My Manor

"Adopt, you idiot! Which country's law allows a 27-year-old single man to adopt two 14-year-old deaf-mute girls?" Jiang Hai nearly went berserk upon hearing what Moses Adams said. If he had some soda nearby, he would probably have sprayed Moses Adams to death. What kind of idea did he come up with? Adoption? Let's not even talk about whether he agrees or not—the laws of the United States alone would never allow it. He now doubted whether Moses Adams was even a lawyer.

Upon hearing what Moses Adams said, the girl who had originally thought it impossible couldn't help but raise her head with hope in her eyes. However, when Jiang Hai saw this glimmer of hope, he felt a bit speechless. If the situation were as simple as Moses Adams suggested, it would be wonderful. But the problem was that things were not as easy as he made them seem.

Jiang Hai knew all the details, and he didn't believe that this guy, who obviously didn't know them, could be so clueless!

When the girl heard Jiang Hai's words, her eyes showed a hint of frustration. She gently bit her lip and didn't say anything. Instead, she just stared at Jiang Hai with wide eyes, hoping that the situation could somehow turn around.

"No, no, no, Mr. Jiang, you've got two things wrong. First, you are not single—he is married. Second, you are a rich man. This may be troublesome for others, but it's not really a big deal for you," Moses Adams said with a smile, but as he smiled, Jiang Hai felt a strong urge to hit him.

"I am single. I'm divorced," Jiang Hai said clearly, looking at Moses Adams.

"No, you are not... uh, okay. Even if you are divorced, you should go back first, then notify the welfare agency to handle this matter," Moses Adams said, quickly shutting up after realizing he'd said too much. He knew that Jiang Hai was clearly unwilling to adopt the sisters at the moment, so he probably made things worse by trying to help. If it were before, he would have realized this by now.

But there was no way out. He hadn't slept in nearly 48 hours. He was in Miami yesterday morning, had only taken a short nap on the plane, and now had been running around for Jiang Hai, a big client. His brain was no longer functioning at full capacity.

"If it doesn't work, this is the only option... Little one. You heard that, right? I don't have the authority to let you stay. But if you really don't want to go to the welfare agency, then wait for them to come, and you can talk to them," Jiang Hai said slowly, looking at the girl beside him.

Hearing his words, the girl hesitated for a moment. She knew that no matter what she did now, Jiang Hai would not change his mind. The only way to stay here was to find a way through the welfare agency. She nodded, bowed to Jiang Hai, and returned to her room.

Once she entered, her sister had been waiting for her.

As soon as the girl saw her sister return, she immediately rushed over and started using sign language. Unfortunately, she didn't get the information she wanted. Then, she pouted helplessly and sat back on the bed in frustration.

They really didn't want to go back to the welfare house. To them, living there felt almost like being in prison. Forget about freedom—having enough food and not being bullied was a challenge. That's why they couldn't escape from there. The only thing they wanted now was to find a warm place where they could eat. Jiang Hai's place would have been like heaven, but unfortunately, it seemed like Jiang Hai wasn't going to let them stay.

"Don't worry, I will definitely find a way!" Looking at her sister's sad face, a trace of reluctance flashed in her eyes. Although they were born only minutes apart, she, the older sister, felt responsible for taking care of her sibling. She then began following her sister's gestures.

"You bastard, you want to kill me! And what do you mean by saying I'm not divorced? I'm clearly divorced!" After the girl left, Jiang Hai couldn't help but punch Moses Adams, making him grin. He didn't complain or fight back, though, as he still wanted to keep Jiang Hai as a customer. The most important thing was that Moses Adams had just said something wrong.

"Sir, I just checked your information. You registered your marriage in China," Moses Adams said, rubbing his shoulder.

Hearing this, Jiang Hai frowned, feeling a bit confused.

"Sir, you are not an immigrant, but you have an investment green card, so the immigration officers won't care whether you're married or not. You can fill out anything you want." Moses Adams shrugged. The immigration officers would not deny a client who wanted to invest hundreds of millions of dollars. No matter what, they wouldn't say no. Even if it were a real immigrant, they wouldn't question it much. After all, giving two nationalities in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in investment would also create many jobs and increase local tax revenue. It was too cost-effective for the country.

"Damn America.." Jiang Hai cursed under his breath, deep in thought. He realized that he should have already divorced. After all, after that last phone call, he was so harsh that Qi Li wouldn't be able to bear it anymore. But why hadn't he divorced yet? What was going on?

"What is Qi Li doing?" Jiang Hai muttered softly, walking into the room with a skeptical expression.

As for Moses Adams, he was relieved that Jiang Hai didn't mention his mistake, so he avoided further trouble.

"But what does this guy mean? Is he going to keep the two girls or not?" Moses Adams muttered to himself as he looked at Jiang Hai's closed door. He really couldn't figure Jiang Hai out. In fact, he wasn't the only one who couldn't.

"A-choo..." Meanwhile, in the capital of China, on the top floor of a commercial office building in CBD, Qi Li stood in front of the French window, looking out at the foggy city. She couldn't help but sneeze. Then, she rubbed her nose, walked to her desk, grabbed the mink coat from the back of her chair, and put it on casually.

She tightened her coat and walked back to the window, staring out at the hazy view.

In reality, the prosperity of a country depends on industrial development, and any industrial development is inseparable from pollution.

China had always been determined to strengthen its national power, which had led to less concern for environmental protection.

Jiang Hai still remembered that when he was a child, he could still see the blue sky in the imperial capital. In his hometown, Ice City, the blue sky was also a common sight. But he didn't know when the haze had started to dominate the skies. It wasn't as bad in summer, but once winter came and the central heating began, it was difficult to see clearly beyond five meters. The occasional snowfall helped clear the air, but the dirty air lingered.

To be honest, while this environment caused a lot of trouble for people, it was also a natural consequence of industrial growth. What was a developing country? It was a country that was still growing. What about a developed country? It was a country that had reached a balance and wasn't growing much anymore. A few decades ago, the United States had an even worse environment than China, with sewage everywhere and air pollution off the charts.

But after World War II, they became the world leader, surpassing other countries quickly. Once they had the upper hand, they began working on improving their environment.

Now, the environment in the U.S. may not be perfect, but at least their air quality was definitely better than in China. There was no comparison to the deep forests, but the urban air quality in the U.S. was far better.

This had nothing to do with Qi Li at that moment. Although she could only vaguely make out the outlines of distant buildings from the window, she wasn't standing there to admire the view or breathe. She was lost in thought.

She was thinking about the call from her mother this morning, asking her whether she would be returning for the New Year this year.

After all, it was already mid-January, and the Chinese New Year was just around the corner.

Naturally, the New Year was something every parent was concerned about.

Now, Qi Li's mother was alone, and it would be uncomfortable to tell her she wouldn't go back.

It was the Chinese New Year, and she did want to go home, but if she went back, Jiang Hai would definitely not accompany her. How could she explain that? Should she tell the truth? But how could she say it?

It had been half a year since Jiang Hai left China. During this time, she had somehow been hiding the fact that he was not in the country. But now, with the New Year approaching, she couldn't keep hiding it anymore. What should she do?

"This damn guy really knows how to give me a hard time," Qi Li grumbled, slamming her fist on the window. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she gritted her teeth, Jiang Hai couldn't hear her.

"Boss Qi, are you still going to the banquet tonight?" At that moment, the door to the office cracked open. Her assistant, noticing her bad mood, asked carefully. But Qi Li didn't answer. She turned and left. Feelings were feelings, and careers were careers. She was no longer the person who needed feelings to survive!