C14 To Appease Ji Xuan’s Anger

Mu Qingqian took Ruan Hanyu’s words in in a daze. She could not keep the sneer from reaching her face. Why should she have to help that slut? What did it have anything to do with her? Her hand was injured, so what?

Who knew that such a woman could attract such a handsome and powerful man like Jing Chengrui. Seeing the way he treated and doted on her, sent waves of jealousy and hate to overflow in Mu Qingqian’s heart. She could not help but feel anger seep into her very pores. Mu Qingzhu proved to be a great seductress of men. She was a common whore. Mu Qingqian hoped that her wound would prove fatal and that she would be fated to a painful death.

Mu Qingzhu, it is obvious your motive for staying in the Ruan Group is to pester Ruan Hanyu. You wish to regain your father’s assets through Ruan Hanyu. But don’t give this another thought. Your shortsighted schemes will fail to happen. As long as Qian Anrou is around, Ruan Hanyu will never fall for you and will never help you.

Mu Qingqian saw through Qian Anrou’s schemes as plain as day. She only pretended to feel excruciating pain in her stomach to work on Ruan Hanyu’s sympathies. Ruan Hanyu upon receiving her call had rushed over without a moment’s delay. And what could this altogether mean?

Qian Anrou was the woman Ruan Hanyu cared about and loved. No matter how things looked, Ruan Hanyu sided with this woman. Mu Qingzhu, on the other hand, was nothing to him.

This made Mu Qingqian very happy and to express her lightheartedness, she laughed lightly. As her spirits lifted, she hummed a song underneath her breath and walked out with a light step.

Today, she found out Ruan Hanyu and Mu Qingzhu were already divorced. This was great news! Originally, she thought the takeover of Mu Qingzhu family’s property might be blocked, but now her worries have been eased. She left in happy spirits.

Late that night.

Inside the unique Ruan Family Mansion located in A City, the entire house was brightly lit.

Ruan Family Mansion symbolized the power and luxury of A City. Painted in orange and yellow hues, it was constructed out of white marble bricks imported from Italy. Embossed in the front in pure 24K gold lettering were the words “Ruan Family Mansion.” The materials used to build the villa were imported from all over the world. It was the height of fashion and design of all in the world. The mansion showed all the wealth and influence Ruan Group had on A City.

Ruan Hanyu’s Hummer had just entered the gates of Ruan Family Mansion. The driver came out to receive him.

“Young master,” the driver greeted him and took the car keys respectfully from Ruan Hanyu. He proceeded to get into the car to park it.

Seeing Ruan Hanyu, the housekeeper hurried over. “Young Master, Madam awaits.”

“Okay.” Ruan Hanyu gave her a curt nod and walked inside.

Under the luxurious lighting of the chandeliers in the living room of the Ruan Family Mansion, the floor tiles of the natural mica stone appeared glossy and polished. Sitting on the expensive leather sofa, Ruan Hanyu’s mother, Ji Xuan had on light blue cheongsam. She sat there elegantly with her poised manner. Her hair was tied up in a bun that kept her hair off her fair and delicate features. Even for a woman her age, her slender neck was as beautiful and graceful as ever under the soft glow of the chandelier.

Her white fingers held a teacup that she placed next to her mouth. With the cup next to her mouth, she blew on its contents gently. The hot air spread out over the surface of the teacup. She slightly parted her lips and took a small sip before daintily placing it on the tea table again. Her movements were fluid and relaxed, her manner impeccable. Her identity as a noble woman was on full display.

As a youth, Ji Xuan was a socialite of A City. No one knew much about this beauty. At that time, the Ruan Group that Ruan Mutian created was growing invincible in A City. Ji Xuan joined her husband on many occasion to accompany him in organizing the affairs of the Ruan family day and night. She even used her own family influences at one point to help the Ruan family solve its many problems.

Even her pregnancy with Ruan Hanyu did not deter her from accompanying her husband on these trips. Ruan Mutian always had the beautiful young woman beside him. He took great care to treat her gently.

The story was that though she had a big belly, she followed her husband on these various occasions.

With the Ruan Group growing in power day by day, she was happy to welcome a new bundle of joy into their lives. Her son, Ruan Hanyu, had inherited both of their strengths. He was not only handsome, but he also had a good eye for business. It could be said his abilities could match that of Ruan Mutian’s.

Life was wonderful at that time. Both her husband and son were so outstanding. She could not ask for anything more in her life.

Just as they were about to pass on the Ruan Group over to Ruan Hanyu, the old madam, Ji Xuan’s mother-in-law of Ruan family had arranged a marriage for her grandson. It was her wish that he marry the daughter of the Deputy Minister of Finance, Mu Jinci.

The old madam had ordered that Ruan Hanyu marry her, otherwise he would not inherit the family property that belonged to the Ruan family.

The news shocked Ji Xuan and angered Ruan Hanyu. Although Ruan Mutian made no words of objection, the frown on his face said that he was not happy either with this arrangement.

Ruan Mutian was not the sole descendant of the Ruan family. Ruan Hanyu also had an uncle Ruan Muminn, who had a separate family.

The real land deed and property of the Ruan Group belonged to the Ruan family. Although Ruan Hanyu handled all the affairs of the Ruan Group under his name, all decisions were made by the Ruan family. All projects underneath his banner were also controlled by the foundation development of the Ruan family. As the head of her family, Grandma was a key person in these matters.

Of course, Ruan Hanyu already weighed the pros and cons with a shrewd eye. He respected and loved his grandmother and held her in high esteem. His grandmother saw him as a rare and good grandson of the Ruan family, and compared to his uncle’s two children, he proved to be the better grandchild.

Therefore, it was just great reluctance that he accepted his grandmother’s request.

Three years ago, Ruan Hanyu and Mu Qingzhu’s wedding was the last public appearance that Grandma Ruan made. After that, she took care to rest her aging body at the age of ninety. She refused to see anyone else.

Because of this very reason, Ruan Hanyu wanted to hide the divorce between Mu Qingzhu and him from his grandmother. Currently, his grandmother’s health did not look too good. He wanted to keep the knowledge from her as long as possible or until everything had been resolved.

“Mom, do you need anything? I heard you were looking for me.” Ruan Hanyu walked into the living room and sat down on the reclining sofa. His face held a frown. He was emotionally and physically depleted from having spent all that time calming Qian Anrou down.

The maid appeared at the moment and served him a hot cup of tea. Ruan Hanyu took the steaming cup in his hands and took a sip. He felt more at ease after having taken a sip of that scalding liquid.

“Hanyu, I want to discuss your whereabouts tonight,” Ji Xuan said in a slow manner as she lifted her delicate face to meet his.

“Anrou was not feeling well. Her stomach was hurting. I took her to the hospital.” Ruan Hanyu’s face carried an indifferent expression on it. After having said that, his appearance grew tired and he stood up to prepare to go upstairs to rest.

“Stop, Hanyu.” Ji Xuan stood up and stopped Ruan Hanyu from making his way toward the stairs. Her voice was stern as she said, “I heard you invited Mu Qingzhu into the Ruan Group to work.”

Her words froze Ruan Hanyu in his tracks. A cold and unwelcoming light flashed within his eyes. He turned around to face his mother.

“Mom, how can I explain this to you? She is a top talent. The Ruan family is in need of such a talent now. With our products currently transitioning into healthcare, her inclusion in the company will be good for the Ruan Group. I only seek to benefit the Ruan family by hiring her.” Ruan Hanyu tried to explain patiently. He knew his mother did not like Mu Qingzhu and hoped his words would help her acquiesce herself to the new situation.

Once Mu Qingzhu married into the Ruan family, his mother had never been kind to her. She would go on to nit-pick everything Mu Qingzhu did. She had never taken a liking to her and over the years this dislike only grew. Especially after his father fell ill and went to the hospital, she made life for Mu Qingzhu unbearable. Everything she did, disagreed with his mother. She found her greatly intolerable.

For this reason among others, Mu Qingzhu escaped to America. Seeing the way she was being treated, he did not object to her leaving, nor did he send anyone after her.

“Hanyu, have you lost your mind? Have you forgotten your father is still in the hospital because of that very woman? She is your ex-wife and yet you still want to hire her? Are you crazy?” Ji Xuan said all this while gritting her teeth. Her voice was shaking slightly. “This woman is secretive and scheming. Your grandmother is confused by her lies. She has no idea you two are divorced. You must do all you can to get your hands on the inheritance of the Ruan family’s property. Your father and I have invested everything into the Ruan Group. You must not let this woman come back into your life and mess up your chances.”

Ji Xuan’s pleading was mixed in with threats and begging. When she finished, the pleading remained in her voice.

After a while, Ji Xuan was having a guilty conscience. Ever since the first time she set foot inside the Ruan Family Mansion, Mu Qingzhu had never been warmly received by any of them. Therefore, it made sense that Mu Qingzhu had turned her energies to other things to keep her mind off the way she was being treated. But she had never thought that this woman would grow into such a talent that would one day design a luxury car that would gain the attention of the world.

She had to put a stop to all of this. Three years ago, Mu Qingzhu’s reckless actions almost destroyed the Ruan Group. Now, three years later, she could not let the recurrence of such past events happen again.

“Mom, as the President of Ruan Group, it is, I, who should be in charge of the Ruan Group’s matters.” Ruan Hanyu wrapped his arm around Ji Xuan’s shoulders, hugging her slightly. He put his head close to hers and looked into her eyes with a flustered and exasperated expression. His look showed his concern. He had a bitter smile on his face as he tried to persuasively appeal to her better judgment as he walked with her alongside. “Mom, I’m a grown man now. And I’m the president of the Ruan Group. You have to take my word for it. I’ll just toss more money at her. She's just a woman who loves money. We will both exchange one thing for another. She has something I need and I have something she needs. And why not? If I don’t grab this opportunity right now and hire her, she’ll just go back to the Jingrui Group. And that will place our company at a disadvantage. I’m a businessman so I’ve already weighed both the pros and cons before making this decision. Please have faith in me.”

Is this so? Ji Xuan felt more at ease with her son’s arms around her, but in her heart, she was still skeptical. The anger on her face gradually dissipated and her body relaxed under her son's arms around her shoulder.

Ruan Hanyu gave her a comforting smile. His arms were still around Ji Xuan’s shoulders as he pushed her onto the sofa to sit down. He said with a gentle voice, “Mom, you don’t need to worry about this. Because of her presence in the office, Grandma won’t know about the divorce between me and her. This way, I can keep an eye on her and she won’t be so presumptuous. It’ll also be easier for me to control her. You just need to live a good life and go to the hospital to care for Father. Hopefully, under your care and attention, he’ll wake up in no time.”

Ji Xuan felt hugged by her son’s words. His arms still wrapped around her shoulders, she sat down next to him. A loving smile shone from her face and she beamed down happily at her son. The one person she was the proudest of in her life was Ruan Hanyu. Ever since Ruan Mutian was hospitalized, Ruan Hanyu was the ray of sunshine in her life. She would not allow any woman to destroy what she had right now. Her son’s words of comfort were like a soothing balm on her soul.

After his talk with his mother, Ruan Hanyu dragged his feet to his room. The night’s events had left him exhausted. When he passed by a door in the middle, the sight of the door piqued his curiosity.

With his deep eyes staring at the door with a golden light shining underneath the partition, he considered for a moment. Then, with some hesitation, he pushed open the door.

The room used to be his and Mu Qingzhu’s wedding room. During the course of their marriage, they had shared this room. He walked into the room and looked around.

The wedding room was still the luxurious space it used to be. The big red words were still decorating the walls. Seeing them, he once again fell into deep thought.