Mrs. Fu, please be mindful of the appropriate boundaries.

Xu Qingcheng was so shocked she almost dropped her phone.

She hung up without even replying to Xu Hui.

Fu Jingting sat on the sofa, looking at her calmly, as if to say, "I'm waiting for you to make this up for me."

The air seemed to freeze, the silence was eerie. After a long pause, Xu Qingcheng finally managed to utter, "When did you find out?"

"Does it matter when I found out?" Fu Jingting looked at her, his gaze deep and intense, his dark eyes seeming to hold a beast within them as he stared intently at her.

"The important thing is, you did lie to me."

Xu Qingcheng suddenly felt a little weak. She had originally thought that no matter what, she would try her best to hold on until the wedding.

A magnificent wedding signifies announcing her new identity to the outside world and represents the Fu family's approval. At least in the short term, even for the sake of face, the Fu family will not easily give up on her.

She doesn't need warmth, but she needs an illusion. An illusion that the outside world will ultimately believe that the Fu family will be her support.

Then she will have a chance, and the prosperous era will have a chance.

But I never expected the lie to be exposed so quickly.

"The prosperous era has a future, it may take a while, but I think it has investment value." Xu Qingcheng gritted her teeth and sat down beside him, trying to communicate with him rationally, although she knew she was changing the subject.

"That makes sense. My choice to invest in Shengshi doesn't mean I'm willing to marry you." Fu Jingting's words were cruel, but also direct.

Xu Qingcheng's face turned pale instantly, her fingers trembled, and after filtering through her thoughts, only one sentence remained: "It doesn't mean I'm willing to marry you."

A sharp, piercing pain shot through her heart, chilling her to the bone. She wrapped her arms around herself, and after a long pause, finally spoke, "So, you want a divorce?"

"The invitations have already been sent out, and now you're asking me about a divorce?" Fu Jingting's voice suddenly turned cold. "Do you think the Fu family is shameless, or am I?"

"..." Xu Qingcheng closed her eyes briefly. "Then what do you want to do? It's come to this, and I have nothing to explain."

Fu Jingting didn't rush to answer her. He stared at her for a long time, and only spoke after seeing that Xu Qingcheng's heart had turned cold. "If you really get pregnant, that's all that matters."

"..."

Xu Qingcheng stared at him, her mind blank for a moment, her throat trembling, "Wh-what?"

The doorbell rang, and Fu Jingting got up to open the door. Xu Qingcheng sat on the sofa and looked out, only catching a glimpse of a black-clad figure.

The man handed the file to Fu Jingting. "It's done."

Fu Jingting took it, closed the door, and walked back, leaving the file in front of her.

Xu Qingcheng picked it up, glanced at it, and then abruptly looked up at Fu Jingting, "You..."

The man beckoned her to his side, pressing his palm against her stomach. "Was Mrs. Fu planning to write this storyline about being pushed to the ground by Ye Wenhan, resulting in a miscarriage?"

"..."

Xu Qingcheng clutched a series of documents he had given her regarding abortion and dilation and curettage procedures, her head thumping repeatedly as she was struck by a bell.

No profit can not afford to be early.

He had prepared all the documents for her, but Xu Qingcheng wasn't naive enough to think he just wanted to help her. "What do you want me to do?"

Fu Jingting leaned forward, getting closer to her, and placed his hand on her stomach. "I told you, if you give me a child, I'll consider it that you've never lied to me."

Xu Qingcheng nearly slapped what she was holding in his face. "Are you out of your mind?!"

"Or, I'll tell Mom and Dad and Grandpa and Grandma about your fake pregnancy and marriage scam." Fu Jingting looked at her. "The choice is yours."

"..."

Xu Qingcheng is really... going crazy!

She couldn't understand what he was thinking, but the man pulled her close, asking, "Have you made up your mind?"

Xu Qingcheng blushed and her heart pounded. She couldn't describe her feelings. She felt like she was soaring to the bottom and then floating to the sky. The contrast was so great that even after her heart returned to normal, she still felt flustered and unreal.

He asked her to have a child, a request that seemed utterly absurd.

Fu Jingting kneaded her stomach, raising an eyebrow as he asked, "Does your stomach hurt?"

He scoffed again, "Sexual life is prohibited?"

Xu Qingcheng's head was spinning, yet something suddenly dawned on her. She stammered, "You...you knew all along, didn't you?"

If he had known earlier, this whole drama would have dragged on until now... She's in so much turmoil, while he's just watching from the sidelines.

Xu Qingcheng felt a chill run down her spine. She stared intently at Fu Jingting, trying to uncover some secret she might never have known before.

Fu Jingting refused to admit it, only glancing at her, "If I had known earlier, do you think you would have been able to marry into this family?"

Right.

A sudden pang of sadness welled up in her heart, but she quietly concealed it.

Two people test each other, two hearts collide and separate, neither can read the other's mind, and neither can fathom the love and desire in this time.

……

That evening, Ye Chengnian received a phone call saying that Xu Qingcheng's baby could not be saved.

His face turned ashen, and he ordered Ye Wenhan to be brought over. "I'll have someone book a plane ticket for you and send you abroad."

"Why?" Ye Wenhan was shocked. "I disagree. I don't want to go abroad."

Ye Chengnian looked at her, then slapped her across the face in anger, his face turning ashen. "Ye Wenhan, have I been too lenient with you?!"

The sudden slap landed squarely on Ye Wenhan's face. Ye Chengnian's blow was heavy; blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and tears streamed down her face as she covered her cheek and sobbed, "I won't go abroad! Why do I want to go abroad?"

Ye Chengnian said coldly, "I just received news that Xu Qingcheng's baby is gone. Do you think the Fu family will let you off the hook?"

Ye Wenhan was stunned for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but layers of laughter crept up, making her look ferocious and terrifying. She slowly pulled open the corners of her cracked and painful mouth, "She only lost a baby, why didn't she have her uterus removed too? I shouldn't have just let her fall. Why didn't she hit that thing? What a pity, I think if she had damaged her stomach and had her uterus removed, she would never be able to get pregnant or give birth again!"

The woman's eyes were vicious and ferocious, her arms trembled from exertion, and her mind was on the verge of a mixture of excitement and collapse.

Ye Chengnian put his hand on Ye Wenhan's shoulder and softened his voice, "Don't get stuck on this, listen to your older brother. I'll arrange for someone to take you out, and you can come back in a while. Stay home these few days and don't go out and wander around."

……

Xu Qingcheng tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. She already had trouble falling asleep, and all these things from today kept swirling in her mind, impossible to shake off.

Now that the truth has come out, she doesn't know whether to breathe a sigh of relief or remain tense.

Fu Jingting was in his study when he called Tang Jinchao, asking him to find a way to withdraw the funds he had previously invested in the Ye family's innovation project.

Tang Jinchao frowned. "It's ahead of our plan, which makes things difficult. The cost of withdrawing early is too high."

"That's easy." Fu Jingting raised his eyebrows. "Invest in Shengshi and let Shengshi take over the Ye family's main business. Ye Chengnian won't be able to hold back."

"Invest in Shengshi?" Tang Jinchao tapped the table, his brow furrowing. "The South Gate project you mentioned to me before? I can handle it, as long as you've thought it through."

Fu Jingting hummed in agreement.

Controlling the prosperous era in the form of a shadow, all actions on the surface will be in accordance with Xu Qingcheng's will.

Shengshi will escape its current predicament and enter a fast track.

but……

Improper operation could result in a car crash and serious injury.

If it weren't for Xu Qingcheng's complicated relationship with the Ye family, she wouldn't have so easily come into his sights, and even worse, he wouldn't have dragged her into this unpredictable situation.

After hanging up the phone, the man walked to the window. The outside world was completely dark, making the light in the room seem especially lonely.

Fu Jingting lit a cigarette, a rare occurrence for him. His blurry shadow was reflected in the glass window, and in the darkness, the man's back was ramrod straight.