Chapter 142: A Box of Chocolates That Crossed the Ocean

Lin Rui lowered his head and pressed a light kiss to her cheek. "Be a good girl. Of course I know you love me. Take the trash out on your way out, and thank you for bringing the documents."

A flicker of sorrow crossed Li Shuan's pretty eyes. "Lin Rui, aren't you afraid that I'll stop caring about you?"

Lin Rui stared at her, his eyes as sharp as an eagle's. "Will you?"

Li Shuan gave a faint smile, completely abandoning any remaining illusions about him. "According to our agreement, you get Jiang Zao, and I marry into the Zhou family. I hope you won't break your word."

Zhou Lichuan held a position of great distinction, and the benefits of marrying into the Zhou family were numerous. This had nothing to do with affection. No matter how much she fancied Lin Rui, she would never allow herself to marry someone who had nothing.

Such cold and hypocritical rules had bound Li Shuan's mindset since childhood, and she had never imagined she could escape such a vicious cycle, nor was she willing to.

Lin Rui stroked her cheek, his smile growing deeper yet failing to reach his eyes.

Li Shuan left, carrying the bedroom's trash bag.

Lin Rui stood in place, watching the trash bag being taken out of the room.

He had tampered with certain things just now. If fate truly favored it, Li Shuan naturally knew how to make use of it.

Jiang Zao was of no consequence; her life or death was unimportant, and the child in her belly was nothing more than an abomination that should never have appeared in this world. He only wanted to watch Zhou Lichuan fail to obtain the one he loved in his heart, just as he himself had.

...

Tingshan.

Jiang Zao had recently changed her hobby from painting to the stock market.

The small tablet screen flickered with data trend charts, fluctuating up and down as stocks were bought and sold. Being a novice, she was barely managing to break even.

Zhou Lichuan grew busier by the day and had very little time to teach her about the stock market. Operating with a half-understanding derived from books, not losing too much could already be considered a win.

Sister Hui did not understand these operations. She brought over a plate of fruit and watched Jiang Zao up to her ears in work.

"Zaozao, I heard the eldest miss say before that a large portion of her stocks are managed by a professional manager. Why don't you go find a manager to learn from as well?"

Jiang Zao smiled and said, "I already found one, but they are very busy. It's better to study these basic things by myself."

"Is it reliable? After all, it's a matter of money; we still need to be cautious."

Jiang Zao picked up a piece of apple and popped it into her mouth. It was sweet and tasted wonderful.

"You can't really call it reliable. Shifting hundreds of thousands is merely casting a hook. I'm just glad that the fish bit the hook so things can proceed according to plan, yet I'm also worried that its desperate struggle might end up hurting the innocent. Sister Hui, why is it so hard just to live a normal life?"

Sister Hui gently comforted her, "There is no such thing as an easy life. The master respects and cherishes you, and the elders are very kind to you. That is already more than enough."

Jiang Zao smiled knowingly. "Yes, I am already very content."

Sister Hui smiled as she went downstairs to attend to other matters. Jiang Zao switched her screen back to the chat interface and continued conversing with the person on the other end.

Her innocent, naive, and clueless persona was being maintained quite smoothly; no one would ever suspect otherwise.

Lin Rui would probably never imagine that the trap he had fallen into was entirely orchestrated by this sweet little white lotus he had always looked down upon.

Meng Qiaoyuan had taken a day off today, sleeping in at home in the morning and driving over to Tingshan in the afternoon.

Along with the usual desserts and beverages, she also brought a large box of chocolates.

Walking all the way to the study, she set down the box of chocolates, sat beside Jiang Zao, and asked her to guess with a deliberately mysterious tone.

"Guess where these chocolates came from?"

Jiang Zao was completely baffled. "You bought them?"

"If I had bought them, would I need you to guess? Someone sent them. Guess who sent them?"

Jiang Zao took a piece of chocolate handed to her by Meng Qiaoyuan and placed it in her mouth. Crushed hazelnuts were blended into the premium-quality chocolate, creating a unique and rich aroma.

"I have no idea. From abroad?"

Meng Qiaoyuan said with a cryptic air, "Tan Wenyi, she mailed them to my second brother."

Jiang Zao raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief. "Didn't they break up?"

Meng Qiaoyuan shrugged and said, "My family has been pressing my second brother to get married, so they found a socially matched blind-date candidate for him. After meeting, both sides thought it was acceptable anyway; since it's a strategic marriage, as long as family background and character check out, it's fine."

Looking at the chocolate she had already bitten into, Jiang Zao remarked, "So I suppose I intercepted this? The gift never reached President Meng's hands?"

Meng Qiaoyuan was all smiles. "How could that be? The things sent directly to my brother were brought to me by him voluntarily. He brought two boxes and told me to keep one for you."

Jiang Zao: "Understood. This is another attempt to make me charge into battle first. Ah, greed is getting its just deserts."

Meng Qiaoyuan gently shook Jiang Zao's arm. "I've never been in a relationship before. What do you think Tan Wenyi means by this?"

Jiang Zao thought for a moment and said, "She hasn't let go yet, obviously. Knowing that your second brother is going to marry someone else, she feels resentful and thinks President Meng still likes her."

Meng Qiaoyuan rested her chin in her hand and analyzed, "My brother actually does still like her, but after the way she left last time, she basically can't pass my family's test anymore. She should know that herself. Sending all these chocolates can't possibly achieve anything other than stirring up muddy waters."

"Not necessarily. In fact, she's already done quite a lot, hasn't she? Here you are, holding them and coming to me. What does President Meng mean by this? Is he waiting for her to return, or has he decided on the strategic marriage?"

Meng Qiaoyuan slapped the desk, producing a loud thud. "That's what I can't figure out. My brother actually said he is going to get married and won't consider Tan Wenyi anymore."

Jiang Zao remained outwardly calm, but she had already guessed this outcome long ago.

No matter how blinded by love Meng Qiaochong might be, he would never use his entire company as a funeral accompaniment for his romance. The entire Meng family, from top to bottom, depended on the company's operation for their livelihood, and as the head of the family, he naturally had responsibilities he was obliged to fulfill.

Since Tan Wenyi was willing to abandon Meng Qiaochong in such a difficult predicament and go abroad just to secure her own career, she had disqualified herself from being the daughter-in-law the Meng family required.

In the past, Jiang Zao would certainly have sneered at such feudal-like traditions.

Yet now, as she gradually took over the Zhou family's affairs—ranging from maintaining kinship relations to the daily management of domestic staff, financial allocation, and interpersonal interactions—she realized that juggling these miscellaneous duties was truly no easier than holding down a regular job.

Since she occupied this position, it was only natural that she shoulder everything it entailed.

You cannot have your cake and eat it too. In marriages of this sort, romantic love ultimately became the least important thing.

That being said.

Meng Qiaochong had held a high position for many years and sat so securely in the seat of the conglomerate's head that even Zhou Lichuan praised him from time to time; he certainly possessed his own pride.

Faced with Tan Wenyi, no matter how submissive he might have been previously, he would not abandon all principles entirely.

Someone who could abandon him and flee abroad at such an awkward and agonizing juncture was someone Meng Qiaochong would never accept again, no matter what.

Who has never suffered a broken heart?

Whose life is not difficult?

In this day and age, no one is truly indispensable to anyone else.