C23 Love Is Fleeting

Humiliated, Mu Qingzhu ran back to the office. After making her way to the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and leaned against the door frame, finally able to breathe again.

Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she could see a flustered woman whose face was beet red. She tried calming her racing heart as feelings of annoyance erupted from inside her.

Mu Qingzhu, what did you do wrong? Why are you so flustered? You're letting that bastard Ruan Hanyu get into your head.

What the hell is going on?!

That guy has a way of making you lose all sense of propriety with just one mocking look of his. How can you continue on this way if that’s the case?

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she shook her head and walked out of the bathroom. She placed her body on the soft bed and laid down.

The light playing on the chandelier on the ceiling looked like colorful butterflies dancing in the air. The bottom resembled blue skies being decorated by cotton-like clouds. Mu Qingzhu found herself growing transfixed by the imagery of light playing with the dancing butterflies amidst the blue sky and white clouds. She lost herself to the dazzling display.

A devilish cold snort and a disdainful sneer interrupted Mu Qingzhu from her thoughts.

The noise had caught her by surprise. She turned over and sat up.

She looked over to see Ruan Hanyu standing in front of the door of the suite. His face was flushed a deep rosy color as if it was dyed red from the wine he had been drinking. His features were full of the contempt and ridicule he must be feeling towards her.

“How did you get in?” Mu Qingzhu’s voice rang out loudly. Feeling extremely surprised, she took a pillow from the bed and hugged it tightly to her chest for security. She remembered closing and locking the door behind her when she entered the room earlier. How was he able to get in?

Ruan Hanyu held up the key in his hand. The expression on his face looked like he found this funny. “This is my company so of course, I have a key. No one can stop me from entering any room on these premises.”

His face held an evil smile on it as he slowly walked towards Mu Qingzhu.

“What do you want?” Mu Qingzhu inched back on the bed. Her eyes were watchful as they caught his every move.

Ruan Hanyu had a sinister smile on his face as he looked coldly down at Mu Qingzhu. In his hands was a shiny bank card. He smiled mockingly as he said, “Did you sell your body for the amount on this card?”

“Ah!” Mu Qingzhu could not contain her surprise. She was shocked to the core. It turned out due to the confusion and her hurry to get out of there, she had forgotten to take with her the golden bank card Jing Chengrui had rewarded her. She did not know how Ruan Hanyu had gotten his hands on it. This only gave him more ammunition to continue taunting her.

“Give it back.” She jumped at the chance and tried to reach out to grab the card from out of his hand.

Ruan Hanyu slightly raised his hand out of her reach and Mu Qingzhu missed entirely, falling onto the bed.

“Tell me, what do you want?” Mu Qingzhu shot him an angry look. Her gaze was fierce as if she wanted nothing more than to kill him.

This man was entirely unreasonable! Such anger raged in her heart that it felt like her organs were internally bleeding!

His handsome face suddenly made its way towards her as his white slender fingers lightly hooked underneath her chin. His movements, though gentle, could not hide the venom in his eyes. Through pursed lips, he revealed a hideous smile.

“Tell me your price. What amount of money provoked you to spread your legs?”

His cold eyes peered into her as if they could see straight into her soul. His hands did not relax their hold around her chin.

Though those days were long gone, Mu Qingzhu was once his wife. Ruan Hanyu’s woman would never find herself at such a desperate point where she would be forced to sell herself.

Never mind that he had just paid her a large sum of money!

Ruan Hanyu had grown so furious, the light in his eyes was terrifying to behold.

The pain in her chin was such that she wondered if it was dislocated. Feeling a coldness rise in her heart, she slapped his hand away. Her face was suddenly flushed red from the exertion. With a frown on her face, she said, “Ruan Hanyu, you have gotten out of hand. We are already divorced and have nothing to do with one another. You have no right to interfere with my affairs. Why should I allow you to insult me like this?”

“Insult?” With his eyebrows raised, he continued, his face full of ridicule, “You are but a disappointment! The man you like already has a woman. You are just a plaything of his. Right now, you should be overwhelmed with shame and anger to the point where you can no longer show your face around A City any longer. There is no place to turn to, right? Don’t give me that look. I’m the only one here who is willing to tell you the truth.”

“Shut up, you bastard.”

Mu Qingzhu bit down heavily on her teeth. His words left her sad and disappointed. Though he did not hold back his disdain for her, she still loved him.

She was really despicable!

Even after being humiliated by him time and time again, this not only did not deter her feelings for him, but she still had a bit of hope in her heart that things would work out between them. There could be no one as lowly as she!

The rim of her eyes was red as she peered at him coldly. Between gritted teeth popped out the words: “Ruan Hanyu, I never knew you.”

Ruan Hanyu smiled coldly at her but he remained unmoved.

He had exposed her schemes, but she still had the audacity to look like she was the one being wronged. Who was all this pretense for?

His long arms were like a vise around her as he suddenly pulled her to the soft bed, pinning her arms to the side so that she was unable to move. His body hovered over hers, as he spoke ruthlessly into her ear:

“Name me your price. Sell yourself to me, and I’ll no doubt satisfy you.”

His hands began tearing at her clothes as Mu Qingzhu watched in horror. She tried resisting with all the strength left in her body.

The woman’s struggling body under him made his body heat up in temperature.

All reason flew out the door as heat and desire muddled his brain.

This damn woman, from the moment he laid eyes on her, his life had unraveled before him. Because of her, he was no longer his usual calm self. Every day, he had to deal with his messy thoughts and his chaotic heart which was in constant disarray.

At this certain moment in time, he had only one desire: to hold her down and vent!

“Ruan Hanyu, you let go of me.” His aggressive nature was beginning to really scare Mu Qingzhu.

She must not allow Ruan Hanyu to violate her again. Her hands fiercely tried to put a stop to his actions. Because of her wild thrashing, the wound on her palm that had been bandaged the previous night cracked open again and it bled fresh blood anew.

“Ruan Hanyu, you are nothing but a hooligan. You only know how to toss your weight around women. You call yourself a man? I will sue you for this." Out of heightened emotions, Mu Qingzhu shouted this at the top of her lungs.

“So what if I’m bullying you?! You want to sue me, then go ahead and sue me!” Her words seemed to have stirred something crazy within Ruan Hanyu. He began acting in a frenzy, tearing apart the fabric on her body and reaching out to pin her waving hands to the top of her head. He buried his head in her neck and his hot lips bit her lips. Their kiss was passionate and heated.

Unable to hold in the torrent any longer, tears flowed out of Mu Qingzhu’s eyes. With all the strength she could muster, she shouted out, “Ruan Hanyu, don’t forget Qian Anrou. Isn’t she the woman you are planning to marry?”

Hearing her words woke Ruan Hanyu from his madness. Seeing that he was momentarily stunned, Mu Qingzhu took her chance and pushed him off her and climbed out of the bed.

Blood had seeped through the gauze on her palm. Cradling her hand in her lap, she squatted down onto the ground and let the tears fall from her eyes.

Seeing her outburst on the ground, Ruan Hanyu’s face visibly paled. “This is my second warning to you. If you want to stay in my company, you must dedicate yourself to your work. Don’t try provoking those men again. Otherwise, heed my warning, I won’t let you live an easy life. You should know what I’m capable of.” After letting this seep in, Ruan Hanyu stood up. Keeping his emotions at bay, he tossed the golden card onto the bed.

“You have no right to enforce this rule on me. I only see Jing Chengrui as a brother who has helped me before. We have no other relationship between us.” Mu Qingzhu’s eyes were filled with tears as she tried to argue with her all strength.

“Your brother.” The sneer was evident in his voice. “What kind of fool do you make me? And what kind of man is willing to give his sister money for no good reason?”

“He did not just hand me over the money. It was a bonus from his company - what was owed to me for the car I designed. And why can’t I take the money?” Mu Qingzhu’s voice was loud. After having said that, she bit down on her lips. Her eyes were overflowing with tears and her shoulders shook from all the excitement.

Ruan Hanyu was unable to dismiss her words. He was momentarily stunned.

Mu Qingzhu held her bleeding and injured palm to her chest and cried pitifully. Her tearful eyes stared at him as she shouted, “Ruan Hanyu, leave at once! I never want to see you again!”

Her pale little face was distorted by pain and despair. Her whole body trembled from the excess emotions. Her brows were knitted in a painful grimace as the wound on her palm bled through the gauze.

Ruan Hanyu felt like he had really gone overboard this time. He took a step back, feeling panic overtake him.

Confused, he stared at her in a daze and did not know what to do next.

“Leave! Now!” Mu Qingzhu yelled at him. Her small face was filled with rage.

Feeling trapped, Ruan Hanyu did not know where to go. Finally, it hit him that he was not wanted there and he took a step back, turning in that instant to run away.

He rushed back into his office and fell straight onto the sofa. Images of Mu Qingzhu’s tears and her pale little face flooded him. He felt guilt riddle his body as he held his head with both hands, his heart a mess.

What was going on today? What caused him to become so crazy?

He rushed into the bathroom of the suite and turned on the shower. He bowed his head as the cold water poured over him. The heat in his body cooled and his consciousness soon recovered. He had hoped the cold water would help clear his head, but it had only allowed the things buried in his heart to grow more chaotic!

What was it about this woman that every time he saw her he found himself losing control?!

He felt like he was a bullet being released from a gun. There was no way he could stop the trajectory of where he was going. The desire in his body seemed to have been bottled inside him for a thousand years so that when it was released, the surge was violent and dramatic.

Perhaps he had made the wrong move. It was probably not the wisest decision to hire her.

Light and darkness became interchangeable in his eyes!

He could do nothing but wait for Lian Cheng to report back.

Mu Qingzhu pressed her bleeding palm to her chest and squatted in front of the bed, crying. The torrent of tears felt like it would never leave her. She crushed her palm to her collarbone, causing bone-piercing pain to erupt through her body.

If she continued with this, perhaps it would not be long before she could be freed from everything!

She must persist!

Suddenly, a light knock sounded on the door.

With gritted teeth, Mu Qingzhu stopped her crying.

“Miss Alice, Director Ruan said that the wound on your hand has reopened. He asked me to bring over some hemostasis ointment and gauze.” Special Assistant Liu walked in with a surprised expression on his face. He took in Mu Qingzhu’s blood-soaked hands and her messy appearance and rumpled clothes, gradually coming to an understanding about something.

But he did not say a word. He simply picked up her hand and examined it carefully. He prepared to remove the gauze and apply the medicine.

“There is no need. I’m fine, really. I’ve already stopped bleeding.” Having said this, Mu Qingzhu took the hemostasis ointment from his hands and threw it into the garbage can.

“This…” Special Assistant Liu could only smile awkwardly. A look of embarrassment flashed on his features. After an awkward start, he said, “Since you’re okay now, I’ll make my leave.”

Mu Qingzhu nodded her head. After sighing for a bit, Special Assistant Liu shook his head resignedly and left the room.

Taking the extra gauze, Mu Qingzhu wrapped it around her hand until her palm was entirely cocooned by another thick layer of white gauze. The new gauze hid all traces of blood. After applying the gauze, she laid herself down on the bed and fell asleep.

At three in the afternoon.

Inside the conference center on the 88th floor.

On display on the spacious LCD screen was the car model that the senior designers of the Ruan Group had been slaving over for the past days and nights.

The date for the press conference of the Ruan Family was fast approaching and the deadline weighed heavily on everyone’s mind. Ruan Hanyu had attached great importance to it and it was crucial that the company’s image be upheld in such an event. In the past few days, all the senior executives of the Ruan Group, including all the employees, were preparing for the press conference.

For the evening’s festivities, Ruan Hanyu had pooled all his efforts into making the celebration a grandiose affair. He had taken care to handle everything himself.

Only once the industries under his banner achieved world-wide recognition would he be able to reach his goal. The moment this happened would be a key moment in the Ruan Group’s transformation.

In order to take the lead in the global market, Ruan Hanyu had specifically designed these new luxury cars, the best this country had seen. Under the guise of charity, he wanted to invite all the wealthy businessmen of the world to gather at his party. Once he gained their favor and successfully had them sign-on, this would be a dramatic breakthrough for his overseas ventures.

Besides that, once this happened, it would be impossible for Jingrui Group to surpass him!

As long as things went in this trajectory, Ruan Group would be unseated as the top of the global market. Jingrui Group would have to settle as second best in the industry.