The faint fragrance at the tip of his nose was especially pleasant, and it made Cao Cheng’s mind tremble for a moment. Taking advantage of Xu Qingrou’s attention still being on Chu Fan, he quietly withdrew his gaze and suppressed the subtle stirrings in his heart.
After Xu Qingrou finished speaking, her earlier passion gradually faded. Only then did she suddenly realize that her behavior had been somewhat inappropriate. A blush spread across her delicate face as she took the initiative to step back.
“That’s all? Anything else to add, Miss Xu?” Cao Cheng said calmly, his expression unchanged, even revealing a faint smile.
“Yes… that’s all,” Xu Qingrou replied, her voice slightly disordered. A trace of barely noticeable guilt flickered in her eyes.
Ever since her husband passed away more than ten years ago, she had never been in such close contact with any man, let alone someone as handsome as Cao Cheng.
Although she was already in her thirties, she had only been fifteen or sixteen when she married Chu Fan’s father, still naive and inexperienced. She had never experienced love at all, and when it came to managing her expressions and emotions, she had no control whatsoever. Just speaking at such a close distance made her blush deeply, even more shy than a young girl.
“Then let’s leave it at that for now. If there’s any news, I’ll contact you immediately,” Cao Cheng said, seeing through her embarrassment but choosing not to expose it. His expression remained as calm as ever.
“Then I’ll trouble you,” Xu Qingrou said, secretly letting out a sigh of relief.
Cao Cheng nodded, then turned and left.
[Ding! Xu Qingrou’s favorability toward the host +6, current total favorability: 39 (Friendly).]
Hearing the system prompt, the corners of Cao Cheng’s lips unconsciously curled upward.
Meanwhile, as she watched Cao Cheng’s departing figure disappear, Xu Qingrou finally relaxed completely. A trace of expectation appeared in her eyes, hoping that he would bring her good news.
…
As soon as Cao Cheng walked out of Xu Qingrou’s house, he received a message from Wang Hu, saying that he was already on the way to the pig farm.
After thinking for a moment, Cao Cheng sent back a message.
“Find out who’s behind him first, then let him improve the pigs’ meals.”
After deciding Sun Er’s fate, Cao Cheng began to think about where to temporarily settle Xu Qingrou.
An hour later, Sun Er, who no longer looked human and was filled with terror, was dragged by two bodyguards with obvious disgust and brought before Wang Hu.
His clothes were soaked with various fluids, and from the hem of his pants dripped a mixture of yellow and red liquid, giving off a nauseating smell.
Wang Hu instinctively covered his nose and took a step back. “Speak honestly. Who sent you to cause trouble?”
“I… I really don’t know… ah!” Before Sun Er could finish speaking, someone beside him, quick-witted, jabbed him with a stick.
“Still not telling the truth!”
“I really don’t know!”
“Beat him. Keep beating until he says who it is.” After saying this, Wang Hu turned and walked out of the room. Listening to the screams and pleas coming from inside, he calmly lit a cigarette.
Another hour passed.
“Young Master, he really doesn’t know who ordered him, but there’s a phone number in his phone.”
“Alright. Handle the rest yourself. Contact me after you find the person behind him.”
After hanging up, Cao Cheng’s driver walked up to him. “Young Master, the people installing the cameras have arrived.”
“You’ve already told them all the requirements, right?”
“Yes. They’re all miniature pinhole cameras, completely invisible to the naked eye.”
“Good. Tell them to move quickly.”
“Understood, Young Master.”
“Mm. I’ll wait downstairs. Make sure everything is cleaned up after installation. Don’t leave any traces.”
After saying that, Cao Cheng went downstairs and sat in the car.
[Ding! Host has successfully committed evil. By secretly ordering subordinates to eliminate a minor character in the plotline, you have gained 1 point of Villain Aura.]
Hearing the system prompt, Cao Cheng frowned slightly in confusion. ‘If it’s not a plot character, do I get Villain Aura points for killing a random passerby?’
[Ding! Easily censored…]
Cao Cheng curled his lips, then simply closed his eyes to rest.
Half an hour later, the car door was opened. “Young Master, it’s done. Please take a look.”
Cao Cheng opened his eyes and took the tablet handed to him by the driver. One by one, he reviewed the high-definition surveillance footage, which could even be zoomed in.
Satisfied, Cao Cheng sent a message to Wang Long.
[Ding! Host has successfully committed evil. By secretly installing cameras throughout the temporary residence arranged for Xu Qingrou, you have gained 50 Villain Points.]
Cao Cheng smiled inwardly.
That’s right. The house he arranged for Xu Qingrou was now filled with cameras. In a simple two-bedroom apartment, there were more than thirty cameras installed.
Not just in the bedrooms, even the bathroom had four.
Of course, it wasn’t for peeping…
The main purpose was to monitor Xu Qingrou’s movements in advance, to see where she planned to move next, and then secretly install cameras in her new house as well. He needed to prevent a situation where Chu Fan suddenly returned from overseas without his knowledge.
After confirming that there were no issues with the surveillance footage, Cao Cheng had the driver take him home.
He was preparing to deal with an internal problem.
And the most fatal one at that.
Because the Cao Family didn’t directly operate companies and mainly focused on investments, even though Chu Fan, as the protagonist, could easily kill Cao Cheng, it would be difficult for him to bring down the Cao Family.
However, things would be different if there was an insider.
She was also the second female lead in the original novel, Su Jinhe.
She had been adopted by the Cao Family since childhood and was assigned to take care of Cao Cheng’s daily life. She had always been someone who followed closely behind him at all times.
Of course, the Cao Family treated her very well, so according to the original novel, she did not betray the family in the early stages.
Moreover, based on the original novel’s description, she had even secretly admired Cao Cheng at the beginning…
But in Cao Cheng’s eyes, she was simply someone sent by his parents to monitor him, which made him somewhat dislike her.
However, since she was personally arranged by his parents and they had grown up together, Cao Cheng was not foolish. He understood the importance of things, so even though he disliked her, he never made things difficult for her.
She was also very beautiful, because Cao Cheng had seen her.
Even with two lifetimes of experience, among all the women he had encountered, there were very few who were more delicate and refined than her.
On top of that, in front of Cao Cheng, she always appeared cautious and timid, with a soft and fragile demeanor that easily stirred a protective instinct in others.
However, her body was slender and frail. Logically, she ate well every day, but where she should have curves, she had none, and where she should have charm, she lacked it as well.
Moreover, compared to Cao Cheng, who was nearly 1.9 meters tall, her height of 1.55 meters made her look like a small potato.
Aside from her petite stature, at the age of 25, her skin was exceptionally fair and tender.
These two factors combined made it so that as long as she didn’t speak, she could easily be mistaken for someone far younger.
However, her voice was soft and pleasant to the ear.
And it was precisely such a Su Jinhe who, due to a certain special circumstance, later developed an intimate relationship beyond ordinary friendship with Chu Fan.
From then on, she gradually shifted her focus to Chu Fan.
She began providing him with various investment information about the Cao Family according to his requests, which led to massive losses for the family. Eventually, they were no longer able to recover and were completely destroyed by Chu Fan.
So after Cao Cheng transmigrated and awakened, he had made arrangements regarding her at the very first moment.
However, at that time, Cao Cheng had not yet developed the resolve to act as a villain. Coupled with the pressure from his parents, he did not drive her away.
The main reason was that he was just a little reluctant to part with this soft, fragrant, and legally young-looking girl…
But he also did not dare to make a move on her. He planned to deal with her later, preferably after avoiding Chu Fan’s upcoming calamity.
So he simply made her stay obediently at home and did not allow her to follow him outside.
But now, Cao Cheng’s lips curled upward.
He let out a low, eerie chuckle…