VBNWDW - Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Half a month later, early winter arrived quietly.
Before they knew it, the trees lining the roads were nothing but bare branches. A carpet of fallen leaves, swept away only to return, was a constant nuisance.
Xi Zhoukang sat in his temporary office, his legs crossed and propped up on the desk as he tugged at his tie with an impatient expression.
Across from him, Xi Yunting and his wife wore equally frustrated expressions. He couldn’t help but stand up and pace back and forth.
“It’s been half a month. We’ve had people search every inch of the area from the crash site to a hundred li around it, but there’s not a single clue about Xi Zhoulu.”
With the source of their anxiety laid bare, the three of them looked even more grim.
The stepmother held her teacup but didn’t take a sip. “Could it be Tan Xunwen…?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Xi Zhoukang slammed his hand on the armrest. “Impossible, absolutely impossible. He still wants to trade Xi Zhoulu for the development rights to the west side. That’s a multi-billion-dollar deal. Would he really hide Xi Zhoulu from us and give that up?”
The three members of the Xi family were unaware of Tan Xunwen’s true plan. They simply saw him as a heartless, self-serving opportunist, and after testing the waters a few times, they had agreed to cooperate.
He would be responsible for getting rid of Xi Zhoulu, and once they inherited the group, they would give him what he wanted. Everything had been going according to plan, but they never expected that the most crucial piece, Xi Zhoulu, would not only survive but also disappear!
“What about the surrounding villages? Could someone have passed by and rescued her?” Xi Zhoukang speculated.
“We’ve asked them all. Not a word,” Xi Yunting immediately shook his head.
Xi Zhoukang couldn’t contain his anger. They were just one step away…
His voice rose as he shouted, “She’s nowhere to be found, dead or alive! For all we know, some wild wolf or dog dragged her off and ate her. If we can’t find her, we can’t do anything!”
“Grandfather has already given me proxy control over the remaining shares. We should start making some moves. That way, even if Xi Zhoulu comes back later, she won’t be able to touch us.”
This was clearly the most suitable option at the moment.
The expressions of the other two softened. They watched as Xi Zhoukang took his feet off the desk, rolled his office chair over, and grabbed a nearby folder. Not three seconds later, a slight smile appeared on his face.
“Dad, Mom, look. Xi Zhoulu thought she was so popular, but it seems she’s nothing special after all. The moment Li Qingli saw that I’d taken her place, she came rushing to offer her pledge of allegiance.”
“Xi Zhoulu’s confidante?”
“That’s her,” Xi Zhoukang nodded emphatically, smiling. “There are plenty of smart people out there, unlike that little secretary from before who stubbornly insisted she only listened to Xi Zhoulu and foolishly wanted to resign.”
At the mention of that person, Xi Yunting’s face fell. He had only asked her to make him a cup of coffee, but she had adamantly refused, causing him to lose face in front of the other departments!
Xi Zhoukang naturally noticed his displeasure and quickly said, “Don’t be angry, Dad. I sent her packing yesterday. The most important thing for us right now is to win over the people in the company.”
“And this Li Qingli… she’s our stepping stone!”
Xi Zhoukang’s mother was naturally suspicious. “No matter how we tried to bribe her before, she never paid us any mind. Why would she give in so easily now? You need to be careful.”
Xi Zhoukang smiled mysteriously. “Don’t worry, Mom. A wise person submits to circumstances. Xi Zhoulu has been gone for so long, and everyone in the company is gossiping. I think Li Qingli just wants to cooperate with us and set an example for the others.”
Seeing the logic in his words, the other two stopped thinking about finding Xi Zhoulu. They gathered around the desk and began discussing the matters at hand.
Meanwhile, the secretary, her eyes red from crying, was taken by the “traitor” Li Qingli’s people to another city.
Duan Jia’s expression was tense. She sniffled quietly, pretending to casually size up the person driving in front of her.
Her features were resolute, her back ramrod straight. Her frame was lean but radiated a sense of power. When she stared straight ahead without speaking, she exuded a faint, intimidatingly stern aura.
Unfortunately, Duan Jia had overheard her on the phone earlier, and her loud, straightforward voice had instantly shattered that image.
“Hey, we’re here!”
Yu Xing grumbled to herself, “This place is really remote, hidden away in a mountain valley. You’d never find it without GPS.”
Duan Jia clutched her small bag and got out of the car, her face a mask of vigilance.
As far as the eye could see, a few small buildings were enveloped by a deep forest. Though it was already early winter, green plants still grew among them, and birds chirped merrily.
“Weren’t you looking for President Xi? Let’s go,” Yu Xing said, striding forward.
Duan Jia had no choice but to jog to keep up, her eyes darting around constantly.
It looked like a small, private hospital. Doctors and nurses frequently walked down the corridors. When they saw Duan Jia and Yu Xing, they said nothing, acting as if they hadn’t seen them at all.
Duan Jia found it all a bit strange and couldn’t help but grab the sleeve of the person in front of her.
Yu Xing turned back to tease her. “Well now, with guts like these, you still dared to go looking for President Xi in the mountains alone? You’ll get carried off by wild wolves and dogs.”
“Don’t say that!” Duan Jia couldn’t help but shiver.
“Even if there are no wolves, what about palm-sized bugs, or snakes as thick as a child’s arm? When they see a delicate little Omega like you, they’ll pounce on you, suck your blood, and eat your flesh.”
“Shut up!”
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the door of a hospital room. The door was ajar, and they could faintly hear someone speaking in a low voice inside.
Yu Xing suddenly stopped, then gestured toward the door. “Please,” she said to Duan Jia.
Duan Jia blinked, a thousand thoughts flashing through her mind. After taking a deep breath, she shoved the door open and took a bold step inside.
The forcefully opened door slammed with a “bang.” Duan Jia opened her eyes, and the look of someone marching to their death on her face suddenly froze.
Looking inside, she saw that the half-drawn curtains blocked most of the light, making the room somewhat dim. But her attention wasn’t on that; it was on the woman standing by the bed with her back to the door.
The blue and white patient gown was pulled halfway down, hanging precariously off one shoulder, on the verge of slipping off completely. Fortunately, her half-pinned hair offered some cover, though it didn’t do much. The proof was in the hazy view of her shoulder and neck.
Perhaps because of the cold draft, her slender shoulder blades trembled slightly, revealing the faint outline of her spine beneath the delicate, smooth skin, like the slender stem of a rose, bending slightly in the wind.
And the President Xi she had been so worried about was lying on her side on the bed, her brow slightly furrowed. With some kind of medicine on her fingertips, she was about to apply it to the other woman’s soft lower back.
Duan Jia stammered, “Pre-President Xi…”
“So you’re into this kind of thing!”
The two women, who had already looked over, were stunned. Xi Zhoulu’s expression immediately turned severe. “Get out!” she snapped.
Before Duan Jia could react, she was forcefully pulled out of the room by the person outside, and the door was quickly shut.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake! Don’t you know how to knock? I told you to go in, so you just went in!” Yu Xing was both angry and exasperated.
“Are you an idiot?!”
Startled, Duan Jia blinked and said meekly, “I thought you were going to lock me in.”
Yu Xing was at a loss for words, finally managing to say, “You really are an idiot.”
Back inside, Luo Yueqing still hadn’t pulled her clothes up. Her peach-blossom eyes held a teasing smile as she repeated, “President Xi, so you’re into this kind of thing, huh.”
Xi Zhoulu’s expression shifted several times before settling into one of helplessness. She sighed. “Come closer. I’m not done applying the medicine.”
The forest was overgrown with weeds and branches. As the two of them had run through it, they had naturally gotten scratched. Later, when they sat on the ground, they were bitten by bugs if they weren’t careful. They didn’t even know what kind of bugs they were; the bites hadn’t healed even after half a month.
The moment Luo Yueqing heard that, her smile vanished, and she reluctantly scooted closer.
Xi Zhoulu could only coax her, saying in a low voice, “There’s just a little bit left.”
“‘Just a little bit left,’ ‘I missed a spot here,’ ‘it’ll be over in a second,’” Luo Yueqing parroted her previous words, then complained, “Xi Zhoulu, you’ve said that several times already.”
She didn’t know if it was the ointment or the open scratches, but it stung like fire whenever it was applied.
“Just a little bit,” Xi Zhoulu promised, her voice firm. The moment her fingertips touched Luo Yueqing’s lower back, she heard her hiss.
“It hurts,” Luo Yueqing couldn’t help but cry out.
Xi Zhoulu’s movements became even lighter. “Almost done, almost done,” she cooed.
Luo Yueqing bit her lower lip, a watery mist gathering at the corners of her eyes. She complained in a delicate voice, “Can we not put it on? Maybe it’ll get better in a couple of days.”
Xi Zhoulu’s heart ached for her, but there was nothing she could do. “What if it leaves a scar?” she reasoned.
“Let it,” Luo Yueqing’s tone shifted, taking on a vaguely threatening edge. “Would President Xi dislike me for having a scar on my body?”
Xi Zhoulu was still busy applying the medicine. “Impossible,” she replied.
“Then let’s not use the medicine. I’ll keep it, and get a tattoo to cover it up later.”
“Tattoos hurt more,” Xi Zhoulu said succinctly, concentrating as she carefully checked to make sure she hadn’t missed any spots.
“But when I think about tattooing President Xi’s bite mark on my body, it doesn’t seem painful anymore,” Luo Yueqing said, her eyes welling with tears from the pain, yet still pushing on.
Xi Zhoulu found this both curious and amusing. She was in so much pain, yet she hadn’t forgotten how to fool around. She couldn’t help but pinch Luo Yueqing’s slender waist and ask in a low voice, “Should I blow on it for you?”
“Blowing won’t work,” Luo Yueqing replied quickly. Her eyes darted around for a moment before she added, “You have to kiss it.”
She was doing this for her own good, yet she was still being asked for compensation. So willful.
What could Xi Zhoulu do? She had no choice but to obediently do as she was told, pulling her back by the waist to bring her closer.
Strands of hair fell forward as soft, cool lips pressed against her lower back. Unlike the urgent pecks elsewhere, these were like the light touch of a dragonfly’s wings, moving from the small of her back to her tailbone, one after another, a soothing yet restrained taste of something forbidden.
Luo Yueqing couldn’t help but tremble, her lowered eyes forcefully suppressing her desire.
From the time of the accident until now, although the two of them still slept in the same room, they hadn’t done that for a long time due to their injuries, stopping at most with light kisses and hugs.
Forced to learn restraint just as she’d gotten a taste of it, Luo Yueqing wished she could grab the System and make it install a medical system sooner so that Xi Zhoulu would be fully healed that very day.
“Xi Zhoulu…”
Her voice was low and hoarse. Luo Yueqing grabbed her wrist, pleading, “Stop kissing. I can’t take it anymore.”
Xi Zhoulu paused, then began to smile. She was the one who had asked for it, yet she was also the first to call it quits.
The restrained hand was forcefully pulled away. Luo Yueqing quickly pulled up her clothes and said in a rush, “You can let her in. I’m going to take a shower.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, Luo Yueqing walked into the bathroom. With a bang, the door closed behind her, and the sound of running water filled the air.
Xi Zhoulu rubbed her brow, a faint smile spreading from the corners of her eyes.
Looking back at the other door, she saw that Duan Jia, who had been standing outside for a long time, was finally able to enter.
The moment she reached the bedside, the earlier incident was temporarily forgotten. A wave of grievance washed over her, and she immediately burst into tears, wailing, “President Xi! I thought you’d been harmed by Xi Zhoukang and the others!”
“They all said… they all said you were gone, and that we had to listen to Xi Zhoukang from now on.”
“They even tried to take over your office! I stood guard at the door and wouldn’t let them in.”
“Secretary Li is a two-faced bastard who goes wherever the wind blows! She actually surrendered to the enemy, President Xi!”
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