Chapter 8, Chapter 8: "Honey, would you like a piece?"...
Uncle Qin was in the car when he saw Yu Zeheng carrying Qiao Shu out from afar. He was shocked and got out of the car to open the door.
Yu Zeheng shoved Qiao Shu into the car and slammed the door shut. Qiao Shu rolled down the window, but he had already turned and walked back. Her hair, which was usually meticulously styled, was now a mess, with a few strands sticking to her face. She brushed them aside, and her eyes burned with furrowed brows.
She had never been hit, let alone spanked, from childhood to adulthood.
How dare Yu Zeheng do that?
Shame, anger, resentment, and a mix of other emotions made Qiao Shu want to tear off his clothes and bite him a few times to vent her anger.
Uncle Qin rarely saw Qiao Shu so angry, so he asked what had happened.
Qiao Shu was wearing one slipper, the other slipper was missing in the living room. She stepped on the other foot with her bare foot, her expression awkward: "It's okay, Uncle Qin, you drive quickly."
When Uncle Qin saw Yu Zeheng walking back again, he said okay, but after getting into the car, he didn't rush to drive off.
Yu Zeheng approached, holding her sparkly high heels in his hand, opened the car door for her, and then went around to the other side to get in the car.
Qiao Shu pursed her lips and kept a straight face. She took off one slipper and put it on her high heels. It was as if she had taken back her weapon. Her aura and lethality increased exponentially. Because Uncle Qin was present, she didn't say a word and didn't even spare him a glance.
Suppressed anger flared up the moment she stepped out of the car, and she called him by his full name: "Yu Zeheng, you shameless bastard, you actually hit me."
Yu Zeheng frowned slightly. He had only patted her buttocks. Even if she called it hitting, patting her buttocks didn't mean he had hit her. He had patted her in bed before. She probably hadn't realized it yet, but he didn't intend to argue with her about it. This topic was far too childish.
"You bit me too."
Qiao Shu sneered: "How can that be the same?"
"If you're still not satisfied, you can hit me back anytime," Yu Zeheng said nonchalantly, taking off his suit jacket and draping it over his arm.
Qiao Shu bit her lip, glared at him, and then swallowed her anger: "You're dreaming."
This kind of banter and teasing is very common among them. They are all competitive and neither wants the other to be outdone. It would be a waste of resources not to take the opportunity to tease each other.
Fifteen days left.
Qiao Shu counted down the countdown to the old man's birthday; she still had to endure Yu Zeheng for another fifteen days.
Two days later, Song Yue brought good news. Some time ago, with Qiao Shu's help, she got concert tickets for Qiao Kaiyu's assistant. In return, the assistant treated her to dinner. During their conversation, the assistant inadvertently let slip that the boss had been in a bad mood lately, having lost a lot of money on an investment. The employees were on tenterhooks, afraid of becoming the scapegoats.
Three months ago, Qiao Kaiyu was introduced to a new project by a friend. The friend spoke highly of it, saying that there was huge market demand, and that compared to existing coffee brands, they would offer a price advantage while guaranteeing high-quality raw materials, focusing on third- and fourth-tier cities, and making a name for themselves within a few months—a sure-fire way to make money. Qiao Kaiyu was intrigued and happened to have some spare cash. After conducting simple financial and legal due diligence, he decisively invested 30 million yuan in the Series A funding round.
In fact, after the influx of large sums of money, the founding team encountered serious problems with its actual operations and expansion capabilities. In less than three months, the project's price wars and advertising costs were burning through cash, and the funds raised in the Series A funding round were insufficient to support the normal operating costs for the next quarter.
If the project's funding chain breaks and the project goes bankrupt, Qiao Kaiyu will lose all of his 30 million yuan after paying off employee salaries and debts.
Qiao Kaiyu was unwilling to give up and tried to persuade his friends to invest money. It wasn't that no one responded, but the amount was far from enough. After thinking it over, he found his brother-in-law who had recently returned.
Regardless of the fact that his family is in finance, he used to race cars when he was young and later became the owner of his own racing team. He owns several high-end entertainment clubs called Tang Palace and casually bought a house in Nanwan worth tens of millions as his wedding home. Qiao Kaiyu couldn't figure out how wealthy his family was, but an investment of tens of millions was a small amount of money for him.
"Have some tea."
The weather was nice today, so Yu Zeheng arranged for the conversation to take place outdoors, where flowers he didn't know the names of were blooming not far away. Qiao Shu had gone to the auction house in the morning, and the house was unusually quiet.
Qiao Kaiyu had no interest in appreciating the flowers. He gulped down most of his tea and excitedly told Yu Zeheng that he had a profitable project that he thought had a bright future and would invest 30 million. He embellished his friend's persuasion of him and presented Yu Zeheng with a beautified business report, showing that the project had far exceeded expectations in the previous quarter.
Yu Zeheng took the report, flipped through a few pages, and found the data impressive, with considerable revenue, making it seem like a good investment project.
Qiao Kaiyu sipped his tea, carefully observing Yu Zeheng's expression. After Yu Zeheng finished reading the report and put down his teacup, Qiao Kaiyu asked, "Brother-in-law, what do you think?"
Yu Zeheng slowly poured him more tea, without directly saying whether it was okay or not.
“Brother-in-law, there’s a golden egg right in front of you. The market changes in an instant. Would I, as your brother, betray my own family? If you want to do due diligence, I have ready-made information for you to take a look at.” Qiao Kaiyu clasped his hands together on the table, forcing a smile, his eyes sparkling with eager anticipation.
Yu Zeheng crossed his long legs, creating distance between them. His gaze, beneath his long eyelashes, was calm and indifferent. He called out, "Big Brother."
"To be honest, I have no interest in investing. My focus for the past two years has been on the racing team, and I won't be considering anything else for the time being."
Qiao Kaiyu said excitedly, "As long as you invest money, you can rest assured about the project. I will keep an eye on it for you. Is there anyone who wouldn't want to make money while lying down?"
Yu Zeheng has never looked at the surface data and the story behind the investment. He said, "This is not my investment field. The primary market requires a certain level of expertise. I don't understand coffee, nor have I had in-depth knowledge of the market. I cannot judge the quality of a project. For me, the risk is too high."
Qiao Kaiyu was stunned.
He always thought that Yu Zeheng was just a rich playboy who relied on his family's wealth to pursue excitement and try to live a life like racing games. He thought Yu Zeheng knew nothing about investing and making money, and that he could be coaxed into investing money by flattering him.
Undeterred, Qiao Kaiyu lowered his stance and gave a more detailed presentation of the project.
Unexpectedly, Yu Zeheng remained unmoved by reason. After listening to him finish speaking, he maintained the same attitude. Qiao Kaiyu was so angry that his mouth was dry.
Yu Zeheng glanced at his watch and asked gently, "Brother, why don't you stay for dinner today? Xiao Shu will be very happy to see you."
Qiao Kaiyu said with a dark face that it wasn't necessary, and got up and left.
"Take care, brother." Yu Zeheng got up and went upstairs. He calculated the time; Qiao Shu should be back by now. He always felt something was missing when she wasn't home.
Qiao Shuren was at the auction house when she received a message from Aunt Chu. Aunt Chu said that Qiao Kaiyu and Yu Zeheng were chatting outside, and it seemed they were discussing business. Before leaving, Aunt Chu also said that Qiao Kaiyu looked unwell and left in a hurry.
She guessed that her older brother had failed to persuade Yu Zeheng to become a sucker and take over his mess.
“My older brother thought Yu Zeheng was a fool, but he never expected that others would think he was a fool.”
Qiao Shu leaned back in her office chair, stretched, and then, as if boneless, slumped over her desk, pulling out the phone numbers of several women she frequently contacted.
As soon as the call connected, she quickly got into character, her voice sounding anxious and helpless. She told her sisters that she was in a real dilemma, torn between her cousin, who was like a brother to her, and her husband. Qiao Kaiyu's investment project had run into a cash flow problem, and he wanted her to ask Yu Zeheng to help invest. The couple had a big fight over this.
With a weak, tearful voice, Qiao Shu was completely at a loss, not knowing what to do. Helping would undoubtedly mean letting her husband's money go down the drain, but if she didn't help, her cousin would accuse her of being heartless. In her tearful state, she described Qiao Kaiyu's investment project as worthless, saying that the circle was only so big, and if one person told ten, ten told a hundred, and even family members wouldn't invest, others naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to fall for it.
After much effort, Qiao Kaiyu failed to raise a single penny, the project completely collapsed, and he lost everything. But secrets don't stay hidden forever, and soon the news reached the old man's ears.
Chaos erupted at home. The old man's blood pressure soared with anger. When Qiao Kaiyu tried to argue, he slapped him hard. Li Ma told her about this, and she exclaimed in shock, "How could it be so serious? Why did Grandpa hit him?"
Li Ma sighed, "It's because the young master made such a terrible mistake this time; thirty million has just gone down the drain."
"I'll go back and try to persuade Grandpa when I have time." She was well-behaved and filial. "Grandpa's health isn't good to begin with, and his birthday is coming up soon, so he should be happy."
"Of all the family, only you, young lady, care about the old man."
"Of course."
After hanging up the phone, Qiao Shu was learning to make a birthday cake from a chef. It was a rare occasion for her to enter the kitchen, so she was fully equipped with a white apron with red checks and a white chef's hat. Her long hair was casually clipped up with a shark clip, and there were small curls of hair around her ears.
Baking desserts isn't difficult; as long as you control the weight and baking time, you're unlikely to mess it up.
The cake base was already baked, and she followed the chef to pipe on the cream and then smooth it out. Her movements were clumsy, and the cream was not spread evenly. She tried hard to salvage it, but it seemed to make things worse.
"It's alright, we can cover it up with fruit or something," the chef suggested, leaning against the island counter.
Qiao Shu took the washed cherries and strawberries, along with the chopped mango pieces, and piled them up in a flowery arrangement. She then sprinkled coconut flakes on top. After taking a closer look, she realized that it finally looked somewhat like a cake.
When Yu Zeheng found her in the kitchen, she was taking a picture with her phone and the cake, her head tilted to the side, one finger pointing at the cake, her nose wrinkled, her eyes downcast, her expression both dejected and sad.
He thought of the phone call he had just received from Qiao Kaiyu, who said that they had both been used by Qiao Shu in this project. He said meaningfully, "My sister is good in every way, but she is a bit scheming. Women are like that, which makes them less lovable."
Yu Zeheng asked in bewilderment, "Why must a woman be cute?"
Qiao Kaiyu hung up the phone in silence.
Now, Yu Zeheng is thinking that Qiao Shu is actually quite cute.
Since it involved marriage and starting a family, Yu Zeheng couldn't have done any background checks on Qiao Shu. After her mother passed away when she was six, she was taken back to the old house by her grandfather and raised by him personally. Her father was addicted to a life of pleasure and debauchery and was practically useless. As a result, she was precocious and mature at a young age.
She learned to read people's expressions by the old man's side, was feared and guarded against by her uncle's family, was sent to the world of fame and fortune with a smile, and was pushed into a marriage alliance, all because she was all alone.
Yu Zeheng knew all along that she was two-faced and treacherous. On the surface, she was a radiant little sun, but inside she was a sophisticated and selfish bad woman. She was shrewd, charming, arrogant, and picky, with a princess complex that was hard to please. He knew that her purpose in choosing to marry him was not pure. Behind every sweet word she uttered to her husband, there was her own scheming.
Now that they are married, if her husband doesn't even have the right to be used, then he is a complete failure.
She uses him; she's willing to spend time and energy on him; he doesn't mind that she uses him to achieve her goals.
Yu Zeheng suddenly appeared, and Qiao Shu was stunned for a moment. She put away her phone, straightened her chef's hat, smiled, and asked softly, "Honey, would you like a piece? I made it myself."
A note from the author:
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Young Master: She used me, but she has feelings for me.
The next chapter will feature divorce, followed by a huge fight in the chapter after that. [Rubbing hands] [Cat emoji]
——
50 red envelopes, kiss kiss!
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