Tai Shu Sulian watched as Quan Jiu forced the matriarch of the family to her knees. The old woman, whom she had once revered and dared not even glance at, was now kneeling on the ground, stripped of all dignity and status. She could no longer look down on Tai Shu Sulian with her usual arrogance.
A strange urge to laugh bubbled up within her. The laughter, however, only amplified the pain in her body. The more she hurt, the more she laughed, and the more she laughed, the more she hurt.
Li Suqiong, having abandoned all pretense of composure, glared at Quan Jiu. "Who exactly are you?"
Quan Jiu's lips curved into a faint smile. "I'm Wang Huiping's granddaughter. You've been holding my grandmother captive for years, haven't you? It shouldn't be surprising that your granddaughter is here to avenge her. Or do you believe your Tai Shu clan has the right to dictate my life and my grandmother's?"
Li Suqiong glanced at Quan Tianxi, whose expression was cold and indifferent, not meeting her gaze at all.
She slumped back onto the ground, realizing her situation was truly dire. With the Quan family's influence, it would be a simple matter to replace the Tai Shu family with someone else.
Those icy eyes showed her the inevitable outcome.
...
As it approached six in the afternoon, Quan Jiu and Chu Rong finally returned home.
She handed Chu Rong a stack of documents. "Can you handle all this? Didn't you just absorb the Zhuang family?"
Taking over the Tai Shu family's business was an unexpected turn of events. Her primary objective that day had been to make a statement, but she had apparently gone a bit too far, taking everything, the substance and the broth, with them.
Chu Rong was already seated at his computer. He smiled reassuringly. "It won't be a problem."
That was good. Quan Jiu made a call to Cheng Xuhai.
"Manager Cheng, I'd like to restart the embroidery exhibition for Grandma. There were some issues with the mounting of the exhibits previously, but they've all been resolved. Can you arrange a time as soon as possible? It's still for a month."
Cheng Xuhai was delighted to hear this and readily agreed. "Certainly. The exhibition hall doesn't have any events scheduled recently. As long as the exhibits are ready, we can open tomorrow."
"Alright then. Please go directly to Manager Chen at Tongqing Bank. I'll inform him."
After finalizing the exhibition arrangements, Quan Jiu called several artist agents to inquire about their artists' recent activities. She received positive feedback, which put her at ease. She then contacted the HR manager to ask about the recruitment status of the publishing house.
The HR supervisor happened to be planning a report and explained in detail. "We've recruited five editors so far. The books by the three authors you selected are already in the proofreading stage. Additionally, we've hired a sales manager and basic staff, and the cooperation with the printing manufacturer has also been finalized."
Recruitment was settled. Quan Jiu called the HR manager again to understand the company's renovation progress. She was informed that the renovations were mostly complete, with only some furniture needing to be added and arranged. Reassured, she hung up and then called the publicity department.
The publicity department was responsible for planning online and offline events. The plans were all completed and awaiting Quan Jiu's signature.
Quan Jiu listened to the plan over the phone and, finding no issues, verbally agreed to have the publicity department expedite the preparations and implementation, awaiting the debut of the first published book from Chuxin Culture Publishing House.
Finally, Quan Jiu inquired about the scriptwriting progress with Li Ting.
Li Ting's speed was also impressive. In a month, she had produced a twenty-thousand-character film script. After reviewing it, Quan Jiu pointed out a few obvious issues and immediately finalized a collaboration with a well-known film director under the company's name. Li Ting's first script as a resident screenwriter officially entered the project phase.
Quan Jiu spent over an hour understanding all the ongoing tasks. With nothing else pressing, she turned on the television to relax.
As she was flipping through channels, Quan Jiu let out a startled gasp upon seeing a familiar face on the screen. "Ah..."
Chu Rong looked up and smiled when he saw the person on the television. "Very beautiful."
Quan Jiu covered her mouth and chuckled. "It feels so strange to suddenly see my own face on television."
Chu Rong put down his work and sat next to Quan Jiu, habitually pulling her into his embrace.
The television was playing Zhang Xin's personal album, "Heartbeat Rhythm," which Quan Jiu hadn't had time to watch. She only discovered it had started airing today.
"I'll go see what people are saying online." Quan Jiu curiously opened Weibo. Before she even searched, she saw a trending topic on the hot search list: #RealLifeCEO Chasing Wife#. Clicking on it, she confirmed it was indeed their show. Fans shipping their couple were going wild.
Chu Rong leaned in, his smile widening as he read. "Netizens have excellent taste."
Quan Jiu, however, remembered what Chu Rong had said during their first variety show recording and asked curiously, "Did you really give money to those CP fans back then?"
"I transferred the money to the fan club president and asked her to manage our fan base," Chu Rong replied.
Quan Jiu felt a pang of regret. "It would have been nice if you'd given it to me."
But as she said it, she suddenly realized something and asked in surprise, "Wait, was it you who told the CP fans to call out to Zhang Xin to film our personal album?"
She remembered Zhang Xin saying it was a fan crowdfunding request, and because of the large fan base, Zhang Xin had approached her. But... if the fan club president was acting on Chu Rong's instructions, wasn't it obvious?
Chu Rong simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Quan Jiu narrowed her eyes and pointed at Chu Rong. "Was it you? Confess."
Chu Rong gently grasped Quan Jiu's wrist, his slightly cool lips lightly kissing her fingertips. Then, with his right hand, he pulled her into a forceful kiss.
Quan Jiu struggled feebly for a moment before yielding, leaning against Chu Rong's chest, her body going limp.
"Jiu Jiu," Chu Rong murmured in a deep voice after the kiss.
"Mmm?" Quan Jiu's breathing was uneven, and she lay panting in Chu Rong's arms.
The desire in Chu Rong's eyes seemed to engulf Quan Jiu. His seductive voice held a hint of temptation. "Shall we have a third and a fourth child?"
"Huh?" Quan Jiu's head was spinning, and before she could fully comprehend, Chu Rong swept her up into his arms and carried her into the room.
...
Songhua Apartment.
Ever since being laid off by Chu Corporation, Jiang Mengran had been in a state of dejection. She had applied for many new jobs, but all were rejected, tearing away her last shred of pride.
She had nothing left. Watching the monthly bank reminders, she was helpless and had to sell her house, but she was still short by several million.
With no income, no savings, and a mountain of debt, her bank credit was now poor, and even her credit cards had been suspended.
She had been eating instant noodles for half a month straight. The dilapidated seven-square-meter rental room was filled with the smell of instant noodles, making her want to vomit. But she had no money for food and no idea how she would pay next month's rent.
Her life had been going so smoothly; she was no longer the bullied orphan. Yet, after thirty years of hard work, it had all vanished overnight. Why? Why?
Just as she was sinking into despair, even contemplating death, she unexpectedly saw a variety show.
The man and woman on the screen were beautiful, handsome, and noble, like princes and princesses from a fairy tale. Their image was a sharp stab to Jiang Mengran's heart.
All of this should have been hers. It was all the fault of that bitch Quan Jiu, who had stolen everything from her.
Jiang Mengran had gone mad. She had lost everything, and now she had nothing to fear.