Four Years Ago, Her Husband Cheated on Her Body - Chapter 9

Jia Qiao returned to A City, but instead of heading straight to his own villa, he went to the marital home he shared with Zhu Nanyu.

Before entering the security code, he carefully checked the gap at the bottom of the entrance door. The slender strand of hair remained undisturbed.

“Could it be… I was overthinking it?”

Jia Qiao walked into the house and casually placed the items he had brought from the safe near the entrance.

Just as he was about to let go, the thought occurred to him that Zhu Nanyu had gone to the trouble of renting a safe far away to meticulously preserve these ‘junk’ items like state secrets for so long.

He sighed helplessly, picked them up again, and walked into Zhu Nanyu’s study.

During the time they lived together, Jia Qiao rarely entered Zhu Nanyu’s study, finding it boring.

The overall decor of this marital home followed Jia Qiao’s preferences, but the study was the only room that retained Zhu Nanyu’s style, making it a veritable ‘book’ room.

Eight extra-wide, tall solid wood bookcases lined the walls on both sides, each shelf packed to the brim, resulting in a collection comparable to a small library.

Jia Qiao had originally thought that with Zhu Nanyu’s rigid and serious nature, he would probably only read books like The Principles of Thick Black or Capital.

Upon closer inspection, he found that while the majority of the book titles were tedious, the bookcase near the desk was significantly more colorful, neatly displaying many novels that, just by their names, promised intense melodrama.

“The Green Tea Substitute for the CEO’s White Moonlight, Days and Nights of Being Spoiled by a Top Star, transmigrated as the Villainous Male Supporting Character, I Became the Group Favorite…?”

Jia Qiao found it hard to believe that his usually steady, mature, and ‘above-low-level-tastes’ husband was secretly reading about ‘CEOs’, ‘being spoiled’, and ‘villainous male supporting characters’ behind his back.

With a mix of curiosity, he picked one book from the pile and discovered that the side of the book was marked with different colored sticky notes.

He picked up the travel guide he had brought in earlier and saw that the sticky notes used were exactly the same.

“…A coincidence, perhaps.”

Following the colored sticky notes, he opened the melodramatic novel and saw several lines of neat, fluent handwriting, earnestly annotating how to approach a similar plot for a successful ‘strategy.’

Jia Qiao held the travel guide Zhu Nanyu personally made, placed it side-by-side, and the handwriting and annotation style were identical.

He took out several other novels, all showing a similar situation.

“…” Well, it was confirmed.

Zhu Nanyu, how many more surprises do you have that I don’t know about?

Jia Qiao held the melodramatic novel, calmly bewildered.

Suddenly, a WeChat notification sounded in the silent room.

Zoa: All questions in the document have been completed and approved. Please check. [File]

Zoa’s progress was astonishingly fast. In just five or six days, he went from replying with an ‘OK’ every five minutes to being able to communicate almost normally.

Jia Qiao: Good. Let’s arrange a time to discuss it in detail.

Zoa: Are you outside?

There he goes again.

Jia Qiao frowned and looked around. He really wanted to know where Zoa had installed a camera, and how he could accurately guess his whereabouts every time. They hadn’t even met, yet Zoa seemed to understand him so well.

Jia Qiao: We only have a working relationship. Please don’t excessively speculate about my life. Are you that interested in me?

Zoa: Yes, I have ulterior motives and intentionally want to capture your attention.

If the person had been dishonest and a hypocrite, Jia Qiao would have immediately blacklisted him.

Yet, Zoa was open, direct, and unabashedly explicit, making no attempt to conceal his ‘unseemliness,’ which, ironically, left Jia Qiao speechless.

He silently closed the dialogue box, put the books back one by one, and placed the photos he had brought in into a photo frame, which he then put into Zhu Nanyu’s drawer.

Before closing the drawer, Jia Qiao’s peripheral vision caught sight of a somewhat familiar piece of clothing in the shadow of the lower compartment.

He reached in and pulled it out—it was the shirt he had worn but had mysteriously disappeared.

Why would the shirt he took off in the bedroom appear in the study?

Could it be that, because too much time had passed, the 0.1% probability had occurred—I really did misremember?

So, has no one been in the marital home all along?

Jia Qiao tried to convince himself with this reason, picked up the shirt, and habitually brushed it against his face.

And then…

He caught the scent of a fresh, clean fragrance, the residue of a shirt that had just been washed.

Judging by the scent, it had been cleaned no more than three days ago.

Jia Qiao’s movement abruptly froze. His eyes sharpened. He walked back to the entrance door and bent down to pick up the broken strand of hair.

Black hair, estimated to be about half a meter long, with a fine texture.

Jia Qiao recalled his previous action, pulled a new strand of hair from the end of his own hair, and slowly placed it next to the broken one.

It was noticeably several centimeters longer.

The broken strand of hair was not his.

So, the question is:

Who quietly infiltrated the marital home and even anticipated Jia Qiao’s actions, replicating an almost identical mechanism?

‘Knock, knock, knock—!’

An urgent knocking sound from outside interrupted Jia Qiao’s thoughts.

Lu Min was panting heavily, his hand, holding a coiled notebook, shaking so much he almost dropped it.

‘The company is in trouble, please come over right away!!!’

The air in the reception room was utterly silent; one could almost count the number of breaths.

Jia Qiao sat upright in the chairman’s seat, his back straight, with a freshly printed letter of resignation placed before him, the ink still new.

The person submitting the resignation at this critical moment was Huang Zheng, the CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of Qianhe Group and the designated project leader for the ‘Aurora’ project.

Across the conference table, an impeccably dressed man sat at ease, possessing a cunning look in his eyes, like a vulture locking onto its prey.

Fu Qingyan, the youngest head of Ruike Group, was known in the industry as an ambitious and promising young man.

However, when Zhu Nanyu was around, he was always one step ahead in terms of both net worth and capability, and Fu Qingyan never managed to gain an advantage in their previous confrontations.

After Zhu Nanyu’s accident, Ruike Group developed rapidly and now dominated the industry.

At the last charity gala, Fu Qingyan, sitting in the front row, didn’t even greet Jia Qiao, his demeanor clearly indicating that he was on the ‘next level’ and completely disdained viewing Jia Qiao as a competitor.

The fact that Lanner chose Qianhe Group as its sole partner was undoubtedly a hard slap in Fu Qingyan’s face.

How could he possibly tolerate this?

“A good bird chooses its tree to perch, Mrs. Zhu. You wouldn’t be reluctant to let him go, would you?” Fu Qingyan looked down to adjust his diamond cufflink, his tone full of arrogance. “I know Huang Zheng signed a non-compete agreement with Qianhe, prohibiting him from joining a competitor within half a year of leaving. So, as his new employer, I personally came to negotiate and resolve this ‘minor’ issue for him.”

Fu Qingyan placed one hand on the conference table, leaned forward, and looked at Jia Qiao with intense pressure, “What is the penalty for breach of contract? I will pay three times the amount.”

Jia Qiao remained unperturbed, seemingly unaware of the immense insult it was for the head of a rival company to personally poach a core executive.

“I am not sure. I’ll let the legal department handle it according to the process.”

Huang Zheng stood behind Fu Qingyan, lowering his head and avoiding eye contact with Jia Qiao.

Even more evasive was Zhao Ming, a supplier sitting next to Fu Qingyan, whose face showed palpable guilt.

Huang Zheng was poached largely because of his technical abilities.

Zhao Ming’s current success, however, was entirely due to Zhu Nanyu’s support years ago, who personally helped him expand his network and integrate resources.

Now, sitting on Fu Qingyan’s side, he was clearly cutting ties with Qianhe Group and defecting to the more ‘lucrative’ Ruike Group.

“Has Mrs. Zhu ever heard the saying, ‘He who knows the times is a wise man’? Now, the main planner of the Aurora project, as well as Qianhe’s largest raw material supplier, have chosen to defect to my side.” Fu Qingyan tapped the table, displaying a completely confident posture. “Based on my understanding of your company, Qianhe is no longer capable of completing a project as massive as ‘Aurora.’ I suggest you hand it over to me.”

Jia Qiao frowned, looking vulnerable and pitiful, “Is this the only path?”

“Of course, there is a second option.” Fu Qingyan leaned back slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. “Our Ruike is willing to cooperate with Qianhe to jointly develop the Aurora project. Resources will be shared, and risks will be distributed. However, there’s a small additional condition.”

Jia Qiao lifted his eyelids, waiting for the rest.

“Actually, I have admired Mrs. Zhu for a long time. The first time I saw you with Zhu Nanyu, I kept thinking, ‘Why can’t I be the one by your side?’ So, I have always…”

“Stop.” Jia Qiao was not interested in his journey of the heart.

He had enough people coveting him, and listening to Zhu Nanyu’s nauseating sweet talk was more than enough.

Fu Qingyan had heard many rumors before and had a rough idea of Jia Qiao’s style. He slowly laid out his chips, attempting to precisely tempt him to take the bait.

“If Mrs. Zhu agrees, you can perform a prenuptial agreement before marriage, and I will not touch any of the assets Mr. Zhu left you. Moreover, what I give you will not be less than Mr. Zhu. Under my leadership, Qianhe’s prospects will also be better.”

Fu Qingyan’s gaze held an overtly possessive desire, assessing Jia Qiao’s exquisite face, already imagining how enjoyable it would be to keep such a beauty domestically.

What good was Zhu Nanyu, that short-lived man, no matter how capable he was?

Leaving behind a huge family business and a gorgeous widow, everything would eventually be renamed ‘Fu’!

At this thought, Fu Qingyan felt utterly invigorated, believing the peak of his life was within reach.

“I understand your meaning, Mr. Fu.” Jia Qiao nodded slightly, his voice devoid of any detectable emotion. “Can you give me three days to consider?”

“Three days? Trying to stall until the contract signing? Mrs. Zhu, do you think I can’t see through your little tricks?” Fu Qingyan thought he had seen through his scheme and refused. “One day. I want to hear your answer by tomorrow night.”

“Alright.” Jia Qiao’s tone was gentle and submissive, as if he had completely run out of options.

“What did you say?!”

Zhu Nanyu grabbed the handrail of the hospital bed and abruptly propped himself up, his brow furrowing slightly from the sharp pain.

“Holy cow!” Lanner was startled and hid to the side, his eyes wide with horror. “Fu Qingyan is really overdoing it, he actually angered you back to life! It’s only been a few days, I thought you’d be lying down until next next next month~”

“Get to the point.”

“The point has already been said~ Mr. Zhu the great benefactor, who was everywhere bestowing kindness and painstakingly paving the way for his little cherished wife, ended up nurturing two ingrates. They turned against him at the crucial moment and stabbed your wife in the back.” Lanner’s expression turned serious for a moment, and he lowered his voice to remind Zhu Nanyu, “Zhu Nanyu, I have my own stance. Since Qianhe Group has internal and external troubles and cannot guarantee the smooth progress of the Aurora project, I can only change partners.”

Zhu Nanyu gave a faint ‘hm.’

“Your reaction is so cold~ Well, that makes sense. With Chief Zhu’s ability, creating ten or eight ‘Qianhes’ is easy.” Lanner blinked, recklessly provoking Zhu Nanyu, “More than the company and the project, you should be worried about your wife remarrying, shouldn’t you~?”

“Shut up.” Zhu Nanyu gave the Golden Retriever a cold side-eye, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty, “He won’t.”

“Oh? That confident?” Lanner continued to dance dangerously on a minefield, counting on his fingers, “Fu Qingyan is also considered a young talent, he’s generous, has more money than you did back then, and the conditions he offered are very favorable… How can you be so certain Jia Qiao won’t waver?”

“It’s none of your business.” Zhu Nanyu warned coldly. “Get Qianhe’s contract ready.”