Fu Bing couldn’t be bothered to indulge his habit of running his mouth.
"Did you come here specifically to annoy me?"
"Annoying you would be a waste of effort. I came here to..."
Fu Bing shot him a fierce glare.
Qin Jinhai wisely shut up. "I booked a villa here. You’re staying with me."
"If you don’t stay with me, I’ll kiss you during your team meetings."
Fu Bing’s lips twitched. Unable to bear it any longer, she said, "You’re still so irritating."
"Hurry up, I haven’t had dinner yet."
"Aren’t the people around you afraid of their distinguished boss starving to death?"
"They probably want to change bosses."
After Fu Bing had Mu He inform Aunt Ning and the others, she followed Qin Jinhai to the villa he had booked.
Fu Bing discovered that this villa was even nicer than the one she had booked, and it even had a conference room.
"How many days are you planning to stay? Let me know before you check out so I can extend the rental."
Cheng Shuangqing’s team has over a dozen people; it should be quite convenient for meetings and meals here.
Fu Bing’s expression froze. "Pretend I never said anything."
"I could give it to you."
"First, return all my assets."
"Can’t they serve as your future dowry?"
"With our kind of relationship, discussing marriage... Aren’t you afraid of waking up in the middle of the night to find your head ’relocated’?" Fu Bing said indifferently.
"You wouldn’t have the heart to," Qin Jinhai said coolly, "you wouldn’t have the heart to break the law for me."
"Because my life is more important." Fu Bing’s feelings were complicated.
In the days since leaving Jiangcheng, she had been busy almost every day, with no time or energy to think about her and Qin Jinhai.
But Qin Jinhai always had such a strong presence, making it impossible for her to avoid him.
In love, she clearly saw hate, and while hating, she also keenly felt Qin Jinhai’s love. He appeared in her life when she was very idealistic about love; back then, she could give her all to love any special man. Back then, Qin Jinhai had split open her world. She naturally assumed that their feelings would never change, that as long as they loved each other, they could overcome all problems. She refused to shoot kissing scenes or intimate scenes. She believed that all things related to love should only be done with Qin Jinhai. And the result?
Qin Jinhai interrupted her thoughts, "What are you thinking about?"
Qin Jinhai bent down to retrieve a pair of slippers from the entrance cabinet and placed them beside her feet before changing his own shoes.
After changing his shoes, Qin Jinhai headed straight for the kitchen.
Soon, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.
Fu Bing didn’t go to the kitchen to watch him cook; instead, she took a tour of the villa’s ground floor.
From the interior design, it was clearly Qin Jinhai’s favored style.
Qin Jinhai stir-fried a plate of pork and steamed two corn cobs and eggs.
"Come and eat something."
She hadn’t eaten much that evening, as she had been busy socializing.
Fu Bing sat opposite him and slowly ate an egg, taking the initiative to ask, "What are you doing here?"
"Jian Yao will take over Zhou Zhizhuo’s role. If Ren Ye doesn’t bring him to meet you tonight, Jian Yao will come by himself. After that, he and Ren Ye will hand over the three billion in funds to you, so be prepared. The number of people you currently have is far from enough; you need to find a way to recruit more."
"This funding was originally designated for Gu Yazheng; it’s the result of Fu Ning’s hard work. It’s perfect for you to take it."
All of a sudden, Fu Bing lost her appetite. "I suddenly feel so much pressure," she said.
Qin Jinhai looked at her but said nothing.
Fu Bing mentally reviewed the people at her disposal, only to realize she was still short on manpower. Cheng Shuangqing could temporarily head the film and television platform projects, but she still needed someone to lead the Traditional Chinese Medicine platform. Old Master Jian could certainly take the lead, but his age was a factor; he could make occasional appearances but couldn’t commit to it long term.
Without any hesitation, Qin Jinhai took Fu Bing to bed.
Fu Bing gazed at him in the moonlight; his sharp brows and bright eyes were handsome enough to stir the soul.
Qin Jinhai held her hand, guiding her to explore her own body.
That feeling was very strange.
Fu Bing was overwhelmed with shyness, more emotionally stirred than ever before.
Qin Jinhai’s eyes darkened as he fiercely claimed her.
Clinging to his strong, powerful arms, Fu Bing drifted with him in a sea of desire.
At the critical moment, Qin Jinhai stopped. "Who is whose lover anyway? Why do I feel like I’m getting the short end of the stick?"
Fu Bing’s face took on a seductive charm rarely seen. "Or perhaps I should find someone else?"
"Dream on!" he said fiercely.
His movements became even more aggressive than before.
The rationality Fu Bing had painstakingly summoned was once again teetering precariously. Desire, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Just treating Qin Jinhai as a common household item, he was quite up to the task.
「Night, ten o’clock.」
Lu Yuan sniffed, a look of resentment on his face as he stepped out of the high-speed rail station.
He had obviously left home days ago, and after getting on the wrong trains several times, he could only curse his own terrible sense of direction.
Lu Yuan, carrying a small, battered bag on his back, got into a taxi.
The driver asked, "Where to?"
"Do you know where Fu Ying lives? I’m here to find Fu Ying."
The driver looked at him as if he were a lunatic and decisively slammed on the brakes.
"How about I take you to the hospital first to get your head checked?"
Lu Yuan glared at him. "I’m not sick; I’m a doctor! I’m here to join Fu Ying, I just don’t know where she lives."
The driver had waited nearly two hours to finally get a passenger , so he had no choice but to reluctantly drive on.
"Why don’t you try contacting President Ren? Fu Ying just cured his illness, and he’s a well-known figure in Jiangnan. He has publicly available contact information. Reaching out to him would be much more helpful than aimlessly searching for Fu Ying’s address."
"Right, I’ll look for it."
Lu Yuan lowered his head to search on his phone and found a string of numbers.
"Hello, I’m part of the Chinese medicine community, and I’d like to recommend myself to Fu Bing. Do you have any way for me to find her?"
A dial tone sounded from the other end.
"Damn it! If you were going to hang up, you should’ve done it sooner! Why let me waste so much breath before cutting the call?" Lu Yuan cursed.
The driver struggled to suppress a smile. "Shall I drop you off at a hotel near the company? You can go there in the morning."
Lu Yuan shook his head, continuing to search online for contact information.
In the end, he simply left a private message for Fu Bing on Weibo.
"Fu Ying, I’m Lu Yuan, Lu Ji’s junior disciple—the one who opposed you. I’ve quit working for the Han Family and want to join you. I came to Jiangnan the day before yesterday but took several wrong trains and only just arrived. I’m willing to join your platform and help you promote the greatness of Chinese medicine!"
Lu Yuan also sent a big smiley face emoji.
Fu Bing saw it the next day while having breakfast.
She casually asked the man opposite her, "Do you know Lu Yuan?"
"Yes. What about him?"
"He recommended himself to me on Weibo."
"He’s very capable and unconventional; you could give him a chance. This man only submits to people he respects. When Lu Ji took him in as a disciple, he used to fight with Lu Ji every day."
"If he ends up fighting with me every day, won’t I go insane?"
"No," Qin Jinhai reached out, took her phone, and looked at it. "He quite admires you."
Fu Bing found herself, unconsciously, still inclined to consider Qin Jinhai’s suggestions. This made her wary.
"How much do you plan to invest in these two platforms?"
"This is your project. I’m just here to see you."
"Just like that? As a businessman, can you really remain indifferent to such huge profits and opportunities?"
"Isn’t it enough that you’re making money?" Qin Jinhai said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Fu Bing pursed her lips and remained silent.
She didn’t know which of Qin Jinhai’s words to believe. Even though they had once been lovers, Qin Jinhai had never revealed his life or past to her. She had only learned that he was from the Qin Family through the media. Getting close to him, trusting him—it was too dangerous.
Fu Bing said hoarsely, "When do you plan to have an honest conversation with me? Some of your actions suggest you want to plan a future with me, but you aren’t being entirely truthful. Or do you believe that just by visiting and occasionally advising me, I should gamble the rest of my life on an adventure with you?"