VBNWDW - Chapter 46
Chapter 46
"Sir, the contract has been signed."
A hesitant and conflicted female voice sounded in the starkly decorated office, which held an inexplicable chill. Tan Xunwen sat in the leather office chair, his back to the speaker, gazing at the skyscrapers outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
It was dusk, but perhaps because it was winter, the orange halo of the sunset brought no warmth. Instead, it felt utterly cold.
After her first statement, Tan Xunwen's confidante gritted her teeth and asked, "Sir… will this deal really bring us a satisfactory return?"
It was as if she had used up all her courage in that one question. She stared intently at his back, not seeking a real answer so much as a simple affirmation to put her mind at ease.
But Tan Xunwen didn't reply. He just stared silently out the window.
He was lost in the memories that tormented him daily. The dull knife of memory cut into rotten flesh once more, exposing a gruesome, bloody wound.
The light fell on his ordinary features, his tense face sharp and cold. They say a nephew takes after his maternal uncle, but only in this moment could one see the faint resemblance between him and Xi Zhoulu.
In truth, he didn't look much like his sister, or even like a member of the Tan family. He was like the ugly duckling from a fairy tale, but one who would never grow into a swan. His sister's features were dignified and gentle, while his could only be described as plain. His sister was a top-tier Omega; he was just a low-grade Alpha.
Even their parents were surprised to have produced two such extreme children, joking that perhaps his sister had plundered all the good genes for herself.
But Tan Xunwen didn't care. He was content to be inferior to his sister, to be her shadow, to make her light shine even brighter.
Whenever teachers, classmates, or relatives asked him with puzzled faces why his sister was so brilliant while he was so dull,
Tan Xunwen would feel a twisted sense of pride. He would puff out his chest and declare loudly and happily, "My sister is the best."
He didn't care what others said, as long as his sister was the best. He harbored a fanatical, obsessive adoration for her—a madness that had taken root in childhood and that he refused to change even after recognizing it in adulthood.
Although his parents sensed something was amiss, they didn't find it strange. He wasn't an anomaly in the Tan family, just the most extreme case.
Everyone had eagerly anticipated that this Omega, the highest-grade in the Tan family's history, would change their family's destiny, elevating them from a second-rate family into the uppermost echelons of society.
But fate had other plans. That old master of the Xi family took a liking to his sister and demanded she marry the Xi family's useless, dandyish, low-grade Alpha son.
For any other family, this might have been a blessing—a chance to latch onto the great tree of the Xi family and receive a betrothal gift richer than all their family's assets combined.
But the Tan family had only one outstanding heir, and there had never been a backup.
A beautiful dream they had cherished for twenty years was shattered just like that. No matter how much they resisted, the Tan family still had to force smiles as they sent their heir into the Xi household.
For the first time, Tan Xunwen felt a true sense of powerlessness. His brilliant sister was marrying such a good-for-nothing!
And that good-for-nothing didn't even cherish her. Unable to defy his father's orders, he took out his frustrations on his own wife!
Every time Tan Xunwen recalled visiting his sister and seeing her force a smile while insisting she was fine, he would seethe with hatred—hatred for the Tan family's incompetence, for his own inability to do anything, and for the Xi family's domineering tyranny, which had caused the light of his world to fall into a bottomless abyss.
"Sir…"
Tan Xunwen snapped his eyes shut, suppressing all his emotions. The taste of rust filled his throat as he managed to answer, "It won't."
This would not be a deal that yielded a handsome profit.
The Xi Group was currently embroiled in a scandal of patricidal conflict. The news that Old Master Xi had been angered into a coma and hospitalized was being eagerly reported by all major media outlets. They used sensationalist language to describe how Xi Yunting and his son had orchestrated a car crash to murder his own daughter, then confined the old man to the hospital to forcibly seize power.
In just three days, the Xi Group's stock price had plummeted to an unprecedented low. Yet, the Xi father and son remained unconcerned. Just yesterday, they had bid a price far exceeding any other company's to win the development rights for a plot of land in the west of the city, and immediately announced several new partnerships on the spot.
Any discerning person could see that the Xi Group was standing on a razor's edge with no room to retreat, at risk of falling into a chasm at any moment.
Yet he had just spent a fortune to acquire ten percent of the Xi Group's shares from a stranger. In the second it took for them to have this conversation, his losses had already reached the millions, a testament to what a terrible move it was.
"Then, sir, we…"
"Keep buying," Tan Xunwen cut her off, repeating, "Regardless of the consequences, regardless of the price. As long as someone is willing to sell, we buy."
The woman was even more confused. Most people holding Xi family shares were currently in a wait-and-see mode. After all, Old Master Xi wasn't dead yet, and Xi Zhoulu was merely injured and lying low.
Some secretly speculated that this was all a ploy by the Xi family to reclaim shares. Once the father and son had finished their theatrics, Xi Zhoulu would make a powerful return and salvage the Xi Group.
Could it be that Mr. Tan thought the same?
She couldn't help but guess that, as the saying goes, one must seek wealth amidst danger. Weren't the Tan and Xi families connected by marriage? Perhaps he had received some inside information.
Believing she had uncovered the truth, her expression relaxed, and she turned to leave. She didn't see that the moment the door closed, Tan Xunwen began to laugh, a crazed and obsessive sound.
"The Xi family?"
"I've finally waited for this day. Hahahaha! Xi Yunting, all of you can go to hell! A bunch of trash who treat human lives like dirt! After more than twenty years, I can finally drag you all down."
"Buy! Buy it all for me! I want the Xi Group to go bankrupt! I want you, Xi Yunting, to taste what true agony is."
The office chair swiveled around abruptly, revealing his twisted face. He swept his hand across the desk, and the share contracts he had acquired at great expense tumbled to the floor. Underneath them lay a psychological evaluation, on which the doctor's recommendation for inpatient observation was faintly visible.
"Old Master Xi, Xi Yunting, Xi Zhoulu—your whole family, you are all the executioners who killed my sister!"
"I want the Xi Group to go bankrupt! I want every last member of the Xi family to kneel before my sister's grave and kowtow in repentance!"
"More than twenty years… Sister, Sister…"
"Xunwen misses you so much, Sister…"
The artisans, hired at great expense, worked swiftly. In just three days, the roses were planted. Now, opening the window of the master bedroom revealed an entire wall of rose vines. In a couple of days, someone would come to build a trellis, and by next year, the garden would be filled with blooming roses.
It was something to look forward to.
If Xi Zhoulu weren't angry right now, she would surely be feeling quite pleased.
But at the moment…
She was lying face down on the bed, her brow slightly furrowed in a pained expression.
The culprit knelt on the other side of the bed. Her usually bewitching and glamorous features were tinged with guilt. Her gaze darted away, then quickly returned as her hands gently pressed into the other woman's lower back.
Xi Zhoulu hissed and couldn't help but say, "That hurts. Be gentle."
The pressure wasn't actually that heavy, but Xi Zhoulu's back was so sore that even the slightest downward force from Luo Yueqing pressed on her muscles.
Hearing this, Luo Yueqing grew even more careful. A stray lock of hair fell beside her temple, and she casually tucked it behind her ear before looking at Xi Zhoulu with a pitiful expression.
She really didn't have the gall to act cute and play innocent. For the past three days, CEO Xi hadn't had a moment's rest. Not only did she have to manage business affairs, but she also had to attend to this ancestor in her susceptibility period. The specially mixed water had lost its effect. Last night, Xi Zhoulu had passed out completely, only to be woken up by her again during the day. It had been going on like this until now.
"CEO Xi…" Luo Yueqing blinked, speaking cautiously.
The most intense three days of her susceptibility period had passed. She was relatively rational now.
Xi Zhoulu glanced at her, her pale blue-gray eyes holding a hint of a smile. She had somehow learned Luo Yueqing's signature move, but hers was colder, making one instinctively shrink back.
Luo Yueqing immediately changed her form of address, calling out, "Xi Zhoulu."
The name was drawn out, the final syllable curling like she was trying to coax and cajole.
Xi Zhoulu remained silent, just looking at her. Her waist felt like a willow branch, battered and tossed by wind and rain; every inch of it ached.
Luo Yueqing massaged her more diligently. Perhaps due to her special condition, her arms didn't feel sore. However, her gland was prone to leaking an unknown fluid, requiring the other woman's help from time to time.
She tried again, "Zhoulu…"
It came out stiff and strange. Before the other woman could even frown, she herself started laughing. Feeling awkward, she said, "Your name is such a mouthful."
Xi Zhoulu was speechless. She wanted to ask Luo Yueqing if she was aware that she was still in the middle of apologizing for her behavior. It hadn't even been two minutes.
The other woman probably realized it too, because she gave a silly laugh and continued massaging. Her technique was far worse than that of the professionals Xi Zhoulu hired, the pressure alternating between too light and too heavy, not the least bit comfortable.
Xi Zhoulu was so annoyed she couldn't take it anymore. She turned her head and snapped, "Luo Yueqing, can you even do this right?"
It was a clear sign of the torment CEO Xi had endured these past two days; her usual good temper with Luo Yueqing had completely vanished.
Luo Yueqing froze, turning her head in a daze. She instinctively retorted, "Whether I can do it or not, shouldn't you know best?"
"Then I guess you can't," Xi Zhoulu concluded. "Your technique is terrible."
She was talking about the massage, but Luo Yueqing thought she meant something else. Her brow furrowed tightly as she immediately asked, "You think I'm no good?"
Xi Zhoulu nodded in confirmation.
The Alpha beside her wore a shocked expression. She confirmed again, "Really?"
"Really."
Perhaps her brain had been addled by her susceptibility period, because Luo Yueqing didn't catch on. She stammered, "But… before, you seemed… you clearly enjoyed it so much, you…"
Xi Zhoulu said, "I was faking it."
The massaging hands stopped abruptly. Luo Yueqing had just received the greatest blow an Alpha could possibly endure. Her eyes glazed over as she repeated, "You were faking it…"
Xi Zhoulu had been angry before, but now she was having fun. A desire for revenge surfaced after all of Luo Yueqing's pestering, and she even added fuel to the fire. "It's really bad. Sometimes too hard, sometimes too light. I even have to move to help you find the right spot."
She was still talking about the massage.
Luo Yueqing stammered in her defense, "But you… the sheets were… they were all wet."
"We've changed the sheets more than ten times these past two days."
Xi Zhoulu smiled without a word, as if to say that had nothing to do with Luo Yueqing.
Luo Yueqing sat there stunned for a long while before suddenly gritting her teeth. She grabbed the other woman's waist and said through clenched teeth, "Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
Before the other woman had time to react, she was pulled by the ankle toward Luo Yueqing. Conditioned by the past two days, her legs instinctively wrapped around the other's waist.
And then…
For that one teasing remark, Xi Zhoulu paid the price by having to repeat countless times, "You're good, you can do it." Even when she passed out on the bed, she was still unconsciously murmuring, "You're good."
But the Alpha didn't believe her, convinced she was still faking it, and practiced her technique over and over again.
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