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When Li Yaru entered the secret room, Zhuang Qiting immediately received a notification. As soon as the secret room door opened, it would send a signal to its owner.
Zhuang Qiting was currently attending the quarterly financial meeting at the Group.
A row of executives sat densely below, the atmosphere solemn. As half the financial backbone of Hong Kong Island, Shenghui Group’s financial status was closely watched by all circles of society.
After this meeting, the Group would announce its third-quarter financial report to the public.
The CFO was on stage giving a report, while Zhuang Qiting sat below, distracted, his thin eyelids drooping, looking inscrutable.
No one could have guessed that their most honored and authoritative Chairman had his mind entirely occupied with his wife at this moment.
How could the secret room have been opened? Did A-Rou go in? How did she get in? No, why would she go to his study for no reason?
She actually managed to figure out the mechanism and password for the secret room— was she really that clever? There was that cabinet… surely she didn’t find it…
The things inside that cabinet…
Zhuang Qiting quietly took a deep breath. For once, he, who was always in control, couldn’t be sure of the outcome.
If that little thing found out, she’d probably cause a huge scene, maybe even smash up his study. Let her smash it, as long as she didn’t start talking divorce again.
Divorce…
That was not a result he wanted to see.
—Anyway, if you ever monitor or control me again, I will absolutely divorce you. No room for negotiation.
He suddenly recalled his wife’s harsh warning.
“My report ends here. If there are no questions, we’ll proceed to the next program.” The PPT flipped to the last page, and the CFO looked around at his colleagues, finally turning his gaze to those seated at the head.
Zhuang Shaoyan now held the CEO position. He offered a few comments, then looked to his father. “Chairman, what do you think?”
Zhuang Qiting didn’t react, his sharp, cold face showing no expression, as if he were deep in thought.
The meeting room instantly fell silent.
“Chairman, Chairman.” Zhuang Shaoyan quietly reminded him.
Zhuang Qiting realized he had lost composure, but he remained calm, tapping two fingers on the table before starting his remarks with an unchanged expression.
Once back in his office, Zhuang Qiting pulled up the surveillance footage and, sure enough, saw Li Yaru open that cabinet and discover the photos inside.
Halfway through watching, he exited the video, suddenly realizing his back was slick with sweat. For some reason, his whole body felt restless and hot.
He took off his suit jacket, tossed it onto the sofa, drank half a bottle of ice water, and paced the office twice.
He wanted nothing more than to storm in, pick up that disobedient little thing, give her a spanking, then cuff her hands and feet and coldly say: You’d better reflect on yourself. If you mess with my things again, you’re not leaving this room.
That’s what he thought, anyway.
Zhuang Qiting was so hot he took off his tie, undid two shirt buttons, and, looking rather disheveled, lit a cigarette. He had barely taken two puffs when his private phone chimed. He picked it up—
Wife: [When are you coming home today? I have something to talk to you about.]
Zhuang Qiting stayed silent, pretending not to see it, and turned off the screen.
Just then, someone knocked on the door. “Chairman, it’s me, Eric.”
Zhuang Qiting composed himself. “Come in.”
Zhuang Shaozhou entered and saw his dad looking disheveled, honey-colored arms exposed, sturdy and sexy— a stark contrast to the dignified, stern man in the meeting earlier.
To be honest, a man in his forties really was attractive, still full of charm. No wonder Mrs. Li had been tied to him for so many years.
He suppressed a smile and walked over seriously. “Dad, I’m flying to America tonight. I’ll be back next Wednesday. Just reporting in. If you need anything, email me. I might not get calls in time.”
Zhuang Qiting glanced at his son, not in the mood to talk. He was about to send him away when he suddenly switched topics: “You’re going to America tonight?”
Zhuang Shaozhou nodded, saying he needed to personally oversee two projects in America.
Zhuang Qiting pondered for a moment, then thought of a brilliant idea. In a calm voice, he instructed, “I’ll go instead. You stay home these few days and keep your mom company. Don’t upset her. Take her shopping, help her relax.”
Zhuang Shaozhou: “You’ll go?”
He looked at his father oddly. “No way, did you argue with Mrs. Li again?” He thought to himself, it must be serious this time if Dad’s running off to America to avoid the storm.
Zhuang Qiting narrowed his eyes, exhaled smoke, and said coolly, “This is grown-up business. Mind your own. Go early tonight, and don’t fool around outside.”
Zhuang Shaozhou scoffed, “Where would I fool around? I’m busy like a dog every day!” Then, changing the subject, he poked at his dad, “Whoever upsets Mrs. Li should take responsibility. There are four men in this family, no need to push it around.”
Zhuang Qiting sneered, shot his son a warning look, and waved him out.
Useless, all of them. If only he had a sweet daughter, Li Yaru would be overjoyed every day. Never mind, he told his secretary to arrange the trip to America, then packed his luggage.
Li—Zhuang Qiting kept his composure and didn’t answer, not until before his flight at six in the evening did he finally send a message.
Li Yaru was still in that secret room, flipping through years’ worth of secretly taken photos, growing angrier the more she looked.
There was even a whole album of risqué lingerie photos she’d taken when she was young and naive. That pervert had actually kept them.
Her phone finally made a sound. She picked it up.
Prospective Pervert Ex-Husband: [Something urgent came up, flying to America. Be good these few days. I’ll bring you a gift when I get back.]
So he… ran away?
Li Yaru didn’t believe Zhuang Qiting really had business in America. He clearly knew she’d found out, and was just trying to cool things off by running to America, waiting for her anger to fade before coming back.
Strike while the iron is hot, second time’s weaker, third time’s gone— she was fiery by nature, with a stubborn streak in her bones.
Back when her cousin racked up gambling debts, she was only nineteen, but she’d grabbed a knife to chop off his hand.
When she decided to do something, she always followed through.
She’d been this way when she decided to marry Zhuang Qiting, and she was the same now, determined to divorce.
.
Night fell in New York, and thousands of lights made the dark night as bright as day. Zhuang Qiting ate dinner on the plane, then met up with his younger brother Zhuang Qichen, who was also in New York.
Zhuang Qiting’s generation had four blood brothers and several cousins. He was the eldest, the big brother of them all.
Zhuang Qichen was his youngest brother, whom he’d looked after since childhood. Now, he lived mostly in America, helping manage the family’s business in North America.
The two brothers drank some wine and smoked cigars at a club, chatting late into the night and agreeing to meet again the next day. As they parted, Zhuang Qichen asked how his sister-in-law was doing lately.
Zhuang Qiting: “She’s doing just fine.” Practically soaring.
Zhuang Qichen picked up on something off, grinned mischievously, and gave his dense big brother some advice. “Don’t keep such a tight leash, bro. Sometimes you need to give your wife some space. She has a temper. Our Zhuang family’s usual ways don’t work on her. You need to learn a bit of playing hard to get.”
He patted his brother’s solid chest, thinking, Not bad shape for your age. I need to work out harder so I don’t lose.
Zhuang Qiting hid his expression in the night. “Which ways?”
“Too much possessiveness and control. You want to keep her under watch twenty-four hours a day, and your solutions are always throwing money or dragging her to bed. Forget it, I’m in no place to lecture you. We’re all the same in this family anyway.”
Zhuang Qiting frowned, pondering his brother’s words about playing hard to get for a few seconds. “Alright, off you go. Give my regards to your wife and kids.”
The silver Maybach sped through New York’s dazzling night. Back at the hotel, he took off his coat and went to shower. The warm water poured over his head, soaking his calm expression and his muscular, masculine body.
The alcohol was getting to him. He felt a bit of regret— not for having people follow his wife all these years (that was always his style; surveillance was also protection)— but for making the secret room password too simple, letting her discover his secrets so easily. He also regretted not being ruthless enough in his youth— if only he’d gotten rid of Fan Zizhuo earlier, there wouldn’t be so much trouble now.
She must have suspected something about Fan Zizhuo, which is why she went through his study.
Zhuang Qiting exhaled, dried off, threw on a robe, and was about to call for the butler to bring up some tea. As soon as he entered the living room, he froze.
The luxurious President Suite was silent, its strict British décor stiff and lifeless. Li Yaru sat on the sofa in a black lace gown, a delicate pearl necklace around her neck, noble as Athena herself.
She sat there, arms crossed, expressionless, staring at him.
“…………”
Zhuang Qiting wondered if he was seeing things. He focused his gaze—it really was that little thing!
His brows furrowed tightly as he strode over in big steps. “How did you get here? Are you kidding me?”
Li Yaru smiled coldly. “What, you can come to America for fun but I can’t?”
“I mean, if you wanted to come, you could’ve just come with me. Why waste a plane ticket?” He reached out to hug her waist, but she dodged.
“What’s wrong, baby? Not happy? Tomorrow I’ll take you to the Long Island estate for a change of pace, alright?” Zhuang Qiting smiled gently at his wife, his tone soft, but with a hint of probing.
Li Yaru grew angrier at Zhuang Qiting’s unflappable, two-faced act. Even at the end, he was still pretending. Should change his surname to Pretend, not Zhuang.
“I said I had something to talk to you about.” Li Yaru took a document out of the birkin tossed at her feet and handed it to Zhuang Qiting, then sat on the other sofa.
“Take a look. If you have no objections, just sign.”
Zhuang Qiting stared at her calmly for several seconds, his eyes sharp and flickering. He smiled and opened the cover.
It was a Divorce Joint Application. She’d talked about divorce before, but it was always verbal—never this formal, serious, and final.
Zhuang Qiting looked for half a second, then slowly tore it up. “A-Rou, have I spoiled you too much? If you’re unhappy about something, just tell me. There’s no need to hurt our relationship like this.”
Li Yaru laughed aloud. “Spoiled? Mr. Zhuang, you’ve really spoiled me!” She picked up a pile of photos and threw them at him. “Take a look for yourself— this is what you call spoiling!”
“You’ve been watching me like this for over a decade. You should’ve known there’d be no good ending for us. I said before, if you kept this up, I’d absolutely divorce you.”
Zhuang Qiting didn’t even look at the photos, brushing away the ones that landed on his lap. “This is one way I protect your safety.”
“That’s bullshit. I’ve put up with everything from you, even being treated like your possession, but I never thought you’d go this far. You’re walking all over me. Just thinking about you watching me day and night makes me want to slap you. Zhuang Qiting, I’m in my forties now. I can’t compete with younger women. Go find someone else— there are plenty who want you. Stop squeezing me dry. I’m tired of playing your perverted games.”
As she spoke, Li Yaru’s heart ached. His high-and-mighty, uncooperative attitude chilled and exhausted her.
Zhuang Qiting was silent for a moment, staring at Li Yaru without blinking, something dark swirling in his eyes as if he might swallow her whole at any moment. “That’s your reason for divorce?”
“Yes.”
“Not because your old flame showed up and made you waver?”
Li Yaru froze, then her anger spiked. “How dare you mention Zizhuo! You’d better stop with your dirty tricks! I admit I got back in touch with Zizhuo a few weeks ago. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d overthink it, but I never did anything to betray you! My wanting a divorce has nothing to do with that! Believe it or not! Don’t use it as an excuse!”
A fox in his forties, seducing married women, and she still called him so affectionately— Zizhuo, Zizhuo.
Zhuang Qiting’s face darkened. “I know you don’t care for that kind of trash, but that doesn’t mean he won’t try.”
Li Yaru frowned. This man’s mouth was vicious. He always criticized her for being crude, but she was giving as good as she got.
“Watch your mouth. What could he do? We only had a meal and a few work calls. You want to ruin an innocent man’s reputation, destroy him completely!”
“If he dared to ‘accidentally’ run into you yesterday, he’ll dare to ask you out today. Tomorrow, he’ll dare to take off his clothes and seduce you. That kind of fox, what filthy thing wouldn’t he do?” he said calmly.
“………………”
Li Yaru was so angry she couldn’t speak.
Just thinking of Fan Zizhuo’s filthy thoughts made Zhuang Qiting want to kill him on the spot. It was a primal male instinct— defend his territory and mate, destroy any threats.
No matter how powerful, wise, or refined a man is, he’s still the same at the core.
His large, veined hand gripped Li Yaru’s chin and lifted it, forcing her to look at him. “Besides, he was never a good person. No innocent man would try to elope with someone else’s fiancée— especially not two weeks before her wedding.”
Li Yaru’s breathing grew shallow, her fingers clutching the stiff lace hem of her dress.
So he knew.
He always knew. Even this, he knew.
“I just had him cool off in jail for eight or ten years, so he’d learn to stay away from other men’s wives. I was already being merciful, wasn’t I, A-Rou bb?”
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