The Cunning CEO's Contract Wife

Chapter 17: Taking Money to Do Things

Zhou Qing left the room after the two of them started arguing, leaving only the two of them in the room.

"That's enough. If you keep moving around, don't blame me for losing control."

Xiao Jingchen's hoarse voice rang in her ears, and Lin Ran, who had been struggling, immediately stopped. She was not an ignorant little girl, and of course she understood what he meant.

"You...you let me go right now."

Perhaps because she was too emotional just now, Lin Ran's voice had a slight nasal tone, and her soft, sweet voice reached Xiao Jingchen's ears.

His heart softened, and he looked down at the woman in his arms. Her eyes were red, but she stubbornly refused to cry out. The strength in his hands unconsciously loosened.

"I will return your money; I don't want your money."

Lin Ran finally managed to stand up from Xiao Jingchen's embrace. After hesitating for a moment, she decided to explain the money issue.

"Consider the five million a loan to you. I'll pay you back as soon as I've saved enough, okay?"

Lin Ran's cautious demeanor only made Xiao Jingchen more displeased.

“I don’t need that five million. Don’t come to work here again. It’s a disgrace to the Xiao family if word gets out.”

Lin Ran bit her lip, but did not agree with him.

"Lin Ran, are you short of money or short of men? Why do you have to come to a place like this?"

"How...how could you say that to me!"

Tears streamed down Lin Ran's face. She couldn't understand what was wrong with wanting to make money, and why Xiao Jingchen had to humiliate her like this.

"No matter what you think, leave here. We've made a promise. We'll get a divorce in two years, and then you can do whatever you want."

Looking at the tears on her face, Xiao Jingchen hesitated, almost unable to utter a word.

Lin Ran felt a dull pain in her heart. Watching Xiao Jingchen's heartless departure, her face turned pale, as if she was about to faint at any moment.

"Xiao Ran, are you there?"

The supervisor's voice came from the doorway, and Lin Ran hurriedly wiped the tears off her face.

"I'm here, foreman. What's up?"

The woman, referred to as the supervisor, walked in, a hint of pity flashing in her eyes as she looked at Lin Ran's disheveled appearance.

"Xiao Ran, have you offended someone? There are orders from above to leave."

"I'm just a foreman, I can't refuse this kind of thing."

Lin Ran lowered her eyes to hide her emotions, and after a long while, she raised her head and smiled at the supervisor.

"It's alright, I'll be leaving now. Thank you for taking care of me during this time."

Lin Ran had considered this possibility when Xiao Jingchen left, but she didn't expect him to act so quickly.

There were no tasks to hand over here, so Lin Ran quickly changed her clothes and left the bar through the back door.

The sun had already set, and more and more people were gathering around. Lin Ran looked up at the sky and sighed deeply.

"Madam, Mr. Xiao asked me to take you home."

Lin Ran looked at Zhou Qing, who had suddenly appeared behind her, with a slight surprise in her eyes, but she did not refuse.

After all, this place is quite far from the villa, and taking a taxi is so expensive. Why not take the annual fee?

But after getting into the car, Lin Ran wished she could beat the version of herself that had tried to take advantage of her.

Zhou Qing is Xiao Jingchen's assistant. If he's here, how could Xiao Jingchen be somewhere else?

"Zhou Qing, how about I sit in the front? I get a little carsick."

Zhou Qing glanced out the car window. Although he couldn't see what was happening inside, he was certain that Xiao Jingchen was watching outside. If he agreed, his career would probably be over.

"Madam, please don't make things difficult for me."

Lin Ran blinked in disappointment, her hand hovering over the car door without opening it.

After all, she had just had such a big argument with Xiao Jingchen, it would be too awkward to be sitting in the same car now.

"Madam, please get in the car quickly."

Zhou Qing urged her on at the right moment, and Lin Ran gritted her teeth, ruthlessly opened the car door, and got in.

Xiao Jingchen seemed to be working on something, his slender fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard.

It's said that men who work hard are the most handsome, and for a man like Xiao Jingchen who was already very handsome, he's now even more handsome.

Lin Ran had to exert a great deal of effort to stop herself from staring at it.

The two didn't say a word the whole way home, and didn't even exchange a word after returning to their room.

Lin Ran hesitated for a long time before handing over the black card.

"Here you go. Consider the five million as a loan from me, and I will pay it back."

Xiao Jingchen glanced at it and scoffed, "Forget it, so you won't have to do shady work for money in the future."

Lin Ran's hard-won composure was immediately disrupted again, and she threw the card on the bed and turned to leave.

"and many more."

"Now that you've taken the money, shouldn't you do something about it?"

The warm, moist breath brushed against her neck, and Lin Ran was stunned for a few seconds before she understood the deeper meaning in Xiao Jingchen's words.

She had just been hoping that Xiao Jingchen would understand her.

"It's what you should do. Don't worry, I have plenty of money."

Seeing the anger in Lin Ran's eyes, Xiao Jingchen's words became even more provocative.

A few hours later, Xiao Jingchen emerged from the bedroom with a satisfied look and left the villa.

Lin Ran lay on the bed, pale as a doll. She and Xiao Jingchen had done this before because they were husband and wife, but today was different.

This felt more like a transaction. Lin Ran closed her eyes, trying to forget the memories that had just surfaced…

Xiao Jingchen did not return all night.

Lin Ran also quietly moved her belongings to the guest room next door and left early in the morning to avoid contact with Xiao Jingchen.

She no longer knew how to face that man.

As soon as Lin Ran arrived at the company early in the morning, she saw a notification in the company group chat that all members of the secretariat were to go upstairs for a meeting.

Going upstairs, wouldn't that mean seeing Xiao Jingchen?

The thought of that man filled Lin Ran with resistance, and she dawdled until the very end before finally reaching the top floor.

This meeting was more like a presentation, with everyone displaying their prepared documents. It was Lin Ran's first time speaking in such a setting, so she was inevitably a little nervous.

Fortunately, the documents were prepared in advance, and Lin Ran got used to it after saying a few words, and her mood relaxed a lot.

"Wait a minute, isn't there an extra zero in the price quote in this document?"

Just as Lin Ran was speaking eloquently, Song Nuan interrupted her coldly and pointed out a string of numbers on the document.

Not only Song Nuan, but many of her colleagues also noticed it and looked at Lin Ran with more sympathy.

"I'm sorry, it was my mistake, I'll correct it right away."

A hint of panic flashed in Lin Ran's eyes, and she hurriedly tried to take her documents away.