Chapter 246: Cold Queen Li Ruobing!

Chapter 246: Cold Queen Li Ruobing!

Wu Chen had called Su Qingying and Wu Yurong the day before as well.

But he had not told either of them exactly when he would arrive. He had mentioned only that they would all have dinner together that evening.

As for Li Ruobing—

the day before, Wu Chen had weighed whether to tell her in advance that he was bringing people back.

With his other women it made no difference either way. It was not a question of whether they could control him. They simply had no right to. They did not have the standing.

Only Li Ruobing did.

After thinking it over, he had decided to tell her beforehand. That was why he had called before going to sleep.

Not to prepare her, exactly.

Rather…

the crucial thing was that she needed to meet He Shiqin as soon as possible.

The two cars entered the complex one after the other and went down into the underground garage.

A few minutes later.

In the villa’s first-floor living room, Li Ruobing sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, dressed in business attire, her black hair long and straight as ever. Today she wore very eye-catching red lipstick and black stockings.

The overall effect was extraordinarily striking.

Not so much a female CEO.

More like a cold queen.

It was chiefly the expression and the aura. She sat with her arms folded, her face frigid, her gaze sharp, the pressure around her almost frightening.

In truth she was not that angry.

She was making herself look furious on purpose.

Working herself into the mood.

Very deliberately adjusting her state.

She wanted to give Wu Chen an initial show of force, so that afterward he would rein himself in a little.

Her mind was full of a woman’s little calculations.

Ding!

A sudden chime from the direction of the stairwell. Not the stairs themselves, but the elevator beside them. The villa had an elevator.

Li Ruobing turned her head at once. She knew Wu Chen ought to be back. The timing was about right.

The doors opened.

Wu Chen stepped out first.

Behind him, sure enough, were three women.

Li Ruobing rose at once, her high heels clicking sharply across the floor as she took several steps toward them.

Then something in her face shifted.

Zhuang Xiaodie. Young, beautiful, with an incredible figure.

He Shiqin. Not as young as Zhuang Xiaodie, but with more mature charm. She looked only twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and her figure was just as incredible.

Those two presented no “problem.” They fit her assumptions.

The problem was the third.

She was plainly a young girl. She looked like a junior-high student, small and cute.

Li Ruobing did not believe Wu Chen could possibly be that depraved.

So…

her expression changed. She realized she might have misunderstood something. At least part of it.

Zhuang Xiaodie saw Li Ruobing and did not dare meet her eyes. Instead she glanced at Wu Chen, uneasy without meaning to.

Li Ruobing caught the look.

She could tell at once. This one was Wu Chen’s little lover. No question. A look like that did not lie.

“When did you get here?” Wu Chen greeted her with a smile as he led the three farther in.

“An hour ago.”

Her face was expressionless, her voice ice-cold. She walked all the way up until she stood directly in front of the four of them.

That face. That aura.

He Xinxin was frightened enough to duck straight behind her mother.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” Li Ruobing folded her arms again, her gaze sweeping over Zhuang Xiaodie, He Shiqin, and He Xinxin.

Wu Chen laughed. He glanced around at the three of them, then gestured toward Li Ruobing first.

“My girlfriend, Li Ruobing.”

Then he introduced Zhuang Xiaodie.

“This is Zhuang Xiaodie.” He indicated her with a gesture.

Zhuang Xiaodie felt deeply uncomfortable. Inside she was panicking. At first sight, she had found Li Ruobing breathtakingly beautiful. In terms of looks, neither outshone the other.

But in presence…

Zhuang Xiaodie felt she might start trembling.

She did not dare greet Li Ruobing at all. She was afraid Li Ruobing might simply slap her across the face.

Then Wu Chen continued.

“This is He Xinxin. She’s in junior high. She’s come to Donghai for a bit of fun and to learn painting from me while she’s here…”

Having introduced He Xinxin, he finally indicated the woman on his left.

“And this is He Shiqin. Xinxin’s mother.”

The instant Li Ruobing heard the name He Shiqin, her expression changed. First came the slightest pause on that blank face as it registered.

Then her eyes widened.

In that one moment she thought through a great many things, and understood a great many things.

The simple fact that He Shiqin had come to Donghai carried an enormous weight of information.

Wu Chen had told Li Ruobing about Ding Ruilong, about Dong Yuantao, about He Shiqin.

So she understood that He Shiqin was the only witness who could prove Ding Ruilong had killed Dong Yuantao.

But Wu Chen had never told her he had already made contact with the woman. Not once. So Li Ruobing had never known what exactly he had gone to Modu to do. Later he had told her about Gu Ruibo, and that was the whole of what she knew.

Utterly unexpected.

Three days in Modu, and he had brought back to Donghai a woman who until now had existed for her only inside a story.

That He Shiqin was willing to come to Donghai with him and meet Li Ruobing face to face was enough for Li Ruobing to conclude that the two of them had already reached an agreement.

He Shiqin would testify.

And Wu Chen had brought Ding Ruilong’s illegitimate daughter back with him.

He Shiqin had taken her daughter and betrayed Ding Ruilong.

This was a strike at the very root.

It took Li Ruobing several full seconds to come back to herself. Then her whole aura shifted at once, and she smiled—and with that smile the atmosphere seemed to pass from the dead of winter straight into spring in full bloom.

“Miss He. A pleasure to meet you.” Li Ruobing stepped forward and put out her hand.

“Ah… Miss Li, a pleasure, a pleasure. You really are beautiful, Miss Li.”

He Shiqin needed a moment before she hurriedly took the offered hand. She even paid her a compliment.

“So are you. And not only you—your daughter is adorable. She looks so much like you.”

Li Ruobing said it with a smile, glancing at He Xinxin, and even reached out to pat the girl’s head.

Exactly as Wu Chen had anticipated. The moment Li Ruobing knew this was He Shiqin, she began building rapport and turned entirely warm.

She felt no hostility toward He Xinxin either. The girl was Ding Ruilong’s daughter, but she had done nothing wrong.

Neither had He Shiqin.

Both of them deserved sympathy.

Because Li Ruobing’s manner had changed, He Xinxin was no longer so frightened. She looked up obediently and said, “Big Sister, you’re so pretty.”

“You certainly know how to talk.” Li Ruobing smiled and gave her cheek a light pinch.

“What do you mean, Big Sister? She’s your teacher’s girlfriend. Where are your manners?” He Shiqin shot her daughter a look and pretended to scold her.

“Oh… Auntie, you’re so pretty. You and Teacher look really good together,” He Xinxin said.

She truly did know how to talk.

Li Ruobing’s smile deepened. She stroked the girl’s hair once more, then looked at Wu Chen, took two steps closer, and lifted both hands to cup his face.

“Darling!”

And she kissed him.

Right there in front of the other three.

He Shiqin reacted quickly and raised a hand to cover He Xinxin’s eyes. He Xinxin tugged at her mother’s hand, trying to peek.

A kiss after even a short separation was perfectly normal.

A few seconds, and they parted.

Li Ruobing stayed very close to him and said softly, still smiling, “My dear Mr. Wu, you really do always know how to surprise me.”

There was something beneath those words.

Wu Chen smiled. Then he gave her a look, flicking his eyes to the side.

Li Ruobing understood his looks very well.

She felt it was necessary to give Wu Chen this bit of face. And her mood really had lifted, because Li Ruobing knew exactly how important He Shiqin was.

So she gave him a look back that carried a trace of reproach and a little exasperation.

Then—

Li Ruobing took two steps toward Zhuang Xiaodie.

Zhuang Xiaodie knew exactly what Li Ruobing had sounded like on the phone the night before. So even with the coldness gone from her face, she was still afraid.

She read Li Ruobing’s smile as a knife hidden behind it.

She did not believe Wu Chen could keep this woman in hand. If he could, Li Ruobing would never have taken that tone.

And when Li Ruobing came over and looked at her—

Zhuang Xiaodie actually took a step back without meaning to.