“How is it?”
Old Qi finished examining Cheng Zhili and took his pulse before answering, “Nothing serious, just a bit anemic. He should eat more iron-rich foods. However, your wife is a bit weak, so she should exercise moderately. Otherwise, she might experience various discomforts later in the pregnancy.”
“Will it affect the baby?” Wenxiu asked worriedly.
“Not for now. Just have some chicken soup to nourish the body,” Old Qi replied.
Wenxiu breathed a sigh of relief and immediately turned to Aunt Chen, “Aunt Chen, quickly make some chicken soup!” Then she asked, “Old Qi, could you prescribe some tonics for Zhili?”
“That’s not necessary.” Old Qi couldn’t help but smile at her excessive worry. After thinking for a moment, he added, “Dietary supplements are better than medicine. I have some medicinal recipes here. Eating them two or three times a week can also help replenish energy and strengthen the body.”
Wenxiu was overjoyed, “That’s wonderful! Thank you, Old Qi!”
Old Qi said, “No need to thank me,” while writing down the recipes and handing them to Wenxiu.
Then, he took his leave.
After he left, Cheng Zhili said, “Mom, I’m a bit tired. I’ll go back to my room to sleep.”
“Alright, Laiying, aren’t you going to help Zhili to his room?” Wenxiu immediately urged Fu Laiying.
Fu Laiying walked over to Cheng Zhili with a cold expression and said, “Let’s go.”
Cheng Zhili looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled, “No need, I can walk myself.” With that, he got up and went into the bedroom.
Fu Laiying’s expression turned even colder.
What was going on?
He was willing to accompany Cheng Zhili to his room, shouldn’t Cheng Zhili be overjoyed?
Fu Laiying felt a bit annoyed.
“Never mind, I actually have something to ask you.” Fu was trying to smooth things over. Seeing Cheng Zhili enter the bedroom, he asked Fu Laiying, “Where’s Su Meng? Has he found out anything?”
Fu Laiying’s eyes flickered, and he said expressionlessly, “It’s the Cheng Family and the Zheng Family.”
“I knew it!” Wenxiu sneered, “Zhili only has a grudge against them. The position of our Fu family’s daughter-in-law is really coveted. Look at what they’ve done for it! It’s outrageous!”
“What exactly happened?” Fu was much calmer.
Fu Laiying explained, “The group that kidnapped Cheng Zhili are thugs raised by the Zheng Family, responsible for dealing with holdouts during demolitions. According to their confession, it was Zheng Xue’s brother, Zheng Feng, who sent them after Cheng Zhili.”
Fu nodded, “Luckily, Zhili was quick-witted and secretly turned on his phone to call for your help. This time, it’s fortunate you arrived in time, otherwise…” Otherwise, not only would the child in Cheng Zhili’s belly be in danger, but our Fu family’s reputation would also be ruined!
“The Zheng Family and the Cheng Family are really outrageous! Do they think that by tarnishing Cheng Zhili, our Fu family will marry Cheng Zhixia?! I’ve always said there was something wrong with the Cheng Family, but Laiying, you insisted on marrying Cheng Zhixia. Look at all the trouble it’s caused now!” Wenxiu was so angry she wanted to scold Fu Laiying.
Fu Laiying bowed his head deeply, “Mom, I was wrong.”
“I don’t care, our family must show our stance and let the Cheng Family know the consequences of offending us! Laiying, you better not hesitate over Cheng Zhixia anymore!” Wenxiu said coldly.
“I won’t.” Fu Laiying took a deep breath, “I’ll inform our allied families to jointly suppress the Cheng Family and the Zheng Family!”
“And call Cheng Zhixia to make him give up! Even if we don’t want Cheng Zhili, we’ll never want him!” Fu said coldly.
“Yes.” Fu Laiying had no objections. He took out his phone without hesitation, found Cheng Zhili’s number in his contacts, and dialed.
The phone rang only once before it was immediately answered.
“Laiying?!” Cheng Zhixia’s voice was filled with surprise.
At the Cheng Family.
Hearing Cheng Zhixia’s surprised call, Zhao Chao, who was peeling an apple for him, froze. At the same time, Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue, who had been waiting for news from Zheng Feng, were so surprised they nearly jumped up. They instinctively leaned closer to Cheng Zhixia, signaling him to make sure to win over Fu Laiying.
It seemed Fu Laiying still couldn’t forget their Zhixia and wanted to keep in touch?
Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue exchanged glances, both seeing a hint of joy in each other’s eyes.
Cheng Zhixia was also very happy.
Heavens knew how long it had been since Fu Laiying last called him!
But now it seemed Fu Laiying still liked him?
Thinking this, Cheng Zhixia tried to sound as endearing as possible, “Laiying, I miss you so much…”
“Cheng Zhixia, stop your pretense.” Fu Laiying interrupted him.
Cheng Zhixia was suddenly taken aback, “What?”
“I know what your Cheng Family has done. I’m calling to inform you to prepare for our Fu family’s retaliation! And from now on, don’t ever appear in front of me again!”
Cheng Zhixia’s pupils shrank, “Wait—”
“Beep—”
The call was disconnected.
Cheng Zhixia clutched his chest, struggling to breathe.
“Zhixia…” Zhao Chao hurried over, gently patting his back while taking out a pill for him to swallow.
“Did Fu Laiying just say he’s going to retaliate against our family? He knows everything? He’s going to retaliate against us for Cheng Zhili? Why?!” Cheng Wenbin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“No way, my brother did it very discreetly. How could the Fu family possibly know?” Zheng Xue shook her head repeatedly, clearly unwilling to believe it.
“He called us, didn’t he? Could it be fake? If those people were caught by the police…” Cheng Wenbin said, suddenly turning to glare at Zheng Xue, slapping her hard—
“Ah!” Zheng Xue fell onto the sofa, her cheek turning a frightening shade of red.
Cheng Wenbin, still not satisfied, said angrily, “You wretch! It was your stupid idea! Now look what happened! We’re really going to be blacklisted! What do you say to that?!”
Zheng Xue clutched her cheek, crying in grievance, “I-I didn’t expect the Fu family to stand up for Cheng Zhili… Besides, you agreed to it back then too!”
Cheng Wenbin glared at her with a dark expression, “Are you blaming me now?”
“I’m not…” Zheng Xue lowered her head in grievance.
Cheng Wenbin stomped his foot, “No! We can’t let the Fu family take action! We must find a way to fix this!”
“How can we fix it? If the Fu family speaks, who wouldn’t give them face?” Zheng Xue was also panicking.
Cheng Wenbin gritted his teeth, “We’ll have to pin all the blame on your Zheng Family, clear our relationship, and say it was your brother who couldn’t stand Cheng Zhili and acted on his own!”
“No way!” Zheng Xue’s eyes turned red with anger, “What do you mean, Cheng Wenbin?! You want to make our Zheng Family the scapegoat and save yourself? If it weren’t for my parents accepting you as my husband, would you have your current achievements? You’d probably still be toiling in the countryside!”
“Shut up!” Cheng Wenbin glared at her fiercely.
He hated it when people brought up his past and mocked him as a social climber!
“Anyway, don’t think about burning bridges! You have to protect the Cheng Family and the Zheng Family!” Zheng Xue, no longer showing her previous weakness, stood with her hands on her hips, threatening fiercely.
Cheng Wenbin felt both a headache and frustration, “The problem now is whether I can protect them! That’s the Fu family! If we don’t want to be completely ruined, we have to sacrifice one!”
“Then why not sacrifice the Cheng Family?”
“The Cheng Family is my life’s work!”
“Ha, isn’t the Zheng Family my parents’ life’s work too?”
The two argued back and forth, completely ignoring Cheng Zhixia, who was still struggling to breathe.
After taking the medicine, Cheng Zhixia finally calmed down after a while.
He watched his parents argue over their interests, as if they had forgotten they had a son, and even his earlier attack couldn’t draw their attention. He felt utterly disheartened.
“Alright, stop arguing!” Cheng Zhixia spoke up.
Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue didn’t hear him at all, continuing their argument.
Cheng Zhixia felt utterly disappointed.
At this moment, Zhao Chao suddenly shouted, “Zhixia told you to stop arguing!”
“Whoosh!”
The living room fell silent.
Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue both looked over, frowning and glaring at Zhao Chao in dissatisfaction.
A bodyguard dared to speak to them like this, who gave him the nerve to be so presumptuous?
Just then, Cheng Zhixia said, “Dad, Mom, stop arguing. Arguing won’t change anything. Even if you want to sacrifice one to save the other, do you really think the Fu family will only target one and spare the other?”
Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue fell silent.
The logic was simple, but they just didn’t want to face it.
Cheng Zhixia sighed, “There are only two options now. One is to move out of D City and develop elsewhere.”
“How is that possible?” Zheng Xue immediately objected, “Our Zheng Family has been in D City for so many years. Competing with local businesses elsewhere is impossible.” The Zheng Family’s real estate business was small and heavily reliant on local support.
Cheng Wenbin nodded in agreement.
His jewelry company employed mostly local people. If they suddenly moved, would those employees be willing to follow him? Moreover, his jewelry was well-known locally, but who would recognize it outside?
Ultimately, the company’s small scale meant any disruption would be devastating.
Cheng Zhixia knew they wouldn’t agree, so he said, “The other option is to find a backer. Someone who can stand on equal footing with the Fu family.”
Cheng Wenbin and Zheng Xue’s eyes lit up.
But Cheng Zhixia poured cold water on their excitement, “But that’s a last resort. If the Fu family targets us, the influential families in D City will surely give them face. They have no reason to offend the Fu family for us.”
“Then what do we do?” Cheng Wenbin was at a loss.
Cheng Zhixia, with a serious expression, said, “So, the best option is to find a family wanting to enter D City’s market, with a background as strong as the Fu family’s. Dad, you have a wide network, maybe you know someone?”
Cheng Wenbin, hearing this, searched his mind for connections. He gritted his teeth and said, “Alright! I’ll think about it!”
*
At the Fu family.
In the bedroom, Cheng Zhili had two water mirrors in front of him, reflecting the faces of the Fu family in the living room and the Cheng family.
Reinhardt chuckled, “Your move is really ruthless! But it seems the Cheng Family doesn’t plan to sit idly by. Do you think they can find a backer?”
Cheng Zhili, with his legs crossed, leisurely said, “That depends on how strong Cheng Zhixia’s charm is.”
Reinhardt said, “Attracting someone as determined as Fu Laiying is impossible, but attracting those scoundrels is a different story.”
“That makes it interesting!” Cheng Zhili laughed wickedly.