Chapter 59 exposes that there's something they "do" to do.
Boom!
In an instant, the crowd erupted in a near-out-of-control commotion.
The camera suddenly jerked, and in the chaos, instead of dodging, it pushed the live stream lens even closer, magnifying everything on stage for everyone to see.
Wen Yi was completely stunned. He never expected that someone as gentle and mild-mannered as Qiao Bolin would do such a thing right away. Before he could recover from the shock, he was hit hard on the left cheek a second time, making his vision go white.
Qiao Bolin showed no mercy, each punch landing squarely on Wen Yi's face. Wen Yi's meticulously styled makeup was ruined, her once sleek and dazzling red hair was now disheveled, and her eyes and nose were instantly bruised and swollen.
"She sings very well."
Even at this point, Qiao Bolin's tone remained frighteningly calm, yet his strong, powerful hand ruthlessly grabbed Wen Yi by the collar—
Another clean and decisive punch.
"They really shirked responsibility cleanly. It seems that what singers care about most is their reputation, right?"
A double entendre.
Wen Yi finally reacted and tried to retaliate, but Qiao Bolin, despite his slender appearance, possessed astonishing strength and agility. Wen Yi missed several times in a row and was instead forced back half a step, completely outmatched.
"Do you think I want to?" He spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with a defiant glint that seemed to say, "This is my job, I can't resist—"
"If you know you can't afford the consequences, why do you still do it?"
Qiao Bolin's tone was cold and sharp, each word like a blade piercing straight into Wen Yi's heart.
"How could you possibly still have the delusion that she would choose you?"
Offstage, the person in charge and several bodyguards rushed forward to try to pull the person away, only to see Xiao Xiye coldly sweep over them. With just one glance, their steps seemed to be nailed down, and they dared not move forward any further.
The photographer frantically pressed the camera buttons in the corner, but he couldn't turn off the live stream. This scene was thus perfectly broadcast to millions of viewers across the country.
Linda Lee witnessed all of this from the sidelines, and felt her vision go black; she almost fainted on the spot.
In an instant, tomorrow's news headlines flashed through my mind like a slideshow.
-
The news of Qiao Bolin and Wen Yi's performance on stage dominated Weibo's trending topics overnight, almost crashing the platform. Countless netizens were eager to dig deeper and uncover the background of this handsome, charismatic, and decisive upstart tech CEO.
Just a few hours later, the trending topic vanished as if it had evaporated into thin air. All related reposts, comments, and video links were unavailable, and searching for Qiao Bolin's name yielded only a cold "no such person found." A highly efficient and forceful public relations campaign was launched, from removing the topic from the trending list to cleaning up the platforms—a textbook example of crisis management that nipped this nationwide frenzy in the bud.
What's even more intriguing is that the hashtag #NingJiuCheatsOnTwoBoyfriends#, which was previously trending at the top of the hot search list and filled with insults, was also removed. The marketing accounts and influential accounts that used the most aggressive language and stirred up the most controversy were permanently banned overnight.
No matter how hard Wen Yi's PR team tries, netizens might be initially swayed, but his obviously guilty demeanor during the live stream made it clear to everyone that the prevailing opinion these past few days was that he was in the wrong first. Wen Yi still has resources, but his reputation and fan activity are significantly lower than before.
In the president's office of Yaoxing Entertainment Building, Ke Shini sat solemnly in a leather chair, staring coldly at the man in front of her.
“Mr. Qiao, I understand your dissatisfaction, but to cause such a scene on live television,” she said, a cold smile curving her bright red lips, “aren’t you being a little too disrespectful to me?”
Wen Yi was badly beaten, his face covered in bruises, and his once-proud face looked disheveled. Unfortunately, none of his injuries were fatal, and he fought back afterward. Once the live broadcast aired, public opinion could no longer completely sway either side.
How could there be such a terrifying person?
He handles heavy tasks with ease, knows when to advance and retreat, and even when he loses control, he plans it all meticulously.
Ke Shini knew perfectly well that she had no way to deal with Qiao Bolin.
She assumed that even if Qiao Bolin didn't respond to him, he would maintain his usual composure.
To everyone's surprise, the person in front of me simply chuckled, and the words he uttered were calm yet sharp.
"Ke Shini, since when did I start needing to give you face?"
"......you!"
Qiao Bolin usually behaved so discreetly that Ke Shini almost forgot what kind of superior nature lay beneath his seemingly gentle exterior.
Just because some powers are not used regularly does not mean that we do not know how to use them.
To state the most cruel hierarchy of status in the calmest tone.
Ke Shini watched him turn and leave, wanting to speak but too angry to utter a sound.
From childhood to adulthood, when had she ever suffered such injustice?
A fire slowly burned in her chest, her eyes turned completely cold, and she stood up in her high heels, intending to reach out and stop him. The instant her hand touched the man's cuff, Qiao Bolin reflexively dodged. Ke Shini, enraged and embarrassed, took a step towards him—
"That's enough, Shini."
A steady, authoritative voice suddenly rang out, carrying an undeniable air of authority.
The door opened from the outside, and a man who was over fifty but still exuded an imposing aura walked in. Without any politeness, he reached out and pulled Ke Shini back to his side. He looked up and met Qiao Bolin's gaze, but his tone was noticeably more restrained.
“My daughter was confused this time, and I will never let her do such a stupid thing again.”
As soon as he said that, the surrounding air fell silent.
Ke Shini stood there, stunned, looking at her father in disbelief. She never expected that someone like Ke Yue would show such deference to Qiao Bolin in this situation.
"Shini, apologize to President Qiao."
Ke Yue spoke in a deep voice, but Ke Shini remained motionless, and the atmosphere became tense.
In contrast to Ke Shini's rigid resistance, Qiao Bolin did not show the slightest emotional fluctuation from beginning to end.
Seeing that she remained silent, he did not press her further. He simply gave Ke Yue a slight nod and then left.
After Qiao Bolin left, Ke Yue's face was terribly grim, and he turned to look at his daughter beside him.
"Starting tomorrow, terminate the contract with Wen Yi immediately."
Ke Shini was stunned for a moment, then sneered, "How ridiculous! You even have to be wary of a junior like Qiao Bolin, and now you're trying to pressure me? You want me to terminate my contract with Wen Yi? Why should I agree? Impossible—"
With a "snap".
The crisp sound of a slap echoed in the silent office, momentarily freezing everything in its path.
Ke Shini's face was turned to one side, and half of her cheek burned with pain. She turned her head in disbelief to look at Ke Yue.
"Dad, you actually hit me..."
From childhood to adulthood, Ke Yue indulged and protected her. No matter what outsiders said, she was never truly reprimanded, let alone laid a hand on her.
This is the first time.
Ke Yue's expression was cold and stern, and there was not a trace of warmth between father and daughter in his eyes.
"It's time for you to wake up. You're not a little girl anymore. You should understand who you can mess with and who you shouldn't touch at all."
-
The controversy was quickly quelled by Qiao Bolin's intervention, and Kailin's contract was nearing its final stage. The preliminary consultation data had been collected, and the next step was to import all the data into the psychological assessment system for intelligent questionnaires and big data tracking.
This crucial step required a temporary authorization document to complete the system binding, but unfortunately, Yu Kelin had already gone abroad a week ago to negotiate other projects. When Ning Jiu contacted him, the other party thought for a moment on the phone before mentioning that there was another authorization document left with Qiao Bolin, which he was keeping for safekeeping.
“You can ask Berlin directly; he knows where that document is.”
When Ning Jiu mentioned Qiao Bolin, she couldn't help but recall the shock she felt when the live broadcast on the big screen suddenly switched that day at the restaurant.
Although the second half of the live stream was deliberately cut off, the scene has been lingering in her mind for the past few days, leaving her unable to calm down.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't moved.
Ning Jiu stared at her phone, hesitated for a moment, and then opened WeChat.
Scrolling through the two people's last chat history, my fingertip hovers over the name field.
Qiao Bolin's name was not noted; in her contacts, it remained the same cold, impersonal online name: Null.
Ning Jiu subconsciously recalled the name of his company and, for the first time, seriously considered why he had chosen "Null" as the name.
She hadn't studied programming, but she knew that null in programming languages represents an empty value, meaning nothingness or absence, a state that both exists and doesn't exist.
I originally wanted to call him directly, but I was worried that calling now would disturb his work. After thinking for a moment, I sent him a message instead, clearly explaining the authorization documents I needed.
After the message was sent, the screen went silent.
One minute, two minutes... There was no movement in the chat box. Ning Jiu guessed that he was probably in a meeting. Just as she was about to put down her phone and wait a while, the screen lit up.
【Null】Is it urgent?
Ningjiu responded honestly.
[Ningjiu] Hmm, it's in a bit of a rush.
Almost the instant she pressed the send button, the phone screen abruptly switched, and vibration and ringtone sounded simultaneously—
It was a call from Qiao Bailin.
Ning Jiu quickly answered the call and heard a few intermittent conversations in the background, mixed with the sounds of papers turning and computer typing, indicating that the meeting was still ongoing.
With the soft sound of the door opening, the background noise gradually faded away, and it was as if Qiao Bolin had walked into a quiet corner. His clear and pleasant voice rang out at just the right moment through the phone.
“I can’t leave right now. The documents are at my house. I’ll have Uncle Tong pick you up.”
His tone was so natural that Ning Jiu was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Qiao Bolin to let her go directly to his house.
But the crucial point is, she doesn't know his house password either.
As if he had anticipated what she was thinking, there was a long silence on the other end of the phone. When Qiao Bolin spoke again, he gave Ning Jiu the door lock code without any hesitation.
Ning Jiu kept it in mind, paused for a moment, but still couldn't help asking back.
"You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'll steal all your confidential information while I'm at it?"
A man's lazy laughter came from the other end of the line, the last syllable carrying a hint of morning hoarseness.
"I'm all yours now, you can steal anything else you want."
Ning Jiu didn't say anything more.
After a while, she went out and found Uncle Tong waiting for her at the entrance of the community. She followed Uncle Tong to Yuntinghui and glanced at the password that Qiao Bolin had sent her as she came out of the elevator.
521221
After staring at the string of numbers for a long time, Ning Jiu suddenly felt a dryness in her throat, and even her action of entering the password slowed down a bit.
She never considered herself a person of lasting affection. Just as Wen Yi said, rather than letting herself sink deeper into a relationship, Ning Jiu preferred to withdraw in time while she could still control it. To this end, she was even willing to use some decisive and almost cruel methods to stop the damage for both parties in time.
She had known this since high school, that they were not from the same world, and she didn't believe someone like Qiao Bolin wouldn't know it.
But five whole years have passed.
How could someone so intelligent be so foolish as to spend five years trapped in one person and unable to move on?
Ning Jiu was momentarily distracted, even her search for the documents seemed absent-minded. According to Qiao Bolin's description, the authorization documents should be in the bottom drawer of the bedroom bookshelf, but she accidentally opened the wrong one, pulling out the drawer under the TV cabinet.
Neatly folded inside were not documents, but several shirts that men usually wore, in cool colors and of very high quality.
She paused, amused by her own actions, and was about to push it back when she suddenly caught a glimpse of a neatly pressed piece of paper peeking out from the crevice of her shirt, with a few blurry words printed on it.
Ning Jiu paused, her fingertips slowly reaching out and pulling out the paper—
It was a custom receipt from a jewelry studio. She recognized the name of the workshop at the top; it was the same one from which she had placed her order online for her engagement ring.
Looking down, the clear serial number, the ring's size, material, and even the few words in the remarks section were exactly the same as her order.
The signature of the person who handled the matter at the bottom of the paper was clearly the logo of a subsidiary of Qiao Bolin.
......
The receipt in my hand was slowly clenched, and a chill ran down my spine.
In the silence, Ning Jiu could clearly hear her own cold snort of laughter in exasperation.
-
When Qiao Bolin returned from the company, he found Ning Jiu sitting on the sofa playing with Xiao Bai, her expression no different from usual.
When she saw him looking at her, she simply gave a sweet smile and naturally withdrew her hand that was stroking Xiao Bai.
"You're back."
Qiao Bolin gave a soft "hmm," his tone revealing the fatigue of having just finished work. His eyes inadvertently swept over the closed bedroom door, and under Ning Jiu's probing gaze, he loosened his tie, changed his shoes, and went to the island counter to pour two glasses of water.
"It's almost lunchtime, shall we go out and grab something to eat together later?"
"No, thank you," Ning Jiu replied politely. "I have an appointment with Su Ming."
"......"
The veins on the back of the hand holding the water glass were faintly bulging, but only for a moment before returning to calm.
“Okay.” Qiao Bolin placed the water on the table in front of Ning Jiu, who touched it and found it to be warm. “Then shall I come to your house tonight? I’m in charge of the intelligent questionnaire and big data model, so I can help you with some of the work.”
“No need.” Ning Jiu declined again with a calm and collected tone. “I have to go to the school tomorrow. Su Ming’s apartment is close to Shanghai University. I’ll stay at his place tonight.”
Qiao Bolin fell silent.
Even at this point, he still couldn't tell anything from his face. Noticing that the air conditioning was set a bit too low, he casually grabbed a gray rabbit fur blanket from the sofa and covered Ning Jiu's legs before sitting down next to her.
Polite and composed.
Ning Jiu watched him finish doing all this, and when the time was right, she spoke.
"I'm staying here waiting for you to come back. Besides thanking you for giving me the authorization documents, there's something else I want to tell you."
Her voice was distinctly gentle, yet carried an obvious air of aloofness.
"The collaboration with Kailin is now coming to an end, and we probably won't have much of a chance to cross paths again. It seems unnecessary for us to be lovers or friends with benefits anymore."
The smile on George's lips flattened.
Ning Jiu continued, "I admit, you're really doing quite well, but I'm already engaged. President Qiao wouldn't really want everyone to see you as someone's lover, would he?"
When she said these things, her eyebrows and eyes were gentle, but the expression in her eyes was cold.
After feeding Xiao Bai the last piece of beef, she reluctantly patted the little guy's head before standing up briskly. A diamond ring on her slender, fair finger gleamed with a cold, hard luster.
She had only taken one step when her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Ning Jiu couldn't dodge in time and was pulled into his arms.
"Joe Bolin, what are you doing—"
"What did you see?"
It's not a question, it's an affirmative statement.
The slender fingers slowly caressed the lines of Ning Jiu's palm until they touched the slightly cool ring.
"How many times has this happened? How many more times do you want to bring up breaking up?" Compared to the initial tentative tone, his voice had become completely somber, with a slight tremor hidden in his usually steady voice. "Is it because I've been too good to you that you feel you can throw me away anytime, anywhere?"
Ning Jiu was already angry, and Qiao Bolin's provocation made her unleash her anger.
"I'd like to ask you, don't you have any problems?" She ruthlessly ripped open the curtain between them. "You clearly knew about my relationship with Su Ming all along, but you pretended not to know anything. Did you feel particularly happy watching me perform like a clown?"
Is having an affair fun? Is it exciting?
It's a shame that she felt so guilty for lying to him all these days, and even started to reconsider her future with him.
Looking back now, it was all a complete joke.
Ning Jiu had never been tricked like this before. Her eyes were already moist, and she became more and more angry the more she thought about it.
"It's so satisfying to see me kept in the dark, playing along like a fool, isn't it?" She sneered, feeling the increasingly scorching heat behind her, and her words began to flow recklessly, "Fine, I can tell you now, Qiao Bolin—I'm going to throw you away, I don't want you anymore."
Shock and resentment at being deceived mingled together, and Ning Jiu uttered every harsh word she could think of.
"I wouldn't choose you, no matter who I had to pick!"
After he finished speaking, the air fell silent.
Ning Jiu's chest was still heaving violently. He was mentally prepared for Ning Jiu to retaliate, even if it was with sarcasm or anger. He was bound to react in some way.
But the result was that nothing came of it.
His arms remained restrained, allowing her to utter those extremely hurtful words, without any further reaction.
It was eerily calm, as still as stagnant water, utterly silent.
Even though no one spoke, Ning Jiu met his eyes and felt a chill run down her spine.
The heat from the touch on her thigh made her tremble. She suddenly realized what Qiao Bolin was trying to do and tried to escape, but it was too late.
"Ning Jiu, do you know, sometimes you really deserve to be fucked."
His strength was so great that he could not be shaken at all. In a dizzying moment, Ning Jiu was picked up by him. Xiao Bai beside him whimpered and wanted to follow Qiao Bolin into the bedroom, but was unusually refused entry by him.
"Sweetie, your mom and I have things to do."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Little Qiao's true identity has been revealed...
Yes, there is indeed something to "do".
-
The fiercer the argument now, the fiercer the fight will be in bed later. [doge emoji]
The next chapter will be updated on Sunday, remember to come on time! [heart emojis]
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