The next day, not only did Xu Chenghao unexpectedly encounter Zuo He again, but the other man was also visibly thrilled. “Thank you so much, President Xu, for your help. From now on, we’re committed to turning over a new leaf.”
Xu Chenghao: “???”
He still had no idea what was going on.
Noticing Xu Chenghao’s confusion, Zuo He exclaimed in surprise, “You don’t know? Because of you, Mr. Jing decided to cancel the captain’s punishment, so I came specifically to thank you.”
“Me?” Xu Chenghao was baffled. “What did I do?”
Zuo He thought for a moment. “You bit Mr. Jing.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
How could that possibly be related?!
Completely speechless, Xu Chenghao decided he didn’t want to deal with any of this. He handed his phone over to Jing Yicheng. If anyone dared to send him harassing messages, Jing Yicheng would call them back one by one to question them. And if someone called to harass him directly, even better—Jing Yicheng would simply pick up and handle it.
Just like that, under the ruthless threats of the ‘Demon King’ delivered across the internet, Xu Chenghao’s phone quickly quieted down within a single day. No one dared to call or text him anymore. Finally, Xu Chenghao could focus on preparing for the last chili pepper harvest.
This was the final chance to harvest for the Little Pepper 4.0 task. Although the greenhouse yield didn’t meet the passing threshold, each harvest reached over 180, so it was likely the final one would at least hit 164, which would definitely complete the task.
However, to guard against any unexpected mishaps, Xu Chenghao had Jing Yicheng plant some backups at the research facility. That way, if the greenhouse ended up lagging behind, there would at least be a fallback option.
With this double insurance, he felt much more at ease. When the harvest day arrived, the two split up: one heading to the greenhouse, the other to the research facility, and both waited there early to count the peppers as soon as they were ready. The outcome was naturally gratifying—this time, the yield finally broke the 200 mark. Including those in the little yellow duck flowerpot, there were a total of 204, successfully completing the task.
Xu Chenghao immediately felt a wave of relief. Thinking of something, he quickly drove home, took all the peppers out of the safe, and frantically pinged the system: ‘Come out, come out, hurry and collect while Jing Yicheng isn’t here!!’
[Ding—Little Pepper Harvest Expert is online.]
[Ding—Scan successful, Little Pepper task completed with surplus. Your current pepper count is 1111/50,000,000. Please continue your efforts, Host.]
[Ding—Little Pepper task reward is now available. Since you completed the task within the allotted time, you receive one ‘Powerful Strong Arm.’]
[Ding—Little Pepper Task 4.0 is complete. Auto-upgrading to task cooldown mode, duration: four weeks.]
A familiar barrage of notifications exploded in his mind. After reviewing each one, Xu Chenghao locked the safe, restored everything to normal, and messaged Jing Yicheng to ask how things were going on his end.
Jing Yicheng replied: “Yield is lower than last time—58 intact peppers.”
Xu Chenghao said: “No problem, I’ve already completed the task.”
Jing Yicheng: “Awesome.”
Xu Chenghao happily held his phone. “I even got a whole month of rest time (*^▽^*).”
Jing Yicheng went silent for a moment before suddenly calling him. “Haohao, can you tell me which research facility this is?”
Xu Chenghao’s mood instantly vanished, and he stammered, “Wh-why are you suddenly asking that?”
Jing Yicheng: “I’d like to see which research facility is so impressive that not only do you work for free, but even your rest days are up to them.”
Xu Chenghao: “…”
It’s this system! This damned, treacherous system!
Inwardly, Xu Chenghao cursed the system thoroughly, but on the surface, he had to calm Jing Yicheng down. “I signed a confidentiality agreement, so I can’t say anything… Besides, I’m not working for them for free. I’m getting a lot in return. I’m a businessman, so I wouldn’t do a losing deal—don’t worry.”
Jing Yicheng was silent for a moment, then said seriously, “Don’t sign random agreements in the future, especially not ones like this.”
Xu Chenghao: “Mm-hmm.”
With that reassurance, Jing Yicheng softened his tone and said gently, “I’m taking a car home now. I’ll be there soon.”
Xu Chenghao: “Alright.”
Despite Xu Chenghao’s reassurances, Jing Yicheng still couldn’t shake his unease about this research facility, feeling that they were taking advantage of Xu Chenghao. As soon as he hung up, he contacted his assistant to investigate it. But to his surprise, even his assistant couldn’t dig up any clues—it was as if Xu Chenghao’s seeds and peppers had appeared and vanished out of thin air.
A faint twitch appeared between Jing Yicheng’s brows. Once he got home, he casually asked, “Haohao, where are your peppers?”
Xu Chenghao replied, “Bad timing—he came to collect them while you were out, so they’ve already been taken.”
Right in front of Xu Chenghao, Jing Yicheng called the guard downstairs, who reported that no one had been seen entering or exiting the building except the residents, and no one had shown up on the hallway camera leading to Xu Chenghao’s door.
Jing Yicheng’s expression darkened, and he called Xu Chenghao’s name for the first time in a stern, almost scolding tone: “Xu Chenghao!”
Xu Chenghao looked aggrieved. “Why are you being so fierce?”
Jing Yicheng almost lost his composure. With a frown, he said, “If I don’t get strict, you won’t realize what you’re doing!”
Xu Chenghao quietly buried his face against Jing Yicheng’s chest. “I only have this one secret. Can you wait until I’m ready to tell you?”
Jing Yicheng reminded himself not to give in, but he couldn’t resist Xu Chenghao’s soft plea. In the end, he held him tightly and threatened, “You better not hurt yourself, or don’t blame me for taking away your freedom.”
Xu Chenghao: “I know, I know.”
Jing Yicheng hugged him and rubbed his chin against the top of his head. “In the future, if anything big happens, you have to discuss it with me.”
Xu Chenghao: “Mm-hmm.”
Jing Yicheng was barely satisfied, but he still felt an emptiness inside—a lack of reassurance. Perhaps it was his intuition, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that this mysterious research facility and the peppers weren’t good for him…
But since Xu Chenghao was unwilling to talk, Jing Yicheng couldn’t bring himself to press him. He could only sigh helplessly, waiting for the day Xu Chenghao would tell him himself, hoping it would be good news.
In contrast, Xu Chenghao was in high spirits. Not only had he completed the Little Pepper 4.0 task and earned four weeks of rest, but he had also successfully reassured Jing Yicheng, putting an end to any potential trouble.
Life was good.
Xu Chenghao was enjoying his days, feeling that time was passing by in a flash. In stark contrast, for Ruan Chenxuan, who was drowning in a sea of hardship, each day felt as long as a year, and he wished he could leap three years into the future.
Over the past month, he’d been running between the company, the family estate, and the hospital. Not only did he have to manage the company to prevent any chance for the illegitimate child to interfere, but he also had to carefully balance the relationship between Old Mr. Ruan and An Rouyu.
The company matters were manageable—after all, Ruan Chenxuan was well-versed in the corporate world, and any hiccups were minor for him; he could resolve them effortlessly, not even sparing the illegitimate child a second thought. However, the issues with An Rouyu and Old Mr. Ruan were an entirely different story.
An Rouyu’s emotions were still unstable—sometimes, she would start crying even while laughing. She had even attempted to snatch someone else’s baby at the hospital, prompting Ruan Chenxuan to move her to a recovery facility for rest. Meanwhile, Old Mr. Ruan, who had never liked An Rouyu, believed her erratic behavior posed a risk to the child, and he adamantly refused to let her into the family home or near the baby. This only intensified An Rouyu’s distress, worsening her condition.
These two had formed a vicious cycle, and the one trapped in the middle was Ruan Chenxuan. He was torn, deeply mired in this endless loop, to the point where he lost all sense of direction, unable to tell what he wanted or how to break free from this cycle.
Time dragged on like this, and before he knew it, the baby’s full-month banquet arrived.
Old Mr. Ruan, who rarely held celebratory events, placed great importance on the occasion, personally overseeing certain details. When drafting the guest list, he went out of his way to invite nearly half of the industry’s elite, including the Xu family.
Ruan Chenxuan’s heart grew conflicted when he saw Xu Chenghao’s name on the list. He had never imagined they’d meet again in a setting like this… At least, when he’d pursued Xu Chenghao, he certainly hadn’t foreseen a day like today.
But even so, Ruan Chenxuan still wanted to show his best side in front of Xu Chenghao. He carefully dressed and checked his appearance frequently, striving to be in top form when the banquet began, ready to welcome the Xu family’s arrival.
The Xu parents were making a rare public appearance. They arrived neither early nor late, entering to greet old acquaintances. However, Xu Chenghao didn’t attend with his parents; instead, he brought Jing Yicheng as his date.
Surprised gasps echoed throughout the banquet—no one expected Xu Chenghao and Jing Yicheng to attend together. The two of them seemed very close, interacting with ease, which made Ruan Chenxuan, standing alone in the crowd, appear even more isolated, as if they had joined forces to put him at a disadvantage.
With so many elders around, surely it wouldn’t get too out of hand… right?
The crowd whispered among themselves, but their eyes followed the trio, eagerly anticipating some dramatic confrontation.
It was rumored that this child was An Rouyu’s, and although there’d been talk of all three of them abandoning her, the fact that Ruan Chenxuan had kept the child seemed to give him a leg up over the other two, almost like a slap in their faces… So come on, let’s see a fight break out!!
Everyone was practically rubbing their hands together, itching for the three to get into it.
But Jing Yicheng was in an exceptionally good mood. He had no intention of disrupting the banquet or drawing everyone’s attention away from Ruan Chenxuan. He liked the theme of the event, loved watching Ruan Chenxuan glare while he and Haohao interacted, and relished seeing Ruan Chenxuan entangled with An Rouyu, unable to break free.
This way… he could have Haohao all to himself!
Thinking this, Jing Yicheng was practically beaming and had no reason to get angry.
Ruan Chenxuan caught Jing Yicheng’s provocative glance and clenched his jaw, trying to keep his composure before the crowd, silently sipping his wine as they approached.
Xu Chenghao gave a polite smile. “Congratulations, President Ruan.”
Ruan Chenxuan’s eyes softened, and just as he was about to say something, Jing Yicheng cut in with a mocking tone, “Congratulations, President Ruan, on becoming a father. You’d better treat your child well—don’t do anything to embarrass him.”
The wineglass in Ruan Chenxuan’s hand nearly shattered as he glared at Jing Yicheng, his eyes almost blazing. “I still haven’t thanked President Jing for his congratulations at the hospital. I’ll be sure to return the favor soon!”
Jing Yicheng placed a hand on Xu Chenghao’s shoulder and smiled. “No need. As long as I have Haohao, that’s enough for me.”
The author has something to say:
Ruan Chenxuan: @#￥%**&%￥
