Chapter 31: She Was Violent Toward Me at Home
Su Qianqian could no longer endure it. She snatched up the phone and called the logistics department of Yiren Group: “Send some people over and take my sofa out—throw it away and get me a new one tomorrow.”
“Are we out of disinfectant? I want my whole office thoroughly disinfected!”
The head of logistics was taken aback. “Ms. Su, didn’t you just get that new sofa in your office last week?”
Su Qianqian shouted furiously, “I have money and I do as I please!”
“Yes, yes, right away!”
Bang!
The phone slammed down onto the receiver.
Xu Fugui’s voice trembled. “Do you despise me that much? You’re throwing out the sofa just because I sat on it?”
Hands on her hips, Su Qianqian snapped back, “That’s right, I’m a clean freak! If you stay any longer, I’ll have to pry up the tiles and lay new ones!”
“Well, aren’t you leaving? If my husband comes back and finds you here, you’ll be sorry!”
A vein twitched at the corner of Xu Fugui’s eye. Just a good-for-nothing security guard, does she think I’m afraid of him?
He wanted to linger, curious to see what kind of man Su Qianqian’s so-called husband might be, but his flunky quietly reminded him, “Young Master Xu, we have more important things to do. It’s time to go.”
“I know, I don’t need you to tell me!” Xu Fugui huffed and stormed out.
Little did he know that after he left, Su Qianqian collapsed into her executive chair, cold sweat streaming down her face.
It’s over. I’ve really offended Xu Fugui now—he’s twisted enough to do anything!
Who knows what he’ll do to me next?
Maybe I should talk it over with that little rascal at home tonight?
No, if I tell him, with his reckless temper, he’ll definitely go make trouble for Xu Fugui. If that angers the Xu family in the capital, wouldn’t I be putting him in danger for nothing?
With that thought, Su Qianqian made up her mind.
She would not breathe a word of today’s events to Lu Ye—he must never find out.
But when Lu Ye arrived to pick her up from work that evening, the worried, distracted look on her face didn’t escape his notice.
He asked casually, “Did anything happen at the company today?”
“No, nothing happened.”
He eyed her suspiciously. “Really?”
Afraid that saying too much would give her away, Su Qianqian merely grunted, “Mm.”
Lu Ye didn’t press further and drove her away from the office.
But then, at the street corner, he spotted a brand-new leather sofa dumped at the recycling center—identical to the one in Su Qianqian’s office.
Something’s not right. The old woman is definitely hiding something from me!
The rest of the ride passed in awkward silence, both Lu Ye and Su Qianqian lost in their own thoughts.
Even dinner was tasteless, and afterward, Su Qianqian wandered off to her room, looking utterly dejected.
At that very moment, Lu Ye was hanging upside down from the outside window ledge…
Through a narrow gap in the not-quite-closed curtain, he had a perfect view of Su Qianqian’s every move inside.
The old woman was acting far too strange today, and she refused to tell him anything. With no other option, Lu Ye had resorted to this desperate measure.
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Zhang Yunjie. “Brother Lu, there’s something I thought I should let you know.”
Lu Ye wedged the phone to his ear and grunted, “Go ahead.”
After a pause, Zhang Yunjie said, “You must have heard of the Xu family from the capital? Their young master, Xu Fugui, is in Mingzhu City now. He invited the second-generation heirs of several big families to dinner as soon as he arrived.”
“He didn’t invite you all just to get acquainted, did he?”
“That’s right. From what I gathered, Xu Fugui wants to be the leader of our circle—he wants us to follow his lead.”
“Who else was at that dinner?”
“Lin Bei was there, and five heirs from the Sun, Huang, and Yang families.”
“Oh, and!” Zhang Yunjie suddenly recalled, “Su Zijun, that scoundrel, was there too, standing with Xu Fugui’s two lackeys.”
Lu Ye was startled. When he’d been cleaning up the remnants of the Hong Ying Society, he’d deliberately searched for Su Zijun, but it was as if he’d vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.
And now, Su Zijun had reappeared as Xu Fugui’s henchman?
Lu Ye pressed, “Did you all pledge allegiance to Xu Fugui?”
Zhang Yunjie hesitated, then confessed, “Yes. Xu Fugui even gave our circle a name—the Mingzhu Young Masters’ Alliance. We’re all wary of the Xu family’s power. None of us wanted to agree, but we had to put on a good face. Brother Lu, you’re not angry at me, are you?”
Lu Ye suddenly blurted out a curse.
He had just seen Su Qianqian emerge from her bath, half-reclined on the bed applying lotion, her body facing directly toward him.
Nothing was left to the imagination!
Zhang Yunjie, startled by the outburst, called out cautiously, “Brother Lu?”
Lu Ye snapped back to his senses. “Ah? It’s nothing. Go on.”
“I’m done.”
“Alright, I’ll call you back later.”
My God, the old woman is truly a beauty!
Lu Ye glanced around to make sure no one would notice him clinging to Su Qianqian’s windowsill.
He steeled his nerves and edged his eyes a few centimeters closer…
Clatter!
Suddenly, the cap of Su Qianqian’s skincare bottle fell to the floor and rolled right toward the window.
After all, this was her own bedroom, with the door and windows tightly shut. It never occurred to Su Qianqian that a pair of eyes might be watching her from outside, so she walked over, entirely unguarded…
Lu Ye thought, This is bad!
If Su Qianqian noticed that narrow gap in the curtain and happened to look out, she’d see him in an instant!
He couldn’t afford to worry about making a racket—anything was better than being caught red-handed.
Whoosh!
With a burst of strength, Lu Ye vaulted up onto the roof!
Rustle, rustle…
Even though he did his best to tread lightly, the glazed tiles on the roof still made enough noise to catch Su Qianqian’s attention. At the same time, she noticed the gap in the curtain and turned pale with shock.
Could there really have been a peeping tom outside the window just now?
But her room was on the third floor! Who could possibly have the agility to cling to a third-floor windowsill from the outside?
“You little scoundrel!”
Su Qianqian hastily threw on a loose nightgown and stormed next door, kicking the door open with a bang!
Lu Ye was in a rather awkward position, as the old woman was a step quicker than he was!
The moment the door flew open, he happened to be climbing in through the window…
“Listen to my defense—no, I can explain!”
“It’s not what you think!”
Su Qianqian’s face was redder than the setting sun, her eyes blazing with shame and fury.
Without a word, she slapped him hard, twice in quick succession.
“Ow!”
Still unsatisfied, she grabbed the broom from behind the door and began to thrash Lu Ye with it.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
She chased him from one end of the corridor to the other, then back again!
Hearing the commotion, Su Shiming and Li Shuqin opened their bedroom door to see what was going on.
“Mom, save me!”
With a thud, before Li Shuqin could react, Lu Ye dove headlong into her arms, clutching at her like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline.
“Get out here! Don’t you dare use my mom as a human shield!”
Su Qianqian was beyond enraged now.
Her willow brows arched, she reversed her grip on the broom and pointed it at Lu Ye, determined to make him pay!
Li Shuqin saw the bruises and swelling on Lu Ye’s pale face and felt a pang of sympathy, hugging him and trying to comfort him.
Lu Ye took the opportunity to bury his face in her shoulder, bawling, “Mom, she’s abusing me! Domestic violence! Boo hoo!”
“There, there, my good son-in-law, it’s alright. With me here, you’ll be fine!” Li Shuqin patted his head and scolded, “Qianqian, why are you hitting your husband?”
Su Qianqian protested, “Mom, you’re still siding with him? That guy’s nothing but a perverted peeping tom!”
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are!”
Li Shuqin was so exasperated by their bickering that she clutched her forehead and cried out, “Enough, both of you!”
“Now tell me properly—what on earth is going on here?”