The Billionaire's New Wife in Chief

Chapter 708 - 187 Song Qiao Saw the News on Weibo

Lu Jingchen was not a stranger to him. Before coming to An City, he had deliberately investigated this man and came to only one conclusion.

Better to make friends than to make enemies.

Lu Jingchen remained indifferent, even though he knew that Director Zhao was already somewhat angry at this moment, there was still no change in his expression as he continued to speak lightly, "Director Zhao, you should know that I, Lu Jingchen, am not someone to be trifled with either."

The meaning of his words was very clear at this point: you have no choice but to take the offer, whether you want to or not.

By seniority, Director Zhao was a generation older than Lu Jingchen, and by convention, Lu Jingchen should have addressed him as ’Uncle’. But now, it seemed Lu Jingchen didn’t regard him highly at all.

It would be an overstatement to say that Lu Jingchen had asked him out to talk today. It was merely the nicest way to put it, but in reality, Lu Jingchen had essentially summoned him just to inform him.

Arrogant, extremely arrogant.

This was the general opinion of Lu Jingchen among the people present.

Director Zhao’s face looked particularly ugly, and for a moment, he couldn’t find the words to refute, his face turning a shade darker as he looked at Lu Jingchen but remained silent.

He was in no position to agree to Lu Jingchen’s demand, but if he didn’t, as Lu Jingchen had just mentioned, he was not someone to be messed with, and that was indeed true.

Although he was the Director of the Health Bureau, CK Corporation’s position in An City was unshakable, and what’s more, the Lu Family of CK Corporation was once formidable in both the underworld and the business world.

Thinking of the old timers from the Lu Family who had struggled through blood and storm for many years, Director Zhao felt a cold sweat breaking out on his back.

Lu Jingchen’s gaze fell lightly on Director Zhao. Seeing that his expression was not very good, and probably ready to relent, he didn’t say much more. He disliked being in such places, and since marrying Song Qiao, he seldom visited bars, and certainly not this one.

In comparison to that bar, this place was rather unsavory, only suitable for talking business in another way.

Lu Jingchen stood up and said lightly to Director Zhao, "Director Zhao, I’ve said what I wanted to say. I hope you will consider it. And one more thing, I hope you can remind the person behind you to know their limits."

After speaking, he didn’t wait for Director Zhao to react, but tossed a signed check onto the coffee table and strode toward the door.

Director Zhao had prepared to retort upon hearing the first part of Lu Jingchen’s statement, but his eyes widened in astonishment after hearing the latter reminder, as the cold sweat on his back grew even more profuse.

This man... knows about the person behind me?

A coldness creeped up from his feet, slowly spreading to his head, then disseminating into his limbs, making him feel as if he were in millennia-old ice and snow, so cold that he wanted to shiver.

...

Inside the villa, after getting washed up, Song Qiao didn’t go straight to bed but nestled with her laptop on the tatami near the bay window, placing the computer on her knees to check her emails.

The phone on the side suddenly rang, and Song Qiao blinked in surprise, as it was unexpected for someone to call this late. Without hesitation, she picked up the phone to see who it was, and seeing it was Shen Yi, she frowned slightly, not knowing why Shen Yi would call so late but still swiped the screen to answer.

"Hello, Senior Shen, why are you calling so late? Is there something wrong?" Song Qiao’s gaze remained on her laptop, having just reviewed an email concerning work.

It was from Huayi Media, mainly about the imminent end of shooting for the new movie, followed by some of the shooting schedule for the crew.

An Ke’s scenes would be finished by tomorrow, and thereafter she wouldn’t need to continue filming at the ’Life Reversal’ crew. Song Qiao thought for a moment, considering whether or not to have An Ke act in more TV dramas or advertisements. She had received quite a number of scripts recently.

Because An Ke played a significant role in ’Life Reversal’, Huayi Media Group had emphasized her in their promotions, so now she could be considered quite a famous actress in the An City entertainment industry, with many companies sending her invitations.

At this moment, Shen Yi was sitting in his office, working overtime due to some matters for the third night in a row, looking not very good, not so much from fatigue as from his visage appearing somewhat gloomy, his thin lips open as he addressed Song Qiao over the phone, "Xiao Qiao, what’s going on between you and Lu Jingchen lately? Aren’t you two married?"

Shen Yi thought Song Qiao was aware of the situation online, so he directly asked her what was wrong between them recently.

His laptop screen displayed the Weibo page, and it was filled with rumors about Lu Jingchen and Zuo Yuqing.

Actually, the rumors had surfaced a few days earlier, but at the time Shen Yi hadn’t seen them. It was only after overhearing employees talking about it by chance that he checked Weibo yesterday. However, by then the issue had been dealt with, the original poster had deleted the Weibo, and almost no traces of the rumors about the two of them could be found, so he didn’t directly ask Song Qiao.

But just now when he logged onto Weibo, he found that the rumors had resurfaced, though there were no photos of Lu Jingchen, only of Zuo Yuqing. Even though Lu Jingchen’s name wasn’t openly mentioned, they used "Lu XX," and anyone with discernment could make the connection to the Weibo headline that had trended a few days ago, igniting the rumors once again.

Shen Yi had always thought highly of Song Qiao, not only because of her work capability but also because she was his junior from elementary school and their relationship was quite good, akin to that between a brother and sister. Naturally, he felt concerned and wanted to check in on her.

When Song Qiao heard Shen Yi’s words, her finger paused on the touchscreen, momentarily unable to grasp his meaning. With somewhat of a daze, she asked, "What about you, Senior Shen? Lu Jingchen and I are indeed married, aren’t we? You’ve known this for a while, right?"

"You’re not aware of what’s happening online?" Shen Yi suddenly understood.

It seemed that Song Qiao had no idea about what was happening on the internet, which made Shen Yi frown slightly before he went on to say, "Haven’t you been online recently?"

"Yeah, I’ve been busy lately," Song Qiao readily admitted.

"You should take a look at Weibo, Xiao Qiao. I just hope you can be well and have your own happiness. I don’t want you to be unhappy, you understand?"

Shen Yi’s words were very puzzling.

That was Song Qiao’s first reaction.

Still, she obediently responded, "I understand, Senior Shen. I’ll go online and check now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up first."

"Alright." Shen Yi didn’t say anything more and hung up the call.

Right after ending the call, Song Qiao closed her email and glanced at the desktop of her computer. After a moment’s thought, she directly opened Sina Weibo and logged into her account.

Even though Shen Yi had already said what he did, Song Qiao felt that something must have happened related to Lu Jingchen, otherwise Shen Yi wouldn’t have spoken such inexplicable words.

After giving it some thought, she went straight to check the trending searches on Weibo.

...

When Lu Jingchen returned home, it was already past midnight. Aside from the dim wall light in the living room, the only other illumination came from the streetlights outside.

After walking in and changing his shoes, Lu Jingchen loosened his tie. His head ached slightly right now. After leaving the bar where Director Zhao and others were, he didn’t come straight home; instead, he went out for more drinks with some close friends and hadn’t driven himself, choosing to use a designated driver.

At this hour, the servants had long gone to bed, and the villa was very quiet.

Heading straight to the second floor, carrying the scent of alcohol, Lu Jingchen couldn’t help but frown as he opened the bedroom door to pitch darkness. He was about to reach for the light switch but hesitated and withdrew his hand, squinting to barely make out the figure of a small woman lying in bed, her form barely discernible under the slightly raised covers.

Knowing that Song Qiao was already sleeping, he took advantage of the moonlight streaming in from outside and slowly made his way to the wardrobe. In no time, he took out a bathrobe and then walked into the bathroom.

As soon as the bathroom door closed, Song Qiao, who had been lying in bed with her eyes shut, abruptly opened them, the clarity in her eyes undeniable. Her hand, gripping the edge of the blanket, unconsciously tightened its hold, yet she made no move to get up.

Minutes later, the bathroom door opened, and Song Qiao immediately shut her eyes again.

Soon, the other side of the bed dipped as the covers were lifted and Lu Jingchen slowly lay down, extending a long arm to hold her in his embrace, his chin resting atop her head, sharing his warm breath.

Song Qiao dared not move, even though she hadn’t fallen asleep yet and the man’s embrace felt somewhat cold, leaving her uncomfortable. But she remained still, allowing him to hold her.

In fact, she had many questions she wanted to ask him, such as about his relationship with Zuo Yuqing and about their marriage. Initially, she really had the urge to call him.

But in the end, she suppressed that impulse, and now even more so, she didn’t know how to start the conversation.

Was she supposed to confront him directly about his relationship with Zuo Yuqing?

That was even more impossible; she didn’t dare to confront him outright.