His wife's pregnancy bump disappeared, and Mr. Huo was going crazy missing her.

Qiao Mian walked over hesitantly, but the man suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pushed her against the wall behind her.

Before she could react, he lowered his head and bit her lip hard.

He did it on purpose.

It drew blood.

Blood quickly seeped from the broken skin.

Qiao Mian whimpered in pain and angrily slapped his shoulder.

After the man released her, his rough fingertips traced the bleeding wound on her lip, his cold voice carrying a hint of warning, "You're not allowed to get too close to Zhou Jinnan in the future."

At this point, she emphasized again, "No man other than me is allowed to get close to you, understand?"

Qiao Mian is beautiful.

She usually dresses simply, like a luminous pearl hidden in a jewelry box, its brilliance concealed.

However, with a little dressing up, she becomes too eye-catching.

This made him feel that his treasures were at risk of being stolen at any time.

"madman!"

Qiao Mian cursed under her breath.

Six years ago, he was just as obsessive and domineering.

Restrict her from making friends.

She was not allowed to attend the class reunion.

Even going out to eat with my roommate requires his permission.

Extremely controlling.

"Huo Yanbei, can you please stop going crazy?"

Qiao Mian grew angrier the more she thought about it, and she growled at him in a low voice, calling him by his name.

Huo Yanbei wasn't angry at all. Instead, he hugged her and whispered in her ear, "Whether my madness can be cured depends on whether you can play the role of my sister, Awu, well."

"You... are sick!"

Qiao Mian's eyes reddened with anger.

Seeing her dare to throw a tantrum at him, Huo Yanbei found it intriguing and remained unperturbed.

I took her little hand and we went out, taking the elevator directly to the basement parking lot.

After getting on the bus, Qiao Mian took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Ruan Wei.

I told her what happened last night.

Ruan Wei replied: [Oh my god, Huo Yanbei is such a pervert, a madman! He's completely obsessed with you now!]

After replying with a "life is meaningless" emoji, Qiao Mian changed the subject and asked about the children.

After finishing their WeChat conversation, the man, who had been silent all along, turned to look at her and said, "The place you live in is in terrible condition. You should move into Lanyuan."

Qiao Mian declined, "No need, I'm quite used to living here, and besides, my child goes to kindergarten nearby."

When talking about children, Huo Yanbei couldn't help but think of the soft and cuddly little girl he bumped into at the aquarium that day.

After thinking for a while, he suggested, "If you don't want to go to Lanyuan, that's fine too. Then move out of the urban village and live in the city. I will give you an apartment and find the best kindergarten for your child."

Qiao Mian focused on the last sentence: "The best kindergarten? Do you really want my child to be in the same kindergarten as your daughter?"

Huo Yanbei's expression stiffened for a moment, and he frowned: "If you want to continue living in the slums, so be it."

"..."

The words "slum" truly stung Qiao Mian.

Yes, she would rather live in a slum with his three children than be associated with him.

For a moment, the carriage fell silent.

Not long after, the Rolls-Royce stopped in the company's basement parking lot.

The two got out of the car without saying a word.

One person used the private elevator, while the other used the staff elevator.

They returned to their respective offices as if they were strangers.

"Xiao Qiao, why are you late?"

He Mei leaned closer, glanced at the wound on her lip, and her eyes instantly lit up. "You have a boyfriend?"

Qiao Mian shook her head listlessly, looking gloomy. "No, I just bumped into it by accident."

"Oh?"

Seeing that she didn't seem to be in a good mood, He Mei didn't bother her anymore and went back to her workstation to continue working.

Around noon, Qiao Mian finished revising the contract she hadn't finished the night before and sent it to Huo Yanbei's email address.

At noon, He Mei and Meng Bai invited her out for lunch, but she declined.

A person was slumped over their desk, extremely agitated.

She kept thinking about how she could leave the Huo family.

Just then, a clear and pleasant voice rang out from above: "Why didn't you go to eat?"

Qiao Mian looked up and saw Zhou Jinnan.

She immediately sat up, forcing a faint smile: "I have no appetite."

When Zhou Jinan's gaze fell on the small cut on her lip, his brow furrowed slightly. "If you don't eat lunch, you'll be hungry in the afternoon. Only when you're full will you have the energy to face everything."

After saying that, she placed a takeout order on her desk and walked back to her office.

Qiao Mian sat there blankly for a while, her eyes filled with complicated emotions.

He's right. Only when you're well-fed and have enough rest can you face anything.

She opened the packaging, took out the lunchbox, and opened it to find her favorite wontons.

She picked up her spoon and began to eat without ceremony. Unbeknownst to her, Huo Yanbei was standing in the doorway of the CEO's office across the street, having witnessed the entire scene.

With a bang.

The man slammed the door and left.

When Qiao Mian looked up, she only caught a glimpse of a familiar departing figure.

It's Huo Yanbei.

The fighting spirit that had been ignited instantly vanished.

The wontons in my mouth no longer tasted good.

After returning to his office, Zhou Jinnan called a friend who worked at a bank.

"Please withdraw the money from my investment account as soon as possible; I need it urgently."

"Now?"

"Yes."

"If we take it now, we'll lose a lot."

The other party reminded me.

"As soon as possible."

He coldly replied with two words and then hung up the phone.

……

Qiao Mian spent the afternoon in a daze, and at six o'clock, she picked up her bag and left.

Fearing that if they were even a step too slow, Huo Yanbei would call them out to work overtime again.

When I arrived at the boarding school and picked up the children, it was not yet eight o'clock.

"Mother!"

Qiao Muxin happily jumped into her arms, her sweet and soft voice almost melting Qiao Mian's heart.

Qiao Mian hugged her daughter and kissed her forehead. "Did you miss Mommy?"

"I want to, I really want to."

Qiao Muxin pecked her cheek.

Qiao Muyue tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Mom, did you work overtime again last night?"

"Yes."

Qiao Mian pinched Qiao Muyue's little cheek with a bit of guilt, "As compensation, tomorrow is Saturday, how about Mommy takes you to a buffet?"

Qiao Mucheng pouted, "Shouldn't we be saving money?"

Qiao Mian rubbed his head. "Mom just got paid."

After saying that, he led the three children home.

Back in the rented room, I went straight to the kitchen and started cooking.

Qiao Mucheng and his younger siblings sat around on the carpet in the living room, scrolling through information about their mother on a local dating app.

"Brother, we've been trying to find a husband for Mom for so many days, why haven't we seen her go on any blind dates?"

Qiao Muxin asked.

"What if Mom didn't receive the blind date call?"

Qiao Muye guessed.

"Probably not."

Qiao Mucheng flipped to the personal information section and checked the phone number again. "The phone number is correct. Mom didn't go on the blind date. It must be because she's too busy with work."

Qiao Muxin said "Oh," then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, brother, have you added Uncle Huo on WeChat?"