Chapter 111: No Difference

Shao Bin deliberately put on a sorrowful visage, but when he saw Xie Qingtang sitting across from him, still cold and expressionless, he dropped the act.
“Don’t think that by pretending to be proper, I don’t know why you’ve returned to Su City. Isn’t it just to fight for the inheritance? Acting in front of me—how laughable.”
Shao Bin couldn’t be bothered to feign politeness with Xie Qingtang any longer. His voice turned cold and mocking. In his eyes, her return at this moment was nothing but a scheme to seize the family assets.
Upon hearing his words, Xie Qingtang felt nothing but irony. Her voice brimmed with scorn as she replied, “How ridiculous. Reclaiming what is rightfully mine—how can that be called robbery? Do you really believe that by appropriating someone else’s possessions, they become your own? Is there anything so shameless in this world?”
Shao Bin’s expression grew uglier at her retort, but Xie Qingtang pressed on, “It seems some people have forgotten their place. Let me remind you: the Xie Corporation bears the Xie name, and Shao Siming is nothing but a son-in-law, a cuckoo in the nest, plotting to drive out the rightful owners. That is a crime beyond forgiveness.”
“He thinks that by controlling the Xie Corporation, he’s its true master? More absurd still is that Shao Siming’s son believes the company belongs to him, and that I, the rightful heiress of the Xie family, have returned only to steal from him. It’s the highest form of farce.”
“Some people should remember I am a Xie, and he is a Shao. So, the title ‘sister’ is not mine to bear. Don’t joke with it again—it’s only a source of ridicule.”
Her words, one after another, made Shao Bin’s face increasingly grim. He hated most being reminded that he was the son of a son-in-law brought into the Xie family.
From childhood, he had suffered the scorn of his peers for this, and over time, it became a sore spot in his heart, untouchable and sensitive.
So, Xie Qingtang’s deliberate touch on that nerve enraged him, and a bloodthirsty glint flashed across his face. “Xie Qingtang, who do you think you are? Calling you ‘sister’ is already more than you deserve. You’re nothing but a discarded waste of the Xie family. The Xie Corporation hasn’t belonged to that old man or you for ages. What’s so great about your surname?”
Seeing this man lose his composure so quickly, revealing his true face, Xie Qingtang was not surprised; her lips curled with disdain as she looked up and replied in a calm, icy tone.

“Without a tiger in the mountain, the monkey proclaims itself king. As long as the company is called Xie Corporation, it will never belong to the Shaos. Sooner or later, it will return to the hands of the Xie family.”
Those words struck Shao Bin’s heart with a jolt, a rising sense of unease. The confidence in Xie Qingtang’s eyes pierced him like a blade.
“You’re worried, aren’t you?” Xie Qingtang’s eyes narrowed, seeing right through to the darkest corners of his mind.
Shao Bin glared at her heavily, then his anger burst forth, and he spat out harshly, “Bah! What am I afraid of? My father has controlled the Xie Corporation for years. You think you’ll just take it back? How laughable. You talk big without even thinking.”
“Whether my words are a joke or not, you’ll see for yourselves in time. This is my territory now, and you are not welcome. Get out!” Xie Qingtang replied, her voice colder than ever.
Shao Bin had originally come to get a measure of this so-called sister he’d never met, but instead he’d suffered a loss. Not wanting to linger, he snorted coldly and left the clinic.
The Shao family kept coming to create trouble for her, and Xie Qingtang’s desire for power grew ever stronger. She needed the strength to stand against Shao Siming, and she needed it now.
“Boss, everything alright?” After Shao Bin left, Zhou Jinfan opened the consulting room door, worried, and spoke to the silent, grim-faced Xie Qingtang inside.
Xie Qingtang snapped out of her thoughts and shook her head, “Nothing happened. Let’s get back to work.”
Hearing this, Zhou Jinfan nodded in relief and went back to his duties. Meeting Shao Bin today had made Xie Qingtang realize that he was no different from Shao Siming.
As evening approached, Xie Qingtang hesitated for a moment, then told her grandfather about her encounter with Shao Bin today.

When her grandfather heard about it, his brows furrowed gently, and he sighed deeply, though he said nothing. His heart, however, churned with regret, sorrow, and anguish, unable to find peace.
Earlier today, when Xie Qingtang felt her urgent need for power, for reasons she could not explain, the first person she thought of was Gu Xiujin. Without a doubt, Gu Xiujin was powerful, and if she could connect herself to him, it would be a great help in seeking vengeance against Shao Siming.
But Xie Qingtang had not come down from the mountain to rely on anyone else’s strength for revenge. She must depend on herself to accomplish this task.
So, she spent the whole night awake in the pharmacy, grinding medicine powders. Even Zhou Jinfan, seeing the lights still burning late into the night, shook his head and murmured, “Boss must be troubled by something, but there’s little I can do to help.”
In fact, when he first met Xie Qingtang, Zhou Jinfan felt some resentment—resentment that she had taken over the clinic. But as business flourished and their online shop thrived, his resentment faded.
His original wish was simply to see the clinic prosper, and now, with Xie Qingtang’s help, that dream was gradually coming true.
The next day, Xie Qingtang buried all her worries deep within, transforming them into a force that drove her forward. Zhou Jinfan, full of excitement, brought her a new phone and announced, “Boss, didn’t you ask me to buy you a new phone? The latest model I ordered online has arrived.”
Upon hearing this, Xie Qingtang paused her work and accepted the phone with curiosity. She hadn’t used a smartphone while living on the mountain, so it felt unfamiliar in her hand.