Chapter 610 - Deeply Involved

Old Xiong gracefully put down his cup. 

"Zhi'er, it's rare for you to visit me. Have a seat. Zhou Min, serve some snacks for Zhi'er."

"Yes, Master." 

While Zhou Min ordered the servants, Xiong Zhi bowed to express her thanks and sat across Old Xiong.

Old Xiong knew that if he let his granddaughter speak first, then they would be talking only about business until the end. So he initiated the conversation. 

"How are you doing these past days? You rarely spent your time at home. We barely see each other. This old bone of mine cannot visit you in IHZHI and can only wait for you to be filial. Are you waiting for me to die before you finally remember me?"

Old Xiong had a natural intimidating aura and it was already a habit of his to speak with fierceness. Even though his tone was laid with sulking and jealousy, it was overridden with his sharp and intimidating voice.

Zhou Min coughed. He gave a signal to the old man and blinked.

'Don't scare your granddaughter, Master.'

Old Xiong realized that he spoke to her a bit too fiercely so he tried to soften his voice and words.

He cleared his throat. "I know this grandfather of yours is lacking in many aspects. You might perhaps think that I did not care about you due to our past relations. But you are now my heiress, your whole being is tied to the Xiong Empire. Of course, I will be concerned about you. What if you get sick and it affected your performance? The whole empire will be affected negatively as well."

Zhou Min: ...

The head butler facepalmed.

The old man was genuinely concerned about his granddaughter's whereabouts, however, the words he uttered could easily cause a misunderstanding, that the old man had no choice but to care for his granddaughter for the sake of the business empire.

That's not what you mean, Master, ah!

The clueless Xiong Zhi bowed sincerely to express that she was wrong. 

"I deeply apologize for making you worry, grandfather. But please be at ease, the responsibility that you have given to me will be taken care of. Even if I get sick, I will make sure that it will not affect the empire in any way."

"...???"

Old Xiong slightly frowned. 

Who told his granddaughter it was okay to be sick? His granddaughter seemed to have gotten his meaning backwards!

With blacklines on his face, Zhou Min spoke for his helpless master who was racking his brain to correct the misunderstanding. 

"Young heiress, Master's meaning is that he genuinely cares about you. For Master, your health is more important than the tasks in the empire. So please make sure to rest at appropriate times and do not overexert yourself. This is the Master's meaning."

Old Xiong looked at Zhou Min in relief. 

'You truly deserve to be my butler!'

Xiong Zhi blankly looked back and forth at Zhou Min and her grandfather. 

But that was clearly not what her grandfather just said...

However, she did not comment about it further and simply let it go. She had important matters to discuss with. 

"I understand, grandfather. Thank you for your concern," she politely said, then went directly to the purpose. "Grandfather, I came here because I have urgent matters to report."

Old Xiong who was waiting for his granddaughter's response for showing his care for her was a bit disappointed. But when he heard that it was an urgent matter, he also turned serious.

The amiable expression he had was gone and on its place was a tiger who was waiting quietly with sharp eyes. "Tell me about it."

"Grandfather has many eyes and ears. Then you must have known of the movements in IAmFashionista."

"Oh?"

Old Xiong raised a brow. 

This IAmFashionista was gathering a lot of eyes recently after laying low for a very long time. Even the Tang and the Lu families were watching carefully. So of course, he carefully observed the prying eyes and their movements too. He was just surprised that his granddaughter seemed to know the undercurrent about it as well. His granddaughter might have an impressive company and background, however, she did not belong to this fight. 

For Old Xiong, she was like a little girl compared to the huge hegemons who were eyeing the movements in IAmFashionista.

"Why are you asking me? This matter should not be your concern."

"No, grandfather. I am deeply involved in it as well. However, I might not be able to help in the upcoming event."

"What do you mean?"

"I am one of the VVIPs whom Mr. Luo added just before his death. However, I am bound to not help your faction to vote this year in the election."

Old Xiong: !!!

Zhou Min: !!!

Just two simple sentences from Xiong Zhi contained a lot of information.

Old Xiong was shocked that his granddaughter knew that there would be an upcoming election for the head position in the organization, which only a few people who had deep resources and network were aware of. His granddaughter seemed to know that they were divided into two factions as well. 

But what was more, she was actually a VVIP?!

The anonymous one!

"Zhi'er, is what you're telling true?"

Xiong Zhi nodded firmly.

Old Xiong's eyes became somber as he processed the information bomb thrown to him.

"...It's dangerous for you to receive a VVIP position at this crucial time, Zhi'er. I won't ask you how you knew this core information, but since you are still registered as an anonymous member, there is still time for you to not sign the papers and refrain from becoming part of the official VVIP list at this sensitive period."

Old Xiong was genuinely concerned for Xiong Zhi. He did not want to compromise his grandaughter's peace for a single vote. The enemy would surely approach her, try to rope her in to their side, and even threaten her. 

She was his only granddaughter. Old Xiong was not willing to drag Xiong Zhi into their faction and get her involved in the deep and murky waters, not until he could be reassured that she would be able to fare well. 

This period was definitely far from his ideal.

Unfortunately, the old man was already a step too late. 

Xiong Zhi had set her eyes on this deep and murky waters, planning to explore its depths to find out what she could get from it.