwardly on the sofa for a while before mumbling, “Chairman Qiao, then I’ll head out too.”
Accustomed to his brother-in-law’s honesty to the point of timidity, Father Qiao didn’t insist on keeping him. After Shi Jiajun stood up, he began subtly signaling Mu Xiangxiang with his eyes.
Thinking for a moment, she put down her teacup. “I’ll walk you out.”
Father Qiao let out two jealous hums. “You uncle and nephew are always escorting each other around. Your relationship’s better than that of an actual father and son.”
The moment the office door shut behind them, Shi Jiajun began patting his chest. “That scared me to death.”
Mu Xiangxiang said nothing, merely glanced sideways at him. He looked so lacking in scheming ability that he practically seemed stupid, but watching a middle-aged man patting his chest like that still felt oddly out of place to her.
Shi Jiajun was obviously very familiar with Qiao Nan. He immediately began rambling enthusiastically to Mu Xiangxiang about all sorts of delicious food and fun activities—street racing, gambling, yachts, deep-sea fishing, and the like. Mu Xiangxiang had zero interest in any of it. If he’d talked to her about study guides instead, she probably could’ve answered a few sentences.
His one-sided chatter came to an abrupt stop at the next corner. Shi Jiajun halted and also stopped Mu Xiangxiang. From the other side of the corner came the casual conversation of a group of executives waiting for the elevator.
“What exactly went wrong with the Guanghai merger project? I still can’t figure it out.”
“I used to suspect there was a problem with Director Shi’s business division, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Oh please. With that guy’s IQ? Didn’t you see him just now in front of Chairman Qiao? He practically looked ready to cry. And he’s the chairman’s brother-in-law, too. Completely hopeless.”
“That Shi guy seriously has insane luck. If he didn’t have a good older sister, forget being head of a business division—he’d probably be considered too stupid even to clean toilets.”
“Hahahahaha!”
“Hahahahaha!”
The elevator carried the laughter farther and farther away. Mu Xiangxiang glanced at the dejected man beside her. He really wore every emotion openly on his face.
After a moment, Shi Jiajun sighed and turned toward her, forcing out a strained smile. “It’s okay. I’m used to it already.”
Mu Xiangxiang hesitated briefly before patting his shoulder in consolation. Shi Jiajun’s smile became more genuine. The way he looked at her was full of affection. “That’s good. You’ve become more and more mature. Honestly, you should’ve been brought to the company for training a long time ago. After all, this place will eventually belong partly to you, too. If not for your brother…”
He suddenly stopped there. Mu Xiangxiang froze as well, catching the unfinished implication and giving him a questioning look.
Shi Jiajun awkwardly laughed to cover it up. “Nothing, nothing. I just mean… seeing you like this, if your mother knew in the afterlife, she’d definitely be very happy.”
As they spoke, the elevator arrived. Shi Jiajun hurried inside. Just as the doors were closing, he noticed his nephew still standing there blankly staring at him.
His face filled with the embarrassment of someone who’d said the wrong thing. He hurriedly waved goodbye. Then, the instant the elevator doors shut, every trace of expression and movement disappeared from his face.
Staring at the changing elevator numbers, Shi Jiajun looked calm to the point of emotionlessness. If anyone had seen him now, they would’ve been shocked by how utterly different his temperament was from his usual foolishly honest image.
His eyes were sharp with intelligence. After a long moment, a faint smile appeared.
Everything had been perfectly measured. Whether it was the suspicion surrounding the leak in the Guanghai merger project… Or those seemingly casual half-finished words he’d spoken to his nephew.
He understood every person around him, and he knew exactly what sort of behavior would lower their guard. For example, Qiao Yuanshan, who had favored “honest people” for decades. Or his nephews, who probably would never overcome their habit of bottling up their feelings and suspicions.
Both Qiao Rui and Qiao Nan loved keeping things buried inside. Even Qiao Yuanshan was the same.
Shi Jiajun had heard the gossip spreading wildly through the company that morning. Qiao Yuanshan had suddenly brought Qiao Nan to the company, openly showing trust toward his younger son right in front of his eldest son Qiao Rui, even bringing him directly into his office.
Shi Jiajun didn’t know why he’d done it. But he knew very clearly that Qiao Rui had exploded in anger at the Guanghai merger project team earlier that morning. General Manager Qiao was obviously dissatisfied with his father’s actions.
And as for Qiao Nan… Qiao Nan had changed too. Recalling the scene of his little nephew pouring tea for his brother-in-law earlier, Shi Jiajun narrowed his eyes slightly.
So he’s grown up… He even knows now to act obedient in front of his father to get what he wants.
Shi Jiajun let out a cold snort. A smug smile gradually spread across his face.
Upstairs, outside the now-closed elevator doors, Mu Xiangxiang heard someone calling from behind. Turning around, she saw Qiao Rui walking toward her from not far away.
The moment he finished handling his work, he’d come straight to find his younger brother. Now, seeing the confused expression on “his brother’s” face, he felt somewhat worried, though his tone remained stiff as ever. “What’s wrong?”
Mu Xiangxiang glanced once toward the closed elevator doors before looking back at him. “Brother…”
Qiao Rui: “?”
She asked: “Do you not want me coming to the company?”
“…………” The blunt question completely choked Qiao Rui. “…Who said that?”
Mu Xiangxiang scratched her hair with one finger. “Shi Jiajun.”
Author’s Note:
Qiao Rui: “Who?!?!?!?!?”
Shi Jiajun’s smile gradually disappeared: “……………………”
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