When Lin Zhiluo returned to the community, she only heard that someone had fallen into the water. She even put up a fence by the lake to keep people away from the water.
She only glanced at it as she passed by and left. It's several degrees below zero now, and everyone is staying home and unwilling to come out. Who on earth is this idiot wandering around by the water at this hour?
After she got home, she continued watching variety shows. She would also regularly clear the private messages in the background, otherwise the app would crash due to a sudden influx of messages.
She glanced at the messages in the background—some abusive, some encouraging, and even some asking for fortune telling—and then deleted them all.
As for the manufacturers who wanted her to promote their products because of her popularity, she thought about it and politely declined.
She would wash up and go to bed when it was time; her self-discipline was frightening.
On the other side, Li Kangning, who fell into the water, was treated and is now fine.
However, out of caution, the doctor still had him stay in the hospital overnight for observation.
It was probably the bad luck that Lin Zhiluo had placed on him that took effect. In the middle of the night, he felt both cold and hot. Because of the cold lake water and the effect of the bad luck spell, he had a fever of over 40 degrees Celsius.
Two days had passed when he regained consciousness. The doctor breathed a sigh of relief when he woke up. "Your fever was too high. If it hadn't broken today, we might have had to consider transferring you to another hospital."
Li Kangning hadn't expected things to turn out this badly. After thanking the doctor, he began to recuperate.
He stayed in the hospital for three days before he had the energy to contact Li Bao.
“Brother Leopard.” He remembered that Li Bao had said he couldn’t help him before, and the unexpected incident disrupted his plans.
"Brother Leopard, what happened when you said you couldn't help? Is there some problem on your end?"
Li Bao took a deep drag on his cigarette, thinking about the past two days. He began to resent Li Kangning. If Li Kangning hadn't been unable to control his lust and had fallen for a woman with powerful connections, he wouldn't have been in such a miserable state with Brother Yin.
Looking at his hand wrapped in gauze, Li Bao's eyes were filled with resentment and malice.
"Kang Ning, tell me, do you know anything about that girl's background?"
Li Kangning astutely realized that something must have gone wrong on Lin Zhiluo's side, which was why Li Bao dared not come over.
He replied confidently, "I am certain that my investigation was correct. Lin Zhiluo is just a little girl from an orphanage, with no powerful backing."
It was precisely for this reason that he wanted to develop Lin Zhiluo into a kept woman for the long term.
"But the truth is, this woman has a huge backer that you and I can't even imagine." Li Bao recalled how Ding Jing's men had taught him a lesson, and all his efforts over the years had been in vain.
"You know Ding Jing, right? Because of her, I voluntarily gave up half of my business, and I was also punished because of her." Li Bao's tone was filled with undisguised resentment.
Li Kangning had a sudden inspiration: "I'm sorry for what happened this time. How about this, I'll forget about the eight million I asked you for help with, as my apology to you."
Li Bao, who always loved money, said, "No need, I still have to give you the money."
Based on his years of work experience, he sensed that Li Bao's tone was off. He knew in his heart that Li Bao most likely harbored resentment towards him, so he definitely couldn't accept the money.
He softened his voice and said, "I can't accept this money. I've dragged Brother Leopard into this mess. I won't feel at ease if Brother Leopard doesn't accept it. Brother Leopard was implicated by me this time. Once I'm feeling better, I'll give Brother Leopard another two million in compensation, as a reward for his hard work this time."
He was also frustrated, having already lost ten million by failing to get the woman this time.
Li Bao was silent for a moment. Hearing Li Kangning's good attitude and the additional two million in compensation, half of his resentment disappeared. He looked at his hand, which was missing two fingers.
He realized that he could no longer work under Yin Ming, and that the Ding family had already given up the income from the gray industry.
He's essentially unemployed, but the eight million he has is enough for him to live a long life in the countryside with his wife and children.
Thinking of the two million that Li Kangning had just promised him, Brother Leopard thought for a moment and said, "With your money and status, what kind of woman can't you get? I advise you to give up on that woman with a huge backer, or you might ruin your own future."
Li Kangning was also assessing whether it was worth taking such a big risk to get a woman.
"Thanks for the reminder, Brother Leopard. I will be careful."
Li Bao knew that he still hadn't given up. Thinking of the woman he saw at the hot pot restaurant last night, he understood why Li Kangning didn't want to let her go.
Li Kangning didn't want to have any more contact with Li Bao, so he made a phone call and asked his secretary to transfer two million to Brother Bao.
Li Bao received the money and intended to take his wife and children back to the countryside, but it didn't work out.
As soon as they left the residential area, Li Bao was taken away by the police, along with his wife and children.
When they arrived at the police station, Li Bao's wife learned that Li Bao had not been running a bar all these years, and had actually done many illegal things.
"My son can't take the civil service exam?" That was the first thought in her mind. Her son, who had just started middle school, had the biggest wish to take the civil service exam and worked hard for it every day.
Now that her father may face imprisonment, she can't even imagine how devastated her son would be if he found out.
She didn't have much affection for Li Bao; he treated her quite well when they were dating.
Later, she discovered that Li Bao was having an affair, but by then her son was already in elementary school, and she had no choice but to endure it for her child's sake.
After learning what Li Bao had done, she began to consider divorce.
Before Li Kangning returned to the company, his wife, who had been with him since graduation, came looking for him.
Although they had lost feelings for each other over the years, he had always respected her.
The woman looked at Li Kangning tenderly. The man in her memory and the man now were two different people; he was no longer her lover.
She wasn't unaware of Li Kangning's actions outside, and she was saddened, but she quickly chose to give up. Li Kangning's methods were clean, and she couldn't find anything that would benefit her divorce.
Later, the women around Li Kangning also became restless, wanting to kick her out and take her place. They would always send out boastful messages, which allowed her to gather a lot of evidence against Li Kangning.
There's no love left between them, so she can't afford to be taken advantage of in this marriage.
But when the woman found her, she no longer looked as elegant as in the photos; she appeared haggard.
The woman named Sun Qiao looked at her with pity.
Sun Qiao looked at the gentle woman in front of her. Sometimes she envied her. Although Li Kangning had a colorful life outside, he protected this woman very well.
They were about the same age, but she looked so gentle, elegant, and clean.
“Xu Muhan, do you think Li Kangning loves you? Now he’s doing anything for another woman, even making me abort his child. He’s gone mad.”
Sun Qiao's words almost made Xu Muhan drop her coffee, but she composed herself and remained as beautiful as ever.
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