The Billionaire's New Wife in Chief
Chapter 158 - 84: Does he have the heart to let his beloved woman get hurt?

Chapter 158: Chapter 84: Does he have the heart to let his beloved woman get hurt?

"So you mean, you actually noticed that girl liked you just now?"

Lu Jingchen’s brows furrowed slightly, obviously a little annoyed by Song Qiao’s way of questioning. His clean and handsome eyebrows twisted as he said in a tepid tone, "I’m not blind!"

Song Qiao’s eyelashes fluttered as she pressed her lips together, then continued to mutter, "But didn’t you obviously set me up to gain resentment just now? What if I go to your company in the future and run into that girl? And what if she goes around telling people in your company that we’re married?"

Listening to Song Qiao’s soft and whiny voice, the stirrings of emotion in Lu Jingchen were fully soothed. Clearly, her coquettish tone had become a form of flirting, which he was somewhat receptive to. He reached out to pinch her smooth and silky cheek, saying, "It’s fine if she said it. After all, you are now the young madam of the Lu Family. Even if you’ve gained a mountain of resentment, I will protect you well!"

The man’s words sounded like sweet nothings. Song Qiao looked up and met his deep eyes, which seemed even more unfathomable than before, like bottomless whirlpools that she couldn’t help but sink into.

Forcing herself to look away, Song Qiao lowered her head, remained silent for a few seconds. A hint of a smile appeared on her tranquil face, though her voice still feigned dissatisfaction as she said, "Who knows? It sounds good now, but maybe it won’t be the same when the time comes!"

Lu Jingchen gazed down at her small, palm-sized face, his eyes brimming with a light smile.

How long had it been? His mood hadn’t been this good for a very long time, it seemed!

Song Qiao had left her stuff in Night City last night, so she didn’t even have her phone on her, let alone her house keys.

Guessing that Ning Wan might be at home at this moment, Song Qiao thought about knocking on the door to have Ning Wan open it.

And sure enough, after just two knocks, Ning Wan’s loud voice came from inside, along with the sound of slippers scraping across the floor, "Coming, coming. Just a sec, who is it?"

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, Song Qiao turned towards Lu Jingchen beside her and said apologetically, "Don’t mind it, Wanwan is just always a bit loud, but she’s really not bad!"

Lu Jingchen looked down at her, just smiled faintly, and said nothing.

Just then, the door was yanked open. Before Song Qiao could turn around, she heard Ning Wan’s exclamation, "Qiaoqiao, where have you been? I’ve been worried about you all night. Look at me, I didn’t sleep at all because I was worried about you. Do you know you could have scared me into having a heart attack?"

Before Song Qiao could react, Ning Wan had already pounced and hugged her, her voice filled with a mix of grievance and reproach.

A warm current flowed through her heart. It was a lie to say she wasn’t moved. In this world, besides her grandfather and Shinian, probably only Ning Wan cared for her so much, treating her as the most important person in her life and worrying about her when something happened!

"Where were you last night? Do you know I called you all night and couldn’t get through? Couldn’t you have told me in advance? So I could know you were safe? I was almost anxious enough to call the police. If you didn’t come back, I really would have reported you missing!"

Ning Wan released Song Qiao, checking her over to see if she was injured anywhere. Although her words were full of rebuke, they couldn’t hide the worry and care, and she even huffed in pretend anger a couple of times.

Song Qiao watched Ning Wan with amusement, knowing she was completely worried about her. A smile involuntarily adorned her face, but she just silently watched her without speaking.

It must be said, Ning Wan probably really had not slept all night. Her face still sported dark circles, her hair was a bit of a mess, and even her clothes seemed to be thrown on hastily, making her look like a completely different person from her usual self.

After inspecting Song Qiao and seeing that she was unharmed and even wearing a decent dress, Ning Wan breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up to see Song Qiao still smiling and pinched her subconsciously, "You’re laughing? Do you know that you really could scare someone to death?"

Actually, Ning Wan didn’t pinch hard at all, and it didn’t hurt, but Song Qiao still pretended to be in great pain, grimacing exaggeratedly.

Ning Wan’s face changed, and she quickly let go, apologizing in a flustered manner, "What’s wrong? Did I pinch you too hard? Sorry, Qiaoqiao, it’s just that I was worried about you. Humph, it’s your fault for making me worry all night!"

Ever since she returned home last night, Wanwan noticed that Song Qiao was not around. Initially, she knew Song Qiao went to the hospital to visit her grandfather, but when she still hadn’t seen her return by ten o’clock in the evening, Wanwan directly called the Mu Mansion. Song Qiao’s cousin, who is also called Shinian, told her that after dropping him off at the Mu Mansion, Song Qiao headed back.

Ning Wan instructed Mu Shinian not to tell Elder Mu and then began to feel that something might have happened to Song Qiao, or she might have gone missing. She started to call her phone and even reached out to people who might be in contact with Song Qiao.

However, Song Qiao’s phone was unanswered. Due to Song Qiao’s status, Wanwan did not make a fuss over this matter, thinking that if Song Qiao didn’t come back, she would go look for that person herself.

What she didn’t expect was that when she was almost frantic enough to go looking for that person, Song Qiao had already returned.

At this moment, Ning Wan’s heart finally settled down, but she couldn’t help feeling a bit angry, although she couldn’t really express it.

Song Qiao looked at Ning Wan apologetically, fully aware that she must have been worried, and said regretfully, "Wanwan, I’m so sorry, I lost my phone and haven’t gotten it back yet. Last night... something happened last night, but it’s all right now. I promise I won’t make you worry like this ever again..."

"Do you think there will be a next time?" Ning Wan glared at her and spat on the ground three times as a correction, saying, "Don’t talk like that. Everything must go smoothly in the future!"

"Alright!" Song Qiao laughed, then, remembering Lu Jingchen by her side, she pulled Ning Wan over to introduce him, "Wanwan, this is Lu Jingchen, the marriage partner I mentioned before...uh, my intended!"

In An City, there wasn’t much news about Lu Jingchen. Most people had only heard the name Lu Jingchen but hadn’t seen the person for themselves. Probably, Ning Wan had only heard of him on the news, but hadn’t actually met him.

Ning Wan turned her head and saw Lu Jingchen standing off to one side, but she froze in place, her facial expression stiffening and taking on a look of great alarm.

Song Qiao did not notice the change in Ning Wan’s expression and started to introduce her to Lu Jingchen, "This is my dear friend, Ning Wan, who has lived here with me for eight years. Our relationship is that of something more than friendship, yet more than love!"

Lu Jingchen wore a polite and gentle smile on his face, his gaze resting on Ning Wan, impassive as he extended his hand and spoke with thin lips slightly parting, "Thank you for taking care of Qiaoqiao all these years!"

Only then did Ning Wan manage to compose her expression, recovering her usual smile, though it was still somewhat rigid. Her voice was flat and understated, yet it carried a hint of concealed suppression, "It was my duty to do so!"

Their hands barely touched before quickly parting.

Upon entering the home where the two girls lived, Lu Jingchen discovered that the space was quite small in his opinion—a neat two-bedroom with one living room, one kitchen, and one bathroom—yet it was well-organized and inviting.

Particularly, there was a sense of ’home’ that made Lu Jingchen feel envious, and he thought that once he got back, he would have Song Qiao arrange their villa too.

While Song Qiao went into her room to tidy up, Lu Jingchen sat on the living room’s sofa. A tall and dignified figure in a neatly pressed suit without a wrinkle, he somehow seemed out of place here.

Ning Wan carried over a glass of plain water from the kitchen, speaking somewhat apologetically, "We don’t have tea or coffee at home, and I suppose you wouldn’t drink sodas either, so there’s only plain water available!"

In front of Lu Jingchen, Ning Wan still harbored some repressed emotions, afraid that she might not be able to contain her own feelings.

Lu Jingchen gave a light hum, took a sip from the glass before setting it down again; his every move exuded an air of noble elegance. His gaze towards Ning Wan was meaningful, his expression carrying an inscrutable depth, "Don’t worry so much, he doesn’t know you’re here, but you should still be careful. He will be returning to the country after a while!"

At Lu Jingchen’s initial words, Ning Wan breathed a sigh of relief, but her expression changed upon hearing the latter part, and she looked up at him incredulously. Her lips moved, and she asked subconsciously, "Hasn’t he... already gotten engaged to that woman?"

"He is engaged," Lu Jingchen’s expression remained unchanged, speaking in an utterly matter-of-fact tone, "But they haven’t gotten married yet, have they?"

Ning Wan’s complexion turned pale, but then it was as if a sudden thought struck her, and she laughed helplessly, weakly reaching up to touch her forehead, as if drained of all strength, and said, "If I remember correctly, he was supposed to settle abroad with that woman. Why has he returned now? The Ning Family doesn’t welcome her, right? Could it be he is willing to let the woman he loves get hurt?"