readsfreenovel Chapter 15 The Heiress Who Was Rejected from the Engagement
Chapter 15 The Heiress Who Was Rejected from the Engagement
The next day, Ling Yi was somewhat surprised to see Zhou Ziheng outside her home again.
At that time, Mr. and Mrs. Ling, both middle-aged and busy all night, met the young and beautiful Zhou Ziheng with the same rabbit eyes.
Having also stayed up all night, the man only exuded a captivating air of decadence, and even his slightly hoarse voice sounded sexy.
"morning."
Mr. Ling's half-finished yawn and Mrs. Ling's half-finished eye drops stopped abruptly at the same time.
They stared silently and coldly at Zhou Ziheng, who had suddenly appeared in front of their door, and began to wonder who he was greeting.
Are they so close that Zhou Ziheng needs to travel halfway through the city early in the morning to say good morning to them?
I think should not be.
Facing their questioning gazes, Zhou Ziheng, who had changed the homeowner's name to his own overnight, pointed to the house looming in the distance under the trees: "There, is my new home."
He felt that this position was really good.
Having confirmed that yesterday's neighbor was not Zhou Ziheng, President Ling held his nearly dislocated jaw, unsure of what to say.
Last night, a project unexpectedly came along, and the landlord, who had also received a huge favor from Zhou Ziheng, was grinning from ear to ear. He hid in the hotel, laughing foolishly, not knowing what to say.
President Zhou is ill, but he is truly wealthy.
Please post more of this kind of madness!
Zhou Ziheng turned her bright gaze to the obedient girl behind her parents: "Miss Ling, aren't you going to say good morning to me?"
From the moment they parted, he had been looking forward to that "good morning."
Ling Yi blinked slowly, shocked by Zhou Ziheng's speed.
In just one night, she had transformed into her neighbor. What incredible speed and agility that is!
If you don't succeed, who will?
"Good morning, Mr. Zhou."
In an instant, Zhou Ziheng felt as if the gray sky had brightened, and his whole being radiated unparalleled vitality through photosynthesis.
He got out of the car and stood in front of Ling Yi, his excessively handsome appearance and overflowing hormones saying, "I'm going that way, I can take Miss Ling to the company."
"Thank you."
"polite."
The two acted like complete strangers, putting on a show in front of President Ling and his wife, before getting into a car and leaving.
As Mr. Ling stared at the Maybach's rear end, he felt as if his eyes were being blinded by the car's glass.
"No, why would he go that way?" He sniffed, breaking down his defenses: "His company isn't even in the same industrial park as ours!"
Comparing their interactions yesterday, President Ling easily noticed something amiss; something had happened without his knowledge!
Madam Ling pressed her dry eyes: "I'm not stupid."
Even compared to her careless father, her mother was more sensitive and could easily spot the subtle things between the two.
That overly distant tone, beneath the close shoulder-to-shoulder distance, was such a clumsy attempt to cover up the truth.
She glanced sideways at her husband, who was still lost in disbelief: "But what can you do?"
Yes, what should we do?
Is this a case of forcibly separating a loving couple?
Or should we reveal all of Zhou Ziheng's past and make our daughter back down?
"You go and tell her?" President Ling looked at his wife timidly.
Madam Ling paused, then casually looked away, saying, "I'm busy, you go ahead."
Nobody wants to be the bad guy, right?
But what if someone like Zhou Ziheng is fine when things are sweet and affectionate, but then the feelings fade and conflicts arise?
His family serves as a cautionary tale for Ling Yi.
The Ling couple, who had raised their daughter to the point of being almost oblivious to the ways of the world, would never have considered someone like Zhou Ziheng as their son-in-law.
She couldn't beat a madman.
But would their advice be effective for a young girl who has just fallen in love?
Can these adults, who are outsiders, really deprive their daughters of the right to enjoy a new life because of their own reasons?
Not everything they think is good.
Qi Qingran is a case in point.
They both let out a soft sigh, exchanged a glance, and tacitly decided... to bury their heads in the sand.
Anyway, since our daughter hasn't told them anything, it's reasonable for them to pretend they don't know anything.
"When you're in a relationship, you never know when you might break up," President Ling muttered. "Besides, we might not even be in a relationship yet, right?"
Madam Ling's forehead throbbed, and she gave a muffled reply, tacitly acquiescing to her husband's self-deceptive behavior.
Given the circumstances, the only option left is to play dead.
What if the trouble just disappears on its own, the tangled mess unravels by itself, and the daughter breaks up with Zhou Ziheng on her own?
They waited and saw what would happen, their only concern being to provide a safety net for their daughter so that she wouldn't be too hurt if the relationship failed one day.
Although Zhou Ziheng was insane, he had never done anything tasteless, so the couple believed for the time being that he would not be as shameless as Qi Qingran.
……
"You scared them."
On the train, Zhou Ziheng chuckled quietly, his joy spreading to every corner of the carriage.
His invitation was merely a casual flirtation from a male bursting with mating desire; he never considered the female's response.
However, Ling Yi gave him an unexpected answer.
He could never seem to guess what she was thinking, but this kind of life made his life full of fun.
If you just think about a tomorrow with her, it seems that having a peaceful sleep free of bloodshed and gore isn't so difficult.
Zhou Ziheng decided to give it a try; perhaps he would dream of that kiss that would shake him to his core.
"You'll have to get used to it eventually." Ling Yi knew the consequences, but her decision remained unchanged.
Barring unforeseen circumstances or incompatibilities, she wanted to be with Zhou Ziheng for a very long time.
She had no interest in having a secret relationship, so naturally she wouldn't hide it from her family.
As for last night?
Is it wrong for her to want a peaceful sleep without her father nagging?
Zhou Ziheng clutched his chest, as if he had been shot in the heart.
How can it be so sweet?
How could there be such a wonderful thing as him walking towards her and her walking towards him step by step?
At this moment, Zhou Ziheng suspected that all the bad luck he had encountered in the previous thirty years was accumulating good fortune for this moment.
At this moment, he should be the luckiest person.
Ling Yi looked at him inexplicably, not understanding why he was suddenly so excited.
After that kiss, something even more intense sprouted in Zhou Ziheng, whom she could see through, something she couldn't understand, yet it made her happy.
Drawing upon everything that has not been recorded before is Ling Yi's instinct.
So she placed her hand on Zhou Ziheng's chest, her palm slightly cool: "What's wrong?"
Zhou Ziheng's throat bobbed violently, and his lips and the corners of his eyes turned crimson at that moment.
He took Ling Yi's hand and gently pressed it against his chest: "Listen."
I'm dancing for you.
A man in his prime has a steady and strong heartbeat, without any signs of illness.
Before Ling Yi could warm those slightly cool hands, she spoke: "Very healthy."
If nothing unexpected happens, he can live a long time.
Zhou Ziheng was taken aback, all his emotions turning into a mixture of laughter and tears.
He kissed the unromantic hand, then, as if still not satisfied, kissed the unromantic eye, and then his lips.
After a night of longing, the kiss, which felt like a dream, was repeated in this moment, and Zhou Ziheng let out a satisfied sigh.
He kissed her gently, his eyes and brows softening.
Ling Yi slowly closed her eyes.
She felt Zhou Ziheng's kiss, his excitement and affection, and her fingertips unconsciously touched his healthy, beating chest.
She heard the steady heartbeat change rhythm during the kiss, and heard it whispering silent joy.
And so, she seemed to soften as well.
When the car stopped downstairs at Ling's company, the intimate kiss, like two fish touching, finally ended.
Ling Yi's lips turned red, and her face also turned red, showing the naivety of a young girl who was unfamiliar with the ways of the world, a side of her that she had never shown to Zhou Ziheng before.
"So cute." Zhou Ziheng gently stroked the back of her neck, feeling her warm body temperature.
Like a traveler suffering from thirst, he longed to absorb the only source of water into his body, and for every inch of his skin to be touched by her warmth.
The man was like a seductive enchantress, kissing Ling Yi's cheeks, wanting the inexperienced scholar to offer his body and go to bed with him.
Unfortunately, the scholar had strict parents.
They honked their horns frantically behind him, not giving the demons a chance to disturb the scholar's imperial examination.
"Sigh." Zhou Ziheng murmured, biting Ling Yi's lips again as if complaining, his voice carrying a strange lust and temptation through the connection of flesh: "I really want to go public, I really want to get married."
In that way, they would be truly one.
Even her parents couldn't stop them from sitting in the same car and sleeping in the same bed.
Ling Yi blinked, her long eyelashes making Zhou Ziheng's breathing become irregular.
The person who started it all ruthlessly pushed him away at that moment: "No, it's too fast."
In fact, according to her plan, they would hold hands in three weeks, kiss in three months, and get married in three years.
Ling Yi has her own rhythm, and she believes that this is the way she can gather the most information.
But accidents always happen after plans, but these accidents aren't so bad, are they?
Ling Yi pursed her slightly stinging lips, looked out the car window at her parents wandering aimlessly in the parking lot, and smiled.
"If you don't get out now, Dad will smash the car." She pushed away the man's large, unyielding hand that was firmly clasped in hers, straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, and got out of the car.
Zhou Ziheng followed closely behind, and as he closed the door, his hand inadvertently touched Ling Yi's fingertips, as if a small spark had ignited between them because of this touch.
cough!
The overly lingering gaze was interrupted by a clear cough from President Ling, who said with a smile, "You and Xiao Zhao agreed to meet at nine o'clock yesterday, have you forgotten?"
A wicked man is ruining the country; there are only five minutes left!
"No." Ling Yi waved to the two groups of people who seemed to be in a standoff, and went upstairs with a flourish.
Personal feelings are trivial; the right path is to diligently absorb knowledge and take over the family business!
The three left behind looked at each other in bewilderment. After a long while, under his wife's glare, President Ling reluctantly said, "It's getting late, Mr. Zhou, you should go back to work."
Zhou Ziheng brushed his fingertips across the cuff that Ling Yi had touched, his expression showing a hint of respect for an elder: "Uncle Ling, goodbye."
President Ling felt a lump in his throat from being called that. He watched Zhou Ziheng's departing figure and cursed under his breath. It turned out that there really were fools in this world who wanted to pursue their daughters and offend their fathers-in-law!
Unaware that his beloved daughter was securing even more benefits for him, President Ling was furious and prepared to deal with his ex-son-in-law.
And things went much more smoothly than he had imagined.
In a short period of time, the Qi family has been exposed to huge problems, from internal personnel to the industrial chain, and even the tax authorities and economic investigation agencies have come to the Qi family company.
The phrase "overwhelmed with trouble" is insufficient to describe the Qi family's current situation. In order to preserve their core industries, they had no choice but to sell off several large-scale, labor-intensive factories that were the foundation of their business at a low price, cutting their losses to survive.
Those factories were overseen by the Qi family patriarch for over fifty years, and had become deeply ingrained in his very being, even more so than his own sons.
When some of his old colleagues came to his door cursing him after being fired by their new employer, he finally couldn't take the blow and was hospitalized. He was no longer able to control the company and handed over the reins to Qi Qingran's father.
Compared to his eldest son, Old Master Qi clearly preferred his more capable second son. In fact, the second son had already entered the group early on and was in charge of the two important departments of finance and procurement.
That's where the problem lies...
Because of the huge loophole that was exposed, the second brother was imprisoned, and he had no choice but to hand over the matter to the eldest brother.
Madam Qi was both pleased and sarcastic about this.
The old man schemed and plotted, but in the end, didn't he just benefit his family?
It was worth it for her to send out the most crucial document that crushed the second son.
She wasn't surnamed Qi, and she didn't care about the old man's exploitative "harmony in the family brings prosperity" mentality.
All she ever wanted was for her son to inherit the Qi family business!
Qi's father was suddenly thrust into this position, feeling both terrified and flustered.
In peaceful times, his ability to manage a department was already at its peak. Now that the Qi family is in turmoil and he has become the one in power, how can he not be flustered and at a loss?
While internal problems were being addressed one after another, external threats from competitors, media, and netizens were relentless and persistent.
In just one month, half of his hair turned white.
Under all the pressure, the only thing that could bring him comfort was that he had a very capable son.
How come he never noticed before that Qingran had such strong abilities?
Those old folks he couldn't persuade were somehow able to get under his control and barely obey, preventing them from causing trouble for his work.
Under intense training, Qi Qingran matured considerably and lost his naive young master demeanor, much to his father's delight.
If things continue like this, even if the second son's family comes out, he won't be afraid to compete with them!
If Qingran had another powerful ally, her chances of winning would be even greater.
Putting aside his former in-laws with whom he had become enemies, Qi's father once again discussed the possibility of a marriage alliance with Qi Qingran.
Qi Qingran had practically lived at the company these days, and now he was being called home for this kind of thing. He was so tired that he laughed in anger.
"What time is it now, Dad? How can you still be thinking about these things? Besides, I have a girlfriend!"
His superior doesn't want to handle things independently, but instead wants to rely on nepotism; that's what makes him a superior.
Ignoring his son's romance and offending him by discussing marriage arrangements—that's his father!
For a moment, Qi Qingran felt extremely exhausted.