Chapter 43

Yan Wei, who was at the bus platform, felt inexplicably puzzled as he watched Zhou Qiaoqiao come out with bags and bags.

“What’s going on? Why did you suddenly buy so many things?” Yan Wei walked over to help Zhou Qiaoqiao with the bags as she came out of the door.

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled happily and said, “You don’t know, we can get an internal price as supermarket employees!”

Yan Wei nodded, and Zhou Qiaoqiao continued, “Everyone was suddenly so enthusiastic today. They even asked me what my boyfriend does.”

Yan Wei was taken aback, understanding what had happened. He asked her, “What did you say?”

“I said my boyfriend is very poor! But he has a good job now.” Zhou Qiaoqiao raised her head proudly.

Yan Wei took her on the bus and asked, “What did they say?”

“They didn’t believe me.” Zhou Qiaoqiao suddenly lowered her head and whispered to herself, “Strange, why don’t they believe me?”

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

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Yan Wei sighed and said, “Let’s cook!” What he disliked wasn’t just the strong scent but also the greasy feeling after taking a shower. It seems that next time he would have to buy it himself and bring it back.

---

Within two days, Zhen Guoan had already placed all the information on Yan Wei’s desk. Yan Wei picked it up and frowned, asking, “Are you sure about this?”

Zhen Guoan sat across from him, crossing his legs, and said, “Of course, how else would it end up in front of you? This girl named Ruan Xiao Jiao is really audacious! She’s only been with the company for a few years and just got promoted to manager a few days ago. She embezzled 200,000 yuan for investment and then directly moved another 400,000 yuan. She still owes the company 150,000 yuan.”

After Yan Wei finished reading one document, he pulled out another one and, after reading it, sneered and said, “She has quite the nerve. After realizing that I value Qiaoqiao, she couldn’t bring herself to post negative comments about her in the school group. So instead, she posted them online, thinking I have no evidence and can’t do anything to her.”

Zhen Guoan asked him, “What’s your plan?”

Yan Wei threw the documents in front of him and said, “An eye for an eye. Let’s learn from her exposure tactics. We don’t need to be as ruthless. Just help me send these documents to her boss.”

Zhen Guoan smiled and said, “You’re not very ruthless, huh? But this seven-inch strike is really ruthless…”

Yan Wei didn’t care about Zhen Guoan’s words. In his eyes, Ruan Xiao Jiao was too insignificant. Insignificant to the point that he didn’t expect her to make such a move after the gathering.

---

Ever since Yan Wei humiliated her at the banquet, Ruan Xiao Jiao had been filled with anger, but she was afraid of Yan Wei’s capabilities and didn’t dare to act rashly.

However, the harm inflicted on her by Zhou Qiaoqiao and her boyfriend made her want to let it go, yet she couldn’t accept it. Although she secretly recorded that video, she contemplated for two days before finally deciding to post it online.

She thought about it. No matter how formidable Yan Wei was, he was still human. If he wanted to defend Zhou Qiaoqiao, he would need evidence, right?

Besides, it wasn’t strange to record that video. Yan Wei, haven’t you trended a few times in the past two days? Didn’t you feel any discomfort? Additionally, with Zhou Qiaoqiao’s drunken antics that day, it would be considered interesting to record and post it online, right?

Ruan Xiao Jiao was too eager for revenge against Zhou Qiaoqiao, and after convincing herself, she didn’t think much further and used a small account to post the video. She pretended to be a passerby, leaving a comment that she passed by that place after dinner.

This video didn’t attract much attention at first since it was from an unpopular account. However, until one netizen discovered that the figure of the male protagonist in the video matched that of the wealthy man… the story began to spread, and more and more people became aware of it.

Seeing how the video blew up, Ruan Xiao Jiao was initially nervous and afraid. However, soon she became excited because of the personal attacks on Zhou Qiaoqiao online. But this excitement disappeared at noon when all the posts were deleted one by one.

Ruan Xiao Jiao felt a sudden chill. She knew that Yan Wei had taken action.

She panicked. Initially, she regretted what she had done and questioned why she had acted so recklessly.

Later, she resented Zhou Qiaoqiao for pushing things to extremes. Although nothing actually happened, Ruan Xiao Jiao had already figured out that it was Zhou Qiaoqiao’s pillow talk who had influenced Yan Wei to defend her so fiercely.

And now, after waiting for two days without any incidents, just when Ruan Xiao Jiao had let her guard down, she received a call from Manager He.

Ruan Xiao Jiao’s heart thumped nervously. She guessed it wouldn’t be good news. She was brought into the company by Manager He, so they rarely interacted to avoid any gossip.

When Ruan Xiao Jiao arrived at the office, Manager He was sitting behind his desk with a serious expression.

Manager He had been with Zhongtai for 27 years, starting from a small accountant in the finance department. He had worked hard to reach his current position and naturally cherished his reputation. But he never expected that one day his downfall would be caused by the daughter of an old acquaintance.

Seeing Manager He’s expression, Ruan Xiao Jiao pretended not to notice and put on a smile as she sweetly greeted, “Uncle He.”

Manager He forcefully threw a document from his desk at Ruan Xiao Jiao’s face, stood up, and angrily shouted, “Who’s your Uncle He? Look at the mess you’ve created!”

Ruan Xiao Jiao’s heart sank as she looked at the A4 paper scattered on the ground like snowflakes. She only glanced at it and saw that one of them was a payment voucher. She felt a lump in her throat—payment?

She squatted down to pick up the paper, but when she looked at it, her mind went blank. She couldn’t make out what was written on the paper.

“Uncle He, please trust me,” Ruan Xiao Jiao said with a trembling voice. She didn’t know what she could defend herself with at this point, but she still tried.

Each accountant had different cards and managed different accounts. Her job was simply to balance the accounts every month, and she had some money flowing through her hands.

“Trust you?” Manager He sneered and said, “I should trust you? I’ve been working in this company for 27 years! 27 years!!! I’ve worked so hard to reach this position, and now… all those 27 years have been wasted. Ruan Xiao Jiao, you have some nerve! 600,000 yuan! You dare to embezzle 600,000 yuan?”

Ruan Xiao Jiao almost knelt down on the ground. After quickly thinking it through, she stood up and said to Manager He, “Uncle He, I just borrowed it temporarily. I’ve already paid most of it back, only 150,000 yuan is left. I can pay it back soon, very soon.”

“What’s the use of paying it back soon?” Manager He closed his eyes and said softly.

“Uncle He, you’ve watched me grow up. Please believe me, I didn’t do it on purpose. How about this, I’ll give you all the profits from the investment. Please don’t report it to the higher-ups,” Ruan Xiao Jiao said as she stood up. “Consider my father’s face, will you?”

The money was gone, but she could earn it back. However, if the higher-ups found out and notified the police, she would be committing a crime.

“If it weren’t for your father’s sake, I wouldn’t have called you here,” Manager He said angrily, but in his heart, he thought, Profits? How foolish! If you made money, you should have immediately balanced the accounts. Since you were caught so easily, even if you can cover your tracks now, I can’t respect you. You dare to play this game with such simplicity?

Manager He stood up and walked in front of Ruan Xiao Jiao, saying, “The higher-ups already know about this. They are discussing how to handle it. For now, quickly balance the accounts! Don’t even think about working. You should understand the reason.”

Ruan Xiao Jiao’s legs went weak, and she sat on the ground, looking at Manager He in disbelief. “They know? The higher-ups know?”

Manager He nodded and said, “Yes, so now, how much money can you transfer? Go talk to General Manager Lin and explain the situation. If you can balance the accounts and, if possible, pay back more, ask him not to pursue it. Maybe you can avoid jail time.”

Ruan Xiaojiao was stunned, and said in mourning: “Uncle He, can you, can you give me a two-day grace period? You also know that the investment money can’t just be withdrawn.”

Manager He was also taken aback, and said angrily: “What’s the use of you telling me? Now the higher-ups know and if you don’t fill in the money, you will go to jail You have to figure it out yourself.”

Ruan Xiao Jiao trembled as she took out her phone and said, “I… I understand. I’ll call my father. I’ll balance the money soon. Can you ask General Manager Lin not to involve the police?”

Manager He sighed and didn’t say a word. Whether to report the incident to the police was no longer within his control.

Ruan Xiao Jiao called her father, the professor, and he quickly answered the phone, berating her angrily on the other end. But despite the scolding, the money still had to be repaid.

Knowing that Manager He was present, the professor handed the phone to him.

After understanding the situation, the professor couldn’t help but remark that his daughter was truly audacious. How could she dare to embezzle such a large sum of money bit by bit? If she had started from the bottom, she wouldn’t have had the capability to transfer so much.

Due to Manager He’s concern, it had actually made it easier for her to embezzle the funds.

After thinking it over, the professor decided to go to the company himself.

When Ruan Xiao Jiao heard that her father was coming, some of her anxiety dissipated. She thought about going up to talk to General Manager Lin and say a few kind words. But as soon as she arrived at General Manager Lin’s office, she saw two police officers coming out. She was startled and didn’t know if the police were there for her, so she immediately turned around and ran.

The two police officers chased after Ruan Xiao Jiao and quickly apprehended her.

Struggling and crying, Ruan Xiao Jiao pleaded, “Let go of me! Let go! I came here to repay the money. My father is also coming. You can’t arrest me.”

Ruan Xiao Jiao struggled and cried. Her hair, styled just yesterday, became disheveled in the struggle, making her appear even more desolate. Ruan Xiao Jiao realized that she was going to end up in prison, so she fought even harder.

She had just graduated from university, just entered society, and she still had a bright future ahead of her. She couldn’t let it end like this… just like this…

Hearing the commotion outside, General Manager Lin opened the door and saw Ruan Xiao Jiao, tears streaming down her face, shouting and screaming like a madwoman. She looked nothing like her usual sharp and capable self. This was not the right image to present in front of guests!

General Manager Lin told the police, “Officers, please let her go for now!” After all, he had an important guest coming soon. What would it look like in this situation?

Ruan Xiao Jiao was released, and she rushed to General Manager Lin, crying, “General Manager Lin, General Manager Lin, my father will be here soon. I’ll repay the money right away. Please don’t press charges against me, okay?”

General Manager Lin looked at her and handed her a document, saying, “This is the money you embezzled from the company for investment, right? This is already a crime. Even if I don’t pursue it, the prosecutor’s office will.”

Ruan Xiao Jiao stared at him with wide eyes, slumped to the ground, and burst into loud sobs.

“Wu… wu… wu…”

---

Even though Ruan Xiao Jiao was caught, the news of Zhou Qiaoqiao being a mistress was no longer a topic of interest online.

However, in such a small social circle, the news of Zhou Qiaoqiao being a mistress had already spread through Ruan Xiao Jiao. Naturally, her classmates, colleagues, and relatives continued to pay attention, regardless of the declining popularity.

Soon, the news of Zhou Qiaoqiao being a mistress reached her circle of relatives. After all, in today’s society, many people engage in social media like Weibo, so there were naturally many who knew.

That day, after work, Zhou Qiaoqiao was strolling in her own supermarket when she received a call from her eldest uncle, Bai Shu Ren.

Without much thought, Zhou Qiaoqiao answered the call, and Bai Shu Ren’s warm voice came from the other end, “Qiaoqiao?”

“Uncle, it’s me, Qiaoqiao.”

Bai Shu Ren sighed and said, “I heard from Huimin.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao was puzzled and asked, “Heard what?”

Bai Shu Ren sighed again and asked her, “Is the man who came to our house that day the one they are talking about?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao replied, “Ha.”

“Ai.” Bai Shu Ren tightened his grip on the phone and said, “Qiaoqiao, although our Bai family has fallen, we still come from a scholarly family. There are certain things we shouldn’t do. There should be a moral bottom line.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao understood that Bai Huimin must have said something negative, but even if they wanted to speak ill of her, there should be something to say, right? Zhou Qiaoqiao felt that she had been well-behaved, so what could they say about her?

“Uncle, just say it directly! I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Bai Shu Ren asked her, “Huimin said the news is saying that you stole someone else’s boyfriend?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao clicked her tongue and said, “That’s not true. Don’t listen to Huimin’s nonsense. Wait, you said news? Where is the news?” When did I make it to the news?

So, with Bai Shu Ren’s explanation, Zhou Qiaoqiao finally understood the whole story. As she listened, she felt that Yan Wei was quite wronged..

Yan Wei took his brother’s girlfriend to the hospital, and as a result, he and Zhou Qiaoqiao were photographed, but it was twisted to make it seem like an affair. He was really wronged.

So Zhou Qiaoqiao explained to Bai Shu Ren, and naturally, he believed her. He knew that Yan Wei didn’t play with Zhou Qiaoqiao’s feelings, so he felt relieved.

Before hanging up, he reminded Zhou Qiaoqiao, “Although this is a misunderstanding, having the reputation of a third party is never good. See if Yan Wei can clarify it. Can’t they issue a statement online, especially since they are wealthy?”

So Zhou Qiaoqiao had to explain the situation of Yan Wei being kicked out of the house once again, and Bai Shu Ren sighed before hanging up the phone.

When Zhou Qiaoqiao was leaving the house with groceries, Yan Wei was already waiting at the door, leaning against the wall and scrolling through his phone.

When he saw Zhou Qiaoqiao coming out, he naturally put away his phone and walked up to help her with the bags. He asked Zhou Qiaoqiao, “Why did you finish work so early today?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled and said, “The boss said I can leave early when there’s no work to do. At the beginning of the month, things are slow. Oh, by the way, my eldest uncle called just now and said I made it to the trending search.”

Yan Wei paused in his steps. He knew that Zhou Qiaoqiao would find out sooner or later, and he had no intention of hiding it, so he honestly replied, “Yes.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao sighed, and Yan Wei wanted to comfort her, but then Zhou Qiaoqiao said, “I’ve heard people say before that when you trend, you quickly receive advertising offers from distributors. But I never received any. It just shows that the key is not in trending, but in connections!” ¹ her brain is really wired differently

Yan Wei: “…”

Zhou Qiaoqiao looked up and thought for a moment before asking, “I heard that doing live streaming is profitable. Do you think my current popularity is enough for me to do live streaming?”

Yan Wei sighed and pondered, “Forget about it. How long has it been? Your popularity has cooled down a long time ago.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao shook her head and said, “What a pity. If I save up some more, I will consider buying a house.”

Yan Wei: “…”

Seeing that Zhou Qiaoqiao was not affected by this incident, Yan Wei felt relieved. Zhou Qiaoqiao then told him about her uncle’s concerns.

Yan Wei smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it will be explained soon.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao blinked and asked him, “Why?”

Yan Wei didn’t explain and instead patted her head, saying that it wasn’t their business and that others should explain it.

That evening, Yan Ye, the CEO of Yuyao Entertainment, appeared and explained that Shan Lingtong was his ex-girlfriend. He even posted old photos of himself and Shan Lingtong from before the new year.

With this explanation, Shang Qiwen was suddenly in the spotlight. If the wealthy person in the video had no connection with Shan Lingtong, then the so-called third party couldn’t possibly be a third party. But if Yan Ye and Shan Lingtong were actually in a relationship, then Shang Qiwen could be the third party, right?

After all, the CEO of Xiangshi Company² Shang Qiwen’s ex-husband’s company had recently posted on Weibo, expressing that he had been betrayed by his beloved wife. At that time, people could still say that love was a matter of freedom and they could separate if they didn’t love each other. But if the man already had a girlfriend, would both sides suddenly stop loving each other and break up? It didn’t make sense, did it?

A coincidence could still be called a coincidence, but the probability of two coincidences happening at the same time was low, right?

Therefore, the newly debuted Shang Qiwen was labeled as the third party, and ironically, it unintentionally increased her popularity.

---

When Shang Qiwen returned from Yuyao, she went straight to her and Yan Ye’s room.

Yan Ye was sitting at the desk, and Shang Qiwen was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes as she pointed at him and questioned, “What do you mean?”

Yan Ye looked at her but remained silent. Shang Qiwen threw the photo of him and Shan Lingtong in front of him and said, “You know that I just debuted, and the impression people have of me now will affect my future. By releasing this photo at this time, have you thought about me?”

Yan Ye remained silent for a long time and asked her with a heavy heart, “If you hadn’t released the video, would I have to explain anything?”

Shang Qiwen was taken aback, then looked at Yan Ye in shock. He gave a bitter smile and placed a document in front of her.

Shang Qiwen glanced at him and asked, “What’s this?”

Yan Ye pushed the document forward and said, “Take a look for yourself.”

Shang Qiwen reached out and opened it, revealing records of her transferring money to Pingxin Media, along with several photos of her meeting with their reporter. Although they were captured from surveillance footage, the main characters in the photos were clear.

“Why did you do this?” Yan Ye asked her.

Shang Qiwen pondered for a while in her mind but didn’t show any signs of nervousness on her face. She looked at Yan Ye intently for a moment and then softly cried, “Why did I do this? Don’t you know? It’s because you didn’t give me a sense of security!”

Disappointed, Yan Ye closed his eyes and stood up to leave.

Shang Qiwen’s heart tightened, and she grabbed his arm. Yan Ye didn’t shake off her hand, showing that he still had some consideration for her.

Shang Qi Wen only heard Yan Ye say, “My brother said you would say something like this. He told me that you should have had a sense of security when you were pregnant. It’s not that I didn’t give enough, Qiwen. You shouldn’t have made a move on my brother.”

Shang Qiwen watched Yan Ye leave, stunned. She sat on the bed, and her phone suddenly rang. She looked down and saw an unfamiliar number. This phone was specifically for work, so normally no one should have known the number.

However, Shang Qiwen seemed to sense who it was. She answered the call, and as she expected, it was Yan Wei.

“Don’t disgust me with these things in the future,” Yan Wei’s voice was cold and emotionless, like an unfeeling robot.

Shang Qiwen asked in a daze, “Yan Wei?”

Yan Wei chuckled softly, his deep voice even making Shang Qiwen’s heart flutter. He said, “I’ve sent all the evidence you left for yourself to Yan Ye.”

“We grew up together…” Shang Qiwen couldn’t help but plead.

“Unfortunately, you are no longer the person you were when you were a child. You said it yourself, we have grown up. We have our own families now. Since you didn’t involve Qiaoqiao this time, I won’t pursue it further. Shang Qiwen, everyone has their limits. Although I’m no longer part of the Yan family, you can try and see what my position was in the Yan family.” Yan Wei hung up the phone directly.

Shang Qiwen’s mind was in chaos. She didn’t know that in both the novel and the memories of the original owner, there weren’t many memories of Yan Wei.

But…

Shang Qiwen looked at the phone in her hand and threw it fiercely. Status? She gritted her teeth, it’s because of your status that I can’t let you come back.

She caressed her child in her belly. Even for the sake of the child, I will fight for it.

---

Zhou Qiaoqiao brought out the final dish and called upstairs, “Yan Wei, it’s time to eat.”

From downstairs, she could see Yan Wei sitting on the edge of the bed talking on the phone. When he heard Zhou Qiaoqiao’s call, he hung up and got up.

Yan Wei was indeed very good-looking, tall, and had decent taste in clothing. In Zhou Qiaoqiao’s eyes, even if Yan Wei’s fashion sense was lacking, it didn’t matter. He naturally had a good frame, coupled with his good temperament, even if he wore street stall clothes, he would exude a sense of luxury.

At this moment, Yan Wei was wearing a white shirt and trousers. Yan Wei was always meticulous about his attire when he went out, making sure to button the top button of his shirt and tuck in the shirttails. But when he was at home, he always liked to leave two buttons of his shirt open, revealing the muscles on his chest. It was the epitome of showcasing his sex appeal.

Seeing that the dishes on the table were good, Yan Wei smiled and asked Zhou Qiaoqiao with a gentle expression, “Is there something good today? The food looks so plentiful.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled and said, “The boss gave me a raise today. He said he looked at my performance in July and thought I did a good job, so he increased my salary by 300 yuan.”

Yan Wei smiled but didn’t tell Zhou Qiaoqiao that her salary was already lower than others in the same line of work. The additional 300 yuan was merely making up for it.

Before sitting down, Yan Wei placed a card on the table, which puzzled Zhou Qiaoqiao.

As Yan Wei sat down, he picked up the bowl and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“What is this?” Zhou Qiaoqiao actually had some doubts, but since Yan Wei didn’t say anything, she didn’t feel right accepting it.

Yan Wei smiled and said, “I heard from Guoan that salaries should be handed over to the wife. Men should focus on the outside, and women should focus on the inside.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao chuckled and said, “We’re not even married yet.”

Yan Wei disagreed and said, “I’m not just playing around. We’ll get married sooner or later.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao carefully touched the bank card with her fingers and said, “Then… we’ve only kissed. It’s not appropriate for me to accept this, right?”

After Zhou Qiaoqiao finished speaking, she realized what she had said. She looked up and saw Yan Wei’s eyes darken, and his voice became even hoarser as he said, “If you…”

“Yan Wei, do you like fish?” Zhou Qiaoqiao interrupted Yan Wei’s words with a dazed expression.

Yan Wei clicked his tongue inwardly, feeling a bit regretful, but he still followed Zhou Qiaoqiao’s words and said, “I don’t dislike it.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled and said, “I like it.”

“Let’s eat!” Yan Wei said as he picked up a piece of fish and served it to her.

After dinner, Yan Wei got up to collect the dishes, but Zhou Qiaoqiao took the card and placed it on the coffee table in the living room, staring at it in a daze.

Yan Wei saw her serious expression and didn’t disturb her until he had finished organizing everything and sat across from her. Only then did Zhou Qiaoqiao pitifully say, “Yan Wei, I’m embarrassed to accept it.”

This is someone else’s money! Moreover, she received a bonus of 120,000 last month! In other words, this card has at least 100,000 in it!

Yan Wei asked her, “Why?”

“This is money!” Zhou Qiaoqiao looked up at him, her round eyes filled with confusion. She said, “I’ve never accepted money from others.”

Yan Wei took her hand and led her to retrieve the card. He said, “Now, you can learn to take my money. I’m not someone else.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao thought about it and smiled as she took the card, saying, “Yan Wei, you wanted me to take it.”

Yan Wei nodded, and Zhou Qiaoqiao laughed again, saying, “If we break up in the future, I’ll repay you everything.”

Yan Wei nodded and said, “Hmm, if we can break up.”

Just kidding, I’m starving here. I won’t let you go even if there’s no love. Besides… Yan Wei smiled and flicked her forehead. You’re so silly, and without me, you’ll be taken advantage of.

Zhou Qiaoqiao’s mediocre eloquence couldn’t argue against that, but if it weren’t for Yan Wei supporting her, she would indeed have to pay the price for her inability to argue.

She had already accepted it, so should she return it?

Unable to take that step, Yan Wei took it away with him, so she calmly accepted it! Zhou Qiaoqiao thought that Yan Wei’s wealth was now in her hands. If he dared to find someone else in the future, she wouldn’t return it to him and would donate it all.

Thinking about this, she burst into laughter.

Yan Wei glanced back at her and sighed, thinking: What a silly girl.

There was a reason why he handed over the card at this moment. He didn’t know how to explain his wealth, so he didn’t explain it. Anyway, the card was already in her hands. Whether she looked or not was her own business. If she accused him of deceiving her later on? It would be an absurd accusation since all his wealth was in her hands. Would that be considered deception?

Thinking about this, Yan Wei smiled, wondering how she would react to the zeros inside.

It wasn’t until the day Zhou Qiaoqiao found out about his wealth that Yan Wei had to say, “Silly girl, you really are a silly girl. You never even tried to see my card before.”

After Yan Wei finished washing the dishes and came out, he saw Zhou Qiaoqiao on the second floor, not knowing what she was doing.

Yan Wei called out to her, “Qiaoqiao, come down and eat some cantaloupe.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao happily responded, then ran downstairs and jumped onto the sofa, saying with a smile, “I’ve hidden the card.”

Yan Wei nodded, and Zhou Qiaoqiao took a bite of a cantaloupe and asked, “Is it hard to find now? Will it be convenient for you to withdraw money? Should I go and change the hiding place?”

Yan Wei shook his head and said, “No need. That’s just the primary card. I still have a supplementary card.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao was momentarily stunned. It was the first time she had heard of primary and supplementary cards, but she understood what it meant. She curiously said, “For just tens of thousands of yuan, you have a primary and supplementary card? How much money do you have in there?”

Yan Wei looked up and thought for a moment, but he couldn’t really remember. He said, “A lot of money.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao burst into laughter again and said, “My card also has a ton of money!”

Zhou Qiaoqiao held the honeydew melon, crisp and sweet, with plenty of juice. She turned to Yan Wei and asked, “Is it sweet?”

Yan Wei nodded, and Zhou Qiaoqiao asked him, “Guess how much it costs?”

Yan Wei replied, “…8 yuan per catty³ 1 catty=600grams?” He vaguely remembered glancing at the price while shopping at the supermarket that day.

“Yan Wei, 8 yuan is too expensive.” Zhou Qiaoqiao shook her legs and said, “I bought it for 4.5 yuan at my local supermarket. It just arrived today, and everyone saved one for themselves.”

Yan Wei didn’t care about the price and origin of the honeydew melon, but he listened attentively to her, until… his attention was diverted by her feet.

Zhou Qiaoqiao had beautiful feet, fair and tender, with pink toenails.

Yan Wei looked at her feet, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and he asked Zhou Qiaoqiao, “Qiaoqiao, what shoe size do you wear?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao looked down at her own feet and said, “Size 37.”

Yan Wei moved his own feet, he wore size 43, and compared to Zhou Qiaoqiao, her feet were even smaller.

Seeing his large feet, Zhou Qiaoqiao smiled and asked, “Yan Wei, what’s your shoe size?”

“43.”

“So big,” Zhou Qiaoqiao said.

Yan Wei replied, “Not big, I’m 1.89 meters tall.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao looked up at him and exclaimed, “You’re very tall.”

“Yeah,” Yan Wei nodded. He lowered his head and reached out to grab her foot.

Zhou Qiaoqiao quickly avoided and glared at him, saying, “You want to tickle me.”

Yan Wei felt wronged, as he had amorous intentions and wasn’t in the mood to tickle her.

Sighing in his heart, Yan Wei went to take a shower, while Zhou Qiaoqiao called after him, “Didn’t you just shower?”

“Sweating,” Yan Wei didn’t turn his head.

Watching Yan Wei disappear into the bathroom, Zhou Qiaoqiao muttered, “What a waste of water!”

After Yan Wei finished showering, he saw Zhou Qiaoqiao already dressed in pajamas and making the bed. Yan Wei noticed a small yellow duck on her pajamas, feeling a lack of romantic ambiance.

He looked at the small yellow duck and asked her, “What’s on your clothes?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao tugged at her pajamas and looked at the duck, saying, “A little yellow duck!”

Yan Wei smiled, climbed onto the bed, and then earnestly looked at Zhou Qiaoqiao. Zhou Qiaoqiao’s fair little face turned red as he stared at her. She softly asked, “What are you looking at?”

Yan Wei suddenly thought of the phrase that Zhen Guoan often teased people with. He borrowed it and said, “I’m looking at how pretty you are!”

Zhou Qiaoqiao giggled, “Yan Wei, you can make a joke too.”

A joke?

Yan Wei propped himself up halfway, pulled her over, and pressed her beneath him. “Qiaoqiao, I’m not joking. You really are beautiful.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao felt his eagerness and then, in a very affected manner, used a sweet and coquettish tone to say, “Yan Wei, I just received your card today, and you’re like this. I’ll feel shy!”

Yan Wei laughed out loud, lying on top of her and said, “Where did you learn all these random things?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao stuck out her tongue and said, “Jiamin taught me.”

Yan Wei… he wanted to talk to Mao Liang. The two of them laughed and played around before finally resting…

---

The next morning, when Shang Qiwen woke up, she had heavy dark circles under her eyes. She glanced at Yan Ye, who hadn’t come back, and felt very upset.

As she went downstairs, she saw Aunt Wang directing people to clean the windows. Seeing Shang Qiwen coming down, Aunt Wang greeted her with a smile and asked, “Second Young Mistress, you’re awake? What would you like to eat?”

Since Shang Qiwen was in the early stages of pregnancy, her taste buds were more sensitive, so Aunt Wang always prepared freshly cooked meals for her.

Upon hearing Aunt Wang’s question, Shang Qiwen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she asked, “Where is Yan Ye?”

Aunt Wang was taken aback and said, “Second Young Master went to work!” She found it strange that Shang Qiwen would ask about him like that.

Shang Qiwen’s heart sank. She felt miserable. She was pregnant, and he treated her like this.

Just as she was thinking about it, Yan Yifei and his wife, Mao Jinghua, who were out for a walk, returned. When they saw Shang Qiwen was up, Mao Jinghua smiled slightly and asked, “Qiwen, up already?”

Shang Qiwen smiled reluctantly and nodded. Mao Jinghua was the eldest daughter of the Mao family and brought substantial assets when she married into the Yan family. She quickly helped Yan Yifei establish himself in Yuyao.

Shang Qiwen’s entry into the Yan family was strongly opposed by Mao Jinghua. She even returned to her family on Yan Ye’s birthday night, showing no face whatsoever.

Now that she was only two months pregnant, even Grandpa Yan had spoken up. If she gave birth to a son, the shares would be transferred after the full month. However, Mao Jinghua didn’t fully accept her. It seemed like she only had to accept her because of the child. Shang Qiwen felt powerless and frustrated.

On the contrary, Yan Yifei treated her kindly and asked, “Why did you wake up so early today? You look tired.”

Shang Qiwen forced a smile and said, “It’s nothing.” People, the incredible thing about them is that there are some things that don’t need to be said out loud. Just by looking at her expression and tone, one can naturally tell if something is wrong. Shang Qiwen’s work experience with Liu Yun had honed this ability. She knew that speaking to Yan Yifei wouldn’t be as effective as conveying it through her demeanor. Not to mention, she couldn’t bring herself to talk about Yan Wei’s situation.

Yan Yifei had also been in the business world when he was young, but he retired due to health issues at a young age. Although he had been retired for nearly ten years and had nothing to do at home, he still saw himself as a playboy who thought his second son was doing well. Therefore, he was very partial to him and didn’t mind his mess.

However, he wasn’t foolish. Just by looking at Shang Qiwen’s expression, he knew she had quarreled with Yan Ye. He comforted her with a few words, and when Shang Qiwen went out to clear her mind, he turned to Mao Jinghua and said, “Yan Ye, this child, even if we don’t consider Shang’s face, the child in her belly is worth a 15% stake. What benefit does he get by losing his temper and disregarding the child?”

Mao Jinghua frowned and asked, “Is that 15% worth bringing Shang Qiwen back?”

Yan Yifei smiled and said, “You don’t understand, do you? Our family currently holds only 38% of the shares. Once we have that 15%, Yuyao will be under our control. Similarly, if we give it to someone else, it could affect Yan Ye’s position.”

Mao Jinghua sighed. She didn’t like Shang Qiwen. She had already divorced once, so how dare she try to seduce her son?

After Shang Qiwen went out, she took out her phone and called the people from “Pingxin Media” to ask how the information was leaked.

The person on the other end was puzzled and said, “Sister Shang, how would I know? By asking like this, you should know who you offended, right?”

Shang Qiwen hung up the phone in anger and paced back and forth in the garden, biting her nails.

---

Zhou Qiaoqiao woke up in a daze. She stretched lazily and quickly woke up Yan Wei beside her.

Yan Wei opened his eyes and looked at her. Zhou Qiaoqiao laughed and said, “Yan Wei, you poked me again.”

This time, Yan Wei didn’t dodge. Instead, he pulled her closer and said, “Qiaoqiao, after all, I’m a grown man. It’s normal for me to have a fiery temper.” He turned over and pinned Zhou Qiaoqiao beneath him, saying, “We can consider taking it a step further.”

Early in the morning, Zhou Qiaoqiao blushed at his words and pushed him away, saying, “Ah! Well, what should we eat for breakfast?”

Yan Wei whispered, “Eat you.”

The two of them laughed and played around for a while, but they didn’t have time to make breakfast and ended up going out to eat together.

Zhou Qiaoqiao wore a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, carrying her wallet, and headed out. Yan Wei couldn’t help but notice her fair legs and realized that he had been increasingly irritable lately. He had never paid attention to a woman’s legs before, but Zhou Qiaoqiao’s legs were truly attractive.

Inside the elevator, Yan Wei asked Zhou Qiaoqiao, “What do you want to eat?”

Zhou Qiaoqiao licked her lips and said, “So many delicious things! I haven’t had many delicious things. I asked Jiamin, and she said the newly opened steamed bun shop across the street is really tasty, and they have lots of snacks, including mung bean soup.”

Yan Wei knew Zhou Qiaoqiao was talking about the newly opened breakfast stall across the street. Seeing that Zhou Qiaoqiao liked it, they decided to go there for breakfast.

Since it was crowded, they had to wait in line. Yan Wei asked Zhou Qiaoqiao to find an empty table while he stood in line. Zhou Qiaoqiao went inside and looked around but found all the tables occupied. She came back to Yan Wei and said, “Let’s go somewhere else! There’s no place to sit.”

Yan Wei shook his head and said, “It’s alright. If you like it, let’s buy from this shop, and we can find another place to sit later.”

Zhou Qiaoqiao: “…”

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