Zhong Zhuohua bit down hard on his lips, the force making Jiang Jingyuan’s vision momentarily blank with pain.
“Is it always this easy when you beg? You just open your mouth and it comes out like that? How many times have you begged before?”
Jiang Jingyuan sighed helplessly. “How is it easy?”
Zhong Zhuohua pinched his jaw. “That’s a question for you to answer.”
“If I really begged that many times, I wouldn’t have broken up with her, and there wouldn’t even be a chance to start with you.” Jiang Jingyuan removed her hand and intertwined their fingers tightly.
“Today is the first time in my life I’m begging.”
Saying that, he bit her lips again. “Madam, are you satisfied now?”
“You bit me!” Zhong Zhuohua wasn’t going to lose out, biting back.
Jiang Jingyuan didn’t let go of her lips and gently enclosed her tongue.
In their struggling, Zhong Zhuohua wrapped herself tightly around the man she both loved, hated, and was annoyed by.
Jiang Jingyuan’s mind remained tense, mindful of the child she was carrying, so he was cautious and ultimately dared not go too deep.
When they were almost done, he took a deep breath.
“Tomorrow, I’m moving in.”
Jiang Jingyuan didn’t dare to be too forceful, still having enough energy to talk with her.
“Tomorrow’s no good.”
“Got work?”
“No.”
“Then why not move?”
She buried her face in his chest. “Because I really dislike you.”
Jiang Jingyuan kissed her. “Fine, I’m disgusting. Not like you’re loved by everyone.”
Zhong Zhuohua laughed angrily. “How dare you mock me! You know many people don’t like me! Even you don’t like me that much.”
Jiang Jingyuan reached up and turned on the bedside lamp, wanting her to look at him clearly.
“Zhong Zhuohua, do you have any conscience saying that?”
Zhong Zhuohua didn’t want to meet his gaze and used her arm to shield herself, claiming the light was too bright.
Jiang Jingyuan tried to kiss her, but she refused.
He had no choice but to cup her head and lean down to kiss her. “Will you marry me?”
When the kiss ended, Zhong Zhuohua finally spoke, “You’re not marrying me because you want to, are you?”
Jiang Jingyuan stared straight at her. “Not before. Back then, I didn’t even know you. Don’t you know who I love now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel it.”
“I’m begging you like this, and you still don’t feel it?”
This man was so infuriating, his words and touches wearing her down until she had no strength left.
In the end, she couldn’t hold on any longer.
If it weren’t for the baby, she would have kicked him off the bed long ago.
But now, not only could she not move recklessly, she couldn’t help but lean in and hug him tighter.
Jiang Jingyuan liked that she wrapped around him with both hands and feet.
“The one I want to marry most now is you.” He kissed her forehead, her eyes, then her heart. “Wife, are you happy now?”
Zhong Zhuohua let out a small “hmph,” so quiet only she could hear.
Happy?
She must be happy.
“My chest still feels uncomfortable.”
Jiang Jingyuan’s lips traveled down from her eyes to her chest.
His tongue gently licked.
He kissed her until she finally murmured Jiang Jingyuan’s name softly in his arms, then he stopped.
All the warmth stayed inside.
With the baby, they no longer had to hold back or wear any barriers.
After showering and lying back in bed, Zhong Zhuohua wrapped her arms around his neck. “I never want to wear that barrier again, but I don’t want to take medicine.”
Jiang Jingyuan couldn’t resist her coquettish tone. “No medicine. I’ll get the surgery done.”
Zhong Zhuohua was a little surprised he agreed so readily.
Jiang Jingyuan said, “Whenever you want another baby, we reverse it. If not, then this way.”
Zhong Zhuohua was honest. “I just don’t want you to have kids with anyone else. Of course, if you really want more, I can’t stop you.”
Becoming a mother made her selfish; she just wanted their baby to have all the father’s love.
Of course, she knew this wasn’t realistic in a wealthy family, but she wanted to fight for it anyway.
“Once you’ve had the surgery and recovered, I’ll move in.”
Jiang Jingyuan smiled. “Are you afraid I’ll change my mind?”
Zhong Zhuohua admitted frankly, “Definitely! You know, a man’s words in bed can’t be taken too seriously. It’s only after cooling down that it counts.”
Jiang Jingyuan confirmed with her, “Once I have the surgery, you move in? We completely make up and never get mad again?”
“You just have a little surgery and can’t… you know, for a week, and you think you can ask for so much?”
“Then what would make you willing to make up with me?”
Zhong Zhuohua: “I think I still don’t have enough money.”
For Jiang Jingyuan, anything money could solve was easy.
“I just got all the investment contracts back from Beicheng today, and I’ll transfer some assets to you.”
Zhong Zhuohua’s mood lifted. “I’ll hug you more for that.”
Jiang Jingyuan pulled her into his arms and bit her nose.
He couldn’t figure out why he could usually not tolerate her moodiness, but with her, he kept giving in.
If she stopped fussing one day, he would feel uneasy.
“Are you fighting for the child’s inheritance?”
“Yeah. I alone can’t spend that much money anyway.” Zhong Zhuohua pinched his waist.
“Who knows how many kids you’ll have in the future? The more the better. Our child must have lots of money!”
Jiang Jingyuan reassured her, “However much I have, that’s how much our child will have.”
“Yeah right, I don’t believe you!”
“I’m still attractive to you now, so of course you say that! If you don’t have ten or eight kids in the future, I’ll thank heaven and my ancestors.”
Jiang Jingyuan laughed helplessly.
He moved her hand from his waist and put it around his neck.
Being with her often gave him gut-wrenching pain from her temper, but more often brought happiness. Even their arguments carried a hint of dry humor.
“I’ll get the vasectomy tomorrow. Li Secretary will contact you about transferring the overseas assets. As for whether I’ll have other kids, don’t worry—besides the one you bear, there won’t be any more.”
“Hmph!”
Zhong Zhuohua wasn’t fooled by his sweet words.
Only once he had the surgery and the money was in her hands would the guarantee be real.
If he ever fell for someone else, she would have plenty of money to live better than him!
Jiang Jingyuan patted her back. “Sleep now, don’t imagine me cheating.”
Jiang Jingyuan: “With a child, I can never leave you again. If you want to break up, that’s your business. I won’t.”
After a pause, he corrected himself. “Don’t leave either. If you’re unhappy someday, ask for anything you want, I’ll agree. Just don’t leave or not answer my calls.”
“Jiang Jingyuan, you went back to Beicheng and got upset again, didn’t you?”
Jiang Jingyuan was puzzled. “…How did I get upset?”
“You said too many sweet words tonight. Are you sure those words were for me? Or were they words you wanted to say to someone else who can’t hear them anymore, so you’re saying them to me?”
The bedroom was dark, no one could see the other’s expression.
Jiang Jingyuan switched on the bedside lamp again. The warm yellow light instantly illuminated their deep faces.
“Are you really that insecure?”
That worked.
“Who isn’t insecure!” Zhong Zhuohua bit his lips. “Do you love me that much?”
“Yes.”
Zhong Zhuohua kissed him first.
Jiang Jingyuan, cautious of the baby, stayed on the edge and did everything he could to please her.
Countless times he brushed past, never crossing the line, and Zhong Zhuohua was completely undone.
Half-conscious, Jiang Jingyuan silently watched her bright profile.
No matter what sweet words she said, he didn’t soften and ended it.
He reaffirmed his feelings: “I only love you and the baby. If you don’t believe me, ask me for more money. No one gives money easily to someone they don’t like. I’m no exception.”
Zhong Zhuohua grabbed his shoulders. They say lust blinds reason, but it wouldn’t happen to her.
“Then after the baby is born, you start an entertainment company under someone else’s name. You provide the money, I’ll run it.”
Jiang Jingyuan kissed the sweat on her nose. “Deal.”
Once things calmed down, Zhong Zhuohua leaned in his arms, sleepy and exhausted.
Their last intimacy had been before breaking up. After so long, they both craved each other.
Jiang Jingyuan asked her, “After the company is set up, do you want me to hire people for you or will you do it yourself?”
Zhong Zhuohua took a moment before answering, “You help me. I’m not familiar with the mainland’s entertainment industry yet. You handle all the connections. Let’s register the company in Shanghai.”
Jiang Jingyuan touched her forehead; her temperature was normal.
Zhong Zhuohua pushed his hand away. “No fever! I want to develop inland. The entertainment industry on Hong Kong Island is already at its peak. It’s too late to enter now, hard to get a slice of the pie.”
She had other plans and spoke frankly, “Most of your business is in Shanghai and Beicheng. I need to fully understand your wealth, or my child will lose out and can’t compete with your other kids.”
She was already condemning him, assuming he would have other children.
Jiang Jingyuan smiled helplessly. “Fine, whatever you say.”
She was willing to develop inland. He was glad because it avoided living apart.
He suggested, “Why not register the company in Beicheng? Most of my connections are there. We can live in Beicheng.”
Zhong Zhuohua answered without hesitation, “No!”
She couldn’t go to Beicheng, seeing him getting emotional every day would kill her.
Shanghai was perfect. She had filmed there for months before and liked it a lot.
She squeezed his jaw hard. “I don’t have a place in Shanghai.”
Jiang Jingyuan said, “I’ll buy you one.”
To please Zhong Zhuohua, the next morning he ordered Li Secretary to register an entertainment company in Shanghai and buy a Jiangjing Flat.
After breakfast, he scheduled his surgery with the doctor.
A week later, the entertainment company was registered, the Jiangjing Flat was in her name, and a large sum was in her account. Only then did Zhong Zhuohua move into Jiang Jingyuan’s villa.
The manager worried, “You’re developing inland, will the Boss agree?”
Zhong Zhuohua wasn’t worried about the Boss or Boss Lady opposing it. “That company, I own 50%, they own 40%, you get 10%. As long as I make enough money for him, he won’t disagree.”
The manager was flattered. “I get 10%?”
“Absolutely. How can an entertainment company be without a top agent?”
She didn’t understand the company operations well, but the Boss and Boss Lady did. They all cooperated for mutual benefit.
With shared interests, her secrets would stay secret and wouldn’t be leaked.
Only by becoming a boss herself and understanding the business could she ensure the best interests for her child.
After hanging up with the manager, Zhong Zhuohua put down her phone and went out onto the terrace to bask in the sun.
Before her stretched a landscape of mountains embracing the sea, as if she could hear the waves crashing.
She leaned back in the lounge chair and touched her slightly rounded belly.
The little rascal was still so tiny, not eating well inside her!
Fortunately, the little golden egg was precious, and Jiang Jingyuan was especially willing to spend on it.
The landline in the living room rang, but she was too lazy to get up. A servant answered.
“Madam, Mr. Jiang asked what you want for dinner tonight. He’s having the Jiudian’s chef come over to cook.”
Everyone now called her Madam. She had corrected them before, but they still called her that next time.
Zhong Zhuohua said, “Anything’s fine, Cantonese cuisine is good.”
Jiang Jingyuan was on his way home, just hung up the house phone, when Zhou Yunlian’s call came in.
Zhou Yunlian asked where he was and said to bring the child over.
“What child?”
“My son! What else?”
Zhou Yunlian had just landed on Hong Kong Island not long ago. He needed to visit the Lu Family’s old mansion tonight and didn’t want to bring his son.
“Help me watch him for one night. I’ll pick him up tomorrow morning.”
Jiang Jingyuan: “If you leave the child with me, where are you going?”
Zhou Yunlian: “Lu Jianbo wants to invest, but he doesn’t want to return to Hong Kong. He asked me to ask his father for money.”
Jiang Jingyuan didn’t want to talk more about Lu Jianbo. “Your son isn’t easy to take care of.”
“Don’t be biased against my son. There’s no easier kid than mine.”
Jiang Jingyuan was speechless for a moment.
Now that he was a father himself, he reluctantly understood Zhou Yunlian.
They agreed to meet at a location.
Half an hour later, Jiang Jingyuan saw Little Zhou.
Zhou Yunlian shoved his son into the arms of his good friend. “You’ll have to coax him for about half an hour before bed.”