Chapter 10: The Wet Kitten

Chapter 10

Fu Linzheng's deep, cold voice landed heavily, the match suddenly stopped, and the entire arena fell silent in shock.

He picked up the rules document beside him, scanned the audience, and exuded an innate sense of pressure. In the silence, Du Haibin's trembling voice rang out: "President Fu, it was my suggestion... I thought it would be more direct to see the production level of the three studios live..."

"Didn't you see how swollen her hand is? Who's responsible if someone with tenosynovitis operates a high-temperature welding torch and something goes wrong? Was the process approved? Was a safety responsibility agreement signed?"

Fu Linzheng's anger flared, his eyes sharpening beneath his thick, dark eyebrows.

Du Haibin proposed the impromptu tie-breaker to give Cui An a chance to shine because he saw that Rong Weiyue's hand was injured. Who knew that the big boss would suddenly appear and get angry? He was sweating and weakly explained, "Miss Rong insisted on competing. I think she can handle it..."

Xiang Anyue, standing beside him, couldn't help but advise, "President Fu, you've misunderstood. Director Du actually agreed to postpone Qingyue Pavilion's production from the beginning..."

Fu Linzheng turned to look at Rong Weiyue, who said calmly, "They said that postponement is possible, but points will be deducted. They're threatening me with that, so I have no choice but to participate in the competition."

Du Haibin: "..."

Du Haibin's face darkened, and he frowned at An Yue, saying, "How can this be called a threat? This is simply fair..."

Before Xiang Anyue could finish speaking, a document was thrown onto the ground in front of her.

"Bang--"

She screamed in fright, her body trembling. Fu Linzheng's dark eyes were sinister: "Who do you think you are? Say another word and see what happens?"

Surrounded by gazes, An Yue felt an overwhelming sense of humiliation, her face turning deathly pale.

Fu Linzheng asked coldly, "Is this how you conduct proposal meetings?"

Du Haibin was startled and quickly apologized: "President Fu, I'm so sorry, I didn't think it through. Miss Rong, I apologize to you..."

He bowed so deeply that his belly fat bulged out, almost to the point of kneeling. The director and the paper doll quickly went on stage and apologized as well: "President Fu, we didn't think things through and the arrangements were inappropriate. Ms. Rong's work will be moved to an offline event, and the competition will be suspended for now. We'll take you to the hospital immediately..."

Before the director could finish speaking, Rong Weiyue said:

"No need to pause, I can finish."

Fu Linzheng frowned at him: "Don't you want your hand anymore?"

"I'm fine," Rong Weiyue met Du Haibin and Xiang Anyue's gazes and smiled. "Since we're pursuing fairness, I'll finish it on the spot so as not to disappoint them and prevent anyone from using other excuses to trip up Qingyue Pavilion, right?"

Xiang Anyue glared at her, her nails digging into her palms in anger. Rong Weiyue looked at Fu Linzheng and said calmly, "I really can."

Fu Linzheng looked at her, his dark eyes burning with intensity.

He really wanted to stop the competition and take her away, to solve all the problems for her. He would stand by her unconditionally, and even if the collaboration failed, he would find her better film and television dramas and better resources. He could use all his connections to pave the way for her.

But she is Rong Weiyue. She has her pride, her stubbornness and persistence. In high school, she would not easily give in or bow down to anyone or anything, not even him.

Looking into her firm and clear eyes, Fu Linzheng's heart pounded, and he finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Don't push yourself if you're not feeling well, you can stop anytime."

Finally, Rong Weiyue continued welding, her stray hairs falling down, obscuring half of her gentle profile. Her movements were swift and her breathing steady, the wounds on her hands glowing red, yet her actions showed no hesitation.

Her fingertips moved through the silver threads, as if weaving a tapestry of light. All eyes seemed to be shielded by an invisible barrier, and she was completely absorbed in the precision of each stitch and each fit.

Polishing and grinding are the steps that refine the metal to its most beautiful form.

She is both gentle and resolute, embodying the spirit of countless master craftsmen of a great nation.

Many people watched, moved by her strength and perseverance, and couldn't help but admire her. Meanwhile, Cui'an's machine malfunctioned, interrupting production, and she was extremely anxious.

Finally, Rong Weiyue finished and picked up the jewelry.

“I named these earrings ‘Frost and Snow Retaining Silver’. The main body is made of openwork, with eight lotus petals sculpted from 0.2 mm fine wire. Three chains of tassels hang down from the bottom, and at the top, I used the jade inlay technique popular in the Tang Dynasty to inlay mutton fat white jade. The whole design matches the gentle and calm personality of the female protagonist very well.”

I believe the beauty of handmade items is irreplaceable, and many people will surely appreciate it.

The earrings shimmered and sparkled, and Rong Weiyue bowed, saying, "Thank you everyone, this is a piece submitted by Qingyue Pavilion."

After a moment of silence, the entire audience erupted in applause. Even the first jewelry company was moved by her persistence and applauded her.

Du Haibin and Xiang Anyue watched, feeling as if all their previous schemes had been slapped hard across the face, leaving them utterly ashamed.

As Rong Weiyue stepped off the stage, Shu Jin exclaimed excitedly, "Sister, you were amazing! You did such a beautiful job!"

Shu Jin looked at her hand, "How is your hand...?"

Rong Weiyue only felt the pain at this moment. "I'll go back and apply some ointment."

When the leaders came over to check on her, she responded gently. Then Fu Linzheng walked over and said in a cold, deep voice, "Come out with me."

Rong Weiyue hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to go out. He pulled her downstairs, and she tried to pull her hand away in confusion: "Where are we going..."

"Your hand is in this state, don't you want to treat it?"

"It's alright, I'll handle it myself when I get back..."

He swallowed hard. “This was a proposal meeting held at Mingheng. The impromptu additional competition was not approved. If something happens to you, our production team will be responsible.”

His tone was devoid of emotion.

He would probably help anyone.

When they got downstairs, she was forced to get into the car. Fu Linzheng took a compressed ice pack out of the glove compartment, popped it, wrapped it in a towel, and gently pressed it on her swollen wrist: "Apply a cold compress first."

She thanked him, but he scoffed, "As long as you're alive, you can always make a comeback. Isn't your hand more important than this collaboration? What if you develop some kind of chronic illness? Will you ever want to close your studio again?"

She had nothing to say. She had indeed taken a gamble today. Fu Linzheng gave her ibuprofen and water, his expression indifferent: "Take it, then I'll take you to the hospital."

Fu Linzheng stepped on the gas and started the car. Rong Weiyue sent a message to Shu Jin, telling her to go back first. Shu Jin asked her curiously about her relationship with Fu Linzheng. Rong Weiyue suddenly didn't know how to explain and said she would tell her when she got back.

The sky outside was overcast, and soon it started to rain. The windshield wipers swung rapidly as the Bugatti cruised smoothly through the rain.

The pain in her hand subsided a bit after applying ice. A while later, Rong Weiyue received a call from her landlord, Zhao Xin. She answered and pressed record. Zhao Xin asked rudely, "We're taking possession of the apartment today. Have you finished packing? I'm coming over to collect the keys now."

“I’m not home right now, and you haven’t paid me the penalty for breach of contract yet. I told you I would only move out if you paid me the penalty. If you don’t pay me, I’ll sue you. I’ve already contacted a lawyer.”

"What's wrong with you, little girl? Why are you insisting on blaming my family?! I already said I'd pay the penalty for breach of contract later!"

"You blocked me on WeChat, how am I supposed to find you now? Or you could give me an IOU and pay me back within a month."

Zhao Xin flew into a rage and cursed, "Don't push your luck! You're not moving out, are you? Then you'll face the consequences!"

After hanging up the phone, Fu Linzheng looked at her and asked, "Is your landlord causing you trouble?"

Rong Weiyue pursed her lips, not wanting to say anything more: "It's nothing."

She contacted He Wei, a senior student, who was returning from a business trip the next day, and the three parties would have another meeting then.

Fu Linzheng looked ahead and said nothing more.

After a while, the Bugatti stopped in front of a traditional Chinese medicine clinic. As Fu Linzheng entered the consultation room, he called out "Uncle Zhang." An elderly Chinese medicine doctor with gray hair looked at him with surprise and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It wasn't me, it was her. She had a flare-up of tenosynovitis in her right hand due to overuse. Please take a look at her right away."

The old Chinese medicine doctor joked, "I get it, it's about your girlfriend."

Rong Weiyue quickly denied it, but Fu Linzheng didn't say anything either, probably because it was too outrageous to deny. The old Chinese medicine doctor asked her to sit down: "Young lady, your hand is so bad, why did you only come now? Azheng, what's wrong with you? You're not taking care of yourself at all."

Before she could speak, Fu Linzheng replied in a hoarse voice, "It's my fault for delaying things. Please make sure you heal her."

Rong Weiyue was slightly taken aback. Seeing his furrowed brows, the old Chinese medicine doctor smiled and said, "Alright, now you know how to feel sorry and anxious. I'll prescribe some herbal medicine to give her a hot compress first."

Rong Weiyue's cheeks flushed slightly; she didn't bother explaining further since it didn't make sense.

Fu Linzheng went to calculate the money. When he went outside, Huaiyu called and said that the proposal meeting had ended and Qingyue Pavilion had the highest score. According to his instructions, Du Haibin and Xiang Anyue were severely punished for their work mistakes, including salary deductions. If there was a next time, they would be dismissed. At the same time, the relevant matters would be controlled more strictly.

Fortunately, the little girl's hand wasn't seriously injured, otherwise he didn't know what he would have done. Fu Linzheng looked at the heavy rain outside and said in an unyielding tone, "Tell the entire crew that no cliques or factionalism are allowed under my supervision. And next time, Mingheng will be banned from all its projects."

"Okay, Brother Zheng."

When Fu Linzheng returned to the consultation room, Rong Weiyue was applying a hot compress. The doctor saw that she had severe dampness and cold in her body, so he prescribed her oral Chinese medicine to regulate her body both internally and externally.

Half an hour later, after the hot compress was finished and she returned to the car, Rong Weiyue said, "Thank you for today."

The man said calmly, "Hurry up and heal your hand. Don't delay the startup process. The prop-making cycle is only one month."

She exclaimed in surprise, "Qingyue Pavilion was selected?"

"You got the highest score, and you saw the judges' reactions."

Rong Weiyue's eyebrows and eyes curved like crescent moons.

If that were to happen, it would be the happiest thing for her recently.

Finally seeing her smile, Fu Linzheng's gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds before forcibly looking away: "I'll take you home."

It was raining heavily, and since her hands were injured, she could only trouble him and thank him.

Fu Linzheng asked which building in the community it was in, and drove directly to his building.

He offered to walk her upstairs, but Rong Weiyue declined, saying, "It's raining quite heavily, you should go home early too, thank you."

After saying goodbye, Rong Weiyue went upstairs, humming a song, intending to treat herself to a meal and order her favorite takeout. But when she reached the sixth floor and saw the scene before her, she froze—

Her apartment door was pried open and half-open, with her several suitcases piled up haphazardly in front of it. The heavy rain had soaked the entire hallway, and the bottom of her cardboard boxes was rotten. Many reference books and dolls she had won in high school had fallen out, making the place dirty and messy, like a garbage dump.

My heart skipped a beat, and my mind went blank.

The neighbor opened the door across the hall and looked at her through the iron gate, sighing, "The landlord just came and brought some people to break the lock and threw your things out. What's wrong with you, young lady? The landlord said you're staying here and trying to cheat him out of his money. You're so young, you shouldn't be doing this kind of thing."

Rong Weiyue suppressed her anger, her nose stinging slightly: "It was him who wouldn't pay me the penalty for breach of contract, not me..."

"Sigh, you'd better move out quickly. Forget about the money, safety is the most important thing."

Rong Weiyue saw a violin case lying next to the shoe cabinet, and hurriedly ran over to pick it up. She wiped the dirty water off it, unzipped it to check it, and the rain outside splashed into her body, making her eyelashes tremble from the cold.

With red eyes, she stroked the string of English words on the piano.

Thankfully, her instrument wasn't wet...

Seeing this, the neighbor sighed helplessly and closed the door.

Rong Weiyue suppressed her emotions, took out her phone to take pictures of the surroundings, and went into the apartment. It was a mess inside; the power had been cut off. Some of her luggage was still inside, but the door was broken and couldn't be closed...

She hadn't expected Zhao Xin to be so disgusting. Suppressing her anger, she first picked up the several dirty dolls and put them in a clean place. Enduring the pain in her wrists, she picked up the cardboard box. The bottom was wet, and things fell out. Body lotion, shower gel, and other items rolled down the stairs. She quickly put the box back and ran down to pick them up.

A sudden roar of thunder echoed outside, accompanied by the motion-activated lights dimming overhead. The sound exploded unexpectedly in my ears, and my heart clenched in shock.

Her face paled, and she bent down to pick up the bottles. Suddenly, her phone rang; it was an unfamiliar number.

A few seconds later, she came to her senses and answered the call. Fu Linzheng's lazy voice came from the other end: "Rong Weiyue, can you stop being so absent-minded? I left the Chinese medicine in my car."

She sniffed. "Sorry, I forgot."

"I'm downstairs at home, I'll bring it up to you."

"Need not!"

She didn't want him to see this, so she quickly refused, saying she could just go downstairs to get it. He scoffed, "You're dawdling around waiting for me to come down. Do you think I have a lot of time?"

"No need to trouble yourself, I'll be right downstairs..."

Fu Linzheng caught her nasal sobbing voice, paused, and sensed something was wrong: "What's wrong? What happened?"

"No……"

"I'll go up first."

She was about to refuse when Fu Linzheng hung up the phone. Before she could react, he had already made it up to the sixth floor in just a few steps.

In the dimly lit stairwell, the motion-activated lights that had been off were turned on again by his footsteps. Fu Linzheng saw her standing in the mess at the door, her clothes dirty, her thin coat over her cheongsam soaked, raindrops dripping down her forehead along a few strands of hair, her lips pale. When she looked up at him, her wet amber eyes were red.

Like a stray kitten.

Rong Weiyue's first instinct was to hide.

I didn't want him to see me in such a disheveled and embarrassing state.

Fu Linzheng glanced around, a barely suppressed chill rising in his eyes. His brows furrowed, and he spoke in a cold voice, "Who did this?"

"Thrown out by the landlord..."

She could only explain the situation. Fu Linzheng frowned, walked over, and snatched the cardboard box from her hand. Rain splashed onto his cheek as he gave a cold laugh.

"Rong Weiyue, you are really amazing."

"This is what you mean by 'nothing's wrong'? You were kicked out, and they were even trying to hide it from me so I couldn't come up?"

Her hands were covered in hot compresses, and she was still carrying such heavy things despite the pain. Does this mean that no matter how serious the situation is, she won't say a word to him?

When asked if she knew the landlord's address, she shook her head. Fu Linzheng took out his phone and called Huaiyu: "Go and check now. Give me the owner's workplace and residence for unit 601, 6th floor, building 3, Songbaili Community."

After hanging up the phone, he said to Rong Weiyue, "Stand to the side."

The kitten was moved aside, and the man rolled up his sleeves, preventing her from interfering, and helped her salvage her luggage. Seeing the familiar violin case in the corner, she noticed his gaze and immediately picked it up.

His dark eyes flickered slightly. "Put it inside the door."

She agreed. Thunder rumbled outside. She saw Fu Linzheng pick up the wet cardboard box directly. He was covered in dirt, but the noble young master didn't seem to mind the dirt at all.

At this moment, Rong Weiyue's phone vibrated twice. It turned out that Zhao Xin had sent her two voice messages after letting her access her WeChat:

[You all saw it at the door, right? I told you this would be the consequences if you didn't move out. Also, I inspected the house; the floor, sofa, and dining table are all worn. I'll give you a discount; you have to compensate me 3,000 yuan to offset the penalty for breach of contract. I already paid you the rent and deposit; we're even now.]

Zhao Xin was exceptionally arrogant, cursing: "Don't push your luck! I'm coming to inspect tomorrow. Put the key in the shoe cabinet by the door. If you don't leave, I'll call the police. You're so young; ending up in jail will ruin your future!"

Rong Weiyue was furious and called him, but he had blocked her on WeChat and his phone number, clearly not wanting to contact her.

Fu Linzheng listened to the voice message with a dark expression. At that moment, Huai Yu called, having already found out the other party's identity and work address. He was a manager in the property management of a nearby residential community.

Fu Linzheng arranged for people to come and move. He handed his coat to Rong Weiyue and said, "Don't worry about anything, just stay here."

Are you going to go find my landlord?

Fu Linzheng sneered: "Shouldn't we have a good chat with this kind of person when we meet?"

He went downstairs, and she followed him, saying, "I'll go with you."

...

It was pouring rain outside.

In the guard room of a property management company, three men were playing cards and eating sunflower seeds. One of the card players raised an eyebrow at Zhao Xin and asked, "Has the woman who rented your place been dealt with yet? She hasn't asked you for money again?"

Zhao Xin, the deputy supervisor, exhaled a puff of smoke. "It's resolved. They kicked me out without paying a single penny. Damn, they've got guts to sue me. They won't listen to reason, so they'll have to suffer the consequences."

"Brother Zhao, I don't think you ever intended to pay her the breach of contract fee, haha. But she's not very capable on her own, she'll just have to leave as soon as she's done."

"Hey, I saw that woman's picture. She's pretty. It's a pity I didn't manage to get her."

Zhao Xin crossed his legs and threw a 2 on the table. "At first, I wanted to pursue her, but who knew she would ignore me and say she had a boyfriend. Why should I be polite to her?"

"Brother Zhao, it's alright. You're not short of women, so let her wander the streets, hahahahaha."

Zhao Xin laughed: "Anyway, if I don't see her move out when I go there tomorrow, I'll call the police and have her arrested. Let's see if she still dares to be arrogant."

Amidst the laughter and chatter, the door to the duty room was suddenly kicked open with a bang.

The three turned around in fright and saw a man walking in, carrying the cold, damp air from outside. His long legs swayed as he walked, and his nearly 1.9-meter-tall frame exuded an immense sense of oppression. His eyes were cold and sharp.

"Tell me, who should be left to live on the streets?"

Zhao Xin saw him and frowned in surprise: "Who are you?"

"Zhao Xin, right?"

"No, is there something you need...?"

Fu Linzheng didn't stop walking. He went over and kicked Zhao Xin's chair hard, scattering playing cards all over the floor.

Zhao Xin fell to the ground. Fu Linzheng picked him up and threw a punch at him. He looked down at him, his whole body exuding a chilling aura, arrogant and overbearing:

"I'm so arrogant, do you want to call the police and have me arrested first?"