Joining A Dating Show With Five Exes - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Are You Planning To Rely On Disability To Cling To Her For The Rest Of Your Lives?

Obtained Chen Chuxing’s affection: 10

Cheng Shiyuan was abruptly awakened by the sound of the system.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard this sound during her time with Shen Lingxi.

Yesterday, when she was forced into extremely intimate activities, she had heard fragmented affection intermittently, and the affection value had slowly accumulated to 18 points—

She was just utterly shocked. Why would she suddenly receive such a high affection value from Chen Chuxing?

” (Since she is so free, find something for her to do.

The calm tone, spoken in Cantonese, carried a biting coldness.

Cheng Shiyuan’s heart instantly tightened in a reflex, and she suddenly guessed who Shen Lingxi’s order was targeting.

Her childhood environment was actually unrelated to Cantonese, but she had become a fan of Chen Chuxing early on, watched countless TVB dramas, and later lived with both her and Shen Lingxi in Hong Kong. Now, she was as fluent in the language as a native speaker.

But before she could probe further, her eyelids were suddenly covered by a slightly cool hand.

Then, her eyelashes were brushed over casually.

Her eyeballs, under her eyelids, moved involuntarily.

She heard Shen Lingxi’s voice close by, speaking in clear, standard Mandarin:

“If you’re interested, you can wake up and listen. You don’t have to pretend to be asleep in front of me.”

Cheng Shiyuan opened her eyes displeasedly, glared at her, casually slapped her hand away, and turned her back to her.

Like a child suddenly woken up but unwilling to get out of bed, insisting on sleeping in: “You’re so noisy.”

Shen Lingxi let out a soft laugh.

Then, the edge of the bed dipped. The person standing by the bed leaned closer, and as her shadow covered Cheng Shiyuan, the heat of the daylight outside the window was blocked, turning into a slight coolness:

“Didn’t you ask about my relationship with Chuxing before? Now that I have news about her, you don’t want to hear it?”

Ignoring the stubborn back of the woman in the bed.

Shen Lingxi continued on her own: “She’s defied my orders several times for your sake.”

She still remembered it now.

The first time Chen Chuxing refused her call and her manipulation, she looked utterly despondent.

It was as if she had lost all her wealth overnight—even more exaggerated than that.

At that time, Shen Lingxi had a project that was related to a wealthy businessman Chen Chuxing was in contact with. For information, she rarely lowered her status as a boss and took the initiative to find her.

If she hadn’t brought bodyguards, she might not have even been able to knock on the door. Sister You cautiously smiled beside her, trying to explain for Chen Chuxing:

“ (Chuxing encountered a big problem when she was working the other day…

Shen Lingxi’s expression was indifferent.

She had people climb in and pry open the door. When she saw the woman who smelled of alcohol, she couldn’t find a single trace of the exquisite demeanor she usually had, right down to the strands of her hair, when navigating the social scene.

Seeing the other person freeze upon seeing her, Shen Lingxi merely glanced down at her wristwatch.

She gave the bodyguard three minutes to take Chen Chuxing to the bathroom to sober up before talking business.

The full sink continuously made sounds of water entering and draining.

In just a minute and a half, she heard Chen Chuxing’s hoarse, panting apology.

The woman, with a wet face and disheveled bangs, was escorted out. Only when Sister You stepped forward to wipe her face clean and pat her back to soothe her breathing did she finally show Shen Lingxi her usual smiling demeanor.

She said, I’m sorry, Boss. I accidentally drank too much these past few days and missed your call. What are your instructions?

Shen Lingxi, however, did not give her instructions.

She lifted her eyelids and looked at Sister You, who had witnessed Chen Chuxing’s suffering, and whose legs were now weak.

” (Did you see clearly? I’ll give you one more chance.

Chen Chuxing’s face changed. Before she could stop her, Sister You, who had previously tried to cover for her, spilled the beans, explaining the reason for her abnormality clearly and completely.

From that moment on, Shen Lingxi remembered one name—

Cheng Shiyuan.

This was the person who could make her most loyal, most obedient servant try to give up all her money and break free from her control.

And Chen Chuxing still hadn’t learned her lesson.

Thinking about the news she had just received, that Chen Chuxing had returned to Hong Kong last night and was planning to attend a celebrity banquet tonight.

She looked as if she hadn’t been affected by the setback at the Cheng family banquet, but Shen Lingxi knew best what Chen Chuxing was going back to do.

Because a few people at the banquet were quite familiar with her and had been in close contact recently.

This ‘Scandal Queen’ was truly working for one cause but supporting another.

Even though Shen Lingxi had patiently reminded her, she was still so reckless, trying to inquire about Cheng Shiyuan’s whereabouts. But what could she do even if she found out? Was she planning to betray her boss this time too?

Thinking this, Shen Lingxi, who should have been angry, looked at the woman playing the role of a silkworm in the bed. Surprisingly, she gave a rare and thoughtful understanding to Chen Chuxing’s moth-to-a-flame determination.

“But it’s not her fault, after all, she met such a charming wife as me.”

“Besides, out of consideration for our past relationship, I even had someone specially warn her not to return to Hong Kong these past few days.”

“Because a wealthy businessman she offended before happens to be going to that banquet to look for trouble with her.”

The softer and more thoughtful her tone became, the more Cheng Shiyuan in the blanket felt the temperature in the room dropping.

Past relationship?

Shen Lingxi only used such moral righteousness as a cover when she planned to do something terrible.

Cheng Shiyuan recalled Chen Chuxing in the villa bathroom before, who would accept her senseless humiliation, only crying and begging her “not to leave.”

Cheng Shiyuan kept her breathing very light, like a small animal whose nap had finally been disturbed and was tolerating its temper:

“What are you telling me? Shen Lingxi, hasn’t anyone told you? All that’s left between her and me is a relationship of debt and collection.”

Shen Lingxi’s fingers tirelessly played with her eyelashes.

It was also as if she was checking whether Cheng Shiyuan was secretly shedding tears for an irrelevant person.

After a few seconds, her fingertip remained dry, and she casually interjected: “What debt? A love debt?”

Cheng Shiyuan finally turned over and smiled at her:

“A money debt.”

“She extorted a large sum of money from my family back then. Since you’re her boss, shouldn’t you pay it back for her?”

She met those cold eyes, which were always scarce in emotion and resembled those of a primitive beast, directly without any evasion.

Shen Lingxi finally let go of her eyelashes and stroked her cheek instead.

Last night, she had clearly taken advantage of the noise from the fireworks outside to fondle Cheng Shiyuan all over, making her actively weep like a soft peach left to rot in the summer. Yet, today, she was malicious, merely holding her captive in her arms to sleep.

“Six days. I remember.” She thoughtfully counted the abstinence command Cheng Shiyuan had given.

But it was clearly designed to be difficult whether it was indulgence or abstinence.

“Alright.”

Now, she readily agreed to Cheng Shiyuan’s words again, like the most reliable boss, kindly settling matters for her employee:

“She can owe anyone, but she cannot owe you, right, Wife?”

Despite agreeing, Shen Lingxi still received Cheng Shiyuan’s foul mood for the entire day.

It was an unprecedentedly generous development, yet it made her lose her appetite for food.

In fact, Shen Lingxi’s sudden imprisonment, in just two short days, yielded more for Cheng Shiyuan than all her past participation in the dating show. Yet, Cheng Shiyuan felt like she wasn’t moving toward rebirth.

Seeing her suddenly drop her chopsticks, looking ready to take out her morning irritability in the evening.

Shen Lingxi had done nothing but try to placate her all day. Now, seeing her stubbornly walking around the room barefoot without wearing socks, she could only patiently squat down to help her put them on.

As she held that slender ankle onto her injured knee, she noticed the person in her palm was about to resist again.

Shen Lingxi curved her lips and asked intimately:

“Are you that in sync with Chuxing? As soon as she suffers, you feel bad and show your anger to me on her behalf?”

Cheng Shiyuan paused.

Then, she kicked her away without hesitation, a hint of mockery in her eyes:

“Shen Lingxi. If you have someone you dislike and want to punish, just do it. Don’t use me as a shield here—”

“I’m even starting to suspect that the reason I’m so short-lived is that I’ve taken on too many wrongful deaths that don’t belong to me.”

Shen Lingxi chuckled softly.

Even though she had been kicked and was sitting on the floor, she completely lacked the terrifying demeanor she usually had in Hong Kong when someone crossed her.

She even patiently reached out to grab her ankle again.

Good-naturedly, she lowered her head and kissed her ankle: “Okay, I spoke wrongly. Wife, don’t be angry.”

“I am a law-abiding citizen. How could I do such a terrible thing? Don’t worry, I’ll consider it accumulating virtue for you. I won’t cause trouble.”

Hearing the words “accumulating virtue” from her mouth.

Cheng Shiyuan highly suspected that in that instant, she was being implicated to have her karmic merit deducted by 9999 points.

Shen Lingxi didn’t seem to care what she thought. Contentedly, she finally put socks on both her feet and slipped them into slippers. Then, she simply held out her hand to her:

“Will Wife help me up?”

Since coming to this island, the cane that was always by her side had been neglected in the study for a long time.

Cheng Shiyuan sat by the dining table, not wanting to move at all, but she knew very well that if she didn’t obey her, she might be tormented again tonight.

So, the irritability that had accumulated from being woken up early disappeared. She left the dining table, acting as she did when she liked being Shen Lingxi’s support in the past, taking the place of the cane.

And she was even more dependable. After helping Shen Lingxi up from the floor, she stood docilely by the woman’s side.

Shen Lingxi hugged her, seemingly in a very good mood. She rested her chin on Cheng Shiyuan’s shoulder and sincerely apologized again.

“I was too awful, always doubting my wife.”

“Seeing you constantly looking up at the ceiling for no reason, I thought you were like on the show, able to see something related to your life extension that we can’t. And I deduced that maybe that thing displays the status of a few of us.”

Noticing the person she was holding stiffen, the curve of Shen Lingxi’s lips rose even higher:

“—That was all just my random guess. Wife will forgive me, won’t you?”

Cheng Shiyuan hadn’t yet figured out how to answer her “spot-on” guess when continuous activity sounded in her mind.

Obtained Chen Chuxing’s affection: 5

Obtained Xia Zhiran’s affection: 5

Obtained Xie Zhiqing’s affection: 5

…What on earth happened to these people again?

She subtly frowned, feeling that the affection broadcasts she was hearing now were like a crisis broadcast for them.

The sounds were inevitably annoying and worrisome, and the lack of news was equally bewildering.

…

At this very moment, in Hong Kong, at the Zhao family banquet hall in the Xiangshan Villa complex.

Chen Chuxing distractedly swirled her red wine glass, feeling as if her soul was still stuck at the Cheng family banquet, watching helplessly and powerlessly as Cheng Shiyuan was taken away by Shen Lingxi.

In her ear was Sister You’s angry warning:

” If I had known earlier that she was the Boss’s person, I wouldn’t have agreed to let you join this show for anything.

” Are you really stupid?! Do you want to die?

Before coming, Sister You had practically held her ear and told her that a few years ago, Young Master Zhao had suspected that Chen Chuxing sold his information to Shen Lingxi, which caused the Zhao family to lose a big business deal, and he had been watching her ever since.

The Zhao family had initially invested heavily in that mine and was about to collapse, but they had turned their fortunes around in the past two years by dabbling in some unconventional, shady business.

Young Master Zhao had put out the word in Hong Kong that he didn’t want to see Chen Chuxing again, or he would certainly find trouble with her.

Everyone knew that he had grandly pursued Chen Chuxing back then, giving her cars and houses, but she never accepted. They all assumed he turned against her because he couldn’t win her heart.

Chen Chuxing always left once she achieved her goal, valuing both her money and her life, but today was an exception.

She knew that the Zhao family had been very ostentatious recently in purchasing overseas assets and was still deeply resentful of losing to Shen Lingxi back then. So, as soon as they found out what Shen Lingxi had bought, they would inevitably buy something better nearby.

Shen Lingxi wasn’t in Hong Kong these days.

…Where exactly would she hide Cheng Shiyuan among her assets?

Chen Chuxing unconsciously gripped the stem of the glass tighter.

Until a reckless, square face was reflected in the crimson wine.

“Chen. Chu. Xing.”

“Bang!”

The heavy sound was the other person unilaterally clinking glasses with her.

The wine sloshed, some splashing onto her gown, and even a few drops landed on her beautiful face.

“I heard you’re developing in the Mainland now? You can’t understand Cantonese anymore? Then I’ll have to speak Mandarin to you.” The man finished the wine in his glass on his own, and looked at her standing there indifferently, revealing his stained teeth:

“—Did you deliberately run into me here? Are you provoking me?”

Chen Chuxing ignored the stains on her gown, slowly wiping away the wine on her face.

Smiling, she raised the glass in her hand: “Why would Mr. Zhao think that? Is it possible that I came here specifically to explain the misunderstanding from back then and offer my apologies?”

“I heard the Zhao family has also invested in a few web drama scripts recently. We’re all in the same circle. We’ll run into each other eventually. I thought it would be better to resolve some misunderstandings sooner rather than later.”

The man scoffed: “Misunderstanding?”

His cold, hawk-like eyes stared at Chen Chuxing. The next second, he suddenly grabbed the collar of a passing waiter.

The moment the waiter paused in confusion, he snatched the tray and smashed it toward Chen Chuxing!

Clink, clang!

Several cocktails, along with the lemons and orange slices on the rims of the glasses, were all hurled at her, some even catching on her collar and shoulder.

The dripping alcohol, mixed together, dripped down her body.

The floor was covered in shattered glass shards.

Someone abruptly closed the hall doors.

The man took two steps closer to her and sneered: “You have the nerve to talk to me about a misunderstanding? Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?”

“Your backing is gone? Now you know to apologize to me?”

“Don’t you know that your owner contacted me first! She doesn’t want you, this dog! Without Shen Lingxi protecting you, I’ll make sure you don’t leave here alive today!”

Chen Chuxing sighed.

She reached up and plucked the orange slice hanging on her shoulder, even having the leisure to brush a damp strand of long hair by her ear.

“It looks like there’s no room for discussion then?”

She nodded cooperatively, seemingly not noticing the people closing in from all sides, and said to herself:

“Alright then. Consider me blind today for crossing you.”

“From now on, I will tuck my tail between my legs. I will never set foot in any place with the surname Zhao—it’s just that my information is lagging, and I lack foresight. Would Mr. Zhao kindly tell me which territories have your name on them, so I know how to behave in the future?”

The man looked at the spilled wine and shards on the floor.

He looked at Chen Chuxing, who was usually elegant and charming at banquets, but was now messy and desperate, only barely maintaining her dignity with her words.

He suddenly grinned viciously: “You want to find out if I still have money? Fine!”

He gestured for someone to bring a cup of scalding hot water.

The rising steam was palpable.

He told Chen Chuxing: “You kneel now, drink a cup, and I’ll have someone throw you proof of my assets.”

The people around, who were watching the show and supporting him, couldn’t help but cough softly, “Brother Zhao, she’ll die.”

The man looked over expressionlessly, spreading his hands: “Did I force her? Isn’t she very keen on gossiping about other people’s affairs? Likes to inquire about my business? This old man has properties on seven continents. It just depends on whether she has the life to hear it.”

The next second.

Chen Chuxing knelt down without hesitation.

She had no gold under her knees, no dignity, only this life that had been sold a long time ago.

Blood quickly seeped onto the floor from the broken glass shards under her knees.

She took the cup of scalding hot water. Her fingertips, just pinching the cup’s edge, were already bright red, but she smiled.

“Severe esophageal burns and death won’t require seven cups.”

“That’s not cost-effective, Brother Zhao.”

“Did you know that death from scalding and burns is the slowest? You have to wait little by little for your last breath. If I suffer such great agony, I won’t even hear about your immense wealth when I reach the King of Hell. Wouldn’t that be a pity?”

The entire hall was silent.

She gestured with her other hand: “How about this? I take a sip, and you name a continent. After seven sips, let’s not talk about my life, but at least you won’t see me in the entertainment industry for the rest of yours. No one would want a mute.”

The man, who was annoyed by her, stared intently, trying to find a trace of deceit.

But there was none.

When he was fond of Chen Chuxing, he was moved by her every smile and frown. He was young then, and willing to be deceived, even though he knew it was false affection.

Later, he suffered greatly for his youth, seeing many rotten people and many dead people in the world’s most perilous and cunning places. So, he knew the look in Chen Chuxing’s eyes now was not faked; she was genuinely prepared to die here.

How bizarre—

“How much did Shen Lingxi pay you to be so willing to risk your life for her?”

He suddenly asked.

Chen Chuxing looked down at the water, which had already scalded her fingertips, and after a long time, she smiled.

“I owe someone a debt that I can’t repay, and I don’t want to repay it.”

The man seemed to understand something. He clapped his hands and had someone bring seven pieces of invitation paper. He shuffled them and wrote the names of the continents.

He stared at the person in front of him: “Draw. I’ll tell you the continent you draw first, and you drink immediately.”

“Chen Chuxing, if you get what you want today and walk out of this building, our past grievances will be wiped clean.”

“I’m not afraid to tell you, if you draw Antarctica, my family only sponsored a few tourist lines there. Nothing else.”

Chen Chuxing stared at the seven pieces of paper.

She thought about how her life had been a series of setbacks. Just when she thought she had met a benefactor, it turned out to be Shen Lingxi.

Shen Lingxi brought her a life of prosperity, but also one of raging fire.

She had thought many times, How wonderful would it be if I had met Cheng Shiyuan at the lowest point in my life?

She wouldn’t need anything. She could be shameless, just a decorative piece, just a viewer of Cheng Shiyuan’s star path. That would be enough.

Thinking about it this way, she must have bad luck, right?

And in this life-and-death game.

Heaven still did not favor her.

Looking at the card she drew, it wasn’t the worst known, Antarctica, but it read [South America]. Chen Chuxing laughed at herself.

Was it that hard to draw the largest continent, Asia?

Smiling, she resigned herself to her fate and brought the cup of scalding boiling water to her lips.

The fingertips holding the cup were already a raw red.

She heard the man say:

“South America? Oh, there’s a previously colonized archipelago there. The scenery is alright. It also used to produce pearls. It’s in the Pacific.”

“Didn’t Shen Lingxi buy an island there too? That area is full of islands bought by people in the Hong Kong circle. Everyone is neighbors. I can give you my family’s geographic coordinates.”

He casually grabbed paper and pen, wrote a set of coordinates on it, and a few words.

After showing the paper to Chen Chuxing, he pulled out a lighter and burned the paper on the spot.

Chen Chuxing nodded. With a shake of her wrist, she brought the boiling water that would take her life directly to her lips—

The scalding sip was like a raging fire, burning her mouth. She knew that as long as she didn’t swallow, she wouldn’t scald the more problematic esophagus.

Sweat instantly soaked her front and back. Her face was ashen, and she had lost all sensation.

Unconsciously, she was about to swallow.

“Bang!!”

The Zhao family door was suddenly kicked open.

“I’m honestly done with you pack of wild dogs…” Xia Zhiran’s gritted curse came from outside.

Xie Zhiqing walked in, leading a group of people with an unchanged expression. Some bodyguards carried medical kits, and others specifically walked up to the host, politely bowing in apology while simultaneously beginning to recite legal statutes and educate them on the crime of aggravated assault.

The Zhao family butler came out to debate with them about the crime of trespassing.

As the two sides clashed with legal statutes—

When Xie Zhiqing reached Chen Chuxing, she glanced at Xia Zhiran, who was also covered in bandages and wounds, and then at Chen Chuxing, who was quickly being forced to spit out the hot water and was being given ice to suck on.

When she was pulled up, the blood from the shattered glass under her knees was still dripping.

Since Cheng Shiyuan disappeared, her temple had been twitching wildly due to days of sleeplessness.

But now, seeing Xia Zhiran and Chen Chuxing recklessly playing with their lives, Xie Zhiqing, who appeared to be the most physically intact person in the room, suddenly curved her lips and asked calmly:

“Are you planning to rely on disability to cling to her for the rest of your lives?”