255 Power and Influence

Although the door slam wasn’t too loud, it still startled Qiao Yue.

She seemed to be a little uncomfortable as she turned in bed, hoping to sleep in another position. But she couldn’t turn because of her IV drip.

Qiao Jing walked over and checked the infusion tube. It worked fine.

He looked at Qiao Yue, who was lying supine in bed, frowning and sleeping restlessly.

Qiao Jing felt a little depressed. He had tried to finish his work abroad as quickly as possible so he could return to Qiao Yue. He didn’t expect so many things to happen to her while he was away.

He sat down and grabbed Qiao Yue’s hand.

She had a girl’s small hands. Her fingertips were so cold that his heart ached.

He wrapped one hand tightly around hers and stroked her hair with the other.

He felt nothing but heartache when he saw her like this. He even wished that he could take on the pain himself so Qiao Yue could feel better.

Qiao Yu’s words just now also confused him. Qiao Yu already knew that Qiao Yue was a girl.

He didn’t know what Qiao Yu would do, but the second family had always been most aggressive in the struggle for the Qiao family assets.

If Qiao Yu were to reveal Qiao Yue’s gender to the public, it would probably cause another uproar.

He knew that Qiao Yue didn’t care about the Qiao family assets, but there would always be some zealous people who would try to hurt her.

They might even try to establish a connection with Qiao Yue through marriage, which would put Qiao Yue in more danger.

Qiao Jing pondered for a while before he called Sun Yi. Sun Yi was still overseas, trying to finish up what Qiao Jing went there to do.

“Boss, what’s up? Everything’s going well here.”

“Can you help me find out if Qiao Yu has been in contact with anyone recently, like if he had contacted Qiao Yi. Also, help me find out what happened at the hacking competition between Harvey Academy and St. Faustina’s Institution.”

“Shall I go through the Qiao family, or…” Sun Yi asked.

“Use my resources,” Qiao Jing replied.

Qiao Jing had his own resources and influence. He would never expect the Qiao family resources to be dedicated to him.

Qiao Jing had started planning three years ago. He wouldn’t put all his energy on the Qiao family business. The Qiao brothers had a complicated relationship. The second and third families had been planning for years to topple the first family.

Three years ago, when Qiao Jing was almost assassinated, he had started to train his own people.

He now had people in various fields, some of them doing covet work. They could be activated at any time to protect the first family.

His elder brother, Qiao Xuan, had always been engrossed in his research. He knew nothing nor care about family matters. So, Qiao Jing had been planning for the both of them all these years.

If Qiao Jing’s power and influence grew, he could even replace the current Qiao family if need be.

Although he didn’t want the Qiao family to break apart, or have something happen to them, he had to be prepared.

Qiao Jing’s resources could also help him to protect Qiao Yue now.

After Qiao Jing made the necessary arrangements, Qiao Yue coughed lightly in her bed.

Qiao Jing turned to look at her. She was still frowning and not awake.

This couldn’t just be hypoglycemia. Qiao Jing frowned. Could Qiao Yue have some other illness?

Just as Qiao Jing was about to call Lu Ying to hurry him, there was a knock on the door.

Lu Ying pushed the door open and walked in. He looked travel-worn, probably because he had been busy attending a medical conference in C-Country. He had dark circles under his eyes.

“What happened to Qiao Yue?” Lu Ying walked over quickly to check Qiao Yue’s pulse.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed. “Has Qiao Yue been feeling fatigue lately?”

Qiao Jing nodded and looked at Qiao Yue with heartache. He didn’t know why she would be exhausted from a hacking competition.

“He’s been participating in a competition recently. That might be the reason.”

Lu Ying frowned. The hackathon was just a school competition. How could Qiao Yue be exhausted from that?

Qiao Yue was a world-renowned hacker. No matter how good her opponent was, it would just be child’s play.

“There’s nothing especially wrong with her pulse. She’s probably just resting. For further examination, I may have to use acupuncture.”