Volume One, Chapter 12: She Takes Her Son to Meet Another Man

The greatest self-discipline a woman can possess is not to have children recklessly.

Cheng Qian said coolly, "We are both so busy with work; we aren't considering children for the time being."

"Work?" Li Zhinan only then recalled her speech on stage today on behalf of Ji Nan’s Seed Research Institute. "You resigned from my company just to join the Seed Research Institute? Had you planned this all along?"

Cheng Qian glanced at the man’s expression. His brows were furrowed, as if he were angry.

Not wanting to over-explain, Cheng Qian dismissed him: "What has already happened is not worth dwelling on. I have resigned, and where I go next is my own business."

Li Zhinan’s cold eyes darkened, his face showing clear displeasure. "So, the hundreds of millions I invested in your father's laboratory have just gone down the drain?"

Cheng Qian was startled.

"Li Zhinan, I discovered something recently that I think I need to bring to your attention." Cheng Qian stood up. "Let’s talk in the study."

Cheng Qian walked into her study and opened her laptop.

Li Zhinan, dressed in a black bathrobe, followed her. His tall, upright frame carried an air of oppression.

Cheng Qian immediately pulled up the data she had organized to show him. "The research data from the past four years is all here. I have supplied over a hundred types of medication to your company, but these were only conventional drugs. Every time my research made progress, some sort of 'accident' would occur..."

Li Zhinan looked on indifferently and gave a cynical hum. "Accidents? That’s a convenient excuse, isn't it?"

Ignoring his sarcasm, Cheng Qian said earnestly, "On the day I resigned, someone broke into my office, rummaged through my files, and pried open my drawers. They seemed to be looking for something important."

Li Zhinan raised an eyebrow. "A burglar in the lab?"

Cheng Qian bit her lip. "Not a burglar. There is a mole in the lab. I don't know who sent them, but they are deliberately trying to stop me from developing new drugs."

"Cheng Qian, where is the evidence?" Li Zhinan’s voice was grim. "Without proof, these are just your subjective assumptions. It’s hard to make a case out of that."

Cheng Qian’s brow tightened. "The accidents that happened before seemed to have logical explanations, so I didn't pay much attention. But after my office was ransacked, I became convinced these weren't accidents. I don't have hard evidence, but I hope you will investigate this thoroughly."

Li Zhinan sneered mockingly. "You want me to investigate? On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that you invested three hundred million," Cheng Qian replied. "Don't you want to know who is behind this, sabotaging your company's growth?"

Li Zhinan’s expression stiffened. If there really was a mole, he certainly needed to get to the bottom of it.

"I can investigate, but you have to provide intelligence. Don't tell me you haven't felt anything after being watched by a mole for four years." Li Zhinan was a naturally suspicious man.

Cheng Qian rested her fingers on the back of her chair, closing her eyes for a moment to think. "I do have an idea."

Li Zhinan looked at her elegant face and said quietly, "Oh? Let's hear it."

...

After Cheng Qian finished explaining her plan, she walked past him and went straight to her room to sleep.

Li Zhinan stood in the hallway, his brows knit in a tight knot. A married couple, middle of the night, discussing how to catch a thief?

The next day, Cheng Qian opened their work group chat and sent an email. She claimed that a shared safe had been left in the third-floor storage room of the small building, that she had important belongings locked inside, had forgotten the password, and wanted to know who held the key.

There were over fifty people in the group, and they all replied to say they didn't have the key.

Cheng Qian sent another message, her tone appearing anxious: "It is something my father left behind; it is very important to me. Please, if anyone has the key, I ask for your help."

After sending the message, Cheng Qian called Li Zhinan.

To her surprise, a woman answered the phone.

"Cousin, Zhinan is in the shower..."

Cheng Qian’s face darkened upon hearing this. So much for catching the thief together? He had actually gone to Cheng Yan’s bed early in the morning to "catch milk."

Cheng Qian also wanted to flush out the mole from back then, so she left her son, Xiaoye, with the nanny and drove out.

She parked her car and hurried toward the small building.

Sure enough, the door to the third-floor storage room had been pried open. Someone had been there. The room was in disarray, but there was no one in sight.

Cheng Qian felt a dull ache in her chest from anger. She had sent Li Zhinan a message first thing in the morning, asking him to send someone to catch the culprit. He, however, hadn't sent a soul; he was still in the lap of luxury.

At the thought of this, Cheng Qian turned away in a rage. If he didn't want to investigate, then so be it. It wasn't her money being lost, so why should she care?

As she walked downstairs, she happened to see Li Zhinan’s Bentley pull into the garage with a perfect drift.

Li Zhinan stepped out, followed by Cheng Yan.

Cheng Qian looked at the pair, fresh from their tryst, and walked toward her car with a cold expression.

"Cheng Qian, where is the person?" Li Zhinan approached her and asked sternly.

Cheng Qian said angrily, "They ran away."

"How could that be?" Li Zhinan’s face shifted slightly.

Cheng Qian retorted, "I told you to be here at nine. What time is it now?"

Cheng Yan immediately stepped in to help explain, "Cousin, don't be angry. It’s all my fault. I accidentally fell into the swimming pool. You know that I’ve had a fear of water ever since I choked on it as a child. If Zhinan hadn't saved me..."

Cheng Qian cut through her "tea-scented" act and looked directly at Li Zhinan. "This is the last time I help you."

With that, she walked to her car.

Li Zhinan chased after her, angrily bracing his hand against the car door she was about to close.

"Cheng Qian, I was late, and that’s on me, but you don't need to give me the cold shoulder. Aren't you trying to find the person sabotaging things? Fine, I’ll have someone investigate. There are surveillance cameras everywhere."

Cheng Qian looked at the angry man, both furious and speechless. It was clearly his fault for being late and missing the chance to catch the person red-handed, so what right did he have to be upset with her?

Cheng Qian closed the door and drove away.

In the rearview mirror, she saw Cheng Yan walk up to Li Zhinan’s side, her head lowered, twisting her fingers, as if whispering something.

The New Year atmosphere was heavy. Cheng Qian received a call from the matriarch of the Cheng family.

In Cheng Qian’s memory, this grandmother had always favored her uncle’s family. Since the passing of her parents, she had barely set foot in the Cheng family home. Why would she call now?

Cheng Qian answered, and the old woman said, "Xiao Qian, the New Year is almost here. Do you have time to come home for a meal?"

Cheng Qian said coldly, "I’m busy lately."

"Even if you have a grudge against your uncle, you don't have one with your grandmother, do you? You loved my cooking when you were little." The old lady tried to appeal to reason and sentiment.

Cheng Qian remained firm in her refusal. "I can't get away. We'll talk about it later."

The old lady was truly at a loss with this stubborn granddaughter and could only say, "Alright then. Come home when you have time; your grandmother hasn't seen you in a year."

"Fine!" Cheng Qian replied perfunctorily and hung up.

That evening, Lin Si met Cheng Qian for dinner. At the table, Lin Si stood up for her.

"Xiao Qian, you can't just let her bully you forever. She’s hogging your husband, and she snatched your lab. How much more does she want to take from you?"

Cheng Qian’s expression grew firmer. "The man and the work never truly belonged to me. If she can steal them, I don't care. But if she tries to take my child, I will never allow it."

"Exactly! She even encourages Xiaoye to call her 'Mom.' It’s absolutely disgusting." Lin Si clenched her fists. "Xiao Qian, if she dares to corrupt Xiaoye again, you must slap her across the face. Don't give her any face."

Cheng Qian nodded. "I will. Lin Si, do you have a reliable private investigator you can recommend?"

Lin Si’s eyes lit up, and she immediately thought of someone. "I do! I know this person well; they are very professional."

"Then introduce me. I need to collect evidence of Li Zhinan and her affair as soon as possible." Cheng Qian couldn't wait any longer.

Lin Si snapped her fingers. "I’ll talk to the investigator for you. Don't worry, we’ll make sure to catch them in the act."

"Thank you. How much will it cost? I’ll pay," Cheng Qian said.

"Don't worry about it. Those two are like rats in a sewer—everyone wants to stomp on them. I’ll fund this," Lin Si said, patting her chest with great loyalty.

Cheng Qian’s eyes reddened with gratitude. "Alright, I owe you for this."

Lin Si suddenly lowered her voice. "I heard a virility drug developed by Cheng Bio-Tech is selling like hotcakes. Do you think that 'Li Dog' has been taking it?"

Cheng Qian was taken aback and shook her head. "I don't know."

In the following days, Cheng Qian lived a reclusive life, spending her time with her son, reading, and organizing research materials.

Compared to Cheng Qian’s simple life, Li Zhinan was so busy at the end of the year that he was rarely seen. His company had nearly a hundred investment projects in operation, and he was swamped, yet he still found time to stir up a scandal.

Reporters caught him and a beautiful woman entering a seven-star hotel.

The woman’s silhouette was somewhat blurry, but Li Zhinan’s features were captured clearly. He was leaning his head down, whispering to the woman, his bone structure superior and his appearance dashing.

The scandal only stayed on the internet for half an hour before it was scrubbed clean.

Cheng Qian only saw the news after Lin Si shared it to her phone.

That figure was indeed Cheng Yan, and Li Zhinan’s tall frame walking side-by-side with her looked like a perfect match.

Winter nights always arrive early; by six o'clock, it was pitch black.

The nanny had just finished preparing dinner when the sound of a car engine cutting out drifted in from outside.

A man in a business suit and a black trench coat stepped out from the backseat.

He entered the living room and asked, "Is the mistress home?"

The nanny replied immediately, "The mistress took the child out after four o'clock."

"Did she say where?" The man paused, adjusting his tie.

"No, she only said they wouldn't be back for dinner," the nanny said.

"Hmph!" Li Zhinan headed straight upstairs.

Just then, his phone buzzed with a text message—a photo sent by a friend in his inner circle.

In it, Cheng Qian was sitting in a secluded corner with Xiaoye, having dinner with the Ji family.

Ji Yichen was holding the little boy, teasing him, while Cheng Qian and Ji Nan seemed to be leaning in, engaged in conversation.

The photo made Li Zhinan’s pupils quake.

He had never imagined that Cheng Qian would take his son out to meet another man.