When Qiao An and Secretary Jin arrived at the Luofeng District Police Station, a couple had just entered because of a fight. The woman's head had hit the edge of the dining table, and she had a large gash on her forehead, with blood flowing all over her face.
As soon as Qiao An entered the room, she saw a face covered in blood. Her heart skipped a beat. She had just heard the police say that Du Xiaoruo had an injury on her face. She wondered if it could be her. Qiao An mustered her courage and stared at the face for a long time.
The couple got into a fight and ended up at the police station. The woman was already in a bad mood, and when she saw someone staring at her, her temper flared up.
"What are you looking at...?"
Then the woman froze, the curse stuck in her throat. She realized that the man looking at her was an excessively handsome young man, dressed in exceptionally classy clothes. She had never seen such a refined man on television. Being looked at by such a handsome man a couple of times wasn't so bad after all...
Qiao An and she exchanged a glance. Her face flushed red, and coupled with the bloody makeup, Qiao An was so frightened that she clutched her chest and took two steps back.
"Mr. Ha, over here."
Suddenly hearing someone call out, Qiao An looked up and saw Mu Hua smiling and waving at him.
Qiao An's gaze swept across the crowd: Mu Hua, Ni An, Xiao Shu, Lele. She felt half relieved, and when she saw Du Xiaoruo sitting peacefully at the end of the bench, she felt completely at ease.
Wait, no, didn't the police just say the injuries were very serious?
The person who just called Qiao An was a young police officer, Officer Peng. Interestingly, Officer Peng already knew the people at Beibei Restaurant; he was the one who answered the call yesterday when Qiao An reported noise from upstairs.
"Qiao An, right?"
Officer Peng walked over and handed him a document to sign.
"You can take the person after you sign here. We just contacted the property management center to check the surveillance footage. It showed Qiao Qingchuan following other residents into the building with a knife. There were also eyewitnesses at the scene. I will contact you again if there are any problems after the injury assessment is completed. Right now, we just need to see if it constitutes excessive self-defense. There's nothing else wrong."
Joanne instinctively reached for the signature, then realized something was amiss.
"Injury assessment? Whose injury assessment?" They're perfectly fine and not injured at all.
Officer Peng looked completely bewildered. "Qiao Qingchuan, didn't I just tell you?"
"You mean the one who's injured is Qiao Qingchuan, the one with bruises on his face and a pretty bad back injury is Qiao Qingchuan, right?" Qiao An asked again to confirm.
After watching him sign, Officer Peng took the document back.
“I’ve already made it very clear that it was Qiao Qingchuan who was injured. Didn’t I make that clear on the phone? Also, Mr. Qiao, please watch your emotions. You’re laughing too happily right now. On your household registration, Qiao Qingchuan is still your brother.”
Joan smiled and patted Officer Peng on the shoulder affectionately.
"Officer, I suggest you take a look at today's entertainment news. Never judge interpersonal relationships by household registration. There are many people in this world who want to kill each other's relatives."
Officer Peng said, "...It's not allowed for anyone to kill anyone else. This is a police station. Please watch your words and actions."
Joanne stood up obediently, “Okay, officer, I’m sorry.”
Officer Peng escorted them out of the police station, and before leaving, he made sure to mention the noise from upstairs.
"Isn't that house rented by the production team? If it's not working out, just cancel the lease. The previous tenant fought with them for over a year, and ended up developing depression, but they still couldn't resolve the issue. I don't think you need to waste your time on this. It's a rented house anyway, so just let it go."
The noise from the house makes everyone feel a bit down, and we wonder if those "marbles" that are hitting our hearts have stopped now.
Little Shu, nestled in her father's arms with her chin resting on his shoulder, was almost asleep when she suddenly woke up, her eyes wide open.
"Let Xiaoruo's mom go and beat up that noisy dog. Isn't she a fierce fighter?"
Mu Hua pressed his head back onto his shoulder.
"Children shouldn't call people 'noisy dogs.' We are more civilized than those upstairs, you know? Xiaoruo's mom, oh no, Xiaoruo's aunt fought because that person had threatened our lives, and we had no choice but to intervene."
Mu Hua's long-winded speech did indeed have a hypnotic effect; Xiao Shu rested her head on his shoulder and fell asleep in a second.
Back at the Agarwood Apartment, Xia Qing was also carrying the sleeping Xiangxiang, pacing back and forth in the corridor. Seeing them return, she hurried to greet them.
"Is Xiaoruo alright?"
Xia Qing had just learned from the phone call that Qiao Qingchuan had broken into her home with a knife. She and Xiangxiang couldn't go over there, and she had been worried for a long time.
"It's alright, let's go inside and talk." Mu Hua, also carrying the sleeping Xiao Shu, gave Xia Qing a reassuring smile.
Xia Qing's expression changed, and she gestured with her chin toward the door of 2018, "Still making noise."
Mu Hua held Xiao Shu's bouncy little bottom with one hand, raised her wrist to look at her watch, and realized it was almost 11 o'clock. This family was really going too far.
"Let the kids sleep at home first," Qiao An said with a light yawn.
After settling Xiao Shu in, Mu Hua returned to room 2018. The sound on the floor was no longer marbles, but basketballs hitting the ground with a thud. The sound was like being hit directly on the forehead, and listening to it for a few more times made his head ache.
Mu Hua pulled a resonant speaker from his suitcase and called out towards the door.
“Ni An”.
"Yes," Ni An replied, wearily rubbing her temples as she walked in.
"Come and help."
The two of them worked together to secure the speaker to the floor with tape, and then covered it with a basin to keep the sound from wandering around.
After doing all this, Mu Hua connected his phone to the speakers and played a high-energy Western dance track.
"withdraw!"
At Mu Hua's command, before the booming resonance could even begin, the two rushed out and slammed the door shut.
Joan leaned against the doorframe, watching the two figures rush past, and shook her head with a pursed lip.
"Is this what civilized people do? You might as well just go up and knock on her door and yell at her."
Several people shook their heads repeatedly. They had dealt with that woman with maxed-out combat power before, and the thought of it still sent chills down their spines.
Live streaming cameras were installed in the staff dormitory in 2018. The noise issue has been extremely annoying to netizens these past few days. Not only can they not watch the live stream, but they are also often disturbed by the noise when they suddenly click in.
The resonant sound started, and a grumbling netizen clicked into the live stream.
[Holy crap, this livestream is haunted! I'm leaving!]
Everyone gathered in Qiao An's living room, where Mu Hua and Ni An vividly reenacted the thrilling scene of Qiao Qingchuan barging in earlier.
Xia Qing was stunned and exclaimed, "Wow!"
Joan crossed her arms, leaned back against the soft cushions of the sofa, closed her eyes to rest, and said softly,
"From now on, before you open the door, please look through the peephole to see who's outside. The peephole isn't for decoration, and neither are your eyes."
Xia Qing was originally a bit sleepy, but upon hearing that Qiao the scumbag had been beaten up, she became radiant and full of energy.
"Xiaoruo, do you know martial arts?"
"Huh?" Du Xiaoruo was so sleepy that she was in a daze. When she heard Xia Qingye's words, she replied blankly, "It's not martial arts. I practice Muay Thai. I usually practice by myself. I've never fought anyone."
Du Xiaoruo spoke softer and softer as she realized she had made a serious mistake. She had been practicing Muay Thai for twenty years, while the original owner of this body had never trained for a single day. She had exposed such a huge flaw. In her haste, she hadn't thought about it that much, but now that she thought about it, she broke out in a cold sweat.
"Muay Thai? Wow, impressive, sis." Xia Qing was still caught up in the excitement of seeing that scumbag Qiao get beaten up. "Is Muay Thai the same as boxing? How long have you been learning it? Is it too late for me to learn it now?"
Du Xiaoruo's fingers gripped the fabric cushion tightly. She wouldn't lie; her face was flushed, her heart was pounding, and she felt uneasy. She felt that this mess was getting bigger and bigger, and even Nuwa herself might not be able to patch it up.
Qiao An opened her thin eyelids, glanced indifferently at Du Xiaoruo, then turned and glared at Xia Qing.
"Don't you have a smartphone? Go online and look up whatever you want to know."
Xia Qing was also bewildered by the retort.
The resonant dance music played for about an hour. Mu Hua turned off her phone and went back to her dorm to check. The upstairs was probably intimidated and there was no sound now.
When Mu Hua returned, he called the others to go back to sleep.
Before leaving, he politely thanked Qiao An, saying, "Mr. Ha, thank you so much for your trouble."
Qiao An waved her hand dismissively, "President Qiao... never mind, whatever, hurry up and leave, seeing you unlucky guys is giving me a headache."
Mu Hua nonchalantly carried the small book away, and before leaving, she remarked at the door, "President Ha is such a good person. He would be perfect if he didn't know how to speak properly."
After everyone left, Qiao An went into the bathroom and took a shower.
After coming out of the bathroom, he vigorously rubbed his short hair with a towel, then slumped onto the soft sofa, leaned against the soft pillows, and closed his eyes wearily.
He hadn't slept for two whole days and nights, and his body was now exhausted to the limit, but his brain was in a state of extreme excitement. Thinking about what he was going to do next, his blood started to boil, like an electric current passing through him, a tingling and numb feeling.
One second ago, Joan was thinking that her brain was so excited that she couldn't sleep.
The next second, even and long breathing sounds filled the dimly lit room.
Early in the morning, the guests from Beibei Restaurant had just arrived at the villa when Director Kang grabbed them and gave them a lecture.
Director Kang was holding a thermos filled with goji berry tea. His face was naturally gentle and kind, and his eyes were curved even when he wasn't smiling. When he sat down at the dining table, he looked like a kind and benevolent Maitreya Buddha.
"Everyone, you haven't been live streaming for two nights in a row. The cameras in your dorm rooms are all covered with towels, the live stream room is completely dark, and the data usage is almost zero. You've violated the rules."
Upon hearing this, Mu Hua became furious. She put the small book she was holding on the ground, took out the audio recordings she had made on her phone over the past two days, and slapped them in front of Director Kang.
"Listen to yourself, is this room even habitable?"
The phone was emitting a series of jarring noises—bangs, clangs, and thumps—while some viewers in the live stream were expressing their sympathy for them.
Seriously, the family living upstairs is going too far. Even though the camera was covered by a towel, you could still hear the audio. I checked it yesterday and it gave me a huge fright.
[The production team should be more humane. The guests are already exhausted during the day, and now they have to go back to sleep in these noisy rooms at night.]
[How about we identify the noise-making dog and all work together to drive it away?]
Noisy dogs, get out!
Director Kang put down his thermos and tried to calm the guests down.
"In this situation, you could have discussed it with the production team instead of leaving the dormitory without permission. In that case, the production team would have taken care of the noise problem. However, because you left the dormitory without permission, we will deduct 10,000 yuan from the revenue of the past two days as a penalty."
[My God, the production team is really inhuman.]
To be fair, I agree with Director Kang's approach. The guests left the dorms without permission; if everyone ignores the rules, how can the show be filmed in the future?
The guests this season are having a tough time. Last season's guests lived in villas and never encountered this kind of noise problem.
I'm really curious, do the people upstairs use electric drills at home every day?
[Hopefully, the upstairs neighbor who sees this program will have a change of heart, become a responsible and considerate neighbor, and stop disturbing others.]
The fine of 10,000 yuan made matters worse for the already struggling restaurant, prompting Mu Hua to convene an emergency meeting to see how to increase profits.
Ni An sighed.
"Brother Hua, I've done my best. The restaurant's pricing has to be benchmarked against other restaurants in the same category. This is the only price we can offer for hot pot. If we were to make other dishes, we wouldn't have enough manpower."
Everyone turned their attention to Du Xiaoruo. The only two profitable items in the restaurant now are hot pot and ice cream and small cakes.
Du Xiaoruo thought for a moment and calmly replied,
“I could try upgrading the ice cream scoops to Italian gelato. Gelato made with natural milk, fresh seasonal fruits and nuts can fetch a higher price than ice cream made with creamy flavorings and condensed milk.”
Some of the technical terms are difficult for laymen to understand, but Mu Hua only needs to hear the phrase "can be sold at a higher price".
"How much can it sell for?"
Du Xiaoruo pursed her lips. At the hotel where she used to work, an ice cream like this would cost about thirteen dollars. After thinking for a moment, she gave a relatively conservative price.
"About... fifty?"
Mu Hua was overjoyed. "Each one costs fifty yuan. If we sell 100 a day, that's five thousand yuan. We still have 12 days left, so the income from ice cream alone will be... will be..."
Mu Hua counted on her fingers.
"Sixty thousand." Lele, the CFO of Beibei Restaurant, immediately calculated the price.
Mu Hua rubbed his hands together. "Xiao Ruo, if you can sell 4,000 of those gelatos within twelve days, we'll exceed our target of 200,000."
In the live stream room,
[Hahaha, Mu Hua, I could hear your scheme from 3,000 kilometers away.]
Three thousand kilometers is nothing. I'm on the other side of the ocean, and the abacus beads just flew into my face.
[Mu Hua, don't go too far. Xiao Ruo is just strong; she's not a robot. Please pay attention to the work-rest balance of your employees.]
“I can give it a try.”
After a little consideration, Du Xiaoruo felt that although Mu Hua's suggestion was a bit difficult, it was not entirely impossible to accomplish.
"I was just kidding..." Mu Hua stood up. "Xiao Ruo, don't put too much pressure on yourself... Pressure? You're not serious, are you?"
He met Du Xiaoruo's serious gaze and saw something called ambition in the calm depths of her eyes. Moreover, Mu Hua inexplicably believed that Du Xiaoruo had the ability to achieve this.
【Wow, are you serious? Are you really going to sell 4,000 ice creams?】
[Are you kidding me? Nobody would buy an ice cream for 50 yuan, right? I always think that Dream Dragon brand is too expensive.]
However, I still feel that Mu Hua's suggestion was a bit hasty.
Hahaha, these two are really something else – one dares to say it, and the other dares to do it.
Joan slept well on the sofa last night, and when she opened her eyes it was almost noon.
He changed out of his plaid pajamas and put on a basic black shirt, paired with smart brown casual pants and high-top lace-up casual leather boots that were both casual and business-like. He looked like a spirited young man.
After having breakfast at the apartment restaurant, Joanne drove to the company.
Secretary Kim was waiting for him at the company entrance. The Bentley pulled up in front of the group building, and Joan tossed the car keys to the security guard before striding into the company with Secretary Kim.
"How's it going?" Qiao An walked ahead and turned to ask Secretary Jin.
Secretary Kim quickened her pace to catch up.
"The relevant departments have taken over Han Nianwei's case, but things are not going smoothly. Too much time has passed, making it difficult to collect evidence. You have already liquidated most of your fixed assets, but you are still far from being able to acquire all of Jinse's shares except for the 47% held by President Qiao."
What are the shareholders' thoughts?
“Not many people are willing to sell their shares. After all, the stock price is so low now, and everyone is waiting and seeing. The Qiao family is such a big company, it shouldn’t go bankrupt so quickly. Besides, the Qiao family has the Jin family’s influence behind them.”
Qiao An strode out of the elevator. The current situation was all within expectations. The roots of a big tree are intertwined and cannot be easily shaken.
"Qiao Qing...President Qiao."
Secretary Kim behind him suddenly called out in surprise.
"Hmm?" Qiao An looked up and saw Qiao Qingchuan standing at the end of the corridor.
The two stood facing each other, right where Qiao An had whispered the name "Han Nianwei" in Qiao Qingchuan's ear. But now, Qiao Qingchuan was using crutches, his face was patched, and his previous high spirits were gone, leaving him only in a disheveled state.
Qiao An curled her lips into a smile and strode towards Qiao Qingchuan. As they brushed past each other,
He whispered in his ear.
"This time, the card I'm going to play is Jinse. My good boy, don't forget to tell your mom when you get home, or you'll get a spanking."
After arrogantly uttering those words, Qiao An's upright figure disappeared down the corridor. Vice President Liu took two steps forward, looking with some concern at the angry and disheveled Qiao Qingchuan.
"Mr. Qiao? Please don't get angry. Taking care of your health is the most important thing right now."
Qiao Qingchuan clenched his fists angrily, which aggravated the injury on his back, causing him to wince in pain. After a long while, he said angrily,
“He’s right, I need to go home and tell my mom.”
Vice President Liu, “…”
Du Xiaoruo was preparing ingredients for gelato in the kitchen. Because gelato is about 4 degrees Celsius hotter than regular ice cream, the quality requirements for the ingredients are higher.
The morning's purchase of these ingredients cost a lot of money. Mu Hua was both excited and a little afraid that things would go wrong. If things went wrong, it would be another blow to the restaurant.
Behind the "warning line" a meter away from the kitchen counter, Mu Hua and the three little ones frowned and stared at Du Xiaoruo with serious expressions. Every move Du Xiaoruo made tugged at their hearts.
However, Mu Hua was concerned about the future of the restaurant, while the three little ones simply wanted to eat the ice cream.
Under their gaze, Du Xiaoruo felt goosebumps all over her body, and her originally skillful movements became stiff and unnatural.
Fortunately, Xia Qing came in at that moment. She stood at the door and called out.
"Xiaoruo, someone is looking for you outside."
After speaking, Xia Qing looked at Mu Hua and the others, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"Are you guys alright? Don't you need to wash the dishes? Don't you need to mop the floor? Lele, have you prepared the lemons for the water bar? The ice doesn't seem to be frozen yet."
As soon as Xia Qing finished speaking, the group of people who had been just passing by disappeared in a flash.
[Hahaha, I couldn't stand it anymore. Xia Qing has to teach these social idlers a lesson too.]
Xia Qing is so efficient now! I remember when she first came to the restaurant, she couldn't even stack a chair on the table.
[What the person upstairs said reminds me. Back then, Xia Qing also called Qiao Qingchuan to whine because she was too tired.]
Life is truly unpredictable, but Xia Qing is commendable; despite such a major family crisis, she didn't give up on her career.
Du Xiaoruo walked out of the restaurant and stood at the door for a while. She saw a thin man in a floral shirt standing under the shade of a banyan tree. He looked familiar, but she couldn't remember who he was.
She pulled out the original owner's memories and quickly tried to think of who this familiar-looking man could be.
At this moment, the man in the floral shirt also noticed Du Xiaoruo and raised his hand in greeting.
"Xiaoruo, over here."
Then, rather rudely, he pointed to the camera following behind Du Xiaoruo.
"Stop filming, I'm her brother, I need to talk to her about something private."
When the other person said, "I am her brother," Du Xiaoruo finally remembered that the thin, pale young man in front of her was the original owner's brother, Du Tiancheng.
Although it was a live broadcast, the guests occasionally needed to handle some personal matters, so the cameraman wisely stopped filming them.
Du Xiaoruo stood on the steps, pursed her lips, took a deep breath, and mentally prepared herself before walking towards this brother who was actually a stranger to her.
The two stopped under the banyan tree. Du Tiancheng glanced behind Du Xiaoruo to make sure the cameraman wasn't following, then whispered...
Do you have any money? Can you lend me some?
In the original owner's memory, this so-called older brother never talked about anything other than borrowing money whenever he appeared.
The original owner of this body had been suppressed by her parents and brother for a long time, and had long been somewhat servile. But now, standing in front of her was a completely new soul. Although Du Xiaoruo was not good with words, she was not a pushover.
"I have no money," she refused decisively.
"How could you possibly be broke?" Du Tiancheng's forced smile faded. "Don't play dumb with me. You've married into the Qiao family, how could you possibly be broke?"
"Don't be ungrateful. I was the one who introduced you to Qiao An. People should know how to be grateful, right? Don't think you're all grown up now. Let me tell you, even if you marry the King of Heaven, he'll still have to call me brother-in-law."
"I have no money."
No matter how much Ren Dutiancheng argued, Du Xiaoruo could sum it up in three words.
Seeing that his usual tactic for dealing with Du Xiaoruo wasn't working, Du Tiancheng, being a man who could bend and stretch, immediately put on a smiling face.
"Xiaoruo, you really have to help me this time. I've gotten myself into big trouble."
“Qiao An’s company asked me to make a batch of pearl buttons. We signed a contract and they paid an advance payment, but I’ve spent all that money. Now the delivery date is approaching, and I don’t have the money to buy raw materials. If you don’t help me, I’m really doomed.”
What was originally a shameless statement was delivered by Du Tiancheng in a way that made him sound perfectly justified.
"I have no money," Du Xiaoruo repeated. "I'm going back now. I'm still working, so please don't bother me anymore."
Du Tiancheng stepped to the side, blocking Du Xiaoruo's path.
"You're not allowed to leave until you give me the money today. Even if Qiao An didn't give you the money, you must have made money from your live streams, right? What do you, a girl, need so much money for? Can I just consider it a loan? I'll pay you back once this batch of pearl buttons is delivered."
People like Du Tiancheng are completely oblivious to their own problems; talking to him is a waste of time. Du Xiaoru lowered her head and prepared to leave.
But if she went left, Du Tiancheng would go left; if she went right, Du Tiancheng would go right. He was determined to block her way no matter what, looking every bit the scoundrel.
"Mother."
Lele suddenly appeared out of nowhere, ran up to Du Xiaoruo, and took her hand.
"We've all been looking for you, the ice cream is melting."
Du Tiancheng was caught off guard by Lele's appearance. In the blink of an eye, Lele had already taken Du Xiaoruo's hand and jogged away from him.
As Lele passed by Du Tiancheng, she stepped on the toe of his leather shoe.
Du Tiancheng was in so much pain that he hopped back two steps, clutching his foot.
Lele turned around and politely bowed to him in apology.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, but next time you should probably not stand in the middle of the road. It's easy for someone to step on you, and it could also trip you up."
Du Tiancheng: "Hey, where did this little brat come from?"
Lele looked up and winked mischievously at Du Xiaoruo.
Du Xiaoru mouthed "thank you" to him.
Back in the kitchen, Du Xiaoruo continued preparing ice cream using the ingredients she had prepared earlier, while Lele sat on a chair outside the cordon playing on her phone.
"Lele, have you finished your work at the water bar?" Ni An asked casually as she walked past him.
Lele quickly covered the phone, "Yes, I'm done, I'm done."
After Ni An left, Lele took out her phone again and imported the video she had secretly filmed of Du Tiancheng asking for money into an audio editing software. After reducing the noise in the audio, she could barely hear the conversation between Du Tiancheng and Du Xiaoruo by putting on her headphones.
Du Xiaoruo walked over with a freshly made ice cream in her hand, scooped a spoonful and put it to Lele's mouth.
Lele quickly covered the phone screen with her little hand, opened her mouth to grab the ice cream, gave Du Xiaoruo a thumbs up, and mumbled something indistinctly.
"tasty".
After Du Xiaoruo left, Lele sent the edited video directly to Qiao An's phone.
P.S.: [Can you handle this? If you don't, I'll take action.]
After sending the message, Lele jumped off the chair, ran to the counter, asked for a big bite of ice cream, and swayed out of the kitchen with her hands in her pockets.
Seeing his expression as if he had accomplished something great, Ni An gestured with her chin in the direction Lele had left and said to Du Xiaoruo,
"What's wrong? Why are you being so mysterious?"
Du Xiaoru shook her head. "Children have their own secrets too. Don't worry about him."
Lele went into the hall and helped Mu Hua wipe all the tables and chairs before calmly taking out her silent phone. There were several messages on it, all from Qiao An.
[When did this happen? Don't worry about it, I'll handle it.]
What are your plans to do?
【I'm warning you, Qiao Lele, hacking someone else's phone is illegal. Don't do anything reckless.】
[Speak up, why aren't you saying anything?]
"Isn't your dream to join the National Security Bureau? Let me tell you, if you have a criminal record, you won't be able to take the civil service exam."
Several missed voice messages.
Then came a message.
[Understood. I've already instructed Secretary Kim to investigate Du Tiancheng. He'll pay the price.]
A satisfied smile spread across Lele's naturally innocent and adorable face as her fingers quickly typed a few words on the keyboard.
Go for it, Dad! I believe in you!
Just then, Du Xiaoruo received a message on her phone from Chen Ding's number.
【Du Tiancheng**
【**】
[Damn, censored words! Why are they doing this downstairs too?]
【**】
[I can't type it in pinyin either, never mind, figure it out yourself.]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
