Chapter 42: “Sorry, Slipped My Hand”

Assistant Gao, whose capabilities could qualify him to lead an intelligence agency, diligently collected a wealth of information from various sources in a short time and presented a detailed investigation report to President Fu.

From Assistant Gao’s perspective, when a leader assigns a task, he must gather all relevant information.

In the investigation report, he not only included the schools that Mu Ruo and Lu Beichen attended, the testimonies from classmates suggesting Lu Beichen had a crush on Mu Ruo, and those indicating Mu Ruo had a crush on Lu Beichen, but he also investigated the names, ages, phone numbers, and addresses of Mu Ruo’s close friends. He even listed Lu Beichen’s past relationships and longer-term casual partners.

Additionally, Assistant Gao collected information about Mu Ruo’s period studying abroad, detailing her field of study, teachers, classmates, and friends.

It’s fair to say that Assistant Gao always earned his generous salary by exceeding expectations; if the leader asked for 100%, he delivered 300%.

After reading the report, Fu Jianzhi found it somewhat absurd.

It was understandable that Mu Ruo used to like Lu Beichen; after all, Lu Beichen had some qualities when he was young.

But now, Fu Jianzhi doubted Mu Ruo’s judgment if she still liked Lu Beichen.

This man only used money to toy with girls from lower social classes, afraid of responsibility, unwilling to provide emotional value, only wanting others to flatter him.

At the same time, he obeyed his family’s arrangements to date girls from similar backgrounds, behaving normally in front of them by suppressing his arrogance and chauvinism.

And every time a date went poorly, he would turn to Xia Wanwan, explaining that his family forced him into it and it wasn’t his intention.

Besides his looks, Fu Jianzhi couldn’t see what else about Lu Beichen could attract Mu Ruo.

If she wanted to like a man,

Why not like him instead?

Fu Jianzhi thought he was more perfect than Lu Beichen.

He shared his thoughts with Butler Li after reviewing the report.

Butler Li was silent for a moment: “If Madam truly likes you, it would violate the prenup, and she wouldn’t get a penny from now on.”

An employee understands an employee’s mindset best.

If it were Butler Li, he would also prefer Lu Beichen.

Fu Jianzhi, expressionless: “Oh?”

Butler Li: “Sir, if you miss being liked, why not return to your hometown? Miss Zhou is waiting for you there. Or attend a few banquets; there’s always someone confessing to you at every event.”

A moment of disgust surged in his heart.

Fu Jianzhi smiled faintly: “When did I ever say I wanted Mu Ruo to like me?”

Butler Li: “…Yes, sir.”

At that moment, Mu Ruo was stretching on a yoga mat.

In a few days, she would start training for a role, specifically practicing dance. With her dance background, it wasn’t difficult for her.

These past few days, she had been stretching her body and trying some dance moves whenever she had free time in the evenings.

Her body was soft and flexible, dressed in cotton shorts and a white tank top, with her dark hair tied into a bun on top of her head. While stretching, her legs appeared long and straight, as if drawn with a pen.

Her side profile was especially delicate and flawless, like lines in a Mu Xia painting.

At that moment, she smelled a faint scent of smoke and turned to look beside her.

Fu Jianzhi, dressed in a white shirt and black pants, held a cigarette between his slender fingers. The smoke swirling around him made his demeanor unusually gentle, yet somewhat indifferent and aloof.

Mu Ruo wrinkled her nose: “Ew, you smoke.”

Fu Jianzhi gave a half-smile: “Hmm?”

Mu Ruo had finished her rehab for the day and, with a thin layer of sweat on her body, wanted to go back to her room to take a shower.

As she passed by Fu Jianzhi, he raised his hand to grip her shoulder: “What’s wrong with smoking?”

Mu Ruo: “I hate men who smoke the most. The smell is awful.”

Maybe the cigarette Fu Jianzhi held was expensive, with a particularly unique fragrance. The tobacco scent was faint, carrying a hint of mild agarwood, unlike the pungent smoke Mu Ruo usually encountered in public places.

Mu Ruo thought that the description of the CEO’s pleasant tobacco scent in novels turned out to be true.

Fu Jianzhi smiled: “So obedient. You never secretly tried smoking when you were a student?”

Mu Ruo: “Uh.”

What kind of student secretly smokes?

She really hadn’t tried it.

Fu Jianzhi brought the half-smoked cigarette to her lips: “Try it?”

Mu Ruo’s lips were naturally pretty, a light pink color, soft-looking, and slightly innocent-sexy without lipstick.

With a hint of disbelief, she wondered if the taste was really as good as it seemed. She leaned in and took a small puff.

Then she swallowed the smoke, which made her cough violently.

Fu Jianzhi laughed while patting Mu Ruo’s shoulder.

Her thin shoulder strap was just a soft cotton string, and with their height difference, his large hand easily covered her entire shoulder.

Mu Ruo, face red from coughing: “I knew it, all you CEOs are black sesame dumplings, trying to harm me.”

Unable to stand the taste, she quickly went to her room to rinse her mouth.

Fu Jianzhi finished his cigarette, then stubbed it out in the ashtray nearby.

Mu Ruo dried her hair and applied some essential oil to it.

Not to mention, being the CEO’s wife was far better than being a third-rate actress. The hair oil she used was a custom-made edible-grade rose oil, known as liquid gold, costing over a hundred thousand for a small bottle.

She was already thinking about whether she could return to a simpler life if Fu Jianzhi divorced her and kicked her out.

In the original novel, due to some of the original Mu Ruo’s legal troubles, Fu Jianzhi, who had a sham marriage with her, grew disgusted and ended their marriage. But Mu Ruo wanted to keep the Fu family’s status, so she didn’t tell anyone about the divorce. Later, the clever Xia Wanwan discovered this and teamed up with Lu Beichen to defeat her.

She put down the hair dryer when her phone rang.

Mu Ruo went to get her phone, but Fu Jianzhi, sitting on her bed, grabbed it first: “What a coincidence, a call from Lu Beichen.”

Mu Ruo felt a headache coming on.

Why was this male lead so persistent?

Wouldn’t it be better for him to go and keep bothering Xia Wanwan?

In front of Fu Jianzhi, Mu Ruo didn’t dare voice her complaints: “Give me the phone, I’ll take the call.”

Fu Jianzhi’s fingers moved, hanging up on Lu Beichen: “Sorry, slipped my hand.”

Mu Ruo: “Uh.”

Fu Jianzhi checked the time: “It’s already nine o’clock. I need to go to sleep. Mrs. Fu, if you make a sound after I fall asleep, I’ll dock two months of your salary.”

Mu Ruo could only think about her forty million: “Didn’t you used to threaten to dock one month?”

Fu Jianzhi gave a cold smile: “I’m the one who pays the salary. I have the final say.”