Hospital.
Lying on the hospital bed, Mr. Cheng was hanging by a thread, his face pallid. He had an oxygen mask on his mouth, sunken eye sockets, and had lost over ten kilograms in just a short time, looking emaciated.
He lay still on the bed, as if he were already dead, exuding an aura of impending doom.
If Ruan Jiujiu were to see him, she would probably be shocked.
His hair had turned mostly white, and he looked nothing like a businessman in his fifties or sixties. He resembled more of a frail, haggard old man in his seventies or eighties.
With a creak, the door was pushed open.
Qu Wei walked slowly to his side and stood there.
She had wavy hair, wearing a fur coat and adorned with jewelry, giving her an extremely luxurious appearance.
With smooth and fair skin, she looked like his daughter standing next to him.
A young nurse accompanied her, and Qu Wei hugged herself, not bothering to hide her indifference. She asked, “How many days does he have left?”
The nurse was taken aback by her words.
In the intensive care unit, they had seen all kinds of separations, sweetness, bitterness, and suffering. It wasn’t very common to encounter someone so indifferent and even contemptuous.
“If the family is willing to pay for treatment, perhaps we can extend it for a few more months.”
“Only a few months?”
Qu Wei’s expression showed a contemplative look.
She waved her hand, as if dismissing a servant, and told the nurse to leave.
Mr. Cheng remained in a coma.
Qu Wei lowered her voice and said, “Now it depends on whether your son will save you or not. If he doesn’t, then you’ve failed as a father.”
She was now almost certain that Cheng Jun would give her money, and quite a bit of it.
Qu Wei was a smart person, and she understood that if she completely provoked Cheng Jun, he had the means to make her disappear from this world. However, Cheng Jun didn’t even bother to waste his time on her.
Give money, and leave.
They would mutually benefit each other and ensure each other’s peace, wouldn’t that be a win-win situation?
Thinking back to the time when she called, and neither Cheng Jun nor his wife cared enough to even send someone to inquire, Qu Wei was itching with anger.
Since they wouldn’t come to her, she would go to them!
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Tu Nan and Fu Zicheng had enjoyed a lavish barbecue meal, racking up a bill of over two thousand yuan. Ruan Jiujiu was left speechless, and even the waitstaff were dumbfounded.
The restaurant staff were enthusiastically taking turns to barbecue meat for them, almost neglecting the other tables.
Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t eat much in less than half an hour.
She silently watched these grown men eat voraciously and began to ponder a question… had Tu Nan and the others influenced Cheng Jun, or had Cheng Jun influenced them?
This matter was truly a mystery.
The plates on the table were cleared several times, and Ruan Jiujiu finally couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you guys full yet?”
The men, who had been under the chilly gaze, stiffened their expressions and slowly put down their chopsticks. “We’re full.”
It was only then that Tu Nan remembered he had come to ask his sister-in-law for love advice.
Just as they were about to joke around with their sister-in-law, Cheng Jun stared at them coldly. The last time they had received such a look, they had ended up working extra shifts several times, and the memory was still fresh in their minds.
Fu Zicheng cleared his throat, “Let’s head back.”
Tu Nan added, “Yeah, yeah, goodbye, sister-in-law.”
They went their separate ways at the hotel entrance.
Ruan Jiujiu amusingly asked Cheng Jun, “Was the barbecue delicious?”
Cheng Jun answered honestly, “Delicious.”
Occasionally indulging in a hearty meal and recovering one’s energy seemed like a simple and beautiful life.
While Cheng Jun was momentarily distracted, Ruan Jiujiu’s hand touched his abdomen. She was suddenly astonished and exclaimed, “Wow, your stomach isn’t even bulging? That’s unbelievable!”
Cheng Jun quickly withdrew, moving several meters away from Ruan Jiujiu as if he had seen a ghost.
Ruan Jiujiu said, “Am I really that terrifying?”
Faced with Ruan Jiujiu’s puzzled and astonished expression, Cheng Jun silently zipped up his coat.
When her fingers touched his flat abdomen, it felt as though an electric current had shot from the point of contact to the top of his head. Even now, he could feel a burning sensation in his ears.
Cheng Jun regained his composure but maintained a distance of about a meter from Ruan Jiujiu.
“Your fingers are so cold,” he remarked.
Ruan Jiujiu said, “So that’s what it’s about!”
Cheng Jun, this crafty man, was constantly protecting himself!
They returned to their respective rooms to sleep.
Ruan Jiujiu lay on the large bed but couldn’t fall asleep. She had probably eaten too much, and her thoughts were in disarray. She continued to toss and turn, gradually feeling drowsy.
In her dream, Ruan Jiujiu encountered a terrifying scene.
She dreamed that she was just a wandering soul in the city.
In the distance, she heard the one-sided argument of a person, sharp and piercing. Involuntarily, she drifted toward the source of the sound and was surprised to see Qu Wei and Cheng Jun standing face to face.
Qu Wei was angrily pointing at him, demanding that Cheng Jun pay up.
Cheng Jun had his hands in his pockets, looking at her with indifference, as if he had just met her for the first time, his expression so apathetic it seemed like he didn’t care at all, his gaze drifting elsewhere.
Qu Wei shouted herself hoarse, but Cheng Jun remained unmoved.
Qu Wei’s expression became increasingly ferocious.
Just then, a figure emerged from a corner and rushed forward, striking with a knife! Cheng Jun’s body trembled, and he attempted to grab the person but ended up falling to the ground uncontrollably.
A pool of red blood began to spread.
Ruan Jiujiu was so frightened that tears welled up in her eyes.
She rushed forward but couldn’t grasp anything, only able to watch the man on the ground gradually stop breathing.
“Cheng Jun! Cheng Jun! Cheng Jun!”
A warm, large hand grasped her trembling fingers, and Ruan Jiujiu abruptly opened her eyes.
Cheng Jun, with disheveled hair from just waking up, held her in his arms. “What’s wrong? What did you see? Why are you so frightened?”
Ruan Jiujiu woke up, her heart still racing, and her face was pale. She realized it had just been a nightmare fueled by her worries, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
She replied, “It’s nothing, just a bad dream.”
Cheng Jun hugged her and asked, “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah, much better.”
Ruan Jiujiu relaxed as she released her arms.
Perhaps it was because of Qu Wei’s phone call yesterday that her underlying worries had resurfaced. Fortunately, everything was fine, and she could rest easy.
Due to the nightmare, Ruan Jiujiu felt a bit down in the morning. She was daydreaming along the way, not even noticing when Cheng Jun secretly held her pinky finger.
The middle-aged driver, waiting at a traffic light, happened to catch sight of this scene and couldn’t help but feel deeply moved.
The boss is really under the thumb of his wife! He’s so sneaky even when holding hands!
Today, the office was calm, and everyone was diligently working on their tasks.
Ruan Jiujiu was busy and absorbed in her work, her pen dancing across the paper. At that moment, she received a message on her phone.
Thinking it might be Cheng Jun inviting her for lunch, she pretended not to see it and continued working.
She didn’t want to face Cheng Jun publicly in the cafeteria and end up saying strange things.
According to Mr. Meng, some colleagues had created daily comic strips based on the two of them, and these comics had gained popularity both inside and outside the company.
When Ruan Jiujiu saw the serialized comics, her face turned black, and she only wanted to confront the culprit responsible for these portrayals.
How had she become a weeping little wife facing a domineering CEO?
Cheng Jun was the one who should be portrayed as the weeping little wife!
Just as Ruan Jiujiu was distracted and mistakenly copied the wrong layer, she hurriedly corrected her mistake.
Her phone rang again, irritating Ruan Jiujiu. She put down her pen, picked up her phone, and saw a message from an unfamiliar number.
“I’m Qu Wei, and I’m waiting for you at the company building right now. If you don’t come out, I’ll expose everything to everyone!”
It was her again…
Ruan Jiujiu frowned, hoping to keep Qu Wei as far away as possible. Trying to blackmail them while Cheng Jun’s father was seriously ill, was she insane? There was no guarantee that exposing everything would benefit her.
Qu Wei was currently standing at the company’s entrance, waiting impatiently. She was taking advantage of broad daylight, as Ruan Jiujiu wouldn’t dare to physically harm her. Moreover, Qu Wei gently touched her still-not-showing baby bump, which she considered her trump card.
Qu Wei walked back and forth, growing more anxious with each passing moment. She hadn’t seen anyone come out.
She began to wonder, why hadn’t Ruan Jiujiu come out yet? Could it be that Cheng Jun had stopped her? Did they really have enough confidence that she wouldn’t cause a scene?
Any reputation-related issues would indeed be a significant blow to them.
Qu Wei was taking advantage of the advantage of public opinion and had plenty of time to drag things out with them.
Considering their child, Cheng Jun definitely wouldn’t do anything extreme to her. Unlike some ruthless and cunning CEOs she had encountered, Cheng Jun had far more principles, and he wouldn’t easily act against her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t still be standing here now.
At this moment, Ruan Jiujiu was sitting in Cheng Jun’s office.
Through the blurry glass, Cheng Jun stood outside the office, conversing with an unfamiliar man. Cheng Jun had his back to Ruan Jiujiu, so all she could see was the man slightly lowering his head, not making direct eye contact with Cheng Jun and occasionally nodding.
Bored, Ruan Jiujiu propped up her chin, thinking that Cheng Jun really had the air of a CEO about him in this posture.
When she received the message from Qu Wei, her initial reaction was to find Cheng Jun with her phone.
Cheng Jun’s expression didn’t change much; he just asked her to sit in the chair and not worry about these matters. He then stepped out of the office to make a phone call.
Cheng Jun was already dealing with Qu Wei’s matter, and she was more impatient than he had expected. Before Cheng Jun had finished handling everything, Qu Wei came rushing over.
If Ruan Jiujiu could hear Cheng Jun’s voice, she would notice that it sounded much lower than usual, lacking his usual casualness and carrying a hint of indifference.
“…Like that.”
“Got it.”
Cheng Jun pushed the door open and returned to the office.
Ruan Jiujiu sat in his chair, glancing around, enjoying the exclusive seat of the big boss.
Ruan Jiujiu heard him enter and asked, “Is it resolved?”
Cheng Jun replied, “Yes.”
“Phew… That’s good then.”
Recalling the scene from her dream, Ruan Jiujiu couldn’t help feeling a chill down her spine. Regardless of whether Cheng Jun had died an unnatural death in her past life and whether Qu Wei was the culprit, she subconsciously wanted Cheng Jun to stay away from Qu Wei.
This woman was too greedy, and once she got what she wanted, she became even more reckless.
Ruan Jiujiu sighed. “Why are you so easily bullied? Even a stepmother can ride on your head.”
If it weren’t for Cheng Jun using the excuse of not wanting her to get involved in these matters and rejecting Ruan Jiujiu’s volunteering, she really wanted to teach this shameless stepmother a lesson.
In Ruan Jiujiu’s eyes, Cheng Jun was like a poor little cabbage.
Little cabbage Cheng Jun: “…”
If Ruan Jiujiu knew what Cheng Jun had just arranged, she would definitely take back her words.
The author has something to say:
Ruan Jiujiu: Jun Zai is such a poor little thing.
Cheng Jun: Hug me.
Tu Nan and the others: Emmm…
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