Using power to force marriage

"I'm sorry, I don't like making friends." Ruan Fu remained polite throughout.

After saying that, she turned to leave, not wanting to have any more entanglement with Simon.

She had barely taken a step when the man beside her blocked her way.

"Miss Ruan, I don't like beating around the bush."

Simon's words were direct and blunt: "You're very beautiful, I like you a lot, can you give me a chance to pursue you?"

Ruan Fu's face suddenly turned cold. "Mr. Simon, please have some self-respect."

She has already stated that she is married, and her husband is Zhao Jingnian.

How did Simon have the audacity to say that?

"So what if you're married? I don't mind."

Simon continued, "I can give you this sapphire necklace. I don't believe a necklace worth a billion can't buy an opportunity."

His eyes revealed a sense of determination as he looked Ruan Fu up and down, lingering on her slender waist.

"What opportunity do you want to buy?" A deep, cold male voice suddenly came from behind.

Zhao Jingnian came looking for someone after finishing his business negotiations, and he heard Simon say this as soon as he arrived.

He naturally put his arm around Ruan Fu's slender waist and pulled her into his embrace.

Upon seeing Zhao Jingnian, Simon showed no fear, maintaining his usual carefree demeanor.

He casually slipped his hands into his suit pockets, a smug smile playing on his lips. "An opportunity to make friends with your wife."

This statement was extremely provocative.

Simon was born into a Western aristocracy. His father was the president of the Asia-Europe Transnational Capital Alliance Chamber of Commerce. Peter doted on him and spoiled him, always covering for him.

He didn't take Zhao Jingnian seriously.

"There are plenty of men who want to be friends with my wife, who do you think you are?"

Although Zhao Jingnian's tone was not harsh, it carried an imposing and authoritative air. His gaze swept lightly over the sapphire in Simon's hand, and a mocking smile spread across his eyes.

It's laughable that he dared to seduce his wife with just a broken necklace.

"Your necklace, like you, is too cheap; my wife doesn't like it."

A billion dollars is an astronomical sum for others, but for him, it's just a drop in the ocean.

Zhao Jingnian's words shattered Simon's pride in his financial strength; a necklace worth a billion dollars could be described as "cheap" in his mouth.

Are you crazy?

With him in her arms, Ruan Fu's tense nerves were finally able to relax.

"It's a good thing you came. He kept bothering me, and I've refused him so many times. Who wants to be friends with him?"

Ruan Fu sounded a little aggrieved, "You shouldn't have left me here alone, it's all your fault."

It is indeed his fault.

Zhao Jingnian hadn't expected such a daring fool to appear.

Ruan Fu has a fiery temper and cannot tolerate the slightest frivolous or offensive behavior. In ordinary circumstances, she would have lost her temper long ago.

But tonight is different. This is Pete's home court, and Simon is Pete's only son, with a prominent status, so some face will have to be given.

Zhao Jingnian has an important multinational project with Pitt's company, and many details of the project have not yet been finalized. A small change can have far-reaching consequences, so she cannot act impulsively or cause trouble for Zhao Jingnian.

"You call a billion-dollar necklace cheap?" Simon's eyes flashed with anger. "Mr. Zhao, you have quite the nerve."

Zhao Jingnian was too lazy to waste words with him. It was the father's fault if the son was not taught properly. Simon was an inhuman beast, so he needed to have a proper talk with the beast's father.

The man wrapped his arm around Ruan Fu's waist and led her away from the exhibition hall.

Simon's face was filled with obvious anger and resentment. No one dared to speak to him like that, and he would make Zhao Jingnian pay the price.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Fu, I shouldn't have left you alone."

Zhao Jingnian apologized to Ruan Fu.

"Then you mustn't leave me behind again next time. You have to take me with you wherever you go."

She was genuinely angered by Simon, but fortunately it was in a public place, so Simon didn't dare to be too presumptuous and didn't do anything outrageous to her.

Zhao Jingnian led her through the gilded and intricately carved corridor to the VIP box in the central area on the second floor of the auction venue.

This private room offers the best view of the entire venue, directly facing the central auction stage on the first floor, and its one-way glass provides excellent privacy.

Ruan Fu sat on a large leather sofa, with fresh fruit, desserts, and tea laid out on the marble coffee table in front of her.

Simon's matter was just a minor incident; Zhao Jingnian has already resolved it.

Ruan Fu didn't take the matter to heart; that's just her temper—it comes and goes quickly. Now, she was only looking forward to the upcoming auction.

However, Zhao Jingnian's coldness did not dissipate, and his eyes revealed a deep-seated ferocity.

He ordered Yu Ming to bring Pete here, intending to interrogate him.

Ruan Fu used his tablet to browse the auction items; he liked every single one of them.

"I like quite a few things, six in total. Will you buy them all for me?"

The man's fingertips caressed her cheek. "If you like, all the items up for auction tonight can be yours."

Zhao Jingnian has always been like this, always granting her requests.

Ruan Fu wanted the stars in the sky, and he could pluck the moon down and give it to her.

Wow! Boss Zhao is so generous!

She looked at him with a playful smile, wrapped her arms around his neck, and planted a kiss on his lips. "I'm not greedy, just six pieces will do."

Because I don't particularly like the others.

Ruan Fu's kiss failed to soothe the anger in his heart. Just thinking about Simon's frivolous and arrogant appearance just now made him want to crush this stupid fool who didn't know his own mortality.

"Is that sapphire necklace among the six treasures you picked out?"

"Of course not."

Ruan Fu looked disgusted. "I don't care. That necklace is ugly, and it's been touched by dirty things. It has bacteria on it. I don't want it."

Zhao Jingnian's expression softened slightly; his little Fu was so well-behaved.

"Zhao Jingnian, I want to eat fruit."

Fruit platters are usually prepared, but all she saw were whole fruits. Was she supposed to eat whole apples and oranges?

A knife was placed next to the plate of fruit.

The blade is entirely cold silver with a sharp edge, making it look less like an ordinary fruit-cutting knife and more like a potentially dangerous dagger.

Ruan Fu casually remarked that the fruit knife was quite pretty.

Zhao Jingnian reached out and picked up the silver dagger from the coffee table to help her peel fruit.

I picked out the fruit and fed it to her.

Downstairs in the auction hall, the auctioneer had already begun explaining lot number one. Ruan Fu was busy raising her paddle while being fed by him.

Numbers 1 and 3, as well as numbers 6 and 7, are all things she likes. In just a short while, she spent more than 40 billion yuan of Zhao Jingnian's money.

"Zhao Jingnian, I'm practically your money-saving expert! I feel like the four treasures I got were much cheaper than I expected. I've got a good price."

He slowly wiped the fruit stains off his hands with a tissue. "Whatever makes you happy, don't worry about saving me money."

The thing he has in abundance is money.

Ruan Fu lowered her head to drink the juice the man fed her, in a good mood and looking forward to the next two items.

Suddenly, Pete knocked on the door of the private room.

Zhao Jingnian uttered a single word calmly, "Enter."

The door opened, and Pete hurriedly entered the private room, bringing Simon with him.

He already knew that his son had offended this powerful figure, so he brought Simon along to apologize.

Simon looked arrogant, showing no remorse whatsoever; he had clearly been dragged there by Pete.

Pitt adopted a humble stance and was the first to apologize.

This international cooperation project was something he had approached Zhao Jingnian repeatedly and went to great lengths to secure.

Asia-Europe Capital Alliance has suffered consecutive losses in its investments over the past two years, and many of its core overseas projects have stalled. Zhao Jingnian is the only business partner who can inject sufficient funds in a short period of time to bail him out.

Zhao Jingnian held the initiative in this collaboration, leaving Pitt with no choice but to make concessions, as it was a deal he had negotiated and lost face for a long time.

After finally reaching an agreement, he turned around and found that his own son had actually offended this powerful figure behind his back. He was really going to cause trouble for him.

Simon's eyes were full of arrogance. In his mind, everything in the world could be measured and exchanged with money, and women were nothing more than playthings for leisure.

It's absurd to expect him to bow down and apologize to a woman.

It's an honor for Ruan Fu that he even deems worthy of her attention, yet this woman is so ungrateful.

Zhao Jingnian is really pathetic. He's willing to go to war with the Eurasian Capital Alliance over a woman. How foolish.

He admitted that Ruan Fu was indeed very beautiful, but he felt that no matter how stunning a beauty was, she was not qualified to be compared with the interests of hundreds of billions of dollars.

Simon was convinced that Zhao Jingnian and Pete were interdependent business partners, and that businessmen, driven by profit and fickle, would never give up huge profits for a woman.

With Pete backing him up and the Chamber of Commerce supporting him, he can certainly spout nonsense without restraint.

Seeing his son's arrogant and ignorant behavior, Pete was both anxious and angry. He gave him a look to stop him and signal him to immediately bow his head and admit his mistake.

But Simon completely ignored it and didn't think he was wrong at all.

Pete bowed to the two people on the sofa. "I am truly sorry. It is my fault for failing to raise my son properly. I sincerely apologize to Miss Ruan on his behalf."

Simon saw his father bow to them, a mocking and nonchalant smile curving his lips as he scolded Pete for being spineless.

Zhao Jingnian reached out and picked up the silver dagger on the table, toying with it. His posture was condescending. "Mr. Simon doesn't seem to be here to apologize; he seems more like he's here to declare war on me."

Simon stared directly at Zhao Jingnian, his words extremely arrogant, "Why should I apologize to you? I haven't done anything wrong."

Taking advantage of his noble status, he became increasingly unscrupulous.

"There's an old Chinese saying: 'Brothers are like hands and feet, women are like clothes.' The Asia-Europe Capital Alliance shares risks and benefits with your group. My father is a brother who is as close as lips and teeth."

His gaze casually swept over Ruan Fu. "As for her, she's just a pretty and exquisite dress in your wardrobe. I happen to really like this dress of yours. You're being too stingy."

These disparaging and arrogant remarks about women are a blatant provocation against Zhao Jingnian's bottom line.

The moment he finished speaking, Zhao Jingnian threw the silver dagger, which struck Simon squarely in the left thigh.

The sharp blade pierced through the fabric of his expensive suit and went deep into his flesh.

The scene was too bloody. The moment the dagger left his hand, Zhao Jingnian had already pulled Ruan Fu into his arms and covered her eyes with his hands.

"Don't be afraid, Xiao Fu, I'm here." His voice was deep and gentle.

Ruan Fu rested her head on his chest, listening to his strong, undulating heartbeat, and felt very at ease.

Simon, unable to bear the excruciating pain, suddenly lost all strength in his legs and knelt heavily on the ground, warm blood gushing from the wound.

A sharp, piercing pain swept through his body, crushing his previous arrogance and conceit.

She didn't see any of the bloody scene before her eyes; she could only hear Simon's suppressed screams of pain.

To be honest, his painful wails were quite pleasant to hear and very satisfying.

Normally, Zhao Jingnian always presents a refined and gentle demeanor, maintaining the composure and civility of a superior no matter what happens.

Unexpectedly, he would actually hurt someone; Ruan Fu had never seen his violent and cruel side before.

Pete, who was standing nearby, was already terrified. Seeing his son lying in a pool of blood, he was filled with rage.

I had anticipated that Zhao Jing would be furious and turn on me at the annual meeting, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless.

"Zhao! You've gone too far! It was just a few jokes, and you actually seriously injured my son."

He glared angrily and accused Zhao Jingnian of his crimes.

The man's expression was indifferent, and his eyes showed disdain as he looked at Simon.

It's just a little blood loss, it won't kill him, why make such a fuss?

He slowly raised his eyes, looked at the furious Pete, and suddenly found it amusing.

"You've raised a beast that doesn't know its own limitations, and I have no obligation to spoil it along with you."

He didn't care if Pete turned against him. Right now, the Asia-Europe Capital Alliance was facing a crisis, and many countries were conducting comprehensive and strict investigations into overseas capital. Pete knew better than anyone how much he needed Zhao Jingnian as a partner.

Pete suppressed his anger and ordered his men to take Simon to the hospital.

Zhao Jingnian held Pete's weakness and lifeline in his hands; even if he had two lives, Pete wouldn't dare to turn against him.

Therefore, he could only bow again and sincerely apologize to Zhao Jingnian and Ruan Fu.

Zhao Jingnian had no time to deal with him, and his tone was impatient as he told him to get lost.

The private room was filled with a faint smell of blood, which made Ruan Fu feel nauseous.

"Zhao Jingnian, I don't want to stay here anymore."

The man picked her up and carried her out of the private room.

On her way back to her lodgings, Ruan Fu looked out the window at the bustling night view of Macau and suddenly felt a little worried.

Australia is not like North City. After all, Pete is a big shot with a lot of influence. Will Zhao Jingnian offend someone because of this?

The Rolls-Royce drove into the private villa area, and after it came to a stop, he carried Ruan Fu out of the car.

Upon entering the villa, he placed her on the living room sofa and noticed that she was lost in thought with her eyelashes lowered.

The man reached out and cupped her face, asking gently, "What are you thinking about? Were you scared?"

She shook her head; she wasn't frightened by a little blood.

I'm just a little worried about him.

"Simon has the backing of the Eurasian Capital Alliance. If you hurt him, you'll embarrass Pete. Won't that cause you trouble?"

Upon hearing this, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.

His little Fu worries about him; his little Fu loves him so much.

Zhao Jingnian explained in detail, "Things aren't as serious as you think. Pete is currently facing internal and external troubles, and he has repeatedly come to me for help. He doesn't dare to offend me."

"Really?"

"certainly."

Zhao Jingnian cupped her cheeks and kissed her lips to soothe her frightened emotions, "Your husband is very capable, no one dares to cause me trouble."

Ruan Fu still felt a vague unease. "No one dares to cause you trouble, but what if they do cause me trouble?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at these words, "You're my wife, with me protecting you, who dares?"