Chapter 525: If No One Wants You, I’ll Marry You?26?

In the past, when they acted as a couple, when he saw her in his arms still asleep in the morning, it wasn’t that he didn’t feel happy or touched, but now, everything was different. He felt a strong wave of emotion hit him, and he was even a little moved.

Thirteen years, soon to be fourteen…. From the initial lack of capability to love her to the forbidden deep love to finally being able to tell her he loved her. He had to endure over five thousand nights… His net worth grew from below three digits to over ten digits… He could finally love her.

Lu Jinnian was never an emotional person, but at that moment, moisture started welling in his eyes.

Since he woke up, he had been staring at Qiao Anhao, as though he could never get enough of her. Last night, she had fallen asleep on his arm, and they remained in the same position through the night. Right now, his arms were numb, but he didn’t want to move an inch.

Only at 8 am did the alarm start to ring. Lu Jinnian carefully took Qiao Anhao’s head off his arm. Lowering his head, he placed a loving kiss on her forehead before leaving the bed.

After preparing for work, he went to get breakfast for her and placed it in a thermoflask. Only then did he finally head off to work, sending her a few texts on his way to remind her to eat and that the gym card, the lounge card, and a bank card were placed on the table. The gym and lounge cards could be used in the mall nearby so that she could have some entertainment.

–

Qiao Anhao slept all the way till 10 am, her body weak and in pain. She flipped to the side, hugging a blanket, and shut her eyes to continue resting. Five seconds later, she seemed to have realized that she wasn’t wearing anything.

After a momentary freeze, her eyes flew open and she inspected her body – it was covered in kiss marks. She turned and saw her nightgown peeping from under the bed, that was when she recalled the events from the night before.

Without being under any form of transaction, they had made love…

A day ago, Qiao Anhao could still believe that they were still friends, but after last night, they were no longer pure.

She hadn’t seduced him the previous night. Regardless of how one saw it, it was all Lu Jinnian. But he hadn’t explained anything… What did he mean?

One night stand? Friends with benefits? Girlfriend? But Lu Jinnian hadn’t even confessed or officially asked her out…

Qiao Anhao’s mind started to run. After a while, she still wasn’t able to figure out his intentions. Climbing off the bed, she went to wash up. When she returned for her phone, she saw Lu Jinnian’s text.

She came downstairs to the dinning table, taking in the cards that were on the table. Behind the bank card, there was a small note with the password, Qiao Anhao could tell that it was probably Lu Jinnian subsidiary card.

She stirred the porridge as she gazed at the cards, her mind in a mess.

As she ate in confusion, her phone suddenly rang. Glancing over, she saw that it was from Lu Jinnian.

Chapter 526: If No One Wants You, I’ll Marry You?27?

Qiao Anhao hesitated slightly before picking up the video call.

Lu Jinnian spoke without much emotion, but his voice wasn’t as cold as usual. “You’re awake?”

Qiao Anhao swallowed the porridge in her mouth. “Mmh, why?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to know if you’re awake.” Lu Jinnian paused before adding, “I’ll be going to the western suburbs later on to play gold with Mr. Zhang and Mr. Zhao.”

Was he reporting his schedule? Why was he telling her about it?

Qiao Anhao secretly complained in her heart. Lifting her head, she looked out the window at the bright sun. “The sun’s really strong today, won’t it be hot?”

“It’s a indoor golf course.”

“Oh,” she replied before taking a bite of bread. Just then, she heard knocks on the door coming from the phone. The next moment, Lu Jinnian responded, “Come in.” His face came back on the screen once again. “I’ll get busy now.”

“Mmh, bye.”

When Qiao Anhao hung up, she pinched the bread as her mind wandered off.

After friends have sex, there are usually three scenarios—they pretend nothing happened and continue being friends, they become a couple, or lastly, they never meet again.

Qiao Anhao was quite sure that Lu Jinnian wouldn’t choose the last option so it was either the first or the second one…

But was it the friend or girlfriend one? Even though the two choices were only a word apart, the status was worlds apart!

Qiao Anhao bit hard into the bread, remembering that Lu Jinnian had sought her permission the night before. “Qiao Qiao, can I continue?”

He was seeking her permission… So why did he leave her a bank card and why did he call to report his whereabouts…

Was he trying to test out being a couple?

Joy started to seep through her heart before it suddenly turned to worry… But he had a girl he had been loving for thirteen years… Now that he was interested in her, what if one day they grew apart?

While Qiao Anhao was fretting over her emotions, she finished her breakfast. Just then, she seemed to have figured her status: semi-girlfriend, a little closer than a friend but a little less than a real girlfriend.

Even though she always wanted to be with him, she had never dared to think of hat actually happening, so now that he was her semi-boyfriend, she was content… Maybe, if everything worked out, they would really get together…

The positiveness lifted Qiao Anhao’s spirits instantly, and heading upstairs, she changed into a pretty set of clothes. Grabbing the bank card from her semi-boyfriend, she left for the mall nearby.

On her way, she received three calls from Lu Jinnian: one to tell her that he had finished playing golf, another to inform her of his meeting at 3 pm, and the last one to tell her not to wait for him as he would come back a little late tonight.

It was four in the afternoon. Qiao Anhao was tired from all the walking, so she found a cafe to take a rest. That was when she received her fourth call.

Chapter 527: If No One Wants You, I’ll Marry You (28)

It was four in the afternoon. Qiao Anhao was tired from all the walking, so she found a cafe to take a rest. That was when she received her fourth call.

At the time, Qiao Anhao had a straw in her mouth and had finished half of her bubble milk tea that she bought from her semi-boyfriend’s, Lu Jinnian’s card. In reality, the bubble milk tea tasted average, but because it was bought with Lu Jinnian’s money, Qiao Anhao felt like it tasted better than any she had drank before.

By chance, there were two very fashionable young women sitting next to Qiao Anhao. One of them raised her wrist and said to the other, “This is something my boyfriend bought for me. He spent…” She made a hand gesture of the number eight.

The other woman looked envious when she asked, “Eight million?”

“Eighty million!” The other woman showed off, revealing the price, causing a glow of admiration to practically fall from the other woman’s eyes.

At that sight, Qiao Anhao silently lowered her head and glanced at the eighteen yuan bubble milk tea. She couldn’t help but let out a long, sweet sigh. As a semi-girlfriend, she sure was “cheap”…

Right after, her phone rang. Qiao Anhao thought it was Lu Jinnian at first, so she pulled out her phone and picked up the call. When she was going to say Lu Jinnian’s name, she actually saw Qiao Anxia’s name flash on the screen, and awkwardly changed “Lu” for “Sis”.

Qiao Anxia had no intention of talking nonsense. As soon as she opened her mouth to speak, she was swift and decisive. “Qiao Qiao, did you see the news just now?”

Qiao Anhao bit her straw, making noises as she sucked her milk tea. With a blank expression on her face, she asked, “What news?”

“About Xu Enterprises,” said Qiao Anxia, straight to the point. She took the opportunity to lecture Qiao Anhao. “Qiao Qiao… In any case, you’re a part of the Qiao family. Could you please spend some time in your day to focus on business news? Do you know what’s happening with our Qiao Enterprise stocks? Are you really planning to rely on the entertainment industry for the rest of your life? Have you never thought about working at Qiao Enterprises…”

Qiao Anhao knew that there was no end to Qiao Anxia’s topic, so she quickly swallowed the tapioca in her mouth, and sweetly said, “Sis, Sis, I know. I’ll put things right, but first, get to the point. What happened with the Xu family?”

“The Xu family…” Qiao Anxia’s tone instantly became serious. “The project Aunt Xu recently spent several billions on fell through. They don’t want to cooperate with her anymore, and so that large sum of money was squandered just like that.

“Then, there were problems with the food at the Xu Enterprises which led to a dramatic fall in stock prices… In such a short afternoon, thirty percent of the Xu Enterprise assets just dissipated in a puff of smoke… Not only that, but now, someone bought a large amount of shares from the Xu Enterprise…”

“How could this happen?” A hint of anxiousness covered what was left of the sweet expression on Qiao Anhao’s face at the thought of being semi-boyfriend/girlfriend with Lu Jinnian. “Hasn’t business recently been going just fine at Xu Enterprises?”

“Business was going great, but at the moment, someone must be trying to sabotage the Xu family behind the scenes. Most importantly, nobody knows who might be against them. All in all, things don’t look good for the Xu family right now.”

Chapter 528: If No One Wants You, I’ll Marry You (29)

“Sis… I scare easily, don’t frighten me. What do you mean by ‘things don’t look good’?”

“It means that Xu Enterprises might change its CEO.”

“Change CEO?” Qiao Anhao pursed her bottom lip. “You mean to say that there’s a possibility Xu Enterprises might belong to someone else?”

Though Qiao Anhao didn’t want it confirmed by Qiao Anxia, but most of the time, things don’t always turn out the way you want it.

Her sister stated, ” Yes, and Qiao Qiao, though you and Xu Jiamu got a divorce, our two families still have a good relationship. I just gave the Xu family a call. I’m calling you now to tell you to give them a call.”

Knowing that Xu Enterprises were in trouble, Qiao Anhao naturally would give Xu Jiamu a call.

It took a long while for him to answer the phone. It seemed like he was very busy. There were muted voices of people in a meeting, the sound of the door opening and shutting, and finally Xu Jiamu’s drained voice, “Qiao Qiao, what’s up?”

“Brother Jiamu, Anxia just called. She told me that somethings happened at Xu Enterprises. How are you right now?”

“I’m all right.” It seemed like Xu Jiamu had just lit up a cigarette, since Qiao Anhao could hear the sound of him blowing out air through the phone. As she was about to comfort him, a voice was came through. “Young Chief Xu, the stocks have dropped again…”

“Qiao Qiao, I have to cut this short. I’m a little busy with something right now. I’ll give you a call back later,” Xu Jiamu said incredibly fast and then immediately hung up.

After listening to the beeping sounds from the phone for a long time, Qiao Anhao pulled it from her ear and opened an internet browser. She entered Xu Enterprises into the search engine to find news of their troubles and their falling stock value. She also found a few articles by financial analysts critiquing the Xu Enterprise.

–

Lu Jinnian’s three o’clock meeting lasted until half four. His assistant later gave him an important documents to sign. As Lu Jinnian flipped through it, his assistant brewed him a cup of coffee.

When he came back with a cup, Lu Jinnian had just finished signing the documents.

The assistant put the coffee on the desk. Lu Jinnian picked it up, took a sip, but perhaps because it was too hot, he placed it back down on the desk. Then he slid the signed documents in front of the assistant.

The assistant didn’t grab for them. Instead, he pulled out his phone and put it in front of Lu Jinnian. “Mr. Lu, this is the news that just came out.” He paused, then added, “About Xu Enterprises.”

Lu Jinnian raised his hand and tapped the phone’s screen to brighten it up a little. He scanned through the contents of the news with no expression on his face, then let out a gentle “mm”. After a while, he asked, “How many of Xu Enterprise’s stocks have I bought?”

“Three percent short of fifty percent.”

Lu Jinnian picked up the coffee on the table and took a gulp. Then he nodded without a word and waved his hand to signal for the assistant to leave.

The assistant stood in front of the desk without moving.

Lu Jinnian pulled the coffee cup from his lips, lifted his eyes to glance at the assistant to find that he looked rather hesitant. Lu Jinnian furrowed his brows and asked, “Is there something else?”

“Mr. Lu, there’s something I’m not sure if I should remind you…”

Chapter 529: If No One Wants You, I’ll Marry You (30)

“Mr. Lu, there’s something I’m not sure if I should remind you…”

“Remind me what?” replied Lu Jinnian callously. He casually grabbed the notes he’d asked his assistant for that morning and flipped through them. They were from yesterday’s meeting about him going after a woman.

The assistant carefully said, “Mr. Lu, before I remind you, can I ask you a personal question?”

Lu Jinnian’s eyelids didn’t raise when he said, “You may.”

“Mr. Lu, in yesterday’s meeting, the woman you said you were going to chase, was it Miss Qiao?”

“Besides her, do you think I would have anyone else in mind?” Lu Jinnian finally raised his eyes up and glanced over at his assistant with eyes full of caution, as though to warn him not to test his limits.

The assistant was frightened by his look, and hurriedly shook his head. “No, no one else.”

The assistant was afraid Lu Jinnian would look deeper into it, and so hastily cut to the point. “Mr. Lu, don’t forget, when Miss Qiao’s child died in the womb, you kept that from her. She and the Xu family are very close. Xu Wanli and Han Ruchu watched her grow up. If she finds out that you defeated the Xu family… If she falls out with you, then what will happen?”

When Lu Jinnian heard about Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage, he thought back to the accident whilst filming “Heavenly Sword”. At the thought of Qiao Anhao already knowing that she had a miscarriage, his expression immediately fell.

The assistant was so scared, his legs shivered, as he thought it was because he had insinuated that Miss Qiao would fall out with him. Afraid that Lu Jinnian would get angry, and would get back at him, he hurriedly changed his words. “Mr. Lu, I believe Miss Qiao would believe you. She’d definitely believe you. She absolutely won’t fall out with you!”

Lu Jinnian seemed like he was long used to his assistant’s grovelling after sharing his honest words of advice, so he just continued with no regards, “She already knows about the child.”

“Eh? Ah? Miss Qiao knows?” The assistant’s eyes were practically going to fall out, as he looked at Lu Jinnian in disbelief. “How did Miss. Qiao find out?”

The assistant remembered that only he and the doctor knew about Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage and swiftly cleared himself. “Mr. Lu, I promise you, I didn’t tell Miss. Qiao!”

“It was Han Ruchu,” Lu Jinnian revealed, calm as ever.

The assistant secretly sighed in relief. Thankfully, Mr. Lu didn’t doubt his loyalty.

Lu Jinnian carried an auspicious air between his brows. “If Qiao Qiao hadn’t gotten into an accident during filming, I’d never have jumped down after her, and she might’ve misunderstood me forever!”

“Han Ruchu is truly despicable!” The assistant firstly expressed his anger, but then sill reiterated what he had just tried to remind him. “Mr. Lu, even if Miss Qiao had a miscarriage, we don’t have sufficient evidence to prove it. To solely rely on the sleeping pills in the swallow’s nest, it won’t be enough to convince her. If she doesn’t believe Han Ruchu could really do it, then we still…”

This time, the assistant learned well to leave some words be.

“I’ll handle this.” Indeed, Lu Jinnian had already though of a plan. When Qiao Anhao and he were in danger, the only reason why he didn’t tell her the whole truth was because Han Ruchu was her future mother-in-law and her fiance’s mother. He didn’t want to ruin the perfect imagine she had of her.

But now, things were different. Now, he had a chance to be with her.

Chapter 530: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (1)

Lu Jinnian had to think of a plan to prove to Qiao Anhao that, back then, it was Han Ruchu who had meddled with her pregnancy.

And he had already thought of one.

When the assistant heard Lu Jinnian’s words, he completely relaxed. As he hugged the documents, he compliantly said, “Mr. Lu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be on my way.”

Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word, and his expression reverted back to his usually cold look. He went over his meeting notes from yesterday about getting a girlfriend.

The assistant didn’t disturb Lu Jinnian and silently turned around to leave. Just as he opened the door, he was suddenly called to stop. “Wait.”

“Mr. Lu, what are your orders?”

Lu Jinnian threw a document on the desk and said, “Based on these photos, make the necessary preparations for me.”

The assistant walked over and picked up the document. It looked like a candlelit dinner with some kind of florescent lights. It was requested for the lights to form the words: “Qiao Qiao, can I go after you?”,”Qiao Qiao, I’ve loved you for thirteen years”,”Will you be my girlfriend, Qiao Qiao?”.

As the assistant sneaked a glance, he couldn’t help but compliment, “How romantic! Mr. Lu…”

Then, he incidentally read the words on Lu Jinnian’s mind, “I am only happy when I’m with you… Qiao Qiao, will you…”

When Lu Jinnian wrote those words, they really came from his heart. He didn’t feel a certain way about them, but at that moment, when the assistant read them out, he felt a little restless. It was the same feeling a young person would have when he got close to the girl he liked.

Lu Jinnian’s entire body felt agitated with embarrassment. His pale white face had a layer of light red. He cleared his throat in annoyance, and said in an extremely dark tone, “Get out!”

The assistant was so frightened, he swiftly stopped talking and didn’t dare take a deep breath. With the documents in his arms, he ran for the open door. However, once again, before he could even reach it, Lu Jinnian asked with a degree of uncertainty, “If I confess, what do you think the odds are that she’ll actually agree?”

With the documents in his arms, the assistant stopped walking, turned his head to sneak a quick glance at Lu Jinnian. When he confirmed that there wasn’t a hint of anger, he turned his head and said in a flattering way, “Mr. Lu, I think Miss Qiao will definitely agree!”

“Really?” asked Lu Jinnian in return. He then thought back to last night, when he asked her if he could continue. She didn’t reply, but when they had sex, she didn’t refuse either… so his chances of succeeding were quite high, right?

After reassuring himself, Lu Jinnian still didn’t feel confident, and so he said to his assistant, “What do you think of the confession plan?”

“Great! If I were a woman, I’d definitely be moved.” Though the assistant was flattering with his words, those were his true feelings. Mr. Lu had really put his heart and soul into this confession plan. He felt that Mr. Lu must’ve planned it for a really long time yesterday… What’s more, he even chose a day to confess – next Wednesday, on Chinese Valentine day… How romantic…

After being assured by his assistant, it was like Lu Jinnian had taken a chill pill. His expression instantly became cold. “You can go now.”

This time, the assistant didn’t turn around when Lu Jinnian asked with little confidence, “Are you sure my confession plan has no flaws? Take a good look, is there something else that needs to be added? What about a gift? Do you think it’s all right?”

There were five days until the confession, and Lu Jinnian realized that he was actually so nervous, he wasn’t in the right mind.

Chapter 531: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (2)

“Mr. Lu, there really isn’t a problem with it. It’s already perfect.” The assistant expressed his honest opinion to Lu Jinnian. Seeing as he was still a little anxious, he wanted to calm his nerves, so he looked all around him, and in the end, grabbed a pile of documents from the table. He walked up to Lu Jinnian, and said, “Mr. Lu, how about we play a game to see if the heavens will allow your confession to succeed or not succeed?”

Lu Jinnian slightly nodded, then stared with rapt attention at the assistant’s test.

The assistant grabbed the first document and said. “Confession succeeds…”

He grabbed the second document. “Confession doesn’t succeed…”

“Confession succeeds…”

“Confession doesn’t succeed…”

When the assistant saw the last document, his expression instantly stiffened. He didn’t dare sneak a glance at Lu Jinnian.

How could the last document coincidentally be ‘Confession doesn’t succeed’!

In that split second, Lu Jinnian’s expression froze over. With a light tone, he helped the assistant reveal the answer, “Confession doesn’t succeed?”

The assistant instantly felt a cold shiver crawl up his back. He quickly shook his head and said, “Mr. Lu, it was a simple mistake. Let’s go again now… again… This time, I’ll start with ‘Confession doesn’t succeed’, then it’ll end with ‘Confession succeeds’…”

“Leave!” Before the assistant could finish, Lu Jinnian casually grabbed the computer’s mouse, and chucked it at the assistant. This time, the assistant completely shut up, hugged the documents in his arm, and bolted out of the office.

Lu Jinnian sat back in his office chair in rage. He raised his hand and massaged his head. He stared at the documents his assistant counted just now, then dawdled for a while, recounting, “Confession doesn’t succeed… Confession succeeds… Confession doesn’t succeed… Confession succeeds…”

“…”

“Confession succeeds!” Lu Jinnian looked at the last document, and slowly said those two words. Then, he shut his eyes, and sat back into his chair. He secretly thought that he’ll definitely succeed. Definitely succeed!

–

Though Lu Jinnian called Qiao Anhao to say that he might be home late, and for her not to wait for him to have dinner, he still managed to get out of his dinner meeting and drive home early on his own.

On his way back, he gave Qiao Anhao a call, as he knew that she’d be eating at the lower floor of the mall. And so, he drove directly to the parking lot of the mall, and went to find her.

When Lu Jinnian arrived, Qiao Anhao had just finished eating. He casually paid the bill, and seeing as it was early, he suggested that they go watch a movie.

Qiao Anhao didn’t mind.

As Lu Jinnian hadn’t thought in advance what movie to watch, he chose the one that was about to play.

When they sat down in their seats, the movie had already started. Lu Jinnian froze as he realized that the female lead happened to be Lin Shiyi. He then realized that Huan Ying Entertainment had invested in this movie half a year ago, but it was only recently released in cinema.

He was so concerned with the time, that he completely didn’t pay attention to the cast. When this film was shot, Qiao Anhao hadn’t entered the entertainment industry yet, and Song Xiangsi was filming in Hollywood, so Lin Shiyi was considered for the role of the female lead.

Lu Jinnian knew that Qiao Anhao and Lin Shiyi had never gotten along, yet this was the movie he chose. He was a little afraid that she’d be unhappy, so he turned to glance over at her, and whispered in her ear, “Who in the world has such bad taste to cast such a crappy female lead?”

Chapter 532: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (3)

Lu Jinnian knew that Qiao Anhao and Lin Shiyi had never gotten along, yet this was the movie he chose. He was a little afraid that she’d be unhappy, so he turned to glance over at her, and whispered in her ear, “Who in the world has such bad taste to cast such a crappy female lead?”

Of course, Qiao Anhao knew that Lu Jinnian was putting down Lin Shiyi to make her happy.

Honestly speaking, Lin Shiyi was by far more strikingly beautiful on screen than off. Though she wasn’t exactly nicknamed the world’s unrivaled beauty, but her looks did stand out above the rest. All in all, she wasn’t completely terrible.

However, Qiao Anhao still disliked Lin Shiyi. She felt it especially after sitting down to watch a film where she starred as the female lead. There was a hint of discomfort in her heart at first, but after hearing Lu Jinnian’s words, her discomfort quickly turned to delight. She bit her straw and drank her hot orange juice. With her eyes glued to Lin Shiyi, who had very fine make up on, she said, “Is she that bad? I think she’s all right…”

With those words, Qiao Anhao suddenly remembered that Lin Shiyi was a signed actress under Huan Ying Entertainment. The only way she could have gotten the female lead’s role was through someone’s ninety percent stake in Huan Ying Entertainment. She then pulled out her phone and did a Baidu search for this movie, to find that it was, in actual fact, a production by Huan Ying Entertainment. The movie was targeted to celebrate Chinese Valentine’s day. What’s more, the first name among the investors was: Lu Jinnian!

So he actually scolded himself for having bad taste… A sweetness spread across Qiao Anhao’s face, and a bright and touching smile took over her face. She then tilted her head and forcibly asked, “So do you think I’m pretty?”

When Qiao Anhao left the house, she was afraid of being recognized, so she wore a pair of black sunglasses. In that moment, whilst they sat in the cinema, the screen was dark, and so she took the glasses off to watch the movie. Without having applied any make up onto her brows, she looked clean and energetic. The lights reflected off of the cinema screen and sent a sharp ray of light into her eyes. She saw that Lu Jinnian’s expression was blank when he nodded and said without hesitation, “Pretty.”

When Qiao Anhao heard his compliment, she handed her phone to him, and, with a pout, said, “But you just said you had no taste! So you’re saying I’m not pretty enough?”

Lu Jinnian didn’t think Qiao Anhao would actually use his own words against him. He opened his mouth, but in that instant, he couldn’t think of how to get out of it. In the end, he decided to tightly shut his mouth.

Upon seeing Lu Jinnian’s sunken expression, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but smile. She turned her head and continued to look towards the screen. Who knows if it was because of her good mood, but she no longer felt that Lin Shiyi was that annoying.

Lu Jinnian, who sat beside her, focused every second on Qiao Anhao. Even though he saw that she was really into the movie, he still felt like there was something wrong in his heart. After a short while, he couldn’t help but turn his head to ask, “Qiao Qiao, do you want to go out for a walk?”

Qiao Anhao shook her head, and ignored him. She stared at the screen without blinking, at the scene where the male and female leads were choosing wedding dresses.

Lu Jinnian stayed quiet for about three minutes. He then pointed at Lin Shiyi’s crying face on the big screen, and, turning his head towards Qiao Anhao, said, “Her acting skills are truly terrible. She’s not even in character when she cries!”

Qiao Anhao pretended she didn’t hear and reached out for the popcorn beside her. But, as she didn’t look, she grabbed the air.

Chapter 533: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (4)

Lu Jinnian hastily grabbed a single popcorn and put it in Qiao Anhao’s mouth.

Qiao Anhao glanced over at it and pulled her wandering hand back. She snatched the popcorn away with her mouth, and continued to watch the movie.

When Lu Jinnian noticed that Qiao Anhao had swallowed the popcorn in her mouth, he immediately grabbed another and put it to her lips. Coincidentally, that was when the screen showed a picture of Lin Shiyi in a wedding dress.

Then, with a helpless expression on his face, Lu Jinnian said, “They say, women are the most beautiful when they wear a wedding dress. Now, who’s slapping themselves in the face? Here’s an example of someone who’s ugly in a wedding dress.”

Since the very start of the movie till now, every so often, Lu Jinnian would nitpick something about Lin Shiyi. Finally, on her last nerves, Qiao Anhao couldn’t help but turn her head and look at him head on.

When Lu Jinnian met Qiao Anhao’s eyes, he was about to act serious and add, “Qiao Qiao, you’ll definitely be the world’s prettiest woman in a wedding dress.”

In the end, before he could speak, Qiao Anhao said in a slightly defeated tone of voice, “Lu Jinnian, do you know that talking in the cinema is very rude?”

Lu Jinnian was so stunned, the words he wanted to stay got stuck in his throat.

Qiao Anhao opened her mouth and munched the popcorn from his fingertips, then continued to say, “Also, why are you paying so much attention to Lin Shiyi? You’re not into her, are you?”

Lu Jinnian promptly shook his head, about to explain himself to her, but Qiao Anhao grabbed several kernels of popcorn and shoved them in his mouth. She then made a “shhh” expression with her hands.

Lu Jinnian moved his lips, then shut them again. After a while, he whispered, “Qiao Qiao, you know that’s not what I meant.”

Qiao Anhao didn’t bother with Lu Jinnian and stared at the big screen with her lips slanted. She opened her mouth, after having swallowed her popcorn, and Lu Jinnian immediately grabbed another one and attentively put it in her mouth. When he pulled his fingers away, he was intentionally or unintentionally bit by Qiao Anhao. Though it wasn’t strong, Lu Jinnian still felt the numbness from fingertips travel to his heart.

He quickly pulled his fingertips away, and used his other hand to rub where she’d just bit. He turned his head and looked at her, staring at the big screen with a calm expression, though a layer of redness had clearly crept up her ears. Lu Jinnian gulped, and completely calmed down.

–

It was ten in the evening when the movie ended. The supermarket on the lower floor wasn’t closed and Qiao Anhao wanted to eat watermelon, so the two of them pushed a trolley into the supermarket.

After they chose a watermelon, they passed the snacks section. Lu Jinnian casually grabbed a few bags of fruit puddings and nuts for Qiao Anhao to snack on when she watched TV at night.

As they lined up in the queue, Lu Jinnian saw multicolored boxes on the shelf by the counter, and thought back to last night. As there were no condoms in the house when they had sex, at the final moment, he had to pull out, so as he stood there in front of the shelf, he considered it for a moment. In the end, he put a few boxes of extra thin condoms into the trolley.

When Qiao Anhao saw what Lu Jinnian was doing, her face started to burn up. She turned her head to one side, pretending to have not seen what Lu Jinnian was doing and pushed the trolley forward. She looked straight ahead, not daring to look at what was in the trolley. Every now and then, her heart would randomly pick up speed, when she saw several of those small boxes in her peripheral vision.

Chapter 534: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?5?

The supermarket was about to close, so it was very crowded. Lu Jinnian was afraid that Qiao Anhao might get lost, so he held onto her throughout their entire grocery trip.

The supermarket was near where they stayed, so instead of getting his car, they decided to walk back.

The night breeze blew softly and the street lamps cast a warm glow. Lu Jinnian held the grocery bag in one hand and held Qiao Anhao’s hand in the other. The walk was short, the endless cars zooming by, continuously honking their horns. There were still people at the bus stop and there were others below the bridge singing…

Qiao Anhao could feel her palm start to sweat in Lu Jinnian’s hand, and she turned over to gaze at the man that was much taller than she was, his handsome looks shinning under the warm glow by the street lamp. She counted the street lamps as she walked, and she suddenly wondered what she was feeling now that they were a semi-couple… Was this semi-dating? It was sweet, it was warm and there was a hint of agitation… It was the feeling of bliss that she had never felt before.

–

Once they returned home, Qiao Anhao headed upstairs to take a shower. When she came back down, Lu Jinnian had already showered in the bathroom on the first floor. He wore a light colored lounge wear as he sat on the sofa having a video call. In front of him was half a watermelon and a spoon.

When Qiao Anhao walked over, Lu Jinnian lifted his head to glance at her. When he realized that she was wearing a sling nightgown, he closed the video and started to type instead.

Since he was busy working, Qiao Anhao didn’t disrupt him. She sat in the corner and switched on the television. Hugging the watermelon in front of her, she dug the spoon in to take a bite. Halfway through his work, Lu Jinnian turned to look at her curiously, he even reached out to wipe the watermelon juice off the corners of her lips.

Qiao Anhao decided to be nice, she reached out to place a piece of watermelon in his mouth. Lu Jinnian opened his mouth to accept the watermelon. Raising his hands, he caressed her head indulgently before continuing to work on his laptop.

After the first bite, she started to feed him more… Halfway through, she glanced at his laptop screen, the screen was packed with complicated statistics and information that she didn’t understand. Without asking him, she continued to feed him. In that moment, her spirits were high and she could see herself as the free loader that Lu Jinnian kept at home. He would be in charge of earning money to feed her while she was in charge of eating and drinking.

She had finished a third of the watermelon and was feeding the rest to Lu Jinnian.

He seemed to be engrossed in his work, but whenever her spoon approached, he would automatically open his mouth to accept the watermelon.

Just then, an advertisement started to play. Out of boredom, Qiao Anhao decided to tease him just like before with the prawns.. She placed watermelons seeds on the spoon and fed him as usual. Indeed, he swallowed the entire spoon without even looking, causing her to burst into laughter.

Only when Lu Jinnian heard her laughter did he realize that something was wrong… He bent his head to spit out the seeds before closing his laptop. Turning, he pounced on Qiao Anhao.

Chapter 535: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?6?

Lu Jinnian grabbed Qiao Anhao’s waist and started to tickle her. She tossed and turned until finally tears streamed out. When Lu Jinnian saw the tears, his expression turned serious instantly, as he gazed at her with bright eyes.

Qiao Anhao gradually stopped laughing. With her eyes wide, she collided with his gaze. She could see a thick layer of desire in his glazed eyes. Biting onto her lip, she lowered her lashes. Lu Jinnian lowered his head, covering her lips.

With one hand, he started to pull her nightgown away, and with the other, he dug through the grocery bag for the bag of condoms he’d bought earlier. Covering her mouth aggressively, he deepened the kiss until they were both fully naked. With both hands, he tore the box open, puling out a condom…

–

The night was deep, the room was silent, the light buzzing from the air-conditioner could be heard along with two people’s breathing… After an intense exercise, Qiao Anhao nestled in Lu Jinnian’s arm like a lazy cat.

Lu Jinnian slouched on the pillow, his breathing unstable as he caressed her hair softly.

The living room was filled with the scent of their love making, melting both their bodies and their hearts.

After lying for a long while, Qiao Anhao finally regained some strength, and turning, found a more comfortable position. In the past, she would pass out after such an intense workout, but today, she felt unusually awake. She listened to the powerful thump of Lu Jinnian’s heart, basking in the beautiful afterglow.

Lu Jinnian moved slightly and broke the silence. “What have you done today?”

Qiao Anhao thought for a while before giving him a detailed rundown of her day.

The details were boring and mundane: she shopped, ate, and bought some stuff, she even reported how much she had spent… But Lu Jinnian listened attentively. Qiao Anhao even reached over to her phone to show him the two bracelets she had bought, asking his opinions on them. Truthfully, Lu Jinnian felt that all pearl bracelets looked similar but he still reassured her that it looked pretty.

Qiao Anhao even told him how she used the card on a cup of milk tea. Just then, she remembered the call from Qiao Anxia. She lifted her head slightly. His jaw was directly above her head, and the tiny stubble tickled her. She raised her hand to caress it lightly before asking, “Lu Jinnian, do you know that the Xu family is in trouble?”

Lu Jinnian never expected her sudden question, so he hesitated before replying with a “Mmh”.

“Anxia said that someone was behind it. But the Xu family didn’t offend anyone, I wonder who it is…”

Qiao Anhao nagged a bit before seemingly thinking of something. She crawled out of his embrace to stare into his eyes. “Lu Jinnian, I called Brother Jiamu this afternoon, and he didn’t sound too good. You guys have always been close, you should call him to show some care.”

Chapter 536: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?7?

“Sure.”

Lu Jinnian raised his hand to caress Qiao Anhao’s back softly, sending a tremble down her spine. Before she could continue the conversation, he pressed her below him, sealing her lips.

The temperature in the room heated instantly, and Qiao Anhao’s mind started to wander. An uncontrollable, soft murmur escaped her lips…

After Lu Jinnian was finished with Qiao Anhao, she fell into a deep sleep.

He climbed out of bed, pulled out a piece of wet tissue to give her a quick clean, and returned to hug her to sleep.

–

The next morning was a weekend, and Lu Jinnian didn’t set an alarm as he didn’t need to work. Only when Qiao Anhao rouse did he finally open his tightly shut eyes. Groggy and in a daze, he bit on her ears, softly murmuring “Morning” before pressing her under him once again…

The next time they woke up, it was already noon. Lu Jinnian carried the exhausted Qiao Anhao into the bathroom for a shower. When he was done, he blow dried her hair before placing her back onto the bed. Quietly heading downstairs, he ordered takeout for when she woke up.

Soon after, the food arrived. Lu Jinnian arranged it on the table before heading upstairs to wake Qiao Anhao up.

After they had their meal, Lu Jinnian suggested going to the suburbs to enjoy the hot spring since the weather was good.

There was a famous temple situated on top a tiny hill near the hot spring. Since Qiao Anhao wanted to pray, Lu Jinnian willingly obliged, but after their intense lovemaking the previous night and the consecutive morning, Qiao Anhao was too weak for the climb. She started to pant before they had even passed the foot of the hill, and turning to Lu Jinnian, she started to complain.

Lu Jinnian’s hugged her waist, coaxingly suggesting to visit the next day, saying they could enjoy the hot spring instead. Bending down, he picked her up and carried her all the way back to the car, only then did her darkened face start to clear.

At night, Lu Jinnian kept to his words and didn’t touch her, silently hugging her till daybreak. And on the very next day, he really brought her up to the temple. But even after a good night’s rest, she was exhausted after ascending and descending the hill. Kneeling down on the ground, she wasn’t willing to take another step, and in the end, Lu Jinnian succumbed to his fate, carrying her back to the car.

Qiao Anhao slept the entire ride back. When they finally reached home, she quickly ate, showered, and climbed early into the bed.

While she slept, Lu Jinnian worked on his documents. When he finished, it was already 11 pm. He silently entered the bedroom, carefully climbing onto the bed. Pulling her into his embrace, he kissed her forehead lightly.

Just then, Qiao Anhao stirred. In a half-awake state, she rubbed her head against his shoulder, humming lightly “Mmh Mmh”. This night, yet again, Lu Jinnian wasn’t able to control his inner desires, pressing her under him for one round before releasing her back to her sleep.

–

Just like that, their beautiful weekend ended, bringing about a busy week.

The next day, the moment Lu Jinnian sat down at his desk, he saw a post, reminding him that Valentines day was on Wednesday.

There were only two days left…

His heart raced. He was anxious but at the same time excited for what was about to come.

–

On Monday afternoon, Qiao Anhao carried a big bag of grocery home. While she was preparing her meal, she received a text from Lu Jinnian. [Lets have dinner on Wednesday at 8 pm]

Chapter 537: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?8?

Today was Monday, so there were still two more days to Wednesday. Besides, why couldn’t he tell at home if it was just dinner? Why send it through a text? And why two days in advance…

Qiao Anhao replied with an [Oh.] as she continued to ponder.

Lu Jinnian exhaled, shutting his eyes as he repeated the confession that he had prepared earlier. One word at a time, he pictured himself saying it. When he was sure that everything was perfect, he straightened, continuing with his work.

But the moment he started to read the documents, his mind started to wander. In the end, he put away the documents and pressed onto a line on the telephone. “Prepare the car, I’m going to Li Jing Xuan.”

–

Due to Lu Jinnian’s unending requests, the preparation for the venue for his confession was already underway even though it was two days away.

Lu Jinnian’s venue was set in the only open-air private room on the top floor of Li Jing Xuan. The moment Qiao Anhao lifted her head, she would see a sky full of stars. When she turned to the side, she would be able to see the night view of the forbidden palace. The view was perfect from all angles, regardless of where she decided to look.

When Lu Jinnian reached the place, there were a few workers on the balcony hanging the colorful lights. Once one of the sides was fully decorated, the manager switched on the lights to test the effects. The colorful lights sparkled, but since it was still daytime, so it wasn’t especially beautiful.

The last lights that were turned on were the red at the back with the words: “With you this year, everything is good.” Lu Jinnian’s heart squeezed, he felt emotional when he saw the words light up.

On the side of the balcony, there was a wooden table with a large, European style vase nestled on top. The vase was empty, without any flowers, but there was white lace covering it.

As the manager explained the details, he pointed to the stone table at the side of the room. “Mr Lu, we would place a bunch of fresh Chinese Bellflowers over there, and there would be candles surrounding them. Just as you requested, we specifically invited a western chef from overseas to prepare your meal that day, the red wine you requested for has also been prepared…

“In order to heat up the atmosphere, we would also decorate the edge of the balcony with colorful flowers. When the night wind blows, their aroma would fill up the place…”

While the manager explained the preparations, Lu Jinnian checked every nook and cranny, ensuring that everything was perfect. Nodding, he instructed uneasily, “All the flowers must be the freshest and sent by air… The theme is pink and white, Qiao Qiao doesn’t like bright red flowers…

“For the lilies, choose the milky yellow colored ones, in the past, she had stared at those flowers in the magazine for a long while… There must be a lot of Chinese Bellflowers, it’s her favorite flower… Order every color… Oh, the steak has to be fully cooked, Qiao Qiao doesn’t like blood in her steak.. For fruits, she likes…”

Lu Jinnian had wanted to just inform the manager of her favorite things, but in the end, he repeated every single detail from his order.

On the way out of Li Jing Xuan, he saw a shop selling male clothes. Just then, he seemed to have thought of something new. Facing his assistant, who was driving, he said, “Oh, remember to choose a new set of clothes for me tomorrow, everything from inside to outside must be new. Everything.”

Chapter 538: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?9?

Only on Wednesday morning did Qiao Anhao realize it was Valentines day.

In the past, when Lu Jinnian woke up for work, he wouldn’t wake her. Today however, this Wednesday morning, before he got off the bed, he kissed her till she woke up and whispered into her ear, “Qiao Qiao, don’t forget, we have a date tonight.”

Sleep deprived, Qiao Anhao yawned. With half open eyes, she nodded. “I know”

“Remember, at 6.30 pm, I’ll get someone to drive you,” Lu Jinnian added, nagging and emphasizing the importance once more.

This time, Qiao Anhao didn’t make a sound. She nodded while turning on her other shoulder, trying to get back to sleep. Just then, he continued, “Qiao Qiao, I’m going to work now, don’t forget about dinner.”

After getting ‘tortured’ by Lu Jinnian for almost the entire night, Qiao Anhao was sleepy and exhausted, and now that he was nagging continuously, she started to feel her morning grogginess. Grabbing a pillow, she smashed Lu Jinnian’s body violently, shoving his nag back into his stomach.

After he had showered, dressed, and prepared for the day, he walked back to the room. Turning to look at the bed, he reminded Qiao Anhao once more, “Qiao Qiao, I’m going now. Remember…”

Another pillow came flying over, and Lu Jinnian raised his hands to catch it before tossing it onto the sofa at the side. Leaving the room, he carefully shut the door behind him.

Silence finally returned to the bedroom. Qiao Anhao laid on the bed but couldn’t fall asleep anymore. Flipping over, she sat up and reached for her phone out of habit, to look at the time. Just then, Lu Jinnian’s text came in. [Qiao Qiao, tonight, dinner.]

Qiao Anhao wanted to break down. She smashed her phone on the bed before covering her head with the blanket in frustration.

What day was it today? Why did he emphasize the dinner so much and so often?

She reached for her phone to look at the calender, but there wasn’t anything special. She then looked at the Chinese calender and instantly realized that it was the seventh of July! Chinese Valentines day!

Valentines day….

The words repeated in Qiao Anhao’s mind several times before she suddenly processed the meaning of the day.

Lu Jinnian had asked her out for dinner on Valentines day… Was he inviting her to celebrate Valentines day with him? But its a day for lovers… Did that mean that she was about to be promoted to his girlfriend?

Having lost all her sleepiness, she headed to the mall nearby to first get a facial done and then her hair set. After making sure that her hair was perfect, she got her makeup done professionally. Only then was she satisfied with how she looked.

When she came out of the beauty salon, she realized that the mall was filled with Valentines day advertisements.

Chapter 539: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?10?

When she came out of the beauty salon, Qiao Anhao realized that the mall was filled with Valentines day advertisements.

She glanced at the time, there were approximately six hours till their dinner date. Since she was bored, she decided to shop around the male section to find a Valentines day present for Lu Jinnian.

Regardless of how rich or poor someone was, the way they celebrated Valentines day was similar – have a meal, watch a movie, and exchange gifts. The only difference was that a richer person would spend much more.

The entire mall was flooded with females with the same mindset as Qiao Anhao; they all were looking for gifts for their loves ones. Even thought the mall was unusually crowded, all the customers seemed to be women.

Some came by themselves, just like Qiao Anhao, while others came in pairs. When she passed by a glass window, she heard two ladies discussing which outfit better suited one of theirs boyfriend. Qiao Anhao glanced over, seeing a bright smile and blissful expressions on their faces. At that moment, she started to wonder if she too had that look on her face.

After browsing through several stores, she settled on a tie.

The queue to the cashier was a little long, and, out of boredom, Qiao Anhao lifted her head to look at the television hung above the cashier. The news was currently airing, reporting random events. Just when it was about to be her turn, she heard a familiar name in the conversation behind her.

“Oh god, I never expected that in less than a month, Xu Enterprise will be about to change owners.”

“How is it?”

“Look at the news! Xu Enterprise recently held a board meeting, and someone had bought over 53% of their shares, becoming the largest shareholder in the company. The first thing he did was fire Xu Wanli and Han Ruchu…”

“Who is it?”

“It’s not stated…. Oh, its out… It’s Huan Ying Entertainment’s CEO Lu Jinnian…”

“Oh god, my male god bought Xu Enterprise!”

…

Lu Jinnian bought Xu Enterprise?

Qiao Anhao’s heart trembled. She instinctively turned over to look at two speakers who were holding onto their phones as they spoke. She fished out her own phone, and the moment she entered the news site, the newest headline was out: Xu Enterprise mystery buyer, the largest shareholder exposed!

Qiao Anhao stared at the headline, hesitating before clicking on it. Initially, she didn’t have the courage to look, but after taking a deep breath, she mustered enough to move her eyes to the text.

‘Xu Enterprise biggest shareholder is Lu Jinnian, who was awarded for six consecutive years as the Best Screen Actor and who is also the CEO of Huan Ying Entertainment. On the day of Xu Enterprise board meeting, using 53% shares, he became the person with the biggest say…’

Qiao Anhao stared at the screen for a long while, repeatedly going over the words “Lu Jinnian” before finally digesting the article.

Chapter 540: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?11?

Qiao Anhao stared at the screen for a long while, repeatedly going over the words “Lu Jinnian” before finally digesting the article.

Why would he buy Xu Enterprise?

When did he start to plot the takeover?

Why didn’t she realize anything in so long?

Qiao Anhao was in a mess. She stood motionless for a long while until the person behind kindly reminded her, “Excuse me, it’s you turn to pay.” Only then did she slowly get back to her senses, but even then, she couldn’t seem to react.

The cashier seemed irritated by Qiao Anhao. Impatiently, she knocked on the table. “Miss? Hurry up.”

She passed her item over, then suddenly realizing something. She reached for her phone and dialed a number, but it didn’t go through. Quickly, she dialed for Lu Jinnian’s assistant.

“Miss Qiao.”

When she heard the assistant’s polite voice, she shut her eyes to calm herself before asking, “Where’s Lu Jinnian?”

“Mr. Lu is in his office…” Before he could finish his sentence, Qiao Anhao hung up. Ignoring the cashier in front of her, she left, running towards the staircase.

Qiao Anhao ran all the way out of the mall. When she reached the road, she jumped into a cab that someone else had hailed for. Turning to face the person, she apologized multiple times before telling the driver the address, “Huan Ying Entertainment, thank you.”

Xu Jiamu was a good friend she had grown up with. If it wasn’t for him, she would have never been able to get together with Lu Jinnian. If it wasn’t for him, she would have never easily ended her marriage… Xu Jiamu was always a brotherly figure, protecting her selflessly, but Lu Jinnian was the man she was in love with for thirteen years.

The same blood flowed in their veins, and she wished that they would both be happy. She didn’t want anything to get between them, so she wanted to clarify Lu Jinnian’s motives.

–

After the news were exposed, Lu Jinnian’s phone never stopped ringing. Every time a call came in, he would briefly glance at the phone, never once accepting. His calm demeanor seemed to show his confidence as he waited for one specific call.

The call came in earlier than expected. When he saw the words “Han Ruchu” on the screen, his lips curled into a smirk. Staring without a blink at the screen, he slowly placed the document he was working on aside and accepted the call. Casually, he strolled to the window, not saying a word. His eyes seemed to turn to ice.

After a long moment of silence, Han Ruchu, who had always been strong in the face of a crisis, finally broke down. “Why did you do it? You…”

Chapter 541: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (12)

“Will you even be able to look at Jiamu, who once saved your life? In all these years, he has treated you so well, have you forgotten? Do you even have a heart!”

Lu Jinnian, who had remained rather quiet all this time, didn’t wait for Han Ruchu to finish what she had to say. He suddenly, asked her mockingly, “Mrs. Han, was this all you wanted to say?”

Before she could speak, someone else had said it all… In that moment, Han Ruchu kept her silence on the phone.

This time, Lu Jinnian, didn’t remain quiet like Han Ruchu. Instead, he continued to speak in a calm voice, but there was a pressing tone in his voice. “I can tell Xu Jiamu everything I did with a clear conscience! What about you? Mrs. Han, could you do the same? As a mother, could you honestly say that you’ve done things with a clear conscience?”

“What a joke! You stole what belongs to Jiamu. You’re here talking to me about having a clear conscience, but don’t you forget you’re an illegitimate child that should have never been born onto this earth! You mother was a shameful mistress. As Jiamu’s birth mother, how could I have a guilty conscience?”

Even if Lu Jinnian one day stole Xu Enterprise after she painstakingly built it up for almost thirty years, Han Ruchu would still talk with the same confidence in her tone. She continued to speak ill of Lu Jinnian and his mother. “Let me tell you, even if Xu Enterprise becomes yours, you still can’t change the fact that you’re an illegitimate child. Nor can you change the fact that your mother was a prostitute!”

Lu Jinnian’s brows flashed with a hint of malevolence. He tightened his grasp on his phone and said, “Yes. That’s right. My mother was a prostitute. My mother was a mistress who gave birth to me, but she received her just rewards. I’ve also received mine, but even if my mother was lackluster, in my eyes, as her son, she was still a good mother, a great mother. Better than a murderer like yourself!”

In that moment, Han Ruchu’s confidence was clearly shaken. “What do you mean by that?”

Lu Jinnian had no intention of letting Han Ruchu have a single word in, asking rhetorically, “I wonder, if Jiamu knew that his own mother’s hands were so stained with blood, they didn’t even show mercy to a two month old baby… Just with what kind of eyes do you think he would look at this kind of mother ?”

Han Ruchu was somewhat clever. With Lu Jinnian’s first sentence, she could already guess what he meant. Now, under Lu Jinnian’s questioning, she instantly understood. “So you knew.”

“Yes, of course I knew. Qiao Anhao’s miscarriage was all thanks to your sleeping pills in her swallow’s nest. Mrs. Han, you made such careful preparations, but what a shame, you slipped up and revealed a flaw in your plan.”

“When did you find out?” asked Han Ruchu.

Lu Jinnian didn’t say a word.

After a while, Han Ruchu looked as though she had realized something and said, “So, the only reason why my several dozen billion investment got scrapped was because you were scheming behind it all? Was it also you who added fuel to the fire when Xu enterprises stocks fell? Your purpose for all this was to devour the Xu enterprise and leave Wanli and me with nothing! Am I right?”

Chapter 542: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (13)

Lu Jinnian had no intention of hiding, so he admitted, “That’s right.”

“Just what will make you stop? I did this single-handedly. You can come at me…”

Having gotten the evidence he wanted, Lu Jinnian had no intention of rattling on with her nonsense… He didn’t wait for Han Ruchu to speak again, saying in an unsympathetic and arrogant voice, “Mrs. Han, if you called hoping that I’ll let you off, let me tell you this… don’t even think about it!”

When Lu Jinnian finished speaking, he hung up the call. With a dark expression on his face, he walked over to the office desk and pushed the intercom. His assistant was quick to knock on the door and come in.

Lu Jinnian directly gave him the phone and said, “Take out the voice recording and upload it onto a recording pen. I need it for tonight.”

–

The Xu family.

When Han Ruchu heard “doot doot doot” sounds from the disconnected call, she cried out a few times, before ruthlessly smashing the phone to the floor.

Because she was so angry and felt so done in, Han Ruchu’s face was particularly unwell looking, and her chest heaved non-stop.

“Madam, don’t be so angry…” cried the housekeeper, trying to calm her. Seeing as Han Ruchu had rushed over to the sofa and started to sway, the housekeeper hurriedly went over to support her to a seat. “Madam, are you all right?”

Han Ruchu tightly clenched her fists, fire burning deep in her eyes. The flames burned bright, until after a while, she muttered, “He knows what happened. He knows that I was the one who killed Qiao Qiao’s baby.”

A flash of panic crossed Han Ruchu’s eyes. “If Jiamu finds out, then he’ll definitely blame me…”

At this point, Han Ruchu suddenly paused, as though she had thought of something. She pointed at the home phone on the side and said, “Quickly, give Jiamu a call, say that I’m…”

Then, Han Ruchu whispered something in the housekeeper’s ear.

As the housekeeper listened, she replied in a quiet voice, “Yes, Madam.”

When Han Ruchu finished speaking, she immediately went over to the home phone and dialed Xu Jiamu’s number. She waited for the call to go through, then said with a panicked expression on her face, “Oh no, Young master! Just now, Madam fainted out of anger… Not because of Xu enterprises, but from your brother’s call. He said something about meddling behind Madam’s several billion investment and causing Xu Enterprise stocks to fall.

“It was all because of how Sir and Madam treated his mother all those years ago. So now he wants them to taste what it feels like. That’s the gist of what he said, but I’m not particularly clear on the details… Anyways, young master, come home first to see Madam…”

Once the housekeeper was off the phone, Han Ruchu asked, “How was it?”

“The young master sounds very angry. He said that he’s on his way home. Madam, shall I go call the family doctor over? First, get some rest upstairs, so that the young master doesn’t see through your plan.”

Han Ruchu gently nodded and stood up from the sofa. With the housekeeper alongside her, they walked up the stairs.

As they walked up the stairs, the housekeeper said, “Madam, to be able to come up with this, it’s all thanks to your quick reaction. Young master is your son, so your hearts are bound as mother and son. When he hears that the bastard made you faint out of anger, he certainly won’t bother with what the bastard has to say.”

Chapter 543: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (14)

Xu Jiamu’s car stopped at Huan Ying Entertainment’s entrance and he walked through the lobby. There was a new woman at the front desk whom he didn’t know. She politely stopped him and asked who he was looking for.

Xu Jiamu was about to give her Lu Jinnian’s name when the phone in his pocket rang. He made a hand gesture at the woman at the front desk to wait, then walked to one side to take the call.

From the housekeeper’s words, Xu Jiamu’s expression gradually grew enraged. In the end, he didn’t even think twice as he hung up the phone and completely ignored the questions from woman at the front desk. He walked over to the elevator with a livid look, pressed the button, and headed straight for the top floor.

When the elevator doors opened, Xu Jiamu walked straight to Lu Jinnian’s office. On his way, he passed Lu Jinnian’s elderly secretary whom he knew. She hurriedly got up and politely greeted him, “Mr. Xu, are you’re here to see Chief Lu?”

Xu Jiamu didn’t even bother with the secretary, pushing open the door of Lu Jinnian’s office and barging in.

Lu Jinnian was sitting at his desk, talking on the phone, when he heard the loud bang of the door. He lifted his head to find Xu Jiamu’s furious face. He said “Apologies” into the phone and put it down. He stood up, walked around his desk and over to the door, which Xu Jiamu had pushed open, and shut it.

“Lu Jinnian, why are you closing the door? Are you afraid that your staff outside will hear about all the nasty things you’ve done?” Xu Jiamu didn’t wait for Lu Jinnian to close the doors before erupting in a fit of rage, and choked Lu Jinnian’s collar.

Ferocity flashed across his eyes as he spoke with a vicious expression. “Lu Jinnian, you’ve done it! First, you lure my mother into a several dozen billion investment, then use it to run the Xu Enterprise stock value to the ground and buy a large amount for yourself! I really didn’t know that you had this trick up your sleeve. You really hid it well. After I treated you as a biological brother all these years, in the end, this is how you treat me, right? I’m fucking telling you, your mother was the lowly prostitute, not mine…”

Xu Jiamu’s final words instantly made Lu Jinnian’s expression run cold. His eyes were frozen with anger when he said in a low voice, “Done talking?”

As his words dropped, he raised his hand and yanked Xu Jiamu’s hands off of his collar. Then said in a heavy tone, “I don’t want to talk to you about personal matters during business hours… Even if we were to discuss it, I won’t discuss it with how irrational you are right now. So, if you’re done speaking, leave now. I’ll pretend as though I never heard what you just said!”

“Lu Jinnian, don’t try to act all high and mighty with me. What fucking right do you have to act all high and mighty in front of me…”

When Xu Jiamu finished speaking, Lu Jinnian suddenly pulled open the meeting room door and pointed outside. “I’m going to say this again. I do not handle private matters during business hours. I’m giving you two options, either you leave on your own, or I will call security to make you leave!”

With his final word, Lu Jinnian glanced towards the open door and then at Qiao Anhao’s pale face standing on the other side of the door. He twitched his lips but never pulled his eyes away from her.

“Lu Jinnian, you better pray that nothing happens to my mother. If anything does happen, then I’ll be sure to get you!”

Chapter 544: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (15)

With his final word, Lu Jinnian glanced towards the open door and then at Qiao Anhao’s pale face standing on the other side of the door. He twitched his lips but never pulled his eyes away from her.

“Lu Jinnian, you better pray that nothing happens to my mother. If anything does happen, then I’ll be sure to get you!” Xu Jiamu gritted his teeth when he finished speaking, turned, and walked, incredibly angry, out of the office.

When Xu Jiamu came in front of Qiao Anhao, her heart was a little panicked. Lu Jinnian was the one who clearly did this, but she felt like she was the one who particularly let Xu Jiamu down. She cried in a low voice, “Brother Jiamu.”

When Xu Jiamu heard Qiao Anhao’s voice, he slightly slowed down a little, but didn’t stop. He brushed her shoulders on his way out.

Qiao Anhao instinctively turned around, chased after Jiamu and grabbed his sleeve. “Brother Jiamu, don’t be so angry…”

Xu Jiamu’s footsteps were firm and his lips were tightly pursed, face still filled with rage. He wanted to say something to Qiao Anhao, but at that moment, he was simply not in the mood to talk. In the end, he gave a gentle nod, then forcibly pulled his sleeve from her grip. As he strode into the elevator, he never turned his head, and left.

Lu Jinnian looked at the scene unfolding in front of him. The sight of it was hard to watch, so he instinctively lowered his head. He straightened out his clothes that Xu Jiamu had creased up. He only lifted his head when he heard the sound of the elevator. Then he said to Qiao Anhao, who was not too far away, “Come in.”

Qiao Anhao stood at the spot for a long time before she turned around. Without making a sound, she walked into Lu Jinnian’s office.

Lu Jinnian shut the door and pointed at the sofa, offering her a seat. Then he asked, “Do you want something to drink?”

Qiao Anhao shook her head as she sat on the sofa.

Lu Jinnian walked to his desk and picked up the desk phone with one hand. In a low voice, he ordered, “A cup of coffee and another of milk tea.”

Lu Jinnian hung up the phone and glanced over at Qiao Anhao, who sat quietly on the sofa. He slowly walked over to her and sat down.

Qiao Anhao lifted her head, then looked into Lu Jinnian’s eyes, as she asked, “Aunt Xu’s several dozen billion investment project that got scrapped in the end… was that your doing?”

Lu Jinnian didn’t speak. The office seemed quite silent.

About three minutes had passed when a knocking was heard from the door. Lu Jinnian cleared his throat, then said, “Enter.”

The door opened and Lu Jinnian’s secretary entered, carrying a tray. She walked over to the sofa and placed the coffee and milk on the table. Then she left without a sound.

Lu Jinnian pushed the milk towards Qiao Anhao, then finally answered her question. “I did it.”

He answered with certainty, not a hint of hesitation. Qiao Anhao’s fingers shivered for a moment, as she stared at Lu Jinnian’s blinking eyes, and continued to ask, “The only reason why the Xu Enterprise’s stocks dropped so dramatically was because you did something behind the scenes?”

Lu Jinnian didn’t dispute it. This time, his answer was far swifter than before. “That’s right.”

“Then, when Xu Enterprise’s stocks plummeted, you bought a large amount of it just to take power from the Xu family?” Qiao Anhao asked her question particularly slowly. She practically shot it out word-by-word. So much so that when she finished asking, she felt her racing heart stop, as she started into his eyes with her full attention.

Chapter 545: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (16)

This time, Lu Jinnian only said a single word. He didn’t hold back or hesitate, and gave a simple, “Yes.”

Qiao Anhao really hoped that Lu Jinnian would reply negatively to her every question. As long as he denied it, she would have disregarded everything she had heard Xu Jiamu say at the door and believed him unconditionally. As long as he denied it, even if all the news outlets reported that he bough up the Xu Enterprise, she could still act ignorant. However, as things turned out, he admitted to all three of her accusations. He even looked calm, as though the things he’d done were right.

She knew that someone was working behind the scenes to sabotage the Xu Enterprise, but she had never imagined it would be Lu Jinnian.

She didn’t know a lot about him, only that he was an illegitimate son of the Xu family, but he had never lived with them. He grew up with his own mother, and Xu Wanli and Han Ruchu didn’t seem to like him at all.

Though he was a child of the Xu family, she didn’t know why he couldn’t take control of Xu Enterprise. He and Xu Jiamu were always close, and he managed his own company quite well, so how could he suddenly steal Xu Jiamu’s assets without warning…

She still clearly remembered the night she found out about Xu Enterprise being in trouble. She had even mentioned it to him. At the time, he was calm and composed, so much so that when she asked him to show Xu Jiamu he cared, and he didn’t hesitate to said “All right”.

At that instant, Qiao Anhao felt like she couldn’t read Lu Jinnian. She instinctively muttered her questions. “Why? Why did you do it?”

The office remained quiet for a long time. Lu Jinnian observed Qiao Anhao’s expression for a long time, and couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking. Right now, he didn’t have the evidence with him. He wasn’t absolutely sure that if he explained it now, she would trust him, but he still opened his mouth, “Qiao Qiao…”

When Lu Jinnian called Qiao Anhao’s name, he took of the tone of her last words, the way she was questioning him. He slightly lowered his eyelids to mask the sorrow in his heart. Even though he already knew that she’d have questions when she found out, but when the time came for her questions, it still hurt him.

Lu Jinnian gulped. He forced himself to stop caring so much and continued to speak in a deep voice. “I only did this because our…”

At the same time, Qiao Anhao had become agitated, and she said in a slightly trembling, somber voice, “Lu Jinnian, for you to do these kind of things… If it were brother Jiamu, he definitely wouldn’t have treated you…”

When someone faces a situation that’s difficult to accept or believe, it’s hard not to confuse themselves. In that moment, Qiao Anhao felt completely defeated by Lu Jinnian’s admittance. She had no idea that the words she unknowingly just said… how she heartlessly compared the two, was practically killing Lu Jinnian.

Lu Jinnian’s following words seemed to completely disappear from his mouth. His stare into Qiao Anhao’s eyes became more complicated.

For Xu Jiamu to experience this, get angry and not believe him, that he could understand.

For her to hear Xu Jiamu’s words and not believe him, he could tolerate.

All because he knew in his heart that he had to back down to be able to shatter the beautiful facade of Han Ruchu in their hearts.

But for her to compare him to Xu Jiamu and wholeheartedly believe that Xu Jiamu would never do such a thing, without even considering that that he might have had a good reason for everything he’d done…

So in her heart, all along, he was never as good as Xu Jiamu. After doing all of this, how could he take that? How could he take that!

Chapter 546: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (17)

“Right, you’re right…” Lu Jinnian suddenly curved his lips into a smile. He stared into Qiao Anhao’s eyes with a glimmer of self-mocking. “However, what a shame… In the end, I’m not Xu Jiamu.”

He thought back to that night when the Xu family was in trouble. He remembered how she laid in his arms and asked him to take care of Xu Jiamu.

He thought back to how she appeared at his office doors, and saw him and Xu Jiamu at the same time but called his name first…

Even if Xu Jiamu and her were divorced… Even if he himself treated her so well… In her heart, Xu Jiamu was still the most important!

“You must’ve always thought of how great it would be if I became Xu Jiamu, am I right?” Lu Jinnian could distinctly feel a fit of jealousy spreading through his body. He really wanted to control his temper, but his emotions were riled up with Qiao Anhao’s single comparison. Without waiting for her to react, his tone instantly became cold and stern. “But, Qiao Anhao. Let me tell you… I’ll never become Xu Jiamu!

“Since you care about Xu Jiamu so much, go and look for him!” As Lu Jinnian said this, he got up from the sofa, and dragged Qiao Anhao by the arm towards the door. He pulled it open and ruthlessly threw her out.

Qiao Anhao stumbled under Lu Jinnian’s sheer force. When she found her balance, the door behind her was already slammed shut. She stared at the tightly shut door, and realized what she’d just said to make Lu Jinnian this angry.

She didn’t really want to compare him to Xu Jiamu, but as she just suddenly found out Lu Jinnian acquiring Xu enterprises, she couldn’t accept that at all. He and Xu Jiamu were clearly biological brothers, and had always got a long so well, how could he make a move like that? How could he disregard all sentiment like that?

Qiao Anhao saw the wandering eyes of those in the administration department nearby. She slightly lowered her head, turned around, and walked over to the office. As she tried to push open the door, she realized that it was locked from the inside, so she knocked on the door.

Qiao Anhao waited for half a minute, but there was no response. She raised her arm again, ready to knock, when suddenly, Lu Jinnian pulled the door open.

“Lu Jinnian…” He bolted towards the elevator with big strides, brushing past her like she wasn’t even there.

Qiao Anhao tried her best to catch up. Subconsciously, she tried to explain to Lu Jinnian in a low voice, “It’s not what you think, I didn’t compare you with Brother Jiamu. I just…”

For tonight’s dinner date, she had deliberately worn ten centimeter heels, and so she simply couldn’t catch up to Lu Jinnian. Before she could finish what she had to say, he stepped into the elevator. When she finally reached the doors, they had already shut, and the elevator slowly descended.

Qiao Anhao frantically pressed the elevator button to chase him down.

She stepped out from the elevator on the lower floor and saw Lu Jinnian get into his car. She called his name and rushed towards him, but because she ran so hastily, she buckled under the her tall, thin heels. Using the car beside her to regain her balance, she heard the sound of Lu Jinnian’s car engine start up. Completely ignoring the pain in her ankles, she hobbled over as it sped off.

Qiao Anhao watched as Lu Jinnian’s car drove out of the parking lot for quite some time, then turned around to the elevator. Just as she was about to press the floor number for the elevator, the phone in her pocket started to ring…

Chapter 547: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?18?

When Lu Jinnian’s assistant came back with his phone and voice recorder, he realized that the office was empty, and there were two porcelain cups on the table. The milk tea and coffee had already gone cold, so he went to ask the secretary to find out what had happened. When he found out who had come over, realization started to dawn on him. He hurriedly returned to his own office to get Lu Jinnian’s clothes before leaving.

The assistant has been following Lu Jinnian for many years, he knew all about his habits that Qiao Anhao wasn’t aware of.

Whenever he was upset, he would run, so he drove straight to the gym that Lu Jinnian frequented.

The gym instructor recognized him when he saw him coming and immediately led him to the private room that Lu Jinnian was in.

The instructor might have been able to tell that Lu Jinnian was in a bad state, for he left after leading the assistant to the room.

He knocked on the door but there wasn’t a sound. When he entered, he saw Lu Jinnian running on a track with his headphones on.

The assistant didn’t disrupt him. He placed the things that he had brought along at the side before sitting down silently.

Lu Jinnian counted every step he took inwardly. When he reached ten thousand, he finally stopped.

His entire body was soaked with sweat. His assistant stood up instantly to pass him a bottle of water.

Lu Jinnian tossed his head back, sweat dripping down his hair, and downed almost the entire bottle.

When he stopped, his assistant pulled out his phone and a voice recorder. “Mr. Lu, here’s the things you wanted.”

Lu Jinnian tossed the bottle in the bin, then used a towel to dry the sweat before reaching over to take the things.

“Mr. Lu, did you fight with Miss Qiao?”

Lu Jinnian ignored his question, silently raising the voice recorder to his ear to listen to the contents. When he made sure that there wasn’t a problem, he placed it beside his phone and entered the shower.

As the hot water drizzled down his body, Lu Jinnian shut his eyes, replaying the events that had happened in the afternoon.

The scene in the afternoon was not what he had expected.

In his worst scenario, he had expected Qiao Anhao to scold him furiously, and because of that, he had prepared the recording of him and Han Ruchu.

But the mishap was in that he had gotten angry at her…

He took over Xu Enterprise only because Han Ruchu had killed their baby and hurt her, but the moment she had compared him to Xu Jiamu, he was infuriated.

But as he ran, using up all his energy, venting all his emotions, he clearly understood that his anger probably arose because of Xu Jiamu’s words. Jiamu was his brother after all, and he wasn’t able to disregard the emotions his words brought out, even though he knew that he was speaking out of fury. He just couldn’t help feeling… angry. And Qiao Anhao’s words just made his anger erupt.

After he showered, he wrapped a towel around his waist. His assistant carried his clothes to him. “Mr. Lu, here’s the clothes you got me to order for tonight’s dinner.”

Chapter 548: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years?19?

After Lu Jinnian showered, he wrapped a towel around his waist. His assistant carried his clothes to him. “Mr. Lu, here’s the clothes you got me to order for tonight’s dinner.”

The assistant emphasized on “tonight” and “dinner”, and just then, Lu Jinnian saw a faint glimmer of dilemma in his eyes.

His assistant had reminded him beforehand that Qiao Anhao would be unhappy if she found out about the takeover, and at that time, he had reassured him… Look what happened… He just left in frustration…

Lu Jinnian moved his lips, and before he took the clothes, he reached for the phone on the chair. After finding Qiao Anhao’s number, he was about to call her, but after a short while, he decided to text her instead. [I’m sorry.]

I’m sorry for getting mad. I’m sorry for being impatient.

Just like that, his dampened spirits seemed to have lifted, his logic returning. All these years, he had always been calm and collected, but whenever Qiao Anhao was involved, he would become emotional and sensitive.

He tightened his grip on the phone, and after a long moment, he sent another message.[Qiao Qiao, lets have a good talk during dinner tonight.]

Lu Jinnian glanced at the phone screen. When it indicated that the text was successfully sent over, he placed it back down and stood up. Just before he entered the changing room, he suddenly remembered that he hadn’t sent her the address, so he reached for the phone again to send one last text. [Li Jing Xuan, I’ll be waiting.]

After sending that six words, he exhaled, his dampened spirits brightening a little, and entered the changing room.

–

Qiao Anhao received a call from Qiao Anxia when she was in the elevator. Her sister told her that Han Ruchu was left bed-ridden from the shock.

Even though Qiao Anhao didn’t have any blood relations with the Xu family, they had always been close to the Qiao family, and all these years, Han Ruchu had always treated her well. Now that she was ill, it was only fair for Qiao Anhao to visit. When she finally reached the Xu family mansion, she started to feel anxious, the guilt she felt when she stood outside Lu Jinnian’s office arising.

Even though Lu Jinnian was the culprit, because of her ambiguous relationship with him, she already considered herself to be his… Now that he had done such a thing, she felt as though it was partially her fault.

Qiao Anhao stood outside the Xu family house for a long while before taking a deep breath and pressing the doorbell.

One of the maids came to open the door. She seemed to have expected her as she came with a pair of slippers. Pointing upstairs, she said, “Mrs. Han is upstairs.”

Qiao Anhao nodded her head, carrying the bag of tonic she had bought upstairs.

The bedroom door was half open. When she entered, she saw the Xu family housekeeper inside with a tray filled with tonics. Someone must have visited before her.

Han Ruchu lay on the bed with her face pale. The trauma must have been too much for her, for she seemed to have aged in just one day. Xu Jiamu sat beside her, massaging her temples.

Chapter 549: I’ve Loved You for Thirteen Years (20)

The Xu family’s housekeeper was the first to see Qiao Anhao enter. “Miss Qiao, you’re here?”

Qiao Anhao managed a smile and gently nodded. She placed some nutritional products that she had bought on the way over by the housekeeper’s well-organized array of them.

Han Ruchu pushed Xu Jiamu’s hand away from her forehead, as he was massaging it for her. She sat up and patted the seat by her bedside and said, “Come sit.”

“Aunt Xu, Brother Jiamu.” Qiao Anhao obediently walked over, greeted them, and sat down.

Han Ruchu looked over at the nutritional products Qiao Anhao had bought for her, and said in a weak but extremely charitable voice, “Qiao Qiao, if you’re coming over, just come. Why did you bring gifts?”

Xu Jiamu attentively grabbed a pillow and put it behind Han Ruchu. “Isn’t it all because Qiao Qiao cares about you…”

The housekeeper, who was organizing the products, then added, “Madam watched Miss Qiao grow up, and has always loved Miss Qiao. Ever since her parents passed away, Madam has treated her as her own daughter, so of course Miss Qiao has Madam in her heart and cares about her.”

After Qiao Anhao heard the housekeeper’s words, her heart grew heavy with guilt. She lowered her eyes and forced out a hint of a smile. Then she thoughtfully asked, “Aunt Xu, how’s your condition?”

Han Ruchu wore a smile. Perhaps it was because she was ill, her usual swift and strict demeanor was faint. She spoke in a warm voice. “It’s nothing serious. At the time, I was a little agitated, and for some reason, I fainted.”

The housekeeper bitterly said, “What do you mean ‘nothing serious’? Anger kills the heart. Thank goodness Madam is blessed, otherwise you’d have died from the rage…”

“Don’t talk nonsense in front of the children!” Han Ruchu suddenly sharply cut the housekeeper’s words short. Perhaps it was because she was agitated, she suddenly started to cough.

“Mom!”

“Aunt Xu!”

At the same time, Qiao Anhao and Xu Jiamu reached out with their hands to pat Han Ruchu on the back. She covered her chest with her hand, which soothed her breathing for a moment. With her gentle tone of voice, she said, “I’m fine. When you get older, it’s inevitable that you’ll get sick. Today was just a coincidence.”

The housekeeper said with a pained heart, “Madam, at a time like this, what is there for you to hide? That bastard called to clearly piss you off. He has his eye on the young master’s inheritance. That ungrateful dog… Our young master should never have saved that bastard’s life!”

Qiao Anhao tightly creased her brows at the housekeeper’s use of the word ‘bastard’, and asked a little astonished, “Save what life?”

“Miss Qiao, you probably didn’t know, but the year that little bastard turned three, he fell ill with leukemia. It was our young master who donated his bone marrow to save him. If it weren’t for our young master, he’d be dead! At the time, they agreed that he would never inherit the Xu family’s wealth and assets. Nor could he show respect to his ancestors, or step foot into the Xu family house. In the end, now that bastard actually stole it all!”

The year Lu Jinnian turned three, he had leukemia? It was Xu Jiamu who donated his bone marrow to save his life?

No wonder, after so many years, Lu Jinnian never came back to the Xu family. When Qiao Anhao was in school, she racked her brains over why Lu Jinnian looked like he was quite poor when the Xu family business was so big. Though she was close with Xu Jiamu, she had never asked him about private family matters, and so she had had no idea.