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

Fu Jingting felt a burning pain in his chest from anger. The long incision felt like it had ripped open his skin and bones once again, cruelly exposing his internal organs to the air in an instant. An overwhelming chill penetrated to his very bones.

He was bewitched by Xu Qingcheng, which is why he continued to act this way with her even though he knew he shouldn't have continued to entangle himself with her, and why his heart, which shouldn't have been moved, was constantly affected by her.

Xie Yin hung up the phone.

Xu Qingcheng turned over, wanting to continue sleeping. She was so tired; her eyelids felt stuck together and she couldn't open them. All she wanted to do was get a good night's sleep.

She turned to the side, pressing one hand under her cheek, and there was a faint smell of ointment in her breath.

She sniffed it carefully again, and it really was there.

It smells quite nice.

There was a burn on her palm; she had been burned by the hot rice cooker inner pot when she poured out the porridge.

Xu Qingcheng's mind was caught between wakefulness and sleep. She was extremely tired, both physically and mentally. After reaching her limit, she became drowsy, as if she couldn't wake up.

They were even racking their brains trying to figure out when she had applied the ointment.

I have no recollection of it.

Who applied it to her?

For some unknown reason, Xu Qingcheng suddenly opened her eyes wide and shuddered violently, as if she had suddenly remembered that she had slept at Jingshan No. 1 last night.

My drowsy mind felt like it had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and I suddenly woke up with a start.

Xu Qingcheng propped herself up on the bed and turned her head to meet the man's cold face. Looking at him, she was inexplicably startled and broke out in a cold sweat.

She just spoke with Xie Yin and Yuan Yuan; he probably didn't hear it.

How did I end up answering the phone here without even realizing it?

"You haven't left yet?"

Xu Qingcheng tried her best to remain calm, but she couldn't hide the fact that her face had turned pale with fright.

Fu Jingting stared at her pale face, his chest heaving with suppressed emotion, his back teeth clenched, his entire face radiating a sinister aura.

"This is my home, you're the one who should leave."

His voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, and filled with sarcasm.

Xu Qingcheng was taken aback. Almost instinctively, she asked him, "What's wrong?"

She asked him what was wrong?

Fu Jingting suddenly laughed, a laugh utterly mocking. The man braced himself on either side of her, his gaze sharp as a blade as he stared at her. "Xu Qingcheng, are you playing games with me?"

As she got up, most of the blanket slipped off her body. When he braced himself with his arm, he pulled the blanket down a bit more, leaving Xu Qingcheng's upper body almost entirely exposed to the air. His hair was still wet, and the cold water droplets fell down, making him shiver.

Xu Qingcheng reached out to pull the blanket up, but the man wouldn't let go. Her attempt to cover herself only fueled his anger. "What are you trying to hide? What part of your body haven't I seen? You just woke up in my bed and you're already flirting with other men. Xu Qingcheng, do you think I'm a stepping stone?"

If you need it, step on it; if you don't, just toss it aside.

She was hugging him and saying let's make up, but at the same time she was being all lovey-dovey with other men.

Even if he didn't want to think about it, her tense body and pale face had already completely betrayed her.

Hearing this, Xu Qingcheng knew he had overheard her phone call. Her mind went blank for a moment, wondering if he knew about Yuanyuan. Her face turned pale uncontrollably, and the tension in her heart manifested in her body and emotions. Her feigned composure appeared as affected pretense to him.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say. "That phone call just now, it wasn't..."

Fu Jingting had to exert tremendous self-control to prevent himself from accidentally choking her.

Does she think he's deaf or blind?!

He looked at her and suddenly felt incredibly bored.

The man closed his eyes briefly, not even wanting to say another word to her.

He straightened up and coldly ordered, "From today onwards, don't appear before me again. Since I promised the Xu family to invest in Xinshengshi, I won't break the contract. Consider this your payment for these past few nights with me. As for all future agreements, follow the proper procedures. If the Xu family wants to maintain this position, they'll have to demonstrate their capital and capabilities."

His cold words, as if they came from an ice cellar, slammed into her face, causing her face to ache with pain.

Her face was tense, and the words she wanted to say were stuck in her throat.

After the tension subsided, the air suddenly became quiet.

Fu Jingting took his shirt and trousers and went out.

Last night, she hugged him and said, "Fu Jingting, let's make up."

Even though he doubted her intentions, he also harbored a secret expectation.

Now it all seems ridiculously absurd.

With red eyes, Xu Qingcheng opened the wardrobe, inside which hung seasonal clothes, the tags still on.

That's her size.

She grabbed a set of clothes at random, quickly put them on, zipped them up, and they fit perfectly. Suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears.

Xu Qingcheng got dressed and went downstairs, but didn't see him. The cleaning lady was tidying up the living and dining room.

"Where is Fu Jingting?"

"The master just went out."

Hearing the sound of a car engine in the yard, she hurriedly ran to the gate, only to find that the car had already driven away.

Xu Qingcheng turned back to the bedroom, took out her phone and dialed his number, but the call was disconnected after only a few rings.

He doesn't answer her calls.

Fu Jingting put his phone aside, and Da Zhao, driving by, noticed that his face was gloomy, more so than ever before.

He was probably in a bad mood, so he didn't say a word. Da Zhao drove very carefully, afraid that even the slightest bump would upset the man.

Fu Jingting calmly suppressed his pounding heartbeat, closed his eyes, and chuckled softly after a long while.

Why bother? Why care?

When I tried to call again, the call wouldn't go through at all.

Xu Qingcheng pursed her lips. Was this abnormal relationship really over?

As she was leaving Jingshan No. 1, the auntie hurriedly called out to her, "Miss Xu, don't forget to take this."

Xu Qingcheng stopped and took the tube of ointment handed to her by the aunt.

"When I came over this morning, my husband said he was leaving early and asked me to remind you to take it with you when you left."

The aunt was also puzzled, wondering if the two had quarreled. When she said this, the man seemed to have a slight smile on his face, but when he left, his face was completely cold.

Xu Qingcheng clenched the ointment, suddenly feeling very weak, her nose stung terribly, and her heart was filled with unbearable sorrow.

It seems she's never found a way to deal with him; why is she so stupid?

……

Duan Heng felt like he'd been screwed over.

When Fu Shao first mentioned contacting Chen Rui, he thought it meant there would be no connection with the Xu family, and he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that was good. But he never expected that the Xu family would actually be the second largest shareholder.

Duan Heng felt a momentarily deceived, but then he thought back to the fact that Young Master Fu hadn't explicitly said anything, and it was all just his guess that had gone astray, which made him even more unhappy.

That afternoon, as the ownership of shares and other details were being finalized, Duan Heng couldn't fathom Fu Shao's thoughts, so he simply asked him, "Fu Shao, how should we discuss this?"

"Normal business negotiations should be conducted as they are. What we want is to maximize our profits." Fu Jingting's voice was cold and unwavering.

Duan Heng glanced at it and said, "Okay."

FUC refused to budge, demanding that the actual contribution rate be increased to 25%. Xu Qingyao could compromise on everything else, but he could not compromise on this point, promising to pay 17% and the remaining 18% within two years.

After several rounds of negotiations failed, it wouldn't be fair to say that the other party was deliberately making things difficult; it's just that both sides had their own considerations and neither side was willing to make way for Xu Qingyao.

In the end, both sides compromised: the Xu family paid 20% of the shares, and the remaining 15% was to be paid in full within one year; otherwise, the remaining shares that were not paid in full would be transferred to FUC at the original value.

It's three percentage points more than the budget, and there's a shortfall of nearly 15 million that needs to be made up.

Xu Qingcheng didn't move when she heard the news. She looked at Xu Qingyao and said, "Since you agreed, you must have your own way. Tell me."

"Borrow money."

"From whom should I borrow it?"

"You don't need to worry about it, I'll borrow the money." Xu Qingyao lowered his eyes, took off his suit jacket, and changed into a casual jacket.

As he grabbed his phone to leave, Xu Qingcheng grabbed him, saying, "Where are you going to borrow money? Tell me clearly. You can't use random, worthless money."

"I've already spoken to my friend, and he's asked me to use his startup funds first. It's not some random money."

"Really?" She still didn't quite believe it.

"Really?" Xu Qingyao chuckled.

As he was speaking, his phone rang. He frowned slightly when he saw the number, but still answered it.

Avoid talking to Xu Qingcheng over there.

A cheerful, bright female voice asked him, "Xu Qingyao, shall I come pick you up?"

"Need not."

"Alright, I'll wait for you at the front desk of Jiuzhan Technology. Don't be late. My dad will give you five minutes at most." He paused and then added, "But don't be nervous. It's only 15 million. I've already asked, so he has no choice but to agree. Otherwise, if I elope with you, he won't even have a daughter left."

Xu Qingyao's forehead tightened slightly, and he swallowed back the words he wanted to say to her. "I'm going to talk to Chairman Zhan about cooperation. It has nothing to do with you. You just need to introduce me and don't say anything."

Once she starts talking, things will probably go awry.

The girl on the other end of the phone chuckled sweetly, "Okay, whatever you say. But first, once this is settled, you have to grant me one request."

"Um."

Xu Qingyao gave a casual "hmm".

The girl on the other end of the phone couldn't contain her laughter, "Then I'll have to think carefully about how to torment you..."

The phone call abruptly ended.

Xu Qingyao started to walk out, but Xu Qingcheng stopped him. "You're going to find Uncle Zhan? Qingyao, he won't agree to it. Zhan Fangchen is a vengeful man. Back then..."

"Sis," Xu Qingyao interrupted her, straightening up as she changed into a pair of sneakers, "You worry too much, and now you have wrinkles."

Xu Qingcheng pursed her lips.

"Let me give it a try. I don't only have Zhan Fangchen as a channel. Didn't we agree that your work for Shengshi has ended? Whatever the outcome, leave it to me, okay?" Xu Qingyao stood in front of her, already much taller than her, and she had to look up at him.

"it is good."

"You don't look too well, take a rest. I'll let you know if there's any news." Xu Qingyao left, and before closing the door, she added, "I'll take care of it. Don't contact Fu Jingting again."

At that moment, Xu Qingcheng almost couldn't hold back her tears.

But now, even if she wanted to contact him, she couldn't.

Ancheng is only so big, yet so many people can unexpectedly bump into each other.

But if you deliberately avoid seeing it, you really won't see it.

When Song Chang got home that night, she was startled by the person on her bed. "Why are you sleeping here?"

"Um."

"Have you got a meal yet?"

"No, not yet." Xu Qingcheng wasn't actually asleep either. She sat up. "I've cooked some food in the kitchen, waiting for you to come back."

"Is this some kind of weird food? Let me see if I can eat it." Song Chang said as she went into the kitchen. There was eight-treasure porridge, stir-fried wood ear mushrooms and yam, and two mountain eggs.

Anyway, she wouldn't eat much for dinner, and the secret to maintaining her figure was all in this meal. Song Chang was quite satisfied. Although the yam was cut to varying thicknesses, at least it was cooked.

"Not bad." Song Chang smiled and gave Xu Qingcheng her evaluation.

Xu Qingcheng didn't say anything, pulled out a dining chair and sat down, silently serving herself a bowl of eight-treasure porridge, one for Song Chang and one for herself.

Then he peeled the eggs, took out both eggs, gave one to Song Chang, and kept one for himself.

Even when it's placed in front of him, he won't eat it; he'll just stare at the bowl.

Song Chang coughed and tapped the rim of her bowl with her chopsticks. "What are you doing?"

"Changchang, I have something to ask you."

"you say."

"It's like this..." Xu Qingcheng carefully considered how to say it, but in the end she still told him in great detail how he prepared clothes for her, how he applied burn ointment to her hands, how she called Xie Yin, and how he got angry and said he would never see her again.

"You called Xie Yin, so he's angry?" Song Chang's mind went blank. "What did you say to Xie Yin?"

"I didn't say anything. I was mainly talking to Yuan Yuan." Xu Qingcheng sighed. "My brain wasn't working very well at the time. When I realized he was angry because of the phone call, my first thought was whether he knew about Yuan Yuan. Then it seemed like he misunderstood my relationship with Xie Yin, but I didn't know how to explain it to him."

"It's hard to explain," Song Chang glanced at her, "unless you give Yuan Yuan away."

"But how could there be a misunderstanding? I really didn't say anything. I just said I missed her." Speaking of missing her, Xu Qingcheng's nose tingled, and she quickly held her breath, "I haven't seen her in so long, I really miss her."

"I know, I know." Song Chang nodded, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "And then?"

"Then he prepared clothes for me and helped me apply ointment." Xu Qingcheng placed her hand in front of Song Chang's eyes. "What I mean is, he probably still has some feelings for me, right? Could he be angry because... he's jealous?"

After Xu Qingcheng finished speaking, the air fell silent for a moment. Song Chang stared at her, making Xu Qingcheng feel very guilty. "Do you think I'm just being presumptuous? Overthinking things? But he also said that we shouldn't contact each other again, that it's over."

"There are many interpretations of men doing these things for women." Song Chang closed her hand and pushed it back. "You're talking about one of them. I can only say it's possible."

"It could be, or it could not be." Song Chang really didn't want to discourage her, but a clear understanding was necessary. "If he's just jealous, he'll come back to you once he's calmed down. But do you think the main issue between you two right now is just jealousy and petty squabbles? You haven't even opened up to each other, so what's with the jealousy?"

Xu Qingcheng withdrew her hand. Song Chang's words instantly brought her back to reality and wiped away any remaining hope in her heart.

"I don't know what else I can do," Xu Qingcheng said with a bitter smile.

Seeing her sitting there dejectedly, Song Chang felt sorry for her. "But what I said might not be right. Maybe Fu Jingting is just childish and has no friends, and he's really jealous."

Xu Qingcheng slapped Song Chang, and the two suddenly looked at each other and laughed.

"Let's eat, don't overthink it." Song Chang said, looking at her. "My brother said he's having a housewarming party at his new house this weekend, and he's taking me there. Are you coming? With me?"