The Byoukidere Is Her Sweetie
Chapter 292: 292: Luo Qinghe's tragic condition, Fang Lixiang's pregnancy exposed

Chapter 292: 292: Luo Qinghe’s tragic condition, Fang Lixiang’s pregnancy exposed

She said, each word resounding with weight, “I am Zhou Qingmeng’s daughter, Zhou Xufang.”

Boom!

Thunder cracked beside her ear, and Luo Huaiyu trembled, pointing at Zhou Xufang, “Luo, Luo San…”

She leaned forward slightly, her eyes, drenched by the rain, flashing a cold light, “It’s me, I’ve come to settle accounts.”

Luo Huaiyu rolled his eyes and fell backward.

That very day, Luo Yinghe moved out of the Luo Family home, and Xu Yunci also moved out with her, and just like that, the Luo Family dispersed.

Zhou Xufang cremated her mother’s remains. Her uncle suggested burying the ashes in their hometown, to which she agreed, and accompanied her uncle to Xufang Town.

During the days she was away, several major events happened in Imperial City.

The day after the arson trial, the Luo Family scandal was exposed, causing their stock prices to plummet. Before this wave could even settle, the Luo Family was discovered evading and underpaying taxes, involving numerous high-ranking executives, and companies that had cooperations with them one after another terminated their contracts.

It was amidst this turmoil that Luo Huaiyu was overwhelmed, took to his bed, unable to rise, and Luo Yinghe, the second young mistress, took charge, and then… chaos ensued.

The rain had already stopped, but the dark clouds over the Luo Family’s building didn’t disperse.

“Second Mistress,” said a senior manager of the Luo Family, “The market manager from Viniter called to terminate their contract.”

Luo Yinghe, sitting in the boss’s chair, swiveled left and right, “Then let them.”

The manager hesitated, “Our clubs, hotels, and resorts have always procured their red wine from Viniter, and we haven’t found any other suitable partners yet.”

Luo Yinghe looked at the manager, “So what do we do?”

The manager’s expression was grave and frantic, “I wanted to ask you, what should we do?” The Luo Family’s reputation was completely tarnished, no one wanted to cooperate with Luo Family in this storm.

“You’re asking me?” Luo Yinghe looked at her employee as if he were an idiot, “How would I know? If I knew, why would I hire you?”

The manager: “…”

With a boss like this, the company was bound to go bankrupt.

Luo Yinghe found this pudgy man annoying, waved her hand as if shooing a fly, “Don’t just stand there, go figure something out.”

Pudgy manager: “Yes, Second Mistress.”

She was displeased, rolling her eyes, her authority on display, “In the company, don’t call me Second Mistress, call me Chairman Luo.”

Pudgy manager: “… Yes, Chairman Luo.”

After dismissing the person, Luo Yinghe slumped onto the table, and began… practicing her signature.

Her signature was too artistic; now that she was the boss, not an artist, her signature needed flair, at least it shouldn’t let people discern what was written, that was high-class.

Someone knocked on the door.

She flipped over her practice paper, “Come in.”

It was a weasel that entered.

“How are you settling in?”

“It’s alright.”

Luo Changfang sat down, placing her bag aside, “I heard the Luo Family is in a rough spot.”

Luo Yinghe was dressed in formal attire today, uncomfortable, she shifted and barely resisted the urge to sling her leg over an armrest, “Who said that, whose big mouth is spreading rumors?”

Luo Changfang didn’t say who it was, but changed the subject, “Yinghe, are you not planning to make a comeback?”

Is there nothing else to do? Why did her comeback concern her?

Luo Yinghe, lacking patience and not one for playing coy, said bluntly, “Aunt, you know I’m straightforward, I can’t beat around the bush. Just tell me directly if you have something to say, no need for this roundabout way.”

With that said, Luo Changfang dropped the pretense, “How about selling me your shares?”

Luo Yinghe snorted, “I was wondering why you came, craving for my chairman position, huh?”

Do I look stupid?

Am I really that stupid?

“It’s all for the good of the Luo Family, no hard feelings, we’re family after all,” Luo Changfang smiled with a charitable tone, her voice that of a benevolent elder, “You can’t control the situation. Your grandfather is still in the hospital. If I don’t take over, our family’s legacy might just evaporate.”

Luo Yinghe scoffed through her nostrils.

Who would believe her nonsense!

“If you don’t trust your aunt, keep the shares, I’ll manage them for you. Go act or sing, do what you want to do.”

Luo Yinghe was steadfast, “Right now, I want to be the chairwoman.”

“…”

Luo Changfang’s smile froze, she picked up her bag and stood up, “Then, auntie will wait and see how long you can stay chairwoman.”

Luo Yinghe watched her with disdain, “Goodbye, don’t send me off.”

Always those troublemakers coveting the empire she had fought for.

The moment she left, Luo Yinghe couldn’t hold back any longer, she kicked the desk, “Hmph, what a wench.”

At the door, Luo Changfang who hadn’t gone far, “…”

Three days after the arson trial, Luo Qinghe moved into Xu Pozhi’s apartment, she was an inmate serving her sentence outside of prison, her hand fitted with a location-tracking bracelet.

The device was black and quite conspicuous.

“Can this bracelet be taken off?”

Xu Pozhi set down her luggage, “No.”

The room was filled with roses, the scent somewhat strong, she fiddled with the bracelet on her wrist, “So you’re saying, as long as I wear this, the police will know wherever I go?”

Xu Pozhi hugged her from behind, “You could say that.”

“You too?”

He didn’t deny it, burying his face in her shoulder, inhaling her scent, “Let me know first wherever you want to go.”

“What if it’s taken off?”

“You’d be sent back to a cell,” he said, moving his lips close to her ear, his breath tickling her, “so you need to behave.”

Behave?

Luo Qinghe laughed, removing his hand from her waist, “Is this like being imprisoned?”

Xu Pozhi didn’t let go, holding her tighter, pressing against her back, closing his eyes, burying his face in her neck, breathing heavily, “How could it be, I love you so much.”

He opened his mouth, biting her neck.

It felt like thousands of maggots crawling over her body, her stomach churning, she forcefully pried his hand from her waist.

“Don’t want to?”

Xu Pozhi let go, gripping her chin, “Luo Qinghe, we are already married, I’m your husband.”

To send Luo Changde to prison, she had already sold herself to him, now she was his captive, “The child is still young, don’t touch me.”

Xu Pozhi held her chin, making her lift her head so he could see the hatred in her eyes, as well as her unwillingness.

Is being unwilling useful?

She was a prisoner at his feet, his prisoner.

He laughed, his right eye looking down at her belly, while his left eye, unable to move, stared straight at her: “The child is still small, you need to behave and lie still.” He placed his hand on her abdomen, “If something were to happen to the child in your belly, that would be trouble.”

Without the child, she would have to return to prison.

She hesitated for a brief moment, then backed away: No, how could she submit to this one-eyed man? She had her pride, her dignity; she was Luo Qinghe, a young mistress of the Luo Family; how could this despicable gardener be worthy of her?

She pushed him away and ran outside.

A hand reached from behind, grabbed her hair, and dragged her back…

Four days after the arson trial, Fang Lixiang made the headlines.

She had no engagements that day and was at home, nibbling on a box of maternity cookies, when her agent called: “Did you go to the maternity clinic yesterday?”

She crunched loudly on a cookie, “How did you know?”

“You were photographed.”

She sat up abruptly: “The paparazzi are really devoted, aren’t they? No nights or weekends off.”

Lin Shang wasn’t in the mood for jokes: “Whose child is it?”

“The father wasn’t photographed?” Damn, what the hell!

The day before, she had a stomach ache and feared something might be wrong with the baby, so she and Xue Baoyi went to the hospital together. Because they were short on time, they couldn’t arrange a private entrance.

It was bad enough that the paparazzi photographed her, but to exclude Xue Baoyi was just too much.

“Is it Mr. Xue’s?” Lin Shang was quite calm; ever since he knew Fang Lixiang was the Boss Lady, he had taken a more detached approach, as if nothing could suffocate him anymore.

Of course, Fang Lixiang wasn’t suffocated either, as usual. She lay sprawled out, her maternity cookies in hand: “Who else could it be?”

“I’ll see what the boss thinks before we do anything,” Lin Shang instructed before hanging up, “Stay off Weibo for the next few days.”

On Weibo, the atmosphere was venomous.

Because Fang Lixiang’s resources were too good, too smooth-sailing, she indeed offended a bunch of people in the industry. As her scandal broke, haters from all sides joined in the bashing.

“Still not coming out to clarify, she really is pregnant this time, isn’t she?”

“Who’s the father of the child?”

“Who else could it be, the Golden Lord, of course.”

“No wonder she became popular so fast, so she had someone protecting her.”

“Fang Lixiang’s acting skills are right there, are some haters blind?”

“Our Fang Lixiang is too popular, blocking too many people’s paths, taking too many good resources, those with jealousy just can’t stand it.”

“Wife, can I go public now?”

“Can you have some shame up there? The child is mine!”

“…”

Online discussions were in full swing.

At that moment, what was Xue Baoyi doing? She was apologizing.

Xia Hansong cocked his head: “What did you say?”

Xue Baoyi sat across from him, legs crossed: “It was on purpose, right?” If he wasn’t worried about the women at home making a fuss, he wouldn’t have come to apologize.

Mr. Xue, since birth, didn’t know how to write the word ‘sorry’.

Clearly, he heard perfectly, but pretended not to: “No, really didn’t hear you.”

Damn it!

Xue Baoyi gritted her teeth and shouted: “Sorry, okay?”

Xia Hansong reluctantly accepted: “Why did you hit me that day?”

“Marital discord, you wouldn’t understand.”

“…”

He gave up asking, started browsing his phone, then suddenly realized: “Your wife is pregnant? You thought the child was mine?”

Xue Baoyi began to boast openly and covertly: “Even if you guessed, don’t talk about it everywhere, my wife doesn’t allow me to make it public.”

Xia Hansong pushed the phone towards him: “Your wife might allow you to go public now.”

On Weibo, the top trending search was: Fang Lixiang pregnant, followed by: Fang Lixiang had an abortion.

Xue Baoyi glanced at the headline, exploded with rage, jumped up, and while running out, he called Fang Lixiang: “Where are you?”

On the other side was calmness: “At home.” Oh, right, “There are reporters all downstairs, my delivery has arrived, and I’m too scared to go down and get it.”

She was at her own apartment, not at Mr. Fang’s.

Xue Baoyi, not patient enough to wait for the elevator, directly took the stairs: “I’m on my way now, will be there soon.”

She could hear his breath as he ran, even over the phone: “I’m not that hungry, you can run slower, no need to rush.”

He didn’t slow down at all, rushing towards the parking lot: “What should I answer if the reporters ask?”

“How do you want to answer?”

“I want to answer truthfully.” He held his breath, waiting for her response.

Fang Lixiang thought for a moment: “Okay.” If not photographed, that would be fine, but if photographed, she didn’t want to brush it off.

Xue Baoyi laughed like a fool on the other end.

So, when the reporters asked why the Second Young Master Xue had come, he smiled knowingly at the camera: “Came to bring food for my wife and child.”

Subsequently, less than half an hour later, Second Young Master Xue posted a Weibo update, and it read —

Xue BaoyiV: My child’s mom @FangLixiangV

Weibo servers, well, crashed, wife fans, true fans, haters, fake fans, all exploded.

“Second Young Master, do you still remember Jiang Zhi by the shore of Daming Lake? @XueBaoyiV”

“Mr. Xue, if you’ve been kidnapped, just blink.”

“Why not Director Jiang? Why is it Fang Lixiang? I can’t accept!”

“Get lost, upstairs. You’re so dramatic.”

“Blessings.”

“Worried for our Fang Lixiang, afraid that the Second Young Master would go play mahjong with the girl again.”

“No wonder he got to act in Director Jiang’s movie, such a solid backing.”

“…”

Online, there was a mix of voices: some supported, some criticized, some watched the excitement, some expected drama, some stirred things up, some were righteously indignant; after all, hidden behind computer screens, all it took was a keyboard.