Chapter 25: Great Progress
The two women had never seen anything like it and were trembling with fear.
"We’ll pay! We’ll pay you back!!"
With a DING, the money arrived in his account, but not a hint of a smile appeared on Da Gou’s face.
"You borrowed this money two years ago. You’re not going to pay any interest?"
’He wants interest, too?’
The two women’s expressions changed. "Brother Gou, loan sharking is illegal! If you don’t give us a way out, we’ll have no choice but to call the police!"
Da Gou snorted. "Who said anything about loan sharking? We’ll just use the standard bank interest rate. For a principal of three hundred thousand over two years, that comes out to six thousand."
The moment he got the money, Da Gou transferred it to Cheng Yuan.
DING. Cheng Yuan received the transfer notification.
When he saw the amount on the notification, the corners of Cheng Yuan’s mouth curled up. Da Gou was pretty reliable. It hadn’t even been a day, and he’d already gotten the money.
And he even got the interest.
’Not bad, not bad at all.’
BRRR... BRRR...
His phone rang.
Cheng Yuan answered the phone with a laugh. "Da Gou, you’re pretty efficient. I’m very satisfied. I’ll call you again if I need anything in the future."
"Just give the word if you need anything, Big Brother, and this little brother will get it done right. So, uh, when do you think you can help us brothers... completely solve our hidden problem?"
The corners of Cheng Yuan’s mouth curled up. "Your problem has already been completely resolved. I was just worried you wouldn’t be motivated, so I was just trying to scare you."
Uh...
Da Gou gave a wry smile.
"Big Brother, you can’t just scare people like that."
"Hahaha."
After hanging up with Da Gou, Cheng Yuan went to Lin Ruoxi’s bedroom door and asked softly, "Ruoxi, are you asleep?"
There was no answer.
Cheng Yuan knocked gently, but the door swung open a crack. His heart leaped. ’Ruoxi didn’t lock her door! Is she leaving it open for me?’
CREAK.
Cheng Yuan gently pushed the door open, then froze.
Lin Ruoxi wasn’t asleep. She was leaning against the headboard, her bright eyes fixed on him.
"Cheng Yuan, what are you doing in my room? What are you up to?"
Cheng Yuan quickly explained, "Ruoxi, we’re going to the Provincial City at the end of the month. We’ll have to stay in the same room then anyway. We’re just... getting used to it ahead of time!"
Lin Ruoxi stared at Cheng Yuan. His eyes were incredibly clear, without a hint of impurity.
"You do have a point. We should get used to it. Come on in."
Cheng Yuan hurried into the bedroom. Worried she might change her mind, he asked, "Ruoxi, where’s a blanket? I’ll just sleep on the floor."
Perhaps it was because of the betrothal gift Cheng Yuan had given, or perhaps because she could vaguely see a future for them together, but Lin Ruoxi took a step forward. "Why would you sleep on the floor? Sleep on the bed."
’Sleep on the bed?’
Cheng Yuan was overjoyed!
’Does this mean I’m finally getting promoted?’
"Ruoxi, are... are you serious? I can really sleep on the bed?"
Cheng Yuan stared intently at Lin Ruoxi. If she so much as nodded, he would rush over without a second thought and take her right then and there!
Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes at him. "What are you thinking about? Go get a bowl of water."
’A bowl of water?’
Cheng Yuan froze for a moment, but he quickly understood what she meant.
But Cheng Yuan wasn’t the least bit discouraged.
Even with a bowl of water between them, going from the floor to the bed was still a huge step forward!
Cheng Yuan believed that if he kept at it, he’d be able to get rid of that bowl of water soon enough.
"Alright, I’ll go get the water right now."
Soon, Cheng Yuan returned with a bowl of water and carefully placed it on the bed.
"Honey, how’s my technique?"
Lin Ruoxi rolled her eyes at him. "It’s acceptable, I guess."
Cheng Yuan took out a bank card and handed it to Lin Ruoxi. "Honey, there’s over twenty million in here. It’s all from the stone-gambling today. You take it for now to deal with the urgent crisis. We’ll figure out the jewelry company’s funding deficit slowly."
Lin Ruoxi’s eyes grew slightly red around the rims.
Earlier today, when she’d heard about the massive deficit her father had created, she had felt hopeless, as if her life was shrouded in darkness.
But now, Cheng Yuan was a beam of light in that darkness, allowing her to see hope once more.
"Cheng Yuan, thank you so, so much. I’ll accept this money. Don’t worry, once the jewelry company’s cash flow recovers, I’ll definitely pay you back double!"
Cheng Yuan laughed. "You’re my wife. My money is your money. What’s there to thank me for?"
A warmth spread through Lin Ruoxi’s heart. Though they had known each other for less than three days, Cheng Yuan gave her an immense sense of security.
For a fleeting moment, Lin Ruoxi even had an impulsive thought: even if the Lin Family wouldn’t accept Cheng Yuan, she wanted to be a real couple with him.
"Let’s get some sleep."
With that, Lin Ruoxi turned and lay down, pulling the light comforter over her delicate, shapely figure, leaving Cheng Yuan with only the sight of her back.
Cheng Yuan had used up a lot of his Spiritual Power today. He didn’t take the opportunity to activate his Double Pupil and admire the beautiful view. Instead, he lay down on the other side of the large bed and quickly fell asleep.
At first, Lin Ruoxi was both nervous and a little expectant.
’If Cheng Yuan were to violate their ’bowl of water’ gentleman’s agreement and cross into her territory, what should she do?’
’Should she submit or resist?’
Just thinking about it made Lin Ruoxi’s heart pound wildly.
’Ugh, this is so difficult!’
’I guess it’ll depend on how I feel in the moment. If I’m not against it, then...’
Suddenly, Lin Ruoxi heard the sound of long, deep breaths coming from Cheng Yuan’s side. This made her a little annoyed.
’Hey!’
’You’ve got to be kidding me.’
’A beautiful woman is lying right next to him, and he just fell asleep?’
’Am I not the least bit attractive to him?’
Lin Ruoxi turned over in a huff, but when she saw Cheng Yuan’s peaceful, sleeping face, her anger instantly vanished. She found herself staring, mesmerized, at his face.
’He’s so handsome!’
’How can a man this handsome even exist?’
’His eyelashes are so long!’
’And his skin is perfect!’
’I have no idea how he kept it looking so good in prison.’
Lost in these random thoughts, Lin Ruoxi also drifted off to sleep.
The night passed without incident, and the water was not spilled.
Cheng Yuan was woken by the ringing of his phone. He fumbled for it and saw that it was his mom calling.
"Mom, what’s going on so early in the morning?"
"You need to get home, quick! Mei Chao is here with his son!"
Cheng Yuan’s expression darkened. ’Mei Chao actually dares to show up at my house?’
’He still dares to come looking for trouble?’
"Mom, you just wait. I’m on my way back right now!"
The commotion woke Lin Ruoxi. Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she asked, "Cheng Yuan, what happened?"
"Something’s come up at home. I have to go back for a bit. You go back to sleep."
With that, Cheng Yuan went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Huijing Garden.
Fifteen minutes later, Cheng Yuan arrived at his apartment building. He found a crowd of people gathered in the small courtyard, and his anger surged. ’Hasn’t Mei Chao learned his lesson yet?’
’He still dares to come and cause a scene?’
Cheng Yuan pushed his way forward to get a look, and his anger instantly subsided.
It turned out that Mei Chao and his son, Mei Feng, weren’t there to cause trouble. The two of them were kneeling under the jujube tree, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.
"Jujube Tree Immortal, we were disrespectful! We offended you, Your Grace! We truly know we were wrong. We will never offend you again. We beg you, show mercy and forgive us!"