The Temptation of CEO's Pregnant Ex-Wife
Chapter 177: Go apologize to Zhenzhen and ask her to withdraw the lawsuit

Chapter 177: Chapter 177: Go apologize to Zhenzhen and ask her to withdraw the lawsuit

The situation had turned quite serious by now, and despite Zhou Lin deploying his PR team to go all-out on damage control, the effect was still far from satisfactory.

After all, Zhou Jinzhong’s people were here waiting.

When Zhou Lin got home at eight o’clock in the evening, his brows were deeply furrowed with exhaustion. Seeing Wang Mei was still in the kitchen, he asked, "Where is she?"

With a sigh of concern, Wang Mei said, "Upstairs, she’s been in her room all day, hasn’t eaten much. I wrapped some wontons, please go upstairs and ask the Young Madam to come down and eat a bit."

"Hmm."

Zhou Lin went upstairs and saw Cheng Zhiwei curled up in the lounge chair, cradling her cheek as she stared out the window where the autumn rain drizzled down, leaving streaks upon the glass.

Her black hair draped over her shoulders, part of it falling down and covering her cheeks.

Zhou Lin approached her and gently touched her hand.

In the room kept at a constant temperature, her fingers were still extremely cold.

Zhou Lin suddenly grasped her hand tighter, a trace of indescribable emotion creasing his brow, yet his tone remained very faint, "Wang Mei said you hardly ate tonight?"

Cheng Zhiwei looked down, withdrew her hand nonchalantly, and with a curl of her finger, she spoke indifferently, "I’ve no appetite; I don’t want to eat."

"She made wontons. Will you go down by yourself, or shall I carry you?"

He was truly annoyed.

Cheng Zhiwei turned her head away, her voice laced with impatience, "I already said I don’t want to eat."

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she was lifted into the air, as Zhou Lin scooped her up.

Cheng Zhiwei’s temper flared instantly, her normally calm eyes now blazing, "I said I didn’t want to eat."

Zhou Lin, ignoring her protests, carried her downstairs steadily, "The results of the investigation are in; the police have ruled it manslaughter."

After closely reviewing the footage frame by frame, it had been determined that Cheng Zhiwei did not push intentionally; she had indeed reached out in an attempt to grab Bai Zhuzhu.

But Bai Zhuzhu was dead after all, and given the public scuffle, the charge of manslaughter was something Cheng Zhiwei had to bear.

Cheng Zhiwei closed her eyes for a moment, having not slept for a day and a night, her headache was terrible, and she lacked the energy to argue any further, so she let Zhou Lin carry her down.

Wang Mei’s wonton soup was fresh and delicious, and Cheng Zhiwei managed to eat two with difficulty, but she could not eat any more.

Zhou Lin dropped the spoon, his expression rather unsightly, "Cheng Zhiwei, are you planning to starve yourself to death here first?"

"Mind your own business," Cheng Zhiwei coughed into her hand, her entire figure looking extremely frail under the light, the dark circles under her eyes all the more apparent.

The harsh words that had reached Zhou Lin’s lips were swallowed back down as his tone softened again, "Cheng Zhiwei, nobody wants that kind of incident to happen, but you were at fault this time. You should apologize to Zhenzhen to have the charges dropped."

Apologize?

Cheng Zhiwei’s fingers clenched tightly, the stark contrast in her eyes shining with a cold light under the lamp, "Zhou Lin, I’ve already said, Bai Zhuzhu’s death was related to her; even Bai Zhuzhu’s disappearance the day before was orchestrated by her. The murderer is her, not me."

These words, coming from Cheng Zhiwei, were meant as a defense for herself, but to Zhou Lin, they sounded like stubbornness, a refusal to bow her head even if it meant jail.

"We’re talking about you now. If you don’t apologize, Zhenzhen won’t drop the lawsuit, and you will end up in prison; do you understand?" Zhou Lin’s chest heaved, his voice extremely stern.

He had been trying to help her maneuver the situation, hoping her end wouldn’t be behind bars.

But she was stubborn to a fault.

Just as the atmosphere grew tense, the doorbell rang, and Wang Mei hurried over to say, "Young Master, Young Madam, there’s someone from the Zhou Family here."

Zhou Jinzhong, Zhou Hui, and several other sideline relatives from the Zhou Family had arrived.

Zhou Jinzhong’s gaze swept over Cheng Zhiwei, and he knocked his cane on the ground, "I heard you killed someone?"

Just as Cheng Zhiwei was about to speak, Zhou Lin already said expressionlessly, "Has Third Uncle grown so old that his brain isn’t working well anymore? Letting people gossip nonsense."

Cheng Zhiwei then kept silent, at this moment, she and Zhou Lin were again on the same side.

Zhou Jinzhong sat on the sofa, assuming the air of a venerable ancestor, "Zhou Lin, don’t play tricks in front of me. The internet is boiling with this, and because of it, the stock has fallen several points. I’m asking you, how do you plan to deal with this?"

Zhou Lin looked around, those present all had the expression of someone watching a spectacle, each guessing how big a slice of the Zhou Group’s big cake they could get their hands on.

"This is my family matter."

"As the heir to the Zhou Group, your family matters are major issues for the group."

"Exactly, Zhou Lin, you chose such a murderer to be our Zhou Family’s Young Madam; this is your negligence." Zhou Hui looked down on Cheng Zhiwei contemptuously. She still remembered the incident at the hospital that day when Cheng Zhiwei was throwing her weight around.

And to think that within just a few days, Cheng Zhiwei had suffered a downfall.

Karma.

Zhou Lin turned around to hug Cheng Zhiwei, caressing her hair and said softly, "Go and wait for me in the room."

"Okay." Cheng Zhi nodded, obediently going upstairs.

Zhou Hui wanted to call Cheng Zhiwei back, but she was stopped by a look from Zhou Jinzhong.

After all, their target was Zhou Lin.

"Third Uncle, I know what you want, but are you sure you can handle it?" Zhou Lin looked arrogantly at everyone, "With these useless ones?"

"Who are you calling useless?" Zhou Hui jumped up.

"Whoever is useless, I’m calling out." Zhou Lin snorted coldly, "Aren’t you useless? You’ve opened at least three stores, haven’t you? Is there even one that’s profitable?"

Zhou Hui’s face turned ashen, "If you hadn’t shut down the health check center, of course it would’ve been profitable."

Zhou Lin scoffed dismissively and was about to speak when Zhou Chenyuan and Lin Yu suddenly appeared at the door.

Lin Yu gestured to Zhou Lin with her eyes, and Zhou Lin walked over, "Dad."

Zhou Chenyuan gave him a cold glance and sat down on the sofa, "It’s getting colder; Third Uncle should take care of his health."

"Why has Chenyuan come?" Zhou Jinzhong feigned concern, "Is it also because of Cheng Zhiwei’s deliberate murder?"

"The police have already said it wasn’t deliberate murder." Zhou Chenyuan’s expression was unchanged, his years of business experience exuded a natural aura that could intimidate the younger ones present.

Zhou Jinzhong did not continue on this topic, but only said, "After all, the group is a family business, and now because of Zhou Lin and Cheng Zhiwei’s troubles, how do you plan to deal with it?"

"What does Third Uncle suggest?"

"Zhou Lin is still young, there are some things he can’t handle well enough, so my suggestion is to find someone to share the responsibility with him." Zhou Jinzhong spoke politely, but his intention was clear, to find someone to share power with.

Zhou Chenyuan didn’t get angry but just looked around at the younger ones, "I’m afraid they don’t have the capability."

The words were uttered gently, but they carried the same message as Zhou Lin’s, that these people were all useless.

Zhou Jinzhong let out a muffled laugh, "Of course, they’re not qualified, so I’ve found someone special." Then he looked at Lin Yu, "You know him too."

Lin Yu’s heart skipped a beat, and she sneakily glanced at Zhou Chenyuan; could it be him?