Chapter Eight: Are You Short on Money?

Fu Zhichen had never been treated with such cold indifference by her before. The fury in his heart grew wild, enveloping him in a chill; the aura of dominance, unrestrained, pressed upon her.
“Is it your child with Liang Wenru? You still can’t let him go? Are you with me just to spite him?”
For a moment, Pei Susu felt that the young wolf had grown into the king commanding the pack. She turned her gaze aside, ignoring him. “Does it matter whose child it is?”
Fu Zhichen closed in, step by step, cornering her against the wall, trapping her beneath his shadow. His slender fingertips lifted her chin. “It matters. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know what I might do.”
His eyes glimpsed the examination report clutched in Pei Susu’s hand. Annoyed, he snatched it away, intent on tearing it up—only to be stunned by the name written there.
The report bore the name Lu Qianqian, not Pei Susu.
Fu Zhichen blinked, gazing at Pei Susu with a naive bewilderment.
Pei Susu looked at him coolly, this man confessing without being pressed, his tear-stained eyes rendering him powerless.
“I accompanied my best friend for her prenatal checkup. She went to the restroom afterwards. I asked about the results and wrote them down to send to her later.”
A light flared in Fu Zhichen’s obsidian eyes. He wanted to step forward and hug Pei Susu. “Susu, it’s been over ten days since we separated for the first time. I missed you so much.”
Pei Susu pressed her fingertip against his chest, forbidding him to come closer.
“I haven’t even asked you yet—we’ve been broken up for almost half a month. How did you find me? Was that you in the court’s right corner, wearing the black cap?”
Fu Zhichen, guilty, dared not meet her burning gaze. “Susu, you suddenly broke up with me. I don’t even know what I did wrong. Tell me, please—I’ll change.”
“If I made you angry, scold me, be harsh if you must—just don’t break up with me, okay?” His long fingers tugged at the hem of her shirt, his clear, youthful voice colored with a hint of tears.
“I wanted so much to see you, so I asked a friend to find out about you. I’m sorry.”
Since she had known him, he had always met life with a cool steadiness, never with the vulnerability and anxiety he showed now. Pei Susu’s heart caved in a little.
She pulled out a wad of cash from her wallet, coaxing him as she had before. “Are you short on money lately? I’ll give you five thousand in cash, and transfer another two hundred thousand to your account.”
Well, sometimes, one shouldn’t forsake money for love.
She had given up the little affection she had for Liang Wenru. After the divorce proceedings, her savings soared by tens of millions; even if she did nothing, just deposited it in the bank and lived off the interest, she could live a life of ease for as long as she pleased.
Pei Susu patted his tailored suit. “Don’t do this anymore. Find a decent job. Don’t be a male model—you’re steady and smart. If you settle down and study seriously, you’ll do well in any industry.”
“Look at you now—you’re more like a domineering CEO than anyone else.”
He was exactly her type, but it was a pity he was a model. After her ordeal with Liang Wenru, she no longer wished to suffer for love.

Fu Zhichen realized that Pei Susu, too, was reluctant to part with him, and stubbornly reached for her hand. “I don’t want money, I—”
Before he could finish, Pei Susu was already linking arms with Lu Qianqian, leaving the hospital and getting into a car.
Fu Zhichen turned and ran out, trying to catch up and stop her, but the car had already sped away.
He stood at the entrance, lost.
He had lost her again. Five years ago, and now once more.
Meanwhile, at a crucial moment in the Fu Group’s board meeting, the CEO was missing. Assistant Liu could only juggle phone calls to Fu Zhichen and greet the executives.
Fu Zhichen stood for a long time, watching the direction Pei Susu had left before finally coming to his senses and answering Liu’s call.
“Mr. Fu, where have you gone, my dear CEO? The executives’ questions are drowning me.”
“I’ll be back in ten minutes. The meeting goes on.”
He drove back to the Fu Group, disheartened.
On the upper floor, Liang Wenru watched the entire confrontation unfold from the corridor outside the emergency room. A surge of agitation rose within him, and his hand around her waist tightened unconsciously.
Pei Susu dared to flirt openly with a wild man in the hospital. The nurse said the child was three months along; three months ago, they had not yet divorced. No wonder Pei Susu wouldn’t let him touch her—she was carrying another man’s bastard!
“Wenru, you’re hurting me.” Chu Qingzhu felt his grip intensify, as if he might twist her waist apart.
The business partners noticed the commotion and looked over.
Liang Wenru quickly released her. “Sorry.”
Chu Qingzhu realized his repeated odd behavior was connected to Pei Susu’s appearance, and a hint of murderous intent flickered in her eyes. She softened her voice, acting coy.
“Wenru, you can’t forget Pei Susu, can you? Maybe I shouldn’t have returned.”
“No, no, Qingzhu, it’s just that Pei Susu is pregnant with someone else’s bastard. Luckily, I divorced her.”
Liang Wenru’s gaze flickered as he distractedly tried to comfort her, unable to untangle whether what stirred within him was jealousy or the resentment from being outmaneuvered by Pei Susu in court.
Just now, he had a sudden urge to rush downstairs and kill the man talking to Pei Susu—fortunately, thoughts of business held him back.
Deep Blue Garden.
Pei Susu sat cross-legged on the tatami by the floor-to-ceiling window.

She was doubtful about the Fu Group’s invitation and hadn’t agreed immediately. She thought it wiser to look for an upstream enterprise in the city that might suit her current situation better.
Lu Qianqian’s husband was handling the transfer of their assets and wouldn’t rejoin her for three days, so she stayed at Pei Susu’s home, freeloading meals and company.
“Susu, didn’t you resign? Why are you still fiddling with your laptop? Come play games with me—I’ve lost all morning.”
Pei Susu helplessly got up and took the phone from the hands of her game-addicted pregnant friend. “During pregnancy, keep away from electronics.”
Lu Qianqian, bored, looked at her computer. “You’re sending out resumes.”
“That’s right—I can’t just stay at home doing nothing. I’ve applied to all the mid-sized companies with a good reputation in the city, and five have already replied.”
Pei Susu rolled up the sleeves of her white silk shirt, tied on an apron, and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll make some soup. Turn off the stove in an hour and a half; you can eat then. I have interviews at five companies today, so I might be home late.”
Meanwhile, Liang Wenru’s friend also received Pei Susu’s resume. He admired her abilities but feared offending someone, so he sought Liang Wenru’s opinion.
“Wenru, Pei Susu applied to some reputable companies in the industry. Should I let her come for an interview?”
Liang Wenru, recalling how Pei Susu rushed to the hospital to flaunt her affection with her boy toy right after their divorce, was instantly filled with malice. “Do not hire Pei Susu. Whoever hires her is taking on the Liang family and Xingye.”
He coldly instructed his secretary, “Inform all other companies of what I’ve said. I want to see who dares to make Pei Susu their general manager.”
Pei Susu, I want you to find nowhere to stand in the business world, so you’ll come crawling back to beg me to let you return to Xingye!
The secretary, not daring to provoke his anger, hurried off to email the companies.
His friend, though embarrassed and regretful, informed HR to cancel Pei Susu’s interview. However, the HR manager protested, “But, Director Fang, I’ve already agreed with Pei Susu on the deputy general manager position. We’re supposed to meet to discuss salary and benefits; she’s waiting in the interview room—I’m just at the door, about to go in.”
“Liang family and Xingye are targeting her. I don’t care how you do it, but Pei Susu cannot work here. I can’t withstand Liang’s wrath.”
HR, feeling guilty, glanced twice at the elegant, poised woman waiting in the interview room, gritted her teeth, and agreed. “Understood. I’ll find an excuse to tell her the interview didn’t go through.”
When Pei Susu saw the HR manager enter, she nodded politely.
The HR manager, stiff-faced and awkward, said, “Miss Pei, after discussion, we believe you have a blemish from your time at Xingye, so we cannot hire you.”