Chapter 82: Extra Story – The End

Ming Jiayao’s female secretary, Miss Sui, has taken a long leave of absence.

Thus, the company transferred a female employee named Wen Ruoruo to the CEO’s office to temporarily take over Miss Sui’s duties.

Bai Yuanzhi had seen Wen Ruoruo a few times when she went to visit Ming Jiayao.

Wen Ruoruo was extremely tactful, treating Bai Yuanzhi with humility and respect.

At first, Bai Yuanzhi didn’t think much of Wen Ruoruo.

Until—

That day was Bai Yuanzhi’s birthday,

But Ming Jiayao had to attend a rather important meeting, so he had no choice but to let Bai Yuanzhi go to the restaurant he had reserved beforehand.

As soon as Bai Yuanzhi arrived at the restaurant, she received a call from Ming Jiayao.

However, the call was made by Wen Ruoruo. “I’m sorry, President Bai, please don’t blame President Ming. The reason he’s late today is all because of me… It’s all my fault…”

The young woman’s voice sounded tearful, filled with great unease and anxiety.

Bai Yuanzhi was taken aback for a moment, said “Oh,” and hung up.

Then—

The next second, Ming Jiayao pushed the door open, panting heavily. “Wife!”

“Wife, I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up today,” he said, shoving a gift bag into Bai Yuanzhi’s hands. “Quick, see if you like it? If you don’t, I’ll get you another one tomorrow.”

While unwrapping the gift, Bai Yuanzhi asked, “Why were you late today?”

Ming Jiayao was stunned for a moment, instinctively glanced at his wristwatch, and then cautiously replied, “Today… I wasn’t really late, was I?”

He had always valued a sense of ceremony.

Actually, today wasn’t his wife’s birthday—it was the eve.

He had deliberately sent their children to his sister-in-law’s house to be looked after, all for the sake of spending a wonderful evening with his wife and being the first to wish her a happy birthday the moment midnight arrived.

To this end, he had arranged quite a few activities.

First, a lavish meal at this Michelin-starred restaurant, then a movie, followed by watching a fireworks show at Qingshuiqian… Yes, that was a fireworks display he had paid to customize for his wife;

Then he would take his wife aboard a yacht, sail to Qingyigang, and let her inspect his business empire up close.

After midnight, once he had wished his wife a happy birthday, he would sail back home with her and enjoy some quality time together.

But for some reason, a meeting originally scheduled for tomorrow was suddenly moved to today.

To avoid disrupting the birthday celebration he had prepared for his wife,

Ming Jiayao had no choice but to swiftly wrap up the meeting and beg his wife to drive herself to the restaurant.

Now it seemed—

The timing was just right, so how could he be considered late?

Bai Yuanzhi said calmly, “I don’t know! Your secretary just called me using your mobile phone (translation: Columbia University) and said that your lateness today was all because of her…”

Hearing this, Ming Jiayao’s expression stiffened.

He immediately checked and, sure enough, realized his mobile phone was missing?!

“Wife, I’ll explain it to you later,” Ming Jiayao said gently. “Let me borrow your phone to make a call first.”

Bai Yuanzhi handed over her own phone.

Ming Jiayao called Ah Wu, “I forgot my phone, it might be in the hands of that new girl. Go handle it for me… first, control the girl, then check my phone to see if she tampered with it or used it to do something… After investigating, if the situation is serious, report it to the police directly. If it’s not serious, find an excuse to fire her…”

It was unclear what Ah Wu said on the other end of the line.

Ming Jiayao frowned, “I don’t care what kind of backing or background she has. Since she has ill intentions and even dared to show off in front of your Miss Ah Zhi, she can’t stay!”

“…Right, just do it that way.” After saying this, Ming Jiayao hung up and returned the phone to Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi asked curiously, “That Wen Ruoruo… she has a background and backing?”

Ming Jiayao sneered, “Just a clown.”

Bai Yuanzhi thought for a moment, “Is she from the Fang Family?”

Ming Jiayao praised, “My wife is so clever!”

—The Fang Family was a rising star in Hong Kong City. Perhaps they thought the Ming Family lacked manpower and saw Ming Jiayao as a young, inexperienced man, so they looked down on him, harboring ambitions to compete with the Ming Family in the port business.

After being thoroughly dealt with by Ming Jiayao,

the Fang Family behaved themselves.

But some people just refuse to give up until they hit rock bottom.

Especially the Fang Family.

From what Bai Yuanzhi knew, she had already heard countless stories of the Fang Family’s exploits:

For example, to compete for the Ming Family’s port, the Fang Family specifically sought out the families of several deceased sailors from the Mingshi Ocean Shipping Company to cause trouble at the port. Little did they know, the immediate family members had already settled compensation with the Ming Family early on and were unwilling to get involved.

In the end, it was distant relatives who went to stir up trouble. After the incident escalated, those people pointed fingers at the Fang Family. However, all the able-bodied members of the Fang Family hid and dared not show their faces, sending only a ninety-year-old man to take the blame, saying it was all his fault and even suggesting the old man should die to atone…

Another example: the Fang Family went to cut the cables used for lifting cargo containers in the middle of the night. They believed that if they cut the cables halfway, the next day when the crane lifted the containers onto the ship, the ropes would snap… Once an accident happened, the port under Mingshi Holdings would be paralyzed.

But what they didn’t expect was that, although they succeeded, the Ming Family’s employees discovered the problem as soon as they arrived for work and immediately replaced the cables.

The Fang Family, however, didn’t know this.

All they knew was that the Ming Family’s cables, nearly cut through, could still hold up for so long…

So when the cables on the Fang Family’s crane were also about to snap, they didn’t replace them, thinking it would save money.

As a result, a heavy container fell from the Fang Family’s crane and, while tumbling, smashed seven or eight other containers!!!

Fortunately, there were no casualties.

But the massive compensation directly crippled the Fang Family!

At this point, the Fang Family was likely nearing the end of their rope.

So, they set their sights on Ming Jiayao…

Whether it was to steal the Ming Family’s trade secrets or to damage Ming Jiayao’s personal reputation, it was understandable.

Bai Yuanzhi glanced sideways at Ming Jiayao, “I don’t want to talk about this person anymore…”

Ming Jiayao quickly agreed.

But—

Bai Yuanzhi, who had just finished unwrapping the gift, suddenly gave Ming Jiayao a displeased look.

Ming Jiayao was taken aback, “What’s wrong, honey? Don’t you like the gift?”

That’s impossible!

Ming Jiayao has always been very attentive to his wife, so the gifts he gives may not necessarily be the most expensive, but they always manage to capture his wife’s heart perfectly.

So???

What happened today?

Then, Ming Jiayao witnessed a scene that made his eyes bulge with fury:

His wife took out a jewelry box from the gift bag, but inside wasn’t the Little Bear Jewelry he had carefully prepared for his wife, but… something that looked like a pile of lace?

Looking more closely,

Oh my god!

It was a thong!!!

The most disgusting part was that this thong had been carelessly stuffed inside, looking as if… it had been worn before.

Bai Yuanzhi’s face changed,

Ming Jiayao was also so angry that his face turned ashen.

Bai Yuanzhi’s good mood vanished instantly.

“I’m heading back first, do as you please.” After saying this, she picked up her bag and left.

Since getting married, Ming Jiayao had never encountered such a marital crisis.

For a moment, he was so furious that his expression twisted.

He stormed back to the company in a rage.

Of course, he also used his financial power to bring Miss Sui, who was already on leave, back to the company to witness how he handled the matter with Wen Ruoruo.

The next day, Miss Sui visited Bai Yuanzhi at home, bringing the birthday gift Ming Jiayao had prepared earlier.

Miss Sui told Bai Yuanzhi:

“I misjudged her too. I used to think Wen Ruoruo was very reliable in her work, and I really wanted to mentor her. I never expected that for a little bit of money, she would be bribed by our competitors!”

“Mrs. Ming, Mr. Ming was really fierce with that woman…”

“Let me also speak as an old-timer—I’ve known Mr. Ming for a long time, and whether in the past or now, he rarely shows his emotions on his face. But yesterday, when he was dealing with the Wen Ruoruo incident, it was really… a bit scary!”

Then, Miss Sui explained why Wen Ruoruo had done this:

“Mr. Ming is handsome and wealthy, and Wen Ruoruo has had a crush on him for a long time.

On top of that, the Fang Family bribed her, wanting her to steal some bidding documents.

So she came up with a devious plan—she found out that Mr. Ming was planning to celebrate your birthday yesterday, so she moved the pre-bid meeting up by a day, causing Mr. Ming to be late for his date with you. Then, she swapped the gift Mr. Ming had prepared for you, and fearing you wouldn’t know she was behind it, she even called you…

She did all this to provoke you.

That way, you would rush to the company to confront her, and she would have the chance to pin the disappearance of the bidding documents on you.

As for the gift Mr. Ming gave you, she even prepared two identical gift bags. If you accused her of swapping the gifts, she could conveniently take them out, crying and claiming that Mr. Ming had mistakenly taken the gift she had prepared for herself…

She thought that as long as Mr. Ming believed you were targeting her, she could use this to gain his favor.

By then, the bidding documents would have been leaked by you, Mrs. Ming, as revenge against Mr. Ming, while Wen Ruoruo would appear as the victim from start to finish… Mr. Ming would naturally side with her.

This way, Wen Ruoruo would get both the man and the money!” Miss Sui explained carefully to Bai Yuanzhi.

Bai Yuanzhi was utterly astonished.

Taking the gift bag handed to her by Miss Sui,

Bai Yuanzhi casually opened it.

Her eyes lit up,

Wow, it was actually the Little Bear Jewelry set she had been eyeing for a long time!

Yes, Bai Yuanzhi and Ming Jiayao had been married for ten years and had three children together.

Their eldest son, Ming Siyao, was eight years old,

their second son, Ming Sizhe, was six,

and their youngest daughter, Ming Sisi, was four.

Bai Yuanzhi was a bit more partial to her little daughter.

In two months, her daughter’s Noble Kindergarten would hold a parent-child event, and the teacher suggested that Bai Yuanzhi and Ming Sisi walk the runway together.

Bai Yuanzhi suddenly remembered that she had once seen a set of bear-themed jewelry at a relatively niche jewelry exhibition… not particularly lavish, but absolutely adorable.

But she only thought about it briefly.

Because time had passed, and she had no idea where to find that set of jewelry.

Unexpectedly, Ming Jiayao had taken it to heart and actually found the set!

Bai Yuanzhi smiled.

Seeing her smile, Miss Sui felt her heart settle back into her chest.

“If Mr. Ming knows that Mrs. Ming is no longer angry… then I’m about to prosper again!” Miss Sui said warmly with a laugh.

Bai Yuanzhi also pursed her lips.

She had always believed she was blessed with good fortune, so everything she did went smoothly.

It wasn’t until later,

when she learned that her husband was the Young master of the shipping magnate family, that she realized a large part of her smooth sailing was actually due to him paving the way and handling things for her.

As someone who had lived a second life, Bai Yuanzhi wasn’t one to be overly sentimental.

Since her husband cared for her, she would accept his affection.

So Bai Yuanzhi smiled and said to Miss Sui, “Thank you for your hard work, Miss Sui. I’m afraid this kind of opportunity to earn a little extra money will often trouble you.”

Miss Sui laughed heartily, “Being able to serve Mr. and Mrs. Ming while earning some pocket money… I’m truly honored.”

After Miss Sui took her leave,

Bai Yuanzhi carefully put away the Little Bear Jewelry, tidied up the room, and then leisurely made her way to the kitchen. First, she gave the Filipina domestic helper a day off, then hummed a tune as she gathered ingredients, deciding to cook a bowl of noodles for Ming Jiayao.

This frightened the Filipina helper so much that she quickly slipped away and called Ming Jiayao to tip him off, “Sir, the missus is cooking noodles for you… yes, yes, take care of yourself. I’ll be leaving now.”

Ming Jiayao returned home with trepidation.

Seeing his wife indeed busy in the kitchen,

he nervously swallowed and eagerly approached, “Honey, what are you up to?”

Bai Yuanzhi shot him a look, “Yesterday I wronged you, and today countless people came to plead your case… my sister and brother-in-law have already called several times, and Miss Sui even came in person to explain to me…”

“So I know you were wronged. Today, I’ll cook you a bowl of noodles as an apology.”

Ming Jiayao quickly waved his hands, “No need, no need!”

“Yes, it’s necessary!” Bai Yuanzhi insisted.

Ming Jiayao said with a pained expression, “Honey, why don’t… you take a rest, and I’ll help you cook the noodles.”

Bai Yuanzhi kept her head down, focused on her task, “How could that be! That would make me seem insincere.”

Ming Jiayao muttered, “I already feel your sincerity… but honey, I really want to live a few more years…”

Bai Yuanzhi didn’t catch it clearly, “What did you say?”

“Nothing, nothing…”

“Then don’t block the way here. Go sit over there. I’ll have the noodles ready soon.”

At this point, Ming Jiayao had no choice but to sit down dejectedly and wait.

He truly loved Bai Yuanzhi,

but he was also truly afraid of the noodles she cooked…

Clearly, she had also put in effort to study it, clearly she had followed the same steps to cook the noodles,

But for some reason, they were just unbearably awful!

A moment later, Bai Yuanzhi brought over a steaming bowl of noodle soup. “Come try it!”

Ming Jiayao forced a smile. “No need to taste it…”

“Uh, I mean, my wife’s noodle soup is delicious! Even without tasting it, I know it’s great, hahaha…”

Bai Yuanzhi raised an eyebrow. “Then eat it!”

Ming Jiayao took a deep breath, picked up his chopsticks with a look of grim determination, scooped up a strand of noodles, and ate it with the same resolve.

Huh…

Hmm???

The taste of the noodles… couldn’t be called terrible, but this time, there was a noticeable improvement.

Ming Jiayao’s eyes lit up. He took a few more bites, looked up at Bai Yuanzhi, and smiled with his eyes crinkling. “Wife, it’s really delicious!”

“Speak properly!” Bai Yuanzhi blushed and scolded him.

Ming Jiayao was taken aback for a moment, then grinned from ear to ear.

“Wife, thank you for trusting me and helping us avoid this whole mess… Wife, I love you! I’ll always love you!”

Bai Yuanzhi’s face flushed red.

= = This concludes the entire story. Thank you all for your company = =

Author’s Note: There will be a giveaway later, thank you, everyone!

See you in the next story!