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

The weather is still so cold. I was soaked by the cold rain, and when the wind blew, the chill seeped into my bones.

Yu Sheng ran over, holding an umbrella over Xu Qingcheng's head, and called out worriedly, "President Xu."

Xu Qingcheng took Yu Sheng's hand and said, "I twisted my ankle and can't walk. Bring the car over here."

Her voice was calm and quiet, and Yu Sheng couldn't help but glance at her again.

He agreed and handed the umbrella to Xu Qingcheng, but she didn't take it. "Never mind, I'm already soaked. Go get the car."

Yu Sheng persisted for a while, but couldn't persuade Xu Qingcheng otherwise, so he grabbed the umbrella and ran to get the car.

Xu Qingcheng stood there, raised her face, closed her eyes, and let the rain pour down on her face. Many things were chaotic and complicated in her mind.

Helplessness and powerlessness washed over her. She tried her best, thinking she was finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but she didn't expect that after overcoming one obstacle, there would be another.

Sitting in the car, Yu Sheng handed her the towel.

Xu Qingcheng draped a towel over her head but didn't wipe it off. Water droplets dripped down her hair, and rainwater also streamed down her body. The spot where she was sitting, the place where her buttocks were, the place where her palms were supporting her, and her feet were soon covered in a puddle of water.

"Ms. Xu, you'll catch a cold if you keep doing this," Yu Sheng said, somewhat worried about her.

"I'm fine. Drive back to Shengshi and inform all our staff on site that they are not allowed to disclose any information about the scene and should remain silent as much as possible."

Xu Qingcheng paused for a moment before giving the order, even though she knew it wouldn't be very effective, but she figured it was better to wait and see.

Yu Sheng said "okay" and was about to pick up the phone when Xu Qingcheng continued, "When Fu Jingting calls you, don't say anything."

Yu Sheng couldn't help but turn around and look at her, wanting to ask why, but in the end he just replied with an "okay".

Xu Qingcheng then took a towel to dry her hair and face. The car's air conditioning was on full blast, but she felt no warmth at all; she was still cold, cold to the bone.

Her ankle hurt terribly, but Xu Qingcheng gritted her teeth and endured it; she couldn't care less about that at the moment.

Following her instructions, Yu Sheng issued a notice to all departments, urging them to be cautious in their words and actions.

His phone rang again shortly after, and Yu Sheng hurriedly answered it. Upon hearing the call, he simply put it on speakerphone. "President Xu is here too, just say what you need to say."

"Mr. Xu, someone is instigating this behind the scenes. It's involved with organized crime, and the background is so complicated that we can't figure out who's targeting us right now. But based on the information we have, it seems to be connected to the Jinyu Wumei Club." There was a pause on the other end. "The owner behind Jinyu Wumei is Fu Hongxin. Mr. Xu, could you perhaps ask your husband's family if there's any misunderstanding? Or could they provide any information?"

Xu Qingcheng propped her head up. "I understand. That's all for now."

When we returned to the prosperous era, the rain had subsided, and it continued to drizzle.

Xu Qingcheng took a shower; the man's marks were still on her body, a wild and stimulating sensation. Beneath him, she blossomed softly, reckless. Their bodies were so tightly intertwined, their hearts pressed together at such close proximity—that must be the limit, there was no way to get any closer.

She probably couldn't get into his heart through skin and bones.

With her teeth clenched tightly, Xu Qingcheng was no naive young girl. She had experienced too much: power struggles, false accusations, the coldness and betrayal of the business world. She had been scheming and calculating all along, and was no longer naive.

She has her business acumen, but she still needs to confirm some information.

She had already considered who was behind it all, and the most likely culprit was the Ye family. Even if it wasn't the Ye family, she wouldn't have suspected that it was related to Fu Hongxin.

Fu Hongxin wouldn't target Shengshi without reason; the hidden power dynamics behind it forced her to be extremely vigilant in dealing with the situation.

She changed into dry clothes, and apart from being a little pale, her face looked normal. Her eyes were firm, without a trace of loss or confusion.

It is precisely at times like these that we need to remain calm.

No matter how many wild ideas you have, you must not panic.

My phone rang with a notification from an unknown number.

"Ms. Xu, are you interested in the behind-the-scenes story of Shengshi's acquisition of Qide Company? I would like to invite you to dinner at Renze Hall on the fifth floor of the Vienna Hotel."

Qide Company is a production enterprise that Shengshi has just acquired, a move taken to restrain the Ye family.

With her eyes fixed on the message, Xu Qingcheng rubbed her throbbing temples, got up, put on her coat, and went outside.

He called Yu Sheng over and said, "Help me check this number. Let me know as soon as you have any news."

Yu Sheng took the note that Xu Qingcheng handed him; it had an unfamiliar phone number on it.

"OK."

Xu Qingcheng walked out, her ankle swollen, each step excruciatingly painful, yet it did not affect her impeccable demeanor.

Tang Kejia pried out the SIM card and casually threw it into the trash can in the hotel lobby.

Wei Xiao came in and whispered in Tang Kejia's ear, the woman's face full of a confident smile, "I understand."

The door to the private room opened, and Tang Kejia hurriedly stood up, smiling as she went to greet him, "Jingting, I'm sorry, I've been busy all day."

Fu Jingting avoided her and sat down directly. The man's eyes were sharp and his face was tense. "You were the one who pulled the strings behind the scenes regarding Qide Company."

His words were not a question, but an affirmation.

"Yes," Tang Kejia admitted. "Brother Pinxiu and I have been planning this for many years, and it has finally come to this point. There is only so much I can do, but I want to help you as much as I can."

Fu Jingting's jaw tightened, and anger erupted from his chest. He slammed his hand on the table, his voice as cold as ice, "Help?! Don't make it sound so high-sounding. If this happens again, you can try my hand."

Tang Kejia's expression changed slightly; he was threatening her.

In a moment, the woman composed herself, her voice tinged with a hint of grievance, which she handled perfectly. "Jingting, don't misunderstand my good intentions. Pinxiu and Zhou Qian know about this, and they tacitly approved of it, otherwise I wouldn't have done it."

When Fu Pingxiu and Zhou Qian were mentioned, Fu Jingting couldn't direct his anger at her.

As expected, the man's face was very ugly, his lips were pursed into a straight line, and his whole aura was heavy. Even without speaking, a dark pressure was overwhelming.

Tang Kejia tightened her fingers and lowered her posture to the lowest point.

"This won't happen again. I was too hasty this time. You've been planning this for so long, and you know Shengshi and Xu Qingcheng best. You know when to act in our best interest. My blind intervention might have ruined your plan. That was wrong of me; I didn't think things through." Tang Kejia said, backing down a bit. "The Xu family and the Ye family have been fighting for years. Xu Qingcheng will definitely make this move. I shouldn't have been so hasty."

This woman is too good at using retreat as a means of advancement. Even knowing that there are many excuses in her words, I can't bring myself to give her a real counterattack.

Moreover, Fu Jingting didn't want to explain further to her.

"Remember what you said: don't meddle in things that aren't your business. I have a bad temper."

The man stood up from the chair and left without even glancing at him.

Watching the man's departing figure, Tang Kejia said calmly, "I know you don't truly love her; you're just looking for my shadow in her. I understand that, so I don't blame you. According to your plan, the Tang family should be able to completely take over Shengshi this time. My father is very happy; before he left Ancheng, he told me he would no longer oppose our relationship. This is the most precious gift you've given me."

Xu Qingcheng didn't even know how she heard it all the way to the end. Her body temperature was gradually dropping, and she was shivering with cold.

She hated that her mind was so clear; every word they said rolled through her head and she remembered it clearly, so vividly.

Word by word.

Pain radiated outwards from her chest, impacting her internal organs and causing them to ache. Her heart felt as if it had been ripped open by a knife. The pain rendered her speechless, and she could almost taste the salty, metallic taste of blood in her throat.

He had been planning this for many years.

He knew everything about Shengshi and Xu Qingcheng.

She was the shadow of his lover.

He presented this prosperous era as a gift to his beloved.

My fingertips were clenched in my palms, my eyes were red and dry with pain.

It felt as if every bone in her body was being sawed with a short saw, the pain piercing to the bone, relentlessly penetrating her bones and blood.

She was like a fool, giggling and snuggling in his arms, thinking that even if he didn't love her deeply, he would still like her a little bit.

It turns out that his tenderness was poison coated in sugar, full of scheming.

How much courage did she need to jump from one mud puddle into another swamp?

The rest of her life, as she called it, was nothing more than a one-woman show.

He and she stood offstage, mocking her clumsy performance.

The sound coming from the stereo in the room stopped abruptly. Xu Qingcheng suddenly stood up, pushed open the door and ran out, opening the doors of the private rooms one by one.

Her throat was burning, bleeding, and aching. She didn't even know how it would be to face him. But at this moment, she didn't care about saving face. She just wanted to know who this strange woman was and who she was in the Tang family.

The woman who ran past the wedding photo shoot location?

Xu Qingcheng was suddenly hit on the shoulder and fell to the ground. The pain in her ankle belatedly spread to her heart. She gripped her ankle tightly with her hands, and cold sweat broke out from the pain.

"I'm sorry, are you alright?"

The voice, which had been coming from the speakers a moment ago and felt completely unfamiliar to her, was now right in front of her.

Xu Qingcheng suddenly raised her face.