The Villainess’s Darling [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 72

Zhuang Yuzhen left the hospital and went straight to the company, his face cold as he walked into his office. His secretary, who had been frightened by him before, said cautiously, “President Zhuang, I’ve placed the draft proposal for next week’s cooperation with the Yun Group on your desk.”

Zhuang Yuzhen turned to look at the secretary, his gaze sharp. “Cooperation with the Yun Group?”

He remembered now. In his previous life, driven by Ning Xiao, the Zhuang Group had reached new heights thanks to this partnership. In this world, Ning Xiao had fallen for Yun Can’er; so why was she still cooperating with the Zhuang Group?

Could it be… Ning Xiao was faking it?!

Perhaps she didn’t love Yun Can’er at all. Maybe she just didn’t trust him enough, so she wanted to marry Yun Can’er herself to legitimately obtain shares and become the true power behind the Yun Group.

The thought made Zhuang Yuzhen’s heart race and his cheeks flush. He sat behind his desk, feeling a surge of secret joy as he looked at the proposal.

Ning Xiao likely hadn’t fallen for Yun Can’er!

As emotions flickered across his face, the secretary hesitated by the desk. “President Zhuang, would you like to review the proposal first? If you’re not satisfied, I’ll have them redo it immediately.”

“Mhm.” Zhuang Yuzhen pulled himself together and nodded with dignity, flipping open the file.

His heart was now full of ambition. He had it all planned out: once the Zhuang family became a top-tier elite household through this deal, he would have a heart-to-heart with Ning Xiao.

He was confident in his charm. In his past life, Ning Xiao hadn’t loved him simply because he wasn’t powerful enough. Now, as a reborn man with knowledge of the future, it wasn’t impossible for him to become the richest man in the world if he played his cards right. When that happened, he didn’t believe Ning Xiao wouldn’t love him wholeheartedly.

“By the way, contact Ning’s assistant, Yang Yuanqi, in a moment. Ask him how much the hospital fees were and transfer the money to him,” Zhuang Yuzhen said while flipping through the pages.

Though the secretary didn’t know what “hospital fees” he was talking about, she didn’t dare ask. She nodded and said, “Understood, President Zhuang. I’ll contact Yang Yuanqi right away.”

To avoid disturbing him, she stepped outside to make the call.

Zhuang Yuzhen began reading the proposal in detail, but the further he read, the darker his expression became.

“Unacceptable!” He slammed the desk in a rage, standing up and pacing the office.

What was this?! The Yun Group actually wanted to take ninety percent of the profits!

Even if the Yun Group was providing most of the funding and personnel, it wasn’t as if the Zhuang Group was doing nothing! Besides, wasn’t this cooperation supposed to be Ning Xiao’s way of helping him? Why.

When the secretary returned after the call, she was startled to see him standing in the middle of the room, gritting his teeth.

“Pre—President Zhuang.”

“I don’t need a secretary who stutters!” Zhuang Yuzhen glared at her.

The secretary immediately straightened her back and said in one breath, “The hospital fees plus the ambulance cost total nine hundred and eighty-eight yuan. It has been transferred from the company account!”

Zhuang Yuzhen let out a cold “Heh.” “Nine hundred and eighty-eight. Heh! Nine hundred and eighty-eight!”

The secretary was nearly driven mad by his mood swings. Trembling, she asked, “President Zhuang, is there anything else you need?”

Zhuang Yuzhen narrowed his eyes darkly. “Go find someone to investigate everything about Ning Xiao since Yun Boyuan’s death. Everything, no matter how small.”

“Yes, President Zhuang! I’ll get on it immediately!” The secretary grumbled inwardly: You were calling her ‘President Ning’ a moment ago, now it’s just her full name.

Fuming over the profit distribution, Zhuang Yuzhen finally couldn’t hold back and called Ning Xiao. He wanted to ask her why she was suddenly treating him like this, trampling over his sincerity so easily.

As he pressed the dial button, his heart quickened. After two rings, a mechanical female voice answered: “The number you have dialed is currently busy, please try again later. Sorry…”

Smash!

Zhuang Yuzhen hurled his phone against the wall. It shattered instantly, and the mechanical voice cut off.

The fact that it rang twice before going to the “busy” message meant Ning Xiao had manually declined his call!

Since his rebirth, he had faced setback after setback. He began to wonder if God had only brought him back to play a cruel joke on him.

A week later, the secretary finally brought him the information he wanted, just before the official meeting between the two groups. She handed him a sealed envelope.

Zhuang Yuzhen glanced at her. “You may leave.”

“Yes, President Zhuang.” She couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Zhuang Yuzhen held the envelope, his palms sweating slightly. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and slowly opened it.

As he read from the beginning, he realized all the changes started when “Ning Xiao called the police and Yun Can’er was rescued.” It was clearly Ning Xiao’s own plan to drive Yun Can’er away; he couldn’t understand why she had suddenly called the police.

Yun Can’er was also excessively naive. Tan Rui was clearly problematic, yet she believed Ning Xiao’s lies and never suspected that Tan Rui’s actions were orchestrated by Ning Xiao.

Three days after the rescue, Ning Xiao brought Yun Can’er into the company as an assistant. For the next month, the two were inseparable until the school semester started.

Zhuang Yuzhen’s expression grew increasingly gloomy.

The next day, the cooperation meeting was held at the Yuntian Building. As the representative of the Zhuang Group, Zhuang Yuzhen arrived personally to meet Ning Xiao.

The meeting was set for ten o’clock, but he arrived an hour early. He told his secretary to wait in the conference room and headed straight for the CEO’s office. Along the way, he passed busy employees who paid him no mind.

He reached the top floor and found the office door slightly ajar. Just as he was about to knock, he heard a faint, wet sound from inside.

Zhuang Yuzhen held his breath and peered through the crack.

Yun Can’er was sitting on the wide desk, her waist held by Ning Xiao as they kissed. The intensity of it was evident from Yun Can’er’s soft whimpers and the sounds of their lips parting.

Zhuang Yuzhen’s face went black. Without knocking, he pushed the door open and spoke sarcastically, “President Ning has such great spirits, dating her assistant during work hours.”

Ning Xiao had known he was coming the moment he stepped into the building; the kiss was a deliberate show for him. She didn’t panic in the slightest. Releasing Yun Can’er’s lips, she pulled the blushing girl into her arms and looked coldly at him. “At least it’s better than President Zhuang, who doesn’t even have basic manners. Don’t you know to knock before entering someone else’s office?”

Zhuang Yuzhen looked at the protected Yun Can’er with jealousy. “Given the relationship between the two of us, do I really need to knock?”

Yun Can’er, who had been hiding her face in Ning Xiao’s chest, suddenly looked up, staring at him warily.

Ning Xiao patted her slender back comfortingly. “It would be best if President Zhuang watched his words. Aside from work, there is no other relationship between us.”

“Heh! Is that so?” Zhuang Yuzhen took out his new phone and pulled up a recording. “Listen to this. Are these things people with ‘no relationship’ would say?”

After smashing his old phone, he had transferred the data to a new one and discovered this audio that the “previous” Zhuang Yuzhen had recorded at some point.

[Recording]:

Ning Xiao: “Yuzhen, is what you want to talk about related to Yun Can’er?”

Zhuang Yuzhen (after a pause): “Yes. After hearing about Yun Boyuan’s will from you that day, I’ve been thinking of a way to help you. Now, I’ve finally come up with a way to kill two birds with one stone.”

Ning Xiao (voice gentle as ever): “Yuzhen, Can’er is innocent.”

Zhuang Yuzhen (anxiously): “Xiao Xiao, I know you’re kind, but Yun Boyuan did you wrong. I must help you get the entire Yun estate. I’ve decided: I will pursue Yun Can’er. Once we marry, I’ll find a way to transfer her shares to you. The Yun Group must belong to you.”

Ning Xiao (sadly): “But I can’t sacrifice your happiness. It’s unfair to both you and Can’er. Yuzhen, don’t do this for me.”

Zhuang Yuzhen: “Xiao Xiao, stay out of this. Just pretend you don’t know. I’ll be more careful when contacting you from now on; don’t let Yun Can’er find out.”

The recording made it clear the two were very close.

“Well? Can you still deny our relationship now?” Zhuang Yuzhen asked, casting a smug look at Yun Can’er.

Ning Xiao: How do I explain this to Can’er?

She truly hadn’t expected Zhuang Yuzhen to record such a conversation. Because of her rare silence, the light in Yun Can’er’s eyes faded, and jealousy coiled around her heart like a venomous snake.

[Ding! Female Lead’s Blackening Value: 100%! Blackened Mode Activated! Host, please choose the plot direction:] 1. Marriage First, Love Later: My Sweet Little Wife. 2. Deep Sadistic Love: Get Lost, Male Lead.

Ning Xiao: [I choose 1.]

As Yun Can’er struggled to pull away, Ning Xiao leaned down and kissed her firmly until she was breathless. Only then did she pull back slowly. “Can’er, I can explain the recording later. But before that… will you marry me?”

Yun Can’er’s dark eyes were watery. Before her brain could process the words, her body had already nodded, and her mouth betrayed her: “Okay.”

“We’ll pick an auspicious day to register the marriage,” Ning Xiao said softly.

“Mhm.” Yun Can’er’s ears were bright red. Since the explanation hadn’t happened yet, she tried to remain dignified, only casting a mocking glance at Zhuang Yuzhen.

Zhuang Yuzhen felt like a joke. After all his scheming, not only had they not broken up, but they were rushing to get married. He nearly fainted from rage.

Something was wrong with this world. Definitely wrong!

[Ding! Reborn Male Lead’s Regression Value: 80%!]

“Will Mr. Zhuang attend our wedding?” Yun Can’er asked with a sweet, dark-misted smile.

Zhuang Yuzhen shivered for some reason. There was something unsettling about her at that moment.

“You want to go public? People still talk about Ning Xiao and Yun Boyuan’s wedding. Have you thought about how to explain this to the public and the shareholders?” Shaken, he actually calmed down, picking the most painful points to poke at.

Ning Xiao lifted Yun Can’er off the desk. Once steady, the girl replied, “That is between me and Ning-ning. Mr. Zhuang needn’t worry.”

“Believe what you want, but people will always speculate the worst. You’ll have your hands full soon enough. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” With a meaningful look at Yun Can’er, he left the office.

“Can’er, let me explain the recording,” Ning Xiao said, hugging her and kissing the corner of her mouth.

Yun Can’er lowered her gaze. “Go ahead. I’m listening.” She didn’t dare look at Ning Xiao, fearing she would see a lie. She wouldn’t be able to take it.

Ning Xiao chose her words carefully: “Zhuang Yuzhen and I were university classmates. We were both in the student union, so we were on good terms. I only recently realized he had feelings for me beyond friendship. I treated him as a friend before and probably didn’t maintain enough distance, which led to his increasing possessiveness. He wanted to ‘help’ me by hurting you; I tried to stop him, but I failed.”

“Can’er, you’re the one I love. Once we’re married, I promise to keep my distance. I won’t say a word to him if you’re not there, okay?”

Yun Can’er didn’t hear a word of the explanation. Her mind was elsewhere, wandering: How should I punish Ning-ning?

Neither Ning Xiao nor Zhuang Yuzhen attended the actual meeting; they sent their assistants and secretaries instead.

Throughout the rest of the day, Yun Can’er seemed normal—blushing when she should, acting spoiled when she should. It was so normal that Ning Xiao felt uneasy. A 100% blackened character acting “normal” was the biggest red flag of all.

After work, they went for a stroll after dinner. Yun Can’er said, “Ning-ning, I want to spend another day at home with you. Can you help me ask for one more day off?”

Her watery black eyes blinked, her thick lashes like little fans. Ning Xiao couldn’t say no.

“Do you need a few more days?” Ning Xiao asked, thinking she might need time to process her feelings.

Yun Can’er shook her head. “Just one is enough. Thank you, Ning-ning~” She hugged Ning Xiao’s arm and swayed. “You’re so good to me.”

“I love you, of course I’ll be good to you,” Ning Xiao replied, the sweet talk coming naturally.

Yun Can’er smiled, the streetlights casting a beautiful veil over her face. Ning Xiao’s heart skipped a beat. She stopped, pulled the girl into her arms, and kissed her eyelashes. Under the moonlight, Ning Xiao kissed her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, and finally her lips.

That night, before sleeping, Yun Can’er initiated a kiss. “Ning-ning, goodnight”

“Goodnight.”

Ning Xiao fell asleep on her side, facing Yun Can’er. But when she woke up the next morning and opened her eyes, the bed was empty.

As she tried to sit up, she suddenly realized she was tied to the bed.