The Female Lead Insists on Being My Wife [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Stealing the Wife in a Stand-in Novel (Part 13)

Xu Hao had been truly unlucky lately.

Before the online storm could settle, he received a visit from the Tax Bureau for an audit. With so many accounts in the company, how was he supposed to know which one someone had used as a loophole! After finally seeing the tax officials off, Xu Hao let out a long, weary sigh. He looked at the high volume of information about himself on his phone and clicked his tongue impatiently.

Time to go find 03 for some amusement, Xu Hao thought.

When he arrived, Li Meng had just finished uploading the files from her computer and deleted them completely. Although she wasn’t afraid of him checking the device, she still felt a lingering trepidation. The smile on her face didn’t reach her eyes, but her actions remained gentle and submissive.

“Young Master Xu, the online rumors lately haven’t affected you, have they?”

She smiled elegantly, appearing weak and easy to control. Her pitiful look smoothed out some of the irritability in Xu Hao’s heart. Xu Hao sat broadly on the sofa and beckoned to her as if summoning a pet. Li Meng secretly gripped the suit jacket in her hand, cursing him eight hundred times in her mind, but she still walked over obediently and sat beside him, leaning submissively into his arms.

Xu Hao was satisfied with her compliance.

“Those things are nothing,” he said, stroking her cheek frivolously. “I can settle any account; what do those rumors matter? Though, some of those video angles… they look a bit familiar to me…”

The hand on Li Meng’s neck suddenly tightened. With her life in his hands, Li Meng shook her head, her face turning flushed. Fortunately, it was just a whim on Xu Hao’s part, and he hadn’t truly started to suspect her. After admiring her helpless struggle for a moment, he showed mercy and released her. Li Meng was tossed to the floor, clutching her neck as she propped herself up, coughing and gasping for air.

She wasn’t surprised that Xu Hao would lash out. After all, several of the videos were recent; no matter how numb Xu Hao’s brain was, he still retained a sliver of his former paranoia. If Xu Hao hadn’t lashed out today, Li Meng would have truly looked down on him. Her falling hair hid the venomous look in her eyes as she silently cursed him to lose his family and fortune soon.

Xu Hao left after his outburst to take a call. Li Meng knew exactly where he was going. Tonight was an important “festival” for the Garden—many “new flowers” would bloom there for the first time. Li Meng, bearing the handprints on her neck, stood on the balcony watching his car leave with contempt before slowly making a call to Shen Chuli.

Two hours later, a secluded villa halfway up a mountain was suddenly surrounded. Sirens wailed, and the Garden fell into complete chaos.

Xu Hao sat in the interrogation room. He was restless, crossing and uncrossing his legs, picking at his fingers as if he couldn’t feel pain, looking neurotic and ill at ease. After a while, law enforcement officers entered. Xu Hao looked up. Seeing them enter empty-handed, his body relaxed, and he leaned back lazily with a smug look: “Find anything yet?”

The officers ignored him, sitting down across from him with expressionless faces. Moments later, someone entered carrying a thick stack of materials. Only then did the officers look at him. The blindingly bright incandescent light made him shield his eyes. He heard the officer across from him say coldly, “Xu Hao, we now suspect you have ties to the ‘Garden.’ Please cooperate with the investigation.”

At the same time, the wealthy heirs who appeared in Li Meng’s videos were all hearing knocks on their doors.

The Garden was a gray area. Scions like Xu Hao understood this but didn’t care. Human rights? Personal freedom? In the Garden, those were merely tools for their amusement. What did it matter if someone was injured or killed? Did it matter if they were willing?

The investigators trembled with rage at these comments, struggling to maintain professional conduct as they continued the questioning. Xu Hao’s indifferent facade only reacted when the officer mentioned the name Chen Suihe.

“Chen Suihe?” Xu Hao paused for a second, then laughed dismissively. “She’s a student our company sponsored. She couldn’t change her nature and recommended herself to me. If you don’t believe me, go check; there’s a record.”

He spoke flippantly and carelessly, his words dripping with contempt for Chen Suihe, treating her not as a person but as an object. A female officer clenched her fists, only releasing them after a long moment. This group of people all shared the same cavalier attitude; it was impossible to get useful information out of them. They were like monsters without hearts or feelings, treating others as entertainment and feeling no remorse—in fact, they found it amusing.

After a night of interrogation, the harvest was meager. The wealthy heirs acted as if they were on vacation, showing no fear. One by one, they sat with their legs crossed, waiting for their families to pick them up. But they didn’t know that this time, getting out wouldn’t be so easy.

As dawn broke, the investigators piled the statements together, trying to find a lead. They had rushed to the Garden’s location after receiving an anonymous tip. Aside from that very detailed tip, they didn’t have much information about the Garden. They began to review the statements one by one. Aside from anger, they found little of use.

“Wait a minute!” The female officer who had questioned Xu Hao seemed to remember something and hurriedly searched through the pile for Xu Hao’s statement. “Found it!” She held the statement, reading it line by line until she found the key point and handed it to the team leader. “He mentioned earlier that Chen Suihe was a student sponsored by their company. Maybe we can start there.”

The leader hesitated, but the female officer said seriously: “Among the people rescued tonight, many have, to some extent, received sponsorship from the Xu Group or its subsidiaries.”

With only one clear lead, the leader nodded after a moment’s consideration.

While the lead regarding the Xu Group’s sponsorship was being investigated, Chen Suihe was finally about to restart her university life. Fearing she wouldn’t adapt well, she was escorted not only by Father and Mother Shen but also by Shen Chuli, who had returned from a meeting abroad that she was supposed to be attending.

Shen Chuli made Chen Suihe’s bed with a dark expression, her resentment practically filling the entire dorm room. Chen Suihe, of course, knew the root of the problem. Catching a moment when her roommates and the elder Shens weren’t looking, Chen Suihe sneakily leaned in, took Shen Chuli’s hand, and gave it a gentle shake.

Under everyone’s noses, the cold palm and the warm one pressed together, and Shen Chuli couldn’t help but curl her lips.

“Do you really have to stay in the dorm?” Shen Chuli looked down, appearing piteous. “Without holding me, can you even sle—”

Seeing Mother Shen walking over, Chen Suihe hurried to cover Shen Chuli’s “leaky faucet” of a mouth. Ever since Shen Chuli confessed her feelings, she had completely won Chen Suihe over. Every day she either used an excuse to keep the girl in her bed or launched a “night raid” in the middle of the night. Under the elder Shens’ noses, they had already shared a bed for over half a month.

Watching the young couple flirt, Mother Shen’s foot suddenly veered, and she walked toward Father Shen as if nothing had happened. Shen Chuli naturally saw her mother’s movement. She held Chen Suihe’s hand and kissed her palm: “You can’t see someone better-looking or more excellent than me and stop wanting me.”

“Chen Suihe, you can’t be a heartbreaker.”

Her “resentful wife” tone made Chen Suihe want to knock on her skull to see what exactly was inside!

“I won’t!” She gave Shen Chuli a reproachful look. “Only you have bad taste.”

“Who said that!” Shen Chuli didn’t like her self-deprecation. “I have a discerning eye for jewels. In the future, you will certainly be even more loved than you are now. You were born to receive the full love of this world.”

With no pressure lately, Chen Suihe had spent her days eating and sleeping. The flesh had finally returned to her previously gaunt cheeks. Shen Chuli leaned in and pecked her soft cheek: “I am merely a lowly thief, hiding this bright pearl away in advance.”

Her bold move earned a glare from Chen Suihe, but she wasn’t ashamed at all; instead, she smugly pulled the girl closer.

After Father and Mother Shen finished setting up Chen Suihe’s things, they tactfully left early. Shen Chuli accompanied her on a tour of the campus where she would study for the next four years. In the evening, Shen Chuli treated the roommates to a meal in Chen Suihe’s name. At the dinner, Shen Chuli briefly explained Chen Suihe’s situation, using one compliment and flattering remark after another to charm the girls—who hadn’t yet left the ivory tower—until they were dazed and ready to swear a sisterhood pact with Chen Suihe on the spot.

Chen Suihe poked her under the table, signaling her not to overdo it. Shen Chuli smiled, toasted them in thanks, and obediently changed the subject.

After the meal, they returned to the school. Watching the roommates head upstairs, Shen Chuli held Chen Suihe’s hand, reluctant to let go.

“A kiss.” In a dim corner, Shen Chuli held her wrist. “My flight is in the early morning, and I won’t be back until next week. So, can I ask for a kiss?”

Her piteous yet polite manner made Chen Suihe’s cheeks turn crimson. She peeked around to make sure no one was there, then gritted her teeth, grabbed Shen Chuli’s wrist, and stood on her tiptoes to give her a kiss.

She ran as soon as it was over.

Shen Chuli watched her dash into the dorm like a rabbit avoiding a predator and couldn’t help but laugh. She stood downstairs for a few more minutes before leaving.

Chen Suihe ran back to her dorm room in one breath, her cheeks abnormally red. Although the roommates were fresh to university, the developed internet meant they knew what they needed to know. After an exchange of looks, they huddled over gossipingly: “Suihe, are you and Sister Shen a couple?”

Chen Suihe “red-lined”; the rusty little robot completely stalled. She didn’t know how she answered her roommates’ questions, nor did she know how she finished washing up and got into bed. It was only when she came to that her roommates’ questions echoed in her ears, causing the little robot to stall again.

It became a loop. Chen Suihe suffered from insomnia all night. Partly it was the unfamiliar bed, but it was also exactly as Shen Chuli had said. Without her there, Chen Suihe tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

I should have secretly brought a few of her clothes, Chen Suihe thought with regret as she looked at the pale dawn outside the window. She had actually thought about bringing some of Shen Chuli’s clothes, but feared the owner would find out and tease her. Now that she was sleepless, she regretted it; being teased by Shen Chuli was better than this.

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