Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Playing So Extravagantly?

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Qiao Nian’an nudged Shen Niwu gently. “That’s not true…” But the memory of him lifting her up in the office, her legs wrapped around his waist, made her ears burn with embarrassment.

“Then why are you blushing?” Shen Niwu teased with a smile.

Qiao Nian’an raised her hand to her face; it was indeed flushed. “It’s just the heat,” she said quickly.

She just wanted to get some fresh air and found an excuse, “I’m going out to handle some business!”

Shen Niwu grabbed her arm. “You’re already the boss’s wife here. You don’t need to run errands. Leave that to me! You should be the general manager.”

“Fine, then you’ll be the general manager of Baofu Cultural Company. You decide who stays and who goes,” Qiao Nian’an replied.

“All right, I’ll help recruit new employees. As for the old staff, except for those I personally trained who get raises, the rest are fired! They’re just bootlickers of Shen Xiaoshan and Jiang Xingguang; they picked the wrong side and naturally get kicked out with the old boss,” Shen Niwu declared.

The veteran employees who were mentored by Shen Niwu got teary-eyed when they heard about the promotion and pay raise!

Luckily, they stayed!

Though Shen Niwu’s status as boss’s wife ended, she stayed on and continued looking out for their interests.

They were still willing to work for the company!

“I’ll be busy for a while,” Qiao Nian’an reported to Shen Niwu.

She truly had important matters to attend to now.

“You’re the boss. You call the shots,” Shen Niwu said.

Qiao Nian’an grabbed her bag and headed out.

She thought she could avoid encountering Fu Yunzhen, but as the elevator doors closed, a long, bony hand blocked them, and the elevator slowly reopened.

Qiao Nian’an looked up, and the next second, a tall shadow loomed over her, pressing her against the elevator wall.

Outside the elevator, Assistant Lin watched the usually cold Fu Yunzhen fiercely pursue a woman like this.

Inside the elevator, Fu Yunzhen asked, “Are you free tonight?”

“No,” Qiao Nian’an replied, pulling out her phone and pressing a shortcut key. The ringtone chimed.

“Hello, this is Qiao Nian’an. Okay, I’m on my way…” As the elevator doors opened, she answered the call and quickly slipped away.

Fu Yunzhen watched her flee helplessly.

Who uses an alarm as their ringtone?

He saw her set the alarm and answer as it rang.

Yet, a faint smile tugged at his lips.

She lied, which meant she cared.

If she didn’t care, why bother lying?

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Better to leave some grace for future encounters.

Fu Yunzhen’s phone rang; it was his mother. After listening, his expression darkened. “Okay, I’ll be back tonight.”

…

Qiao Nian’an sent messages to Fu Jingchuan, but he didn’t reply.

Calls went unanswered as well.

Finally, she saw on Sister Hong’s social media that Fu Jingchuan was at the Tiandi Renjian Club.

She took a taxi there.

When she arrived and pushed open the private room door where Fu Jingchuan was, from her angle, she saw his large hand resting on the waist of a glamorous woman.

Laughter and teasing voices filled the room.

“Fu, I heard you want to spend a billion to marry a woman? What kind of woman is worth that much?”

“Yeah, is she a new rising star?”

“No, she’s an old classmate,” Fu Jingchuan replied.

“What classmate? Tell us.”

Fu Jingchuan smiled faintly. “Qiao Nian’an.”

“Oh! That one, the heiress who helps poor students but forces them into secret romances?”

“Are you serious this time?”

Everyone looked at Fu Jingchuan meaningfully.

He talked about spending a billion to marry Qiao Nian’an but was here for some fun.

“I heard she secretly dated poor students in high school. You’re paying a billion for secondhand goods. Not a loss?” one sneered.

Fu Jingchuan shrugged. “I’ve never played this game. Do you really think I’d spend a billion to marry her? It’s just a rumor I’m spreading that I’m going home to spend a billion on her. Even if I get the money, I’d never give it to her. I’ll tell her I broke ties with my family for her, but the money never came. She’ll be so touched she’ll cry and marry me without the money, right?”

“Spend a few hundred thousand for fun, fine. But marry her? No need…”

“When I’m done with her, I’ll dump her!”

“Gross!”

At that moment, the sound of a wine bottle opening echoed, followed by red wine spilling all over Fu Jingchuan’s head.

Everyone turned to look.

A cold, beautiful-faced woman stood behind Fu Jingchuan, holding an empty bottle, looking fierce.

The noisy room instantly fell silent.

Qiao Nian’an stood behind Fu Jingchuan, her voice cold. “You make it sound like I’m the one marrying you.”

Fu Jingchuan was stunned, wine dripping down his face, utterly disheveled. When had he ever been in such a mess—still clutching an alluring woman?

“Qiao Nian’an, I gave your family fifty thousand as a bride price. Is this how you treat your fiancé? Throwing wine in my face right away?”

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Fu Jingchuan glanced around the room, took a handkerchief from the woman in his arms, and wiped the wine off.

“Come here and kiss me in front of everyone, and I’ll forget this ever happened.”

As soon as he spoke, the crowd cheered.

“Kiss her, kiss her!”

Fu Jingchuan’s body burned with desire for the woman before him, the one he dreamed of having.

He didn’t care about being so embarrassed.

Seeing the pressure the crowd put on Qiao Nian’an, he thought she’d lean in and kiss him.

Sure enough, she leaned close.

But her mouth spat out a filthy phrase, “I curse your mother!”

Everyone was puzzled.

They’d heard that Cantonese phrase in Hong Kong films, but it was usually “curse your mother,” not “I curse your mother.”

Judging by Qiao Nian’an’s fierce expression, it was definitely not a kind remark.

Fu Jingchuan’s face crumpled, luckily hidden by the wine.

His pride was under threat, so he reached out to grab Qiao Nian’an and force a kiss.

At that moment, the private room door was violently kicked open.

Everyone turned to see.

A tall, upright figure stood silhouetted against the corridor’s dim light, his sharp, noble profile shadowed in the gloom.

His expression was unreadable.

But his arrival sent an icy chill through the room.

“What is going on here?” came a deep, cold voice tinged with barely concealed anger.

From his vantage point, Qiao Nian’an was leaning against Fu Jingchuan, who stared intently at her.

She said she was out doing business—turns out she was chasing men?

When Qiao Nian’an heard the cold voice, she suddenly stood.

The room fell into stunned silence at the sight of Fu Yunzhen.

“That’s Fu Yunzhen from the financial news, the one who’s on TV every day! I can’t believe he’s giving you face by coming to our party!”

Fu Jingchuan quickly wiped the wine from his face, stood, and approached Fu Yunzhen.

“Uncle, we were just drinking. We were about to play a wine game with Qiao Nian’an, where she’d kiss the wine off my face.”

“Uncle, do you have a girlfriend? Bring her along so we can see whose girlfriend licks faster.”

Fu Yunzhen’s cold gaze landed on Qiao Nian’an, then abruptly shifted to Fu Jingchuan’s face.

“Playing so dirty?”