Chapter 8: Manager Mei, Don’t Frame Us
Mei Chao’s men were terrified. They rushed forward, switched off the chainsaw, and scrambled to help him up.
"Manager Mei, are you okay?"
"Manager Mei, what’s wrong?"
One of them pinched the pressure point on his upper lip while another started performing CPR.
After a good while of this frantic activity, Mei Chao showed no signs of improvement.
Besides the pain, chills kept running through his body, as if some unclean spirit had possessed him.
Mei Chao stared at the large jujube tree in terror. ’Could what that kid said be true?’
’Has this jujube tree really become an immortal?’
Wu Xiuli shouted in a panic, "Manager Mei, don’t you try to pin this on us! There’s a camera right there. Our Xiaoyuan never laid a finger on you!"
Mei Chao was on the verge of tears. ’Ma’am, I wish I was trying to swindle you, but this is really happening!’
Cheng Yuan snorted. "See what happens when you don’t listen to good advice, Manager Mei? The Jujube Tree Immortal is angry, and the consequences are severe. I suggest you get to a hospital immediately! Otherwise, you might be left with a permanent disability!"
Fighting through the pain and the icy chill inside him, Mei Chao stammered, "W-What are you all standing around for? Quick, get me to a hospital!"
"Yes!"
His men scrambled to lift Mei Chao and fled Cheng Yuan’s courtyard for their lives, terrified the Jujube Tree Immortal would come after them if they were too slow.
What had just transpired was so bizarre that it didn’t just terrify Mei Chao and his men; Wu Xiuli was starting to have her own doubts.
’Could the jujube tree in our yard really have become an immortal?’
’But it is a bit strange, now that I think about it. This jujube tree is only ten years old, yet it’s thicker than some hundred-year-old locust trees.’
Wu Xiuli walked up to the jujube tree, put her palms together, and began to pray fervently.
"Oh, Jujube Tree Immortal, please bless Xiaoyuan and Ruoxi and let them end up together. Please bless me with a grandchild soon. I promise I’ll give you extra offerings on every holiday!"
After his awakening, Cheng Yuan’s hearing was exceptionally sharp. He heard his mother’s words and couldn’t help but inwardly complain.
’We’re just in a fake marriage. If Mom wants a grandchild, she’s in for a long wait.’
After she finished praying, Wu Xiuli looked at Cheng Yuan. "Xiaoyuan, hurry up and pay your respects to the Jujube Tree Immortal."
Cheng Yuan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. ’Hello? I *am* the Jujube Tree Immortal. Instead of praying to me, my mom is making me pray to a tree.’
Cheng Yuan made a very half-hearted bow. Wu Xiuli shot him a glare—that troublesome boy had no sincerity at all—but she decided to let him save some face in front of Lin Ruoxi.
"Xiaoyuan, why don’t you take Ruoxi out for a walk? I’ll call you two back when dinner is ready."
"Okay."
After Wu Xiuli went back inside, Cheng Yuan looked at Lin Ruoxi with a smile. "Miss Lin, aren’t you going to pay your respects to the Jujube Tree Immortal?"
"Alright, I will. I pray to the Jujube Tree Immortal. Please, Jujube Tree Immortal, help me overcome this ordeal."
As she spoke, Lin Ruoxi put her palms together and bowed toward Cheng Yuan.
"Miss Lin, you’re supposed to be praying to the Jujube Tree Immortal. Why are you bowing to me?"
A knowing light flashed in Lin Ruoxi’s eyes. "Mr. Cheng, if I’m not mistaken, *you* are the Jujube Tree Immortal. What happened to Manager Mei earlier... that was your handiwork, wasn’t it?"
"Oh? What makes you say that?"
"My father’s personal bodyguard, Uncle Tai, is a Practitioner. He has some tricks for dealing with people secretly, but I think your methods are far more impressive than his!"
As they were speaking, a teenage boy came storming over, huffing with anger and holding a saw.
Several young men were chasing after him.
"Young Master Feng, that jujube tree is the Jujube Tree Immortal! You can’t cut it down!"
The boy’s face bore a striking resemblance to Manager Mei; it was clearly his son, Mei Feng.
"Jujube Tree Immortal my ass! It’s just a bunch of mystical nonsense! I broke off one of its branches yesterday. If it were really an immortal, I would’ve already suffered the consequences!"
With that, Mei Feng stormed menacingly into Cheng Yuan’s courtyard, making a beeline for the jujube tree.
’Of course I’m not going to let him off just because he’s a spoiled brat,’ Cheng Yuan thought. ’If a kid like this isn’t taught a lesson, he’s bound to cause a huge disaster in the future!’
Cheng Yuan raised a finger and gave it a slight flick.
It was a tragic end for Mei Feng. He let out a scream even more wretched than his father’s, pitched headfirst to the ground, and began rolling around uncontrollably.
"AHHH!! IT HURTS! IT HURTS SO MUCH!! SO COLD!!"
Cheng Yuan said coldly, "The Jujube Tree Immortal didn’t punish you yesterday, merely tolerating your youth and giving you a chance to repent. But not only did you refuse to change your ways, you doubled down! So you will bear this small punishment!"
Now experienced in handling such matters, the young men quickly lifted Mei Feng into their car and sped off toward the hospital.
The commotion caused by Mei Chao and Mei Feng was so great that many of the surrounding neighbors heard it.
At first, everyone had been skeptical about the Jujube Tree Immortal. After all, as neighbors, they had all watched this tree grow up. How could it possibly have become an immortal?
But after Mei Chao and Mei Feng were both struck down, one after the other, the neighbors couldn’t help but start to believe.
And so, several neighboring families came over to pay their respects to the Jujube Tree Immortal.
When Cheng Yuan and Lin Ruoxi returned to the courtyard, they were stunned. An altar had been set up beneath the jujube tree, laden with all sorts of fruits and snacks. There was even a plate of pig’s head meat...
Cheng Yuan really couldn’t comprehend his neighbors’ thought processes. ’Fruits, fine. But does a jujube tree eat meat?’
At five in the afternoon, Cheng Yuan’s dad, Cheng Hongbing, returned home after finishing his taxi shift.
Seeing the fairy-like Lin Ruoxi, and especially after hearing she was an executive at a publicly traded company, Cheng Hongbing felt a little intimidated.
"Ruoxi, our family’s humble home isn’t much. I’m afraid it’s a bit of a step down for you. If Xiaoyuan ever dares to bully you, you just tell me, and I’ll be sure to give him a good hiding!"
Lin Ruoxi could feel how much Cheng Hongbing valued her. She smiled. "Don’t worry, Uncle. Ah Yuan is very good to me."
Only then did Cheng Hongbing nod in satisfaction.
Soon, Cheng Hongbing noticed the new altar in the courtyard. After a few questions, he learned about the Jujube Tree Immortal and couldn’t help but marvel at the story.
Operating on a "better safe than sorry" mentality, Cheng Hongbing also went over to pay his respects.
Lin Ruoxi was struggling to hold back her laughter. She leaned in and whispered in Cheng Yuan’s ear, "Mr. Cheng, let me ask you: what’s it like to be worshipped by your own parents?"
Cheng Yuan: "..."
The Cheng family wasn’t some great, noble house, so they didn’t have many rules at the dinner table. The family ate and laughed together, an experience Lin Ruoxi found wonderfully novel.
Her Lin Family had far too many rules: no talking during meals, perfect posture was required, and you couldn’t make a sound while drinking soup...
Even though it was just simple, home-cooked food, Lin Ruoxi ate two large bowls of rice, and her flat stomach was even starting to bulge a little.
"Auntie, your cooking is amazing! I’m sure I gained weight from this one meal."
"Hahaha, a little extra weight is a good thing! Ruoxi, you’re wonderful in every way, but you’re just too thin. It’s better for childbearing to have a little more meat on your bones."
Lin Ruoxi’s face instantly turned bright red. She subconsciously glanced at Cheng Yuan. His profile was so handsome—far more so than any of those so-called socialites from the Provincial City!
A bold thought suddenly popped into Lin Ruoxi’s head. ’If I had a baby with Cheng Yuan, I bet it would be beautiful, wouldn’t it?’
’Wait, no, no, no!’
’Lin Ruoxi, what are you thinking?’
’You and Cheng Yuan are only in a fake marriage!’
’You absolutely cannot let yourself fall for him!’