Chapter 171

Duan Family

He Cheng stood up from the sofa, his cold expression impossible to ignore, and the oppressive aura emanating from him made Duan's father break out in a cold sweat.

Mr. Duan nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, please don't be angry, I will definitely teach Lingwu a good lesson!"

"President He, please take care on your journey!"

Duan's father humbly saw He Cheng off.

Already displeased by his son-in-law's humble manner in seeing him off, he became even more enraged upon seeing Ling Wu's reply on his phone, and smashed his phone on the ground!

"You wretched girl! I should have suffocated her back then! Now that she's grown up and has her own wings, is it too much to ask her to contribute to the family?"

"An old man with children? Does she know how much effort I put into marrying her off to this old man with children?"

Duan's mother was startled, then bent down to pick up the phone with the cracked screen. After reading the message, she also showed dissatisfaction.

She suppressed the anger rising in her heart and brought the teacup to Duan's father's lips, but the next second, Duan's father pushed it away violently!

The scalding tea was poured onto Duan's mother's leg. She screamed, covered the reddened area on her leg, and looked at Duan's father in horror.

"What are you yelling about? Can't you see I'm annoyed? All these years you've only given birth to a useless daughter!" Mr. Duan shoved Mrs. Duan's hand away and roared.

Mother Duan trembled as she withdrew her hand. Looking at Father Duan's angry expression, she forcibly held back the tears welling up in her eyes, preventing them from falling.

She also knew about his mistress, because the woman had come to his door a few days ago with a big belly, saying that she was pregnant with a boy.

No one knew better than her how much the man in front of her wanted a son.

Thinking of this, Duan's mother, who originally wanted to comfort Duan's father, changed her words to something else in response to his coldness and indifference:

“Ling Wu wants the company because she doesn’t know how hard it is. Since that’s the case, why not just hand the company over to her?”

“Once she sees the difficulties firsthand, she will naturally go to He Cheng for help. In that case, the company can be saved, and she can settle down as a stepmother in the He family.”

Ignoring the tea stains on her clothes, she spoke gently and considerately while patting Mr. Duan's back.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Duan frowned deeply. He gave Mrs. Duan a fierce look, but seeing her meek and submissive demeanor filled with concern for him, he dismissed his doubts.

"What if she actually manages to save the company?"

Mrs. Duan shook her head. "You know what kind of person Lingwu is. Although she only studied finance after the old man passed away, it was only for a few years. After that, she went to the He family. For so many years, she has never left the He family. What skills does she have?"

She looked at Duan's father with adoring eyes and said, "Besides, you don't even have the ability, let alone her?"

Her words were somewhat harsh, and although her father disliked them, he took it as an unintentional remark after seeing the adoration in her eyes.

He pondered for a moment, then nodded, "That makes sense. Let's do it your way."

He truly didn't believe his useless daughter had any abilities.

Thinking of his daughter, he couldn't help but frown again.

But soon he thought of his young and beautiful mistress and the son in her belly, and his eyes filled with uncontrollable joy and tenderness.

Mr. Duan glanced at Mrs. Duan, pushed her hand away without saying a word, and stood up. "I have a trip to take today, and I won't be back tonight. You don't need to wait for me."

Duan's mother's hand stiffened, but she nodded obediently, helped him put on his coat, and gazed at his back as he walked away without looking back before finally saying, "Be careful on the road."

Only after the car drove away did she sit back on the sofa, lower her head, take out a handkerchief, and gently wipe the remaining tea stains from her legs.

She sat there for a long time, her gaze falling on the red marks left by the burn, a dark look passing through her eyes.

Since he doesn't value their years of feelings, there's no need for her to protect him in every way.

I just hope that Lingwu, who graduated from a prestigious university, can live up to expectations.

————

He family

Ling Wu looked up at Jiang Du, who was bowing respectfully, her face showing a hint of worry.

"Are you worried about scarring, Madam? I've asked the doctor. As long as you're careful not to tear the wound open again, it will heal in three days, and there will absolutely be no scar."

As Jiang Du lowered his head, his deep-set features cast several shadows in the light streaming in from the window.

The man, shrouded in half-light and half-darkness, resembled a towering mountain standing amidst the clouds, with mist swirling around its summit, making it impossible to discern his true emotions.

Ling Wu's face was a little pale, her brows were slightly furrowed, and her tone was also a little tired and helpless: "It's all okay, it's just that I've been looking after Lanlan and Yaoyao the whole time. I'm worried that they'll miss me since I can't get out of bed these days."

Jiang Du pursed his lips, wanting to say that the young master and young lady actually do not like you. Even the young lady, who seems to be the most attached to her, often reveals in her childish words that the madam often mistreats her behind her back.

But when she looked down at the person on the bed, whose eyes showed exhaustion but also undisguised worry, she swallowed her words and softly comforted them:

“Madam, please don’t worry. The young master and young lady are already five years old. The servants in the house know how much you value them, so they dare not neglect them. If you are still worried, I will stay with them after they get out of school.”

Moreover, if the servants in the house were to be negligent, they should be more likely to be negligent towards the lady in front of them.

Thinking of this, Jiang Du felt a little displeased, but he didn't show it on his face.

"Thank you very much." Ling Wu nodded, her tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxing, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

Her already ethereal beauty was enhanced by this smile, making her appear like the first snowflakes of winter, or the fragrant and radiant forsythia under the warm sun.

However, the sorrow still lingered on her face, which only added to her delicate and pitiful beauty.

Jiang Du's heart tightened slightly, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he immediately lowered his head.

"Madam, you're too kind. Serving you is simply my duty."

His voice sounded neither humble nor arrogant, but his bandaged hand trembled slightly.

Seeing this, Ling Wu said with a hint of apology, "My migraines have been getting worse lately, and they might flare up again. I might have to trouble Butler Jiang again then."

Jiang Du shook his head, wanting to say that phrase again, "At your service..."

But he was interrupted by Ling Wu's soft laughter. Seeing him open his mouth somewhat awkwardly, Ling Wu then said:

“It’s my duty, but your hand injury is outside my duty. Here’s what we’ll do: from today onwards, you’ll receive two salaries. I’ll give you a separate million a month for the other one, and consider it as you being my personal butler.”

He Cheng was not stingy with money when it came to her, and he never scrutinized the family's finances.

It wasn't her money anyway, but since she had it in her hands, it would be a shame not to use it to buy off He Cheng's trusted confidants.

People die for wealth, birds die for food.

With such wealth, everyone in the He family villa will eventually belong to her.

In this way, He Tingyao, He Tinglan, He Cheng, and even Bei Banban who will return in the future, will all be under her watchful eye.

downstairs

After He Tinglan got out of the car, he went straight into the villa. He Tingyao didn't care, and only glanced at the maid in front of the car, asking in a soft, childlike voice:

"Why didn't Mom come to pick up Yaoyao today? Does Mom not like Yaoyao anymore?" she said, her big eyes filling with tears.