Chapter 92: A Cheap Provocation (Part 2)
Yu Ling watched him suddenly burst into rage, watched the undisguised anger of being insulted and the huge panic about her own reaction in his eyes, watched him almost lose control because he was afraid that she would misunderstand... The bit of icy chill in her heart that was evoked by the photo strangely began to melt away.
Yes, she had actually wavered for a moment in the shock and disgust she felt just now? She knew exactly who Gu Qianqian was! She knew exactly how Zhao Chen treated her! She had even seen the clumsy photoshopped traces of the photo!
A huge wave of regret and fear washed over her. She shouldn't have been influenced by such a despicable trick! And she shouldn't have let Zhao Chen see her hurt and retreat at that moment! That would have been the greatest harm to him!
"I know!" Yu Ling raised her head suddenly, her voice even clearer and more decisive than Zhao Chen's roar! She looked directly into Zhao Chen's eyes, which were almost shattered, filled with panic and hurt. Her eyes were clear and firm, with a soothing power.
"I know it's fake! It was photoshopped by Gu Qianqian! She just wants to disgust us!"
She even reached out and took the initiative to hold Zhao Chen's hand, which was frozen in mid-air and trembling slightly! Her palm was a little cold, but it was filled with incomparable firmness!
"I know it's not you!" Yu Ling repeated each word clearly, looking at him with burning eyes, "I believe you!"
All of Zhao Chen's roars and fury came to an abrupt halt when he heard Yu Ling's clear and firm words, "I believe you!" He froze in his tracks!
He turned his hand and grasped Yu Ling's hand tightly, using all his strength! The force was so strong that it almost crushed her finger bones! But he was completely unaware. He just stared into her eyes with an almost greedy, surviving gaze, his voice trembling: "Lingling...you...you really..."
"Silly boy!" Yu Ling felt both distressed and amused by his appearance. She shook his hand tightly and raised her other hand to gently wipe away the fine cold sweat that seeped out of his forehead due to anger with her fingertips.
"If I believed such a crude trick, wouldn't I be as stupid as that madman?" She deliberately spoke in a light-hearted and teasing tone, trying to dispel the solemn atmosphere.
Zhao Chen's body, tense to the extreme, finally relaxed under Yu Ling's unwavering trust and gentle comfort. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, the raging storm of fury had subsided, but the cold murderous intent had become even more condensed and piercing!
He let go of Yu Ling's hand, but his eyes remained fixed on her, as if he wanted to carve her trusting expression into the depths of his soul. Then, he picked up the phone on the bedside table.
Without unlocking the phone or searching through the address book, he simply skillfully pressed his thumb on a hidden button on the side, and in less than a second, the call was connected.
"It's me." He said only two words to the other end of the phone.
There seemed to be an immediate response from the other end of the phone.
Zhao Chen's eyes instantly turned like an icy cone filled with poison. His voice was low and steady, but every word was filled with the smell of blood:
"Gu Qianqian. Ten minutes ago, she sent a synthetic, extremely disgusting photo to my house to harass my wife."
He paused for a second, as if giving the other party time to confirm, and then continued, each word as if chiseled from an ice cellar:
"The content of the photo is a serious insult to my character and my marriage. Her behavior has completely crossed my bottom line."
There seemed to be a voice asking for instructions from the other end of the phone.
Zhao Chen opened his thin lips slightly, and spoke without a trace of human emotion:
"Use the fastest and most thorough methods to eliminate her. Every platform, every corner, every channel she may have come into contact with or may have been contaminated by her... clean them all up."
"Including her," he added, his tone as flat as if he were giving instructions for the disposal of a piece of trash. "Make sure she disappears completely from my wife's sight. I don't care about the process, I only care about the result."
"Also," Zhao Chen's eyes swept over the distorted photo on the bedside table, and the disgust in his eyes was as if he was looking at a pool of the filthiest filth.
"Find out the source of this photo. Find out whoever was involved in producing and disseminating this photo, no matter where they hide. You know what to do with them."
"Do it now."
Without waiting for a response, Zhao Chen immediately ended the call. The entire process took less than thirty seconds. He put the phone down, the suffocating, terrifying aura surrounding him still lingering. But when he looked back at Yu Ling, the biting cold quickly melted like mist in the sun, replaced by a deep, almost fragile tenderness.
He reached out his hand and, cautiously, as if touching fragile glass, gently cupped Yu Ling's cheek. His fingertips trembled slightly as he caressed her slightly cool skin with great tenderness.
"Lingling..." He called out in a low voice, his voice hoarse, filled with fear and the cherishment of having lost and regained something, "I'm sorry... I let you see such a disgusting thing... I'm sorry..."
His apology was so sincere and so heavy, as if the photo was the greatest blasphemy to her.
Yu Ling's heart softened. She shook her head and placed her cheek against his warm palm, rubbing it. "It's none of your business. It's that lunatic who was so mean."
She paused, looking at Zhao Chen's still tense jawline, and deliberately changed the subject, with a hint of coquettishness, "Hey, President Zhao, are your eggs... burnt? I think I smell something burning."
Zhao Chen was stunned, then his nostrils moved slightly, and sure enough, a faint burnt smell floated in the air.
The gloom on his face was instantly replaced by a hint of embarrassment and regret! He was so focused on being furious and talking on the phone that he completely forgot about the eggs frying on the stove!
"Oh no!" He cried out, like a cat whose tail was stepped on, and without caring about his murderous intent, he turned and rushed towards the kitchen! His movements were so fast that they brought up a gust of wind!
Yu Ling looked at his funny appearance of switching from "world-destroying devil" to "flustered cook" in an instant, and finally couldn't help but burst out laughing.
From the kitchen came the sound of spatulas colliding and Zhao Chen's frustrated curse: "Damn it! It's all burnt!" Then there was the sound of him hurriedly turning off the fire and turning on the range hood.
Yu Ling smiled and got out of bed, walked barefoot on the warm floor, and walked towards the kitchen.
She leaned against the kitchen door frame and watched Zhao Chen, who was using a spatula with a depressed look on his face to scrape two black, charred objects with curled edges out of the pot.
"Ahem..." Zhao Chen turned around, holding the plate of failed "masterpiece" in his hand. His handsome face was full of embarrassment, and his ears turned red again.
"Um... Lingling, this... seems to be inedible." He looked like a child who had done something wrong, his eyes were wandering, and he tried to hide the plate behind him.
Yu Ling suppressed her laughter and deliberately put on a stern face: "Comrade Zhao Chen, is this the breakfast you promised to be 'sweeter than biscuits'? The one that tastes like coke?"
"No! It's an accident! It's a complete accident!" Zhao Chen immediately defended himself, his face reddening even more. "I'll do it again right away! I promise! This time I'll definitely..."
"Forget it," Yu Ling waved her hand, walked over, took the plate of charcoal-cooked eggs from him, and casually put it aside. Then, she reached into the toaster next to her and took out two slices of golden, crispy toast, and took out a jar of jam from the refrigerator.
"Here," she stuffed the toast and jam into Zhao Chen's hands, picked up a knife, and looked at him with a smile, "Chef Charcoal, now I'm giving you a chance to make amends."
Zhao Chen looked at the toast and jam in his hands, then at Yu Ling's sparkling eyes. He instantly understood what she meant. The embarrassment on his face faded, replaced by a warm smile. He picked up a piece of toast and clumsily but carefully spread the strawberry jam on it.
Yu Ling also picked up another piece of toast and spread blueberry jam on it. The two stood side by side in front of the huge French window, with a view of the vast blue waves and the bright sunshine outside.
"Hey," Yu Ling took a bite of the sweet toast and nudged the man next to her who was carefully spreading jam with her elbow. "That 'clean it up'... isn't that a bit too cruel?" She blinked and asked deliberately.
Zhao Chen paused in spreading the jam and turned his head to look at her. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes were extremely serious, with a hint of innocent confusion:
"Cruel? Really?" He tilted his head, as if thinking about an academic question, "I just asked Lin Feng to clean up the garbage. Just like... cleaning up that disgusting photo." He pointed to the "synthetic intimate photo" that Yu Ling casually threw into the trash can.
"..." Yu Ling was completely speechless as she watched his nonchalant expression, "I'm just cleaning." This man...his ability to lie with his eyes open was truly extraordinary! But...she liked it!
"Oh," she swallowed the toast in her mouth and nodded, her face clear. "So that's how it is. Then Lin Feng... it's quite hard, huh? Not only does he have to manage the project, but he also has to work part-time as a 'city cleaner'?"
"Yeah," Zhao Chen nodded in agreement, his expression serious. "So we have to give him a raise this year. Double it." He then passed his strawberry jam-covered toast to Yu Ling. "Try this. Is it sweet?"
Yu Ling took a big bite from his hand, the sweet and sour jam melting on her tongue. Squinting her eyes in satisfaction, she mumbled, "Sweet! But..." She leaned closer, lowered her voice, and smiled slyly, "It's still a little bit worse than the cookies baked by your 'cleaner boss' himself."
Zhao Chen looked at the corner of her mouth stained with strawberry jam, and his eyes darkened instantly. He leaned down and used his lips to cover that tempting sweetness with extreme precision and tenderness.
"Hmm..." Yu Ling's protest was blocked.
As Zhao Chen kissed her, he emphasized vaguely and with a hint of pride: "I've already said... the cookies I bake are the sweetest..."
Yu Ling lay in his arms, smiling as she thought: Who cares if he's a "cleaner" or a wealthy man? He can accurately kill those disgusting flies, toast the toast so nicely, and make kisses so sweet... She's determined to keep this "pig."
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