Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 14

Lanner appeared slightly later than scheduled, looking like a walking source of light, his dazzling golden hair held perfectly in place with gel, and a meticulously styled brooch pinned to his chest.

The delegation following him was luxurious, all-in high-end designer suits, radiating an elite aura.

Jia Qiao rose and very politely shook hands with each of them, observing everyone’s words and demeanor.

—There was no one in the delegation who looked like Zoa.

“Everyone present at today’s signing ceremony is an executive from M5 (Director) level or above in our company,” Lanner said, holding Jia Qiao’s cool fingertips, a hint of slyness flashing in his eyes. “Is Chairman Jia not satisfied? Why do you look a bit… disappointed?”

“Not at all,” Jia Qiao subtly withdrew his hand. “Qianhe is highly honored by your side’s emphasis.”

Before the formal signing, the two teams had already held countless discussions around the contract details, ensuring the main body of the agreement was flawless.

After the final proposal was confirmed, Lanner added an extra condition: designating Qianhe as the exclusive domestic agent and granting it full autonomous development rights.

This additional clause was equivalent to handing over the initiative to Qianhe, ensuring that a situation similar to Ruike would not happen again.

However, this provided no substantive benefit to Lanner himself.

Heaven knew what he was truly up to.

The formal contract was in duplicate, and both parties exchanged signatures.

After signing the copy in front of him, Jia Qiao took the contract Lanner had already signed, and for the first time, saw Lanner’s full name at the end:

Lanner·Ji·Arundel.

The middle ‘Ji’ was a typical Asian spelling, rarely seen in Western names.

Jia Qiao’s pen-holding hand paused for a few seconds; he felt an inexplicable sense of concern.

After signing, representatives from both sides exchanged some prepared pleasantries, and the ceremony concluded.

“Phew—”

Just as he walked out of the signing venue, Lanner raised his hand, hooked his index finger under his tie, and vigorously yanked it open. He then casually ran his hand through his perfectly styled golden hair, making it fluffy and relaxed in a few strokes. Only then did he let out a long sigh and flashed a dazzling, blinding smile at Jia Qiao.

“Party A Lanner has finished work and is offline.” Lanner underwent a 360-degree transformation, like a magical girl. “Now, as a friend, would you do me the honor of having dinner with me?”

Jia Qiao did not stop, walking directly toward the waiting business car, refusing cleanly and sharply. “I don’t recall making friends with Mr. Lanner. Goodbye.”

“Hey, hey, hey, I’ve worked so hard for this collaboration, how much effort have I put in? I don’t even deserve a friend request?” Lanner chased after him, dramatically clutching his chest in protest. “Little Jia Qiao, why are you even colder than Zhu Nanyu?”

Upon hearing the name ‘Zhu Nanyu,’ Jia Qiao’s steps suddenly halted. His calm gaze turned to the blonde. “Is he friends with you?”

“Friends? No no no~” Lanner gave an ambiguous wink with his right eye, and said, pretending to be bashful while holding his handsome face, “Our relationship is much more intimate than friends, you see~”

More intimate than friends?

The temperature in Jia Qiao’s eyes plummeted. His sharp gaze almost pierced through Lanner, carrying a sense of unprecedented annoyance and… sourness.

Zhu Nanyu had intimate people in his life.

Was it before or… after he met him?

The fist is hardening.

“Wait, it’s definitely not what you’re thinking!”

Lanner felt the murderous intent and, fearing he was playing with fire, quickly pulled out a business card from his pocket.

It bore Jia Qiao’s full name, the one he had been curious about. The tall blonde pointed from left to right:

“Lanner is my given name, Ji is my maternal surname, and Arundel is my paternal surname. My mother’s mother is Asian, and she has a beautiful Chinese name, Ji Baizhi.”

Ji Baizhi?

Jia Qiao heard the name for the first time, yet he felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen a similar name somewhere.

He remembered that Zhu Nanyu’s grandmother also had the surname Ji, and her full name was Ji Fuling.

“Realized it?” Lanner’s smile brightened again. “My maternal grandmother was born into a family of traditional Chinese medicine and liked to name her children after medicinal herbs. She also has a younger sister named… Ji Fuling.”

Jia Qiao murmured, “Indeed.”

“So~” Lanner drew out the word, saying proudly, “I, Lanner·Ji·Arundel, am your dear Zhu Zhu’s most respected cousin! When he was little, he even gave me a particularly cute Chinese nickname.”

“What is it?”

“My surname is Ji, and my name is phonetically translated as Lanner, so he called me ‘Little Orchid Ji’ (Ji Xiaolan), and even gave me a very stylish antique pipe! Can you imagine? It was like the large pipe that Ji Xiaolan smoked in the TV series…”

Jia Qiao looked away, a barely perceptible curve on his lips, fleeting like a shooting star.

Mr. Zhu Nanyu had an overly rich inner world.

“Alas, what a pity~” Lanner noticed Jia Qiao’s cute little action, spread his hands, and said with regret, “I originally wanted little Zhu Zhu to formally introduce me, and then I could naturally hear the adorable little Jia Qiao call me Big Brother~”

Jia Qiao slowly blinked his eyes, thought seriously for three seconds, and didn’t understand where the regret was.

He looked up at Lanner and said clearly, calmly, and without fluctuation, “Big Brother.”

Lanner: …

What a supremely unemotional ‘Big Brother.’

With that tone, even calling someone ‘husband’ wouldn’t elicit any heart-thumping dokidoki sensation. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of hardship Zhu Nanyu was enduring after marriage.

Lanner silently sympathized for three seconds, and persistently extended the invitation again, “Now, may I invite you to dinner?”

The Chinese-style private room, with its subtle and grand decor, was quiet and comfortable. The mahogany Eight Immortals table was filled with dishes suited to Jia Qiao’s taste.

Lanner sat casually in the opposite seat, and after a few drinks, he seemed slightly tipsy. Leaning lazily against the back of the chair, his bright blue eyes sparkled, and he became more talkative.

“I say, little Jia Qiao~ Just eating is so boring. Play something with your big brother, won’t you?”

Jia Qiao slowly put down his chopsticks, giving him a faint, indifferent look.

“Why do both you and your husband look at me like that? At least one of you should be a little cute, shouldn’t you?”

Jia Qiao found him utterly annoying and refused again, “I don’t play games.”

“Swear on it! Swear a deadly oath!”

“…” Jia Qiao: Disgusted

“Play with me, just to maintain our fragile kinship, come on~” Lanner clasped his chest, looking on the verge of tears.

Although Jia Qiao didn’t think it was necessary to maintain ‘kinship,’ Lanner was too much of a performer, causing the waiters who came in to serve and clear dishes to cast strange looks, wondering if Jia Qiao was dining with an idiot.

To stop him from continuing his madness, Jia Qiao reluctantly agreed to play with him for five minutes.

“Yay~ Let’s play a game related to impressions!”

Lanner instantly bounced back to life, excitedly took out his phone, and opened a GIF that flashed dozens of times per second.

Jia Qiao had excellent dynamic vision and could vaguely distinguish adjectives like ‘tsundere,’ ‘scheming,’ and ‘chuunibyo.’

“See that? This GIF contains all sorts of personality attributes. We take turns screenshotting it for the other person and naming the person we know who best fits that attribute.”

Jia Qiao felt a bit regretful after hearing the rules.

This game sounded incredibly dull, and now he had to waste five minutes on it.

“So, I’ll start first. Ready? Go!”

Lanner was the first to take a screenshot. The screen ‘clicked’ and froze, showing the bold, enlarged characters ‘Outgoing’ right in the center.

Jia Qiao wasn’t very interested. He quickly reviewed the people around him in his mind, raised his hand, and perfunctorily pointed at Lanner.

A top-tier E-type personality, a social bulldozer.

In terms of lively and outgoing, he could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the sun.

“Wow~ The representative of ‘Outgoing’ in your heart is actually me~” Lanner handed the phone over, satisfied. “I thought you found me utterly annoying.”

“You know yourself well,” Jia Qiao took the phone expressionlessly, holding no hope for the game, and casually tapped the screenshot button.

Lanner leaned over and saw the image was fixed on the word ‘Sensitive.’ He answered without hesitation, “Zhu Zhu!”

“Him???” Jia Qiao felt genuine surprise and looked up at Lanner.

What part of Zhu Nanyu was sensitive?!

Moreover, how did this blonde know Zhu Nanyu was sensitive? Were they proper brothers?!

“Hahahahaha—! What are you imagining? I’m not referring to physical sensitivity.” Lanner saw through Jia Qiao’s thoughts, laughed hysterically, and explained while clutching his stomach. “Zhu Zhu is the most emotionally delicate person I know. He can sense many subtle fluctuations that others can’t.”

Indeed.

Jia Qiao had recently started sorting through the items Zhu Nanyu left behind and gained a new understanding of his husband.

What a shame… Jia Qiao lowered his eyes.

What a shame he no longer had the chance to completely understand ‘Zhu Nanyu.’

He could only piece together the real husband bit by bit, glimpsing a corner of him through his preserved belongings and the words of others.

It was Lanner’s turn to screenshot, and he happened to select the word ‘Gentle.’

Jia Qiao’s voice was very soft, carrying an almost imperceptible huskiness. “Zhu Nanyu… I guess.”

“Are you sure? It must be a gentleness limited just to you,” Lanner playfully mocked, and without waiting for Jia Qiao to speak, he shoved the phone toward him. “It’s almost five minutes. One more round,”

Jia Qiao, driven by the desire to complete the task, just wanted to finish quickly and randomly took a screenshot.

A single letter, accompanied by a strong, restricted meaning, appeared in the center of the screen—

‘S’

Jia Qiao: …

What kind of 18+ terrible game was this?

“‘S,’ huh?” Lanner rested his chin on his hand, pondered for a while, and then gave an answer with a mix of mischievousness and mockery. “Zoa.”

“Huh?” Jia Qiao looked surprised again.

Zoa, the middle-aged man who gave the impression of being stiff, conservative, and even a bit of a ‘sycophant’… ‘S’?

How was he associated with this letter?

“Are you questioning me? Zoa is absolutely ‘Master’-level!” To convince Jia Qiao, Lanner dug out a recently taken photo from his album.

The background of the photo was a dimly lit single hospital room, and a sense of bleakness and oppression could be felt even through the screen.

A man was sitting against the light by the window, his face unrevealed. He was wearing a well-tailored black shirt, buttoned meticulously to the top, looking proud and ascetic.

The pure black fabric enveloped his broad shoulders and narrow waist, allowing one to feel the vibrant tension contained beneath the clothing, making one involuntarily want to submit and beg for pity.

Indeed, Master-level.