Plunder
Chapter 109 - 109 109 Is the Child Mine

Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Is the Child Mine? Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Is the Child Mine? “Planning to move out?”

Zhou Jin’an pulled a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his pocket. He took out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, and pressed on the lighter multiple times, but the flame, as if intentionally opposing him, refused to ignite.

He stood tall and graceful, his eyes darker and more somber amidst the interplay of light and shadow.

The more it wouldn’t light, the harder he pressed.

Qiao En let out a soft “Mhm” and walked straight over. She took the lighter naturally from Zhou Jin’an’s hand, flicked it with a light touch, and a flame burst forth immediately.

She reached it towards him, and Zhou Jin’an, with the cigarette in his mouth, leaned in closer.

The tip of the cigarette brightened then dimmed; he took a deep drag, the smoke sharp and biting in his lungs.

“Cough cough…”

“You’re not in good health, you should smoke less.”

Qiao En handed the lighter back to Zhou Jin’an.

It was just the most ordinary show of concern, yet it made him overthink.

Because they were close, Zhou Jin’an’s intense gaze once again enveloped Qiao En.

“Would Director Zhou like some water? I’ll go boil some for you.”

Touched by Zhou Jin’an’s fiery gaze, Qiao En quickly looked away.

She turned and walked briskly to the kitchen.

The kettle, previously put away, was taken out from the cabinet again. She filled it with water, plugged it in, and the kettle started to rumble softly.

Instead of leaving, she stayed in the kitchen, arms crossed, waiting for the water to boil.

But time seemed to crawl slower than usual.

It felt like ages before the water finally came to a boil.

Qiao En rinsed a cup and poured the water, bringing it to Zhou Jin’an.

He had moved from the balcony to the living room at some point, and the cigarette was either finished or discarded. He was seated beside the dining table; seeing Qiao En with the cup, he stood up to take it.

The glass was startlingly hot.

Their fingers touched as Qiao En’s grip loosened.

“Bang.”

The cup fell to the ground, shattering instantly.

Reacting quickly, Zhou Jin’an shielded Qiao En. Fortunately, the water didn’t splash on her.

“Did you get burned?”

He grabbed her hand to examine it.

“No.”

His hand was large, strong, and warm.

They were close again, and Qiao En could only smell the scent that belonged to Zhou Jin’an.

It was a dangerous scent.

“How did Director Zhou get in?”

Qiao En pulled her hand back and went to the utility closet to get a broom and mop.

As she swept up the glass shards, Zhou Jin’an picked up the mop and began to dry the wet floor.

She was asking what she already knew; she had left that key for Zhou Jin’an before. Sometimes he came late, and she was already asleep, having to wake up to open the door for him.

Once he came home drunk, pounding on the door ceaselessly. Qiao En had taken sleeping pills before bed and didn’t hear a thing.

So, after that time, she left a key under the doormat for him.

Yet, he still habitually knocked or called, never using the key.

Now, they were separated, and she was soon to be a wife and a mother. For propriety’s sake, he shouldn’t use that key anymore.

“You didn’t take the key under the doormat.”

“I forgot.”

Qiao En laughed lightly. She reached out to Zhou Jin’an generously.

“I’ve sold the house. I won’t live here anymore. Director Zhou, please return the key to me.”

Zhou Jin’an was momentarily stunned. He looked incredulously at Qiao En.

“Sold to whom?”

He asked, for no particular reason.

This place bore too many of their memories; he never imagined that Qiao En would choose to sell it.

So, she wanted to make a clean break from the past?

“A young couple, their child just reached school age, and they want to attend a school nearby. As for me, I won’t be living here anymore, the house would just be sitting idle, and the price is good now, so selling it makes sense,”

Qiao En continued to explain.

Qiao En’s mind worked quickly, and this was something Zhou Jin’an had always acknowledged.

He had never paid attention to the fluctuating property prices, but Qiao En, with her nose like a hound’s, was always able to sniff out any movement instantly.

He hesitated for a moment, took out the key to look at it, and then decided to hand it over to her.

Qiao En took it, and swiftly began packing up the other items.

“Does Director Zhou have anything else? I need to get going,”

Qiao En said, picking up two bags and walking towards the door.

“I’ll help you.”

Zhou Jin’an stepped forward, took the bags from Qiao En’s hands, and walked out.

The two of them, one in front of the other, one tall and one short, walked in harmony.

After exiting the elevator, Qiao En took the bags back from Zhou Jin’an.

“I’ve had Director Zhou work as a laborer for me for free; I really am embarrassed. Ding Hao is coming to pick me up; I’ll wait for him here,”

she said naturally, looking not at all like she was lying.

Zhou Jin’an released his hands but did not move his feet.

“Thank you.”

He looked at Qiao En with a complex gaze, his heart filled with many emotions: gratitude, guilt, reluctance, anger… All these feelings wove into a net that enveloped Qiao En.

Yet, like an eel, when he gave her a pond to live in, she would always slip away.

“I should be the one thanking Director Zhou,”

Qiao En responded with a naive laugh.

“That kind of thing is too dangerous; don’t do it again. But I’m happy you were willing to help me.”

“Director Zhou, could you be mistaking something?” Qiao En chose not to engage, playing dumb to the end.

“I’ve been busy preparing for my wedding, I really haven’t had the time to help you. Besides, I’m just an ordinary person, I’m nothing without Nanchen, let alone helping you—I’d be doing well not to hold you back,”

Qiao En spoke as if it were the truth, but Zhou Jin’an knew better.

He didn’t know how Qiao En got hold of that recording, but he believed in her ability.

When she was his secretary, he had discovered that Qiao En had some extraordinary abilities.

The projects that everyone else found too thorny were easily resolved by Qiao En as if by magic.

After leaving Nanchen, her zeal vanished, she became cautious and fearful, treading carefully, no longer embodying the person he knew.

Zhou Jin’an’s eyes, murky and unclear, remained on Qiao En, having been touched by her once, it was highly likely he’d be moved many more times.

She was determined to push him away, and he should let her, but…

“Is that child mine?”

Zhou Jin’an asked.

His voice was light, but it caused a huge splash in Qiao En’s heart.

Her instinct was to deny it immediately, but she knew that doing so would surely raise Zhou Jin’an’s suspicions.

She was well aware of Zhou Jin’an’s temperament; once he harbored doubts, he would stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

The existence of the child was already a hidden danger. Qiao En did not want the child’s existence to become a threat, a chess piece, or a bargaining chip for anyone.

She had long decided to take the child and leave Rong City, find a secluded place, and live well with the child, completely distancing themselves from all these troubles.

“Director Zhou, are you joking?”

Qiao En countered, her face marked with annoyance, “Director Zhou, we did have a relationship in the past, but that was a long time ago. Ding Hao treats me very well; he is a very responsible person. We are about to get married. He is my husband and the father of my child.”

“I ask that Director Zhou not appear in my life from now on, and please refrain from making such inappropriate remarks. I love Ding Hao deeply; he is about to become my family, and I cannot allow anyone to harm him.”

Qiao En said a lot in one breath.

She was so angry that her chest rose and fell rapidly, she pushed Zhou Jin’an away, picked up the bags from the ground, and left briskly.

Zhou Jin’an stood rooted to the spot, his brows furrowed as he watched Qiao En’s figure recede into the distance.

She loves Ding Hao? They had only known each other less than three months and she fell in love with that man?

Yet in the three years they were together, she had never felt the same way?

It’s not the scarcity, but the unfair distribution that he resented.

Jealousy spilled out all over the place in Zhou Jin’an’s heart.