After the Arranged Marriage, I Was Pampered by the Powerful Tycoon - Chapter 19

Dusk arrived, and deep green vines crawled across the mottled courtyard walls, adding a sense of desolation to the rarely visited small residence.

A haggard-looking woman sat in a wheelchair, her gaze fixed steadily on the entrance, though her eyes possessed a dullness unlike that of a normal person. Behind her, a middle-aged woman who appeared to be a caregiver was wiping her arms with a towel.

Cheng Jin stepped out of his car, entered the small courtyard, and walked straight toward the woman in the wheelchair.

“I’ll do it,” he said with a nod to the caregiver, taking the towel from her hands.

“Mother, I’m here.” Cheng Jin took the towel and wiped the back of the woman’s hand. Upon closer inspection, the back of her hand was covered in a dense thicket of needle marks; because of these punctures, the skin—withered like tree bark—was unnaturally and highly swollen.

Cheng Jin gently wiped the woman’s right hand, which was bruised a terrifying shade of purple, then set it down to wipe the other. The woman remained numb, allowing him to move her as he pleased, seemingly devoid of any consciousness of her own.

“When you inserted yourself into someone else’s family back then… did you ever think you would have a day like this?” Cheng Jin suddenly smiled, continuing his movements, though his eyes were filled with immense mockery. “You thought you could replace her and marry into a wealthy family, never realizing you were simply moving me from one hell to another…”

“Is there any mother in the world like you?”

Cheng Jin stood up, threw the towel onto the ground, and looked down coldly at his mother in the wheelchair.

He slowly reached out, placing his hand on the woman’s pale, slender neck. His fingers slowly closed around it, and then he gradually increased his strength.

Before long, the woman’s eyes widened. Her face instantly flushed deep red, and a laboring, wheezing sound came from her throat as her expression became pained from the lack of oxygen.

“A… Jin…”

“You don’t deserve to say my name.” Cheng Jin closed his eyes, heartlessly tightening his grip.

After an unknown amount of time, the woman’s breathing gradually weakened until the last signs of resistance vanished. Feeling a sense of sudden loss, Cheng Jin released his hand and gave a casual shove; the woman, along with her wheelchair, toppled sideways onto the ground.

“Ma—Madam!” The caregiver ran out after hearing the noise from outside. Seeing the woman overturned on the ground, she glanced at Cheng Jin, her movements becoming hesitant.

Cheng Jin shot her a glance: “Aren’t you going to help Madam up yet?”

The sound of violent coughing erupted behind him. Cheng Jin let out a sarcastic smile and answered the phone that had been vibrating just moments ago.

“If they’re caught, they’re caught. He won’t be able to trace it back.”

“Alright, Father, I’m coming over now.”

With one hand in his pocket, Cheng Jin left the courtyard that resembled a cage.

“Teacher Wei, are you feeling any better?”

Cheng Ruan personally placed a bouquet of flowers by Wei Qian’s bedside, while the people behind him carried two fruit baskets into the ward.

Seeing Cheng Ruan arrive, Wei Qian looked up, traces of unshed tears still on her face.

Cheng Ruan’s gaze swept over the thick plaster and bandages on her hand, and he suddenly felt a pang of discomfort. He took a step closer, softening his tone: “Does it still hurt?”

“Mr. Cheng…” Wei Qian’s eyes slowly turned red. “My hand…”

“Nothing will happen to your hand,” Cheng Ruan reassured her. “Mr. Luo has arranged for the best neurosurgeon to perform your surgery. You’ll recover very soon.”

“Teacher Wei has suffered.”

Wei Qian shook her head. “I never imagined I would encounter such a bolt from the blue… I’m sorry for affecting the progress of your project.”

“Not at all,” Cheng Ruan denied her claim. “Teacher Wei, please focus on resting. If the project’s progress were affected just because of this, then that would be our problem.”

“Mr. Cheng…”

“Rest assured, Teacher Wei.” Cheng Ruan offered a gentle smile. “I didn’t come here because of the project; I’m just visiting. I hope you can recover soon without any burdens.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cheng.” Wei Qian took a deep breath and looked at her right hand, which had just undergone several surgeries. “I hope this surgery won’t affect…”

Cheng Ruan said with certainty, “It won’t.”

Following Cheng Ruan’s eye signal, Lu Ling took a business card from her handbag and placed it on the nightstand. “Hello, Teacher Wei. I am Mr. Cheng’s secretary. If you need anything, please feel free to contact me at any time.”

Returning to the Cheng Group building, Cheng Ruan was surprised to see a familiar figure on the guest sofa.

“Luo Mingzhi?” Cheng Ruan looked around for a moment, then quickly closed the door and walked in. “Why are you here?”

Luo Mingzhi had put on those gold-rimmed glasses again and was wearing a dark tea-colored suit, making him appear even more profound and restrained. Seeing Cheng Ruan return, he slightly curled his lips and said, “There is news.”

“…” Cheng Ruan sat down opposite Luo Mingzhi. “I know there’s news, but what exactly is the big deal that would bring Mr. Luo here in person?”

“He confessed,” Luo Mingzhi said, lowering his eyes. “It’s a lackey who was a former subordinate of Cui Shu.”

“You found out that quickly?” Cheng Ruan was somewhat surprised. “It’s… President Cui again.”

“It seems he is dead set on helping Cheng Jin.”

Luo Mingzhi added, “Although several leads were cut in the middle and there is no direct evidence now, if we want to make the Cui family suffer a bit, there are ways.”

Cheng Ruan asked, “For example?”

Luo Mingzhi looked at him calmly. “For example, the old accounts that person handled under the Cui family’s orders—we can settle them all together this time.”

“Of course, if you want to pull them up by the roots, it’s not impossible to give them a taste of their own medicine.”

Cheng Ruan raised an eyebrow. Such an approach was indeed Luo Mingzhi’s style, but he still stopped him: “No, let’s stick to being law-abiding citizens.”

After staring at Luo Mingzhi for a while, Cheng Ruan suddenly changed the subject. “Don’t say anything, Luo Mingzhi, but I’ve found that you actually look quite gentle when you wear glasses.”

“A suggestion from a friend,” Luo Mingzhi said with a slight smile.

Cheng Ruan originally wanted to offer a few more compliments, but Luo Mingzhi’s next words stopped him in his tracks.

“On the first day we met in the old manor’s garage, you seemed afraid of me.”

“Uh…” Cheng Ruan cleared his throat, trying to salvage a bit of his dignity. “That was because the underground garage was too cold.”

He certainly wouldn’t admit it was because his prospective father-in-law’s gaze was too sinister at the time—a smile on his lips, but an expression on his face that looked like he wanted to strangle him.

Wait, he was afraid of Luo Mingzhi… Cheng Ruan suddenly looked up, staring at Luo Mingzhi in disbelief. “You couldn’t possibly… have put on glasses just because you thought I was afraid of you, right?”

Luo Mingzhi arched an eyebrow. Although he didn’t answer, the expression on his face provided the answer.

“…” Cheng Ruan covered his burning face. Though embarrassed, he remained stubborn. “What a joke, how could I possibly be afraid of you…”

“But thank you anyway.” Cheng Ruan stood up and walked behind Luo Mingzhi, subconsciously reaching out to squeeze Luo Mingzhi’s shoulders. “Thanks to you and Zhang Li, I’m going to settle some scores now.”

Luo Mingzhi’s lips moved slightly; he wanted to reach up and grasp those hands that were fanning the flames on his body, but Cheng Ruan unexpectedly let go immediately, oblivious, and stepped aside to make a phone call.

Looking from a distance, Cheng Ruan’s figure was outlined smoothly and fully by his shirt and trousers. Luo Mingzhi focused his gaze on him, his eyes filled with undisguised possessiveness.

“Alright, I’ll head downstairs in a moment.” Cheng Ruan hung up the phone and realized Luo Mingzhi was staring at him intently.

Cheng Ruan looked down, following Luo Mingzhi’s gaze curiously, and reached out to straighten the hem of his clothes. “Is there something strange on me?”

Luo Mingzhi said nothing for a long while, then smiled and asked, “Your butt is quite perky; does that count?”

“…” Cheng Ruan’s face flushed red instantly. “You should just shut up, Luo Mingzhi.”

A flashy red sports car pulled up in front of the Cui Group building. The door opened, and Cheng Ruan stepped out of the car with composure, though a suspicious hint of red still lingered on his earlobes.

He shook his head and walked into the building. Seeing him approach, the security guard immediately and respectfully opened the private passage and moved to pick up the walkie-talkie to notify his superiors.

“No need,” Cheng Ruan smiled. “The one visiting today is the Young Master, not President Cheng.”

The wind generated by his stride ruffled the hem of Cheng Ruan’s grey-blue shirt. His leather shoes tapped rhythmically against the floor. The security guards behind him were stunned into silence. After a long moment, one picked up the walkie-talkie and said blankly, “Security calling. Please report to President Cui: the Cheng family’s Young Master… has arrived.”

The elevator doors opened, and Cheng Ruan stepped out, not at all surprised to see Cheng Jin waiting outside.

Cheng Ruan raised an eyebrow: “You’re here too?”

Cheng Jin said with a smile, “Hearing that Brother was coming, Father specifically asked me to come and welcome you.”

“Truly a picture of brotherly love and filial devotion.” Cheng Ruan made no effort to hide the sarcasm in his tone. “It’s good that you’re here; I was just planning to settle scores with both of you.”

Entering the CEO’s office, Cui Shu was nearby feeding tropical fish in a tank. Seeing Cheng Ruan and Cheng Jin enter, he smiled, set down the fish food, and turned around. “Mr. Cheng, your visit to my company without prior notice may result in poor hospitality. Please be understanding.”

“Whether I am understanding or not isn’t the point.” Cheng Ruan waved his hand dismissively, his gaze falling on the fish food half-thrown on the table. “President Cui, what kind of madness are you playing at now?”

Cui Shu hadn’t expected Cheng Ruan to be so blunt. He frowned. “Pardon me, what did Mr. Cheng just say?”

“I said you’re acting crazy.” Cheng Ruan walked to Cui Shu’s side, leaning over to look at the brilliantly colored tropical fish, a smile in his eyes. “You are our investor, yet you intimidate the teacher we’re collaborating with and indulge a subordinate in hiring someone to cause harm. Doing such treacherous things—does that count as being sick in the head?”

Cheng Jin frowned and interrupted Cheng Ruan: “Cheng Ruan, watch your tongue! Don’t just throw slander around!”

“Watch my tongue?” Cheng Ruan straightened up and looked at the two of them innocently. “I’ve been speaking perfectly fine… but then, you two don’t understand human speech, do you?”

“A-Jin.” Cui Shu stopped Cheng Jin, who wanted to argue further, and then turned to Cheng Ruan. “Mr. Cheng, I think there might be some misunderstanding between us. I don’t understand what you were just talking about.”

“Our families have a long history in Jincheng; even without cooperation, there is still professional courtesy. Not to mention, you are A-Jin’s biological older brother. Why would I do the things you’ve mentioned?”

“Whether you did it or not, you know the truth in your hearts.” Cheng Ruan picked up the fish food from the table. “I didn’t come here today to interrogate you.”

Cui Shu looked at Cheng Jin in surprise. “Then I perhaps cannot guess the purpose of your visit today.”

“As you can see, I am here to learn the business philosophy of President Cui and Mr. Cheng.” Cheng Ruan dumped all the fish food in his hand into the tank. “When you often walk by the riverside, getting your shoes wet is a small matter; just make sure you don’t fall into the river.”

“Although the Cui family is the investor, we don’t ‘need’ you. Don’t lose track of who is in charge.”

Cheng Ruan clapped his hands, looked at Cui Shu and Cheng Jin provocatively, and turned to walk out of the office.

“I’ll see Mr. Cheng out.” Cheng Jin followed him out.

Riding the same elevator down, Cheng Jin suddenly questioned him: “Cheng Ruan, the police just shut down several of the Cui family’s properties, all related to a former lackey. You and Luo Mingzhi did that, didn’t you?”

Cheng Ruan shrugged helplessly. “You should be the one who knows best who did it, right?”

Cheng Jin’s face behind him was dark with anger. Cheng Ruan stepped out of the elevator with a fearless smile on his face.

Back at the sports car, Cheng Ruan opened the driver’s door. Just as he fastened his seatbelt, another limited-edition supercar pulled up beside him and honked.

“?” Cheng Ruan rolled down the window and saw the person in the driver’s seat.

“Wu Zhou?”

“Xiao Ruan!” Wu Zhou called out to him in surprise. “I was wondering who else would have this car. It really is you!”

“Aren’t you going to the group to work today? What are you doing at the Cui building with such a flashy car?”

Cheng Ruan didn’t know where Wu Zhou got his misconceptions. He said in a serious tone, “Little brother, I am not an idle person. I am here for work.”

“Work?” Wu Zhou’s eyes were full of disbelief as he exposed him. “Come on, you’re definitely here to provoke them again.”

“…” Cheng Ruan didn’t know how to argue back. “Whatever you say.”

That was clearly a strategy!

“Where are you going now?”

“To a university alumni gathering. I asked you last week and you said you were busy, but since we ran into each other on the road today… hey, want to come along?”