During this period, Ning Shuqian was completely exhausted from being tormented by Zhang Hui.
Ning Shuqian was naturally street smart and she also underwent some professional training by the Korean-Chinese Alliance after that divorce ruckus three years ago. In addition, she had been helping Wen Haowen launch the entertainment city project for the past three years, which showcased her considerable abilities.
Nevertheless, no matter how capable she was, it couldn’t mask the fact that she had not even graduated from junior middle school. After marrying into a wealthy family, she whiled away her days as a rich wife, shopping and undergoing beauty treatments. She did read a lot, but most of it was beauty and lifestyle magazines. Her lack of general knowledge and culture limited her ability to grow and advance.
As a result, Ning Shuqian had been suffering since Zhang Hui’s appearance. On one hand, she had to handle this Zhang Hui, who had been using her as a cash-dispensing machine and sex tool. On the other hand, she had to manage her daughter Ning Yuya, who had been falling deeper and deeper into the throes of her drug addiction. Ning Shuqian was already at her wits’ end and extremely fatigued from all that.
Under such circumstances, she had no energy left to bother about Wen Haowen.
Of course, she was no fool either. She knew her only value to “that person” was her ability to manipulate Wen Haowen. Only by wrapping Wen Haowen tightly around her little finger would she be able to live a good life. She also knew “that person” regarded the entertainment city project with utmost importance. Only with the successful completion of the entertainment city project would she be able to fulfill her own dreams.
Therefore, no matter how fatigued she was, she would still put in some efforts toward Wen Haowen and the entertainment city project.
But with her current situation, she was unable to pour in the same amount of time and energy on Wen Haowen and the entertainment city project as she used to in the past.
As a result, Wen Haowen had started making an increasing number of moves for the entertainment city project.
Ning Shuqian was completely unaware of those actions of his.
“Haowen, I know your work has been busy lately due to the year-end closing. But as important as work is, you must take care of your health. You have been working overtime at the company for so many days. I am worried your body cannot take it.”
Haowen had not been back for three consecutive nights. She had been purposely avoiding Wen Haowen the past three days as she was covered in bruises from being tormented by Zhang Hui. As a result, when Wen Haowen said he would be busy working overtime in the office, not only was she not suspicious, she was rather relieved.
The marks on her body had finally faded today, so she had called Wen Haowen earlier on, suggestively coaxing him to come home to bed with her. But Wen Haowen had been rather half-hearted and disinterested, hurrying through as if he just wanted the act to be over and done with.
Anxiety crept over Ning Shuqian’s mind.
She perceived a strange sense of danger.
Wen Haowen was usually very passionate about bedroom matters. Typically, if he had not had sex for three days, he would have pounced on her like a famished tiger. There was no way he would have behaved so listlessly. Unless… he had been seduced by a little seductress on the side?
A flash of malevolence crossed his eyes as Wen Haowen looked at Ning Shuqian. “It can’t be helped. Wen Xinya has officially joined the board now. Not only does she have the old man’s support, but she also has the support of the other shareholders. Her status within the Wen Corporation rose significantly the moment she joined the board. The company is now divided and in conflict, and I have been bombarded with increasingly difficult situations lately.”
When a person became suspicious, he would assign a nefarious meaning to whatever the other party said. As a result, Ning Shuqian’s words of concern sounded like she was trying to probe him on why he had not been back for three days.
He knew Ning Shuqian hated Wen Xinya the most. She would lose all sense of reason at the mention of Wen Xinya, and so purposely dropped her name.
Although he suspected Ning Shuqian and even hated her, it was now the crucial time for him to strengthen his control over the entertainment city project. Nothing could go wrong at this moment. As a result, he had no choice but to keep up this false act of his, to have Ning Shuqian let down her guard so as to make things convenient for himself.
That was why he had immediately returned when Ning Shuqian called him today.
Ning Shuqian’s middle-aged figure held no attraction to him at all. In fact, he rather disdained her body. Nevertheless, he still managed to satisfy her needs.
Ning Shuqian’s eyes widened suddenly and she asked in a high-pitched voice, “What? Wen Xinya has joined the board? When did this happen? How is it that I don’t know about this at all?”
Ning Shuqian looked extremely grim. Lately, not only did she have to handle Zhang Hui, but she also had to hide a number of things from Wen Haowen and put up a false front for him. On top of that, she had to fret over her daughter’s matters. Where would she find the time and energy to pay attention to Wen Xinya?
She never expected Wen Xinya to have joined the board.
Wen Haowen’s eyes flashed. “It has been two days since Wen Xinya joined the board and the matter has been widely reported in the media. Everyone knows. Don’t you love reading magazines? How can you be so clueless about this?”
Ning Shuqian had always paid close attention to all matters regarding Wen Xinya. How could she have missed such a major piece of news? Thinking back over the recent period, he felt that Ning Shuqian was always very busy and even seemed to be avoiding him. Recalling Yang Ziyu’s words that there might be something dubious going on behind Ning Shuqian’s recent bout of activity—Wen Haowen couldn’t help feeling rather wary.
He felt that not only must he find someone to keep an eye on Ning Shuqian, he must also get someone to investigate just what she had been so busy doing.
Ning Shuqian’s expression froze, but she quickly recovered and replied, “It’s all because of Yuya. I don’t know who she has offended lately, but she has gone missing and I am very worried. That is why I have not bothered to read the news recently.”
Ning Shuqian knew that Wen Haowen already had his suspicions about her and so used Ning Yuya as an excuse. Wen Haowen knew just how wild Ning Yuya was and how much she loved hanging out at bars, nightclubs and all sorts of dubious spots. The only thing he didn’t know was her drug addiction.
As a result, Wen Haowen would definitely believe her if she gave that excuse.
Even if Wen Haowen had someone investigate, Yuya had indeed gone missing for several days. He would not be able to find anything suspicious.
Wen Haowen stared at her gravely and said in a low voice, “The heirloom sales strategy will be completed soon. Wen Xinya has joined the board at an opportune time for her, and her status in Wen Corporation will rise. This is a direct threat to my own position. The year-end closing time is always full of complications and it is easy for mistakes to happen then. If I don’t do my best to handle things and allow others to pounce on any errors—it will be a huge blow to my reputation and status in Wen Corporation.”
Ning Shuqian had done a lot to make him focus on the heirloom sales strategy. Hence, he was playing along so that she wouldn’t suspect him so easily.
As expected, Ning Shuqian’s suspicions toward Wen Haowen faded. “Haowen, it has been hard on you!”
