The Candidates

Li Wei held up her phone, while Cheng Hao's father's words echoed over and over in her mind.

"So even thirty million can't change anything... Then, can I stake everything for Li Cheng?"

She froze for a moment, her thoughts surging.

She looked at the nearly empty bottle of painkillers beside the bed.

She looked at the little one curled up on the small bed, barely managing to sleep.

The original body's emotions surged fiercely, and her own heart was just as resolute.

I took your sister's body. I have to do something, at least.

The voice of Cheng Hao's father came through the phone again. "Student Li, if you find it difficult to decide, you can think it over for a few days and give me your answer later."

"No need!" Li Wei said. "I can do it!"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"I can do it!"

"..."

"..."

"Good. Keep the line open, and wait for my call."

At the Cheng family villa, Cheng Hao was going insane. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared fixedly at his father.

"Cheng Dongsheng, what the hell are you trying to do!"

Cheng Dongsheng gave him a sidelong glance. "This is her choice. If you don't want her to hate you for the rest of her life, don't make trouble."

With that, he looked at his wife. "Baozhu, take the two children outside."

Though Cheng Hao's mother was a Tier 4 powerhouse, when it came to major matters, she was accustomed to following her husband's instructions.

Ignoring her elder son's struggles and her younger son's eagerness to watch the drama unfold, she firmly grabbed both of them by the collars and dragged them out.

As the door closed, Cheng Dongsheng drew a deep breath and found a number in his contacts that he had never called of his own accord.

The instant he dialed, his upper body instinctively straightened. His butt barely touched the sofa as he did his best to steady his breathing.

Beep—beep—beep—

The ringing went on for a long while before the other side picked up, and a deep, stern male voice came through.

"Who is this?"

Cheng Dongsheng inhaled deeply and said respectfully, "Mr. Liang, it's me, Cheng Dongsheng of Baohe Real Estate. Half a year ago, at Old Master Ji's birthday banquet..."

Before he could finish, the man seemed to remember him and interrupted, "Oh, it's you—the chubby one? Ji... Ji..."

"Ji Baozhu, my wife, Old Master Ji's granddaughter." Cheng Dongsheng bent at the waist, speaking with great care.

"Right, Ji Baozhu's husband. Look at my memory."

"Important people like you have a lot on your minds."

"Mm. Go on. What are you calling about?"

"Do you remember..." Cheng Dongsheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, constantly searching for the right words. "At the time, you mentioned to Old Master Ji that you wanted everyone to keep an eye out for some candidates. Do you still need one now?"

"Oh?" Mr. Liang seemed interested, and his voice was no longer casual. "You've found a suitable one?"

"Yes. I happened to come across one." Cheng Dongsheng lowered his voice.

"I'll give you my email address. Send me the information." Mr. Liang sounded somewhat impatient.

"All right, all right!" Cheng Dongsheng hurriedly agreed.

Less than twenty seconds after the call ended, an email address arrived on his phone.

Cheng Dongsheng immediately opened his computer and sent over the photo of Li Wei that he had taken from Cheng Hao's screensaver, the electronic file he had just obtained through his connections, and her family information—all in one go.

More than an hour later, just as Cheng Dongsheng was so anxious he could barely breathe, his phone rang again.

Seeing the caller ID on the screen, he relaxed slightly, sat up straight, and answered.

Before he could even speak, Mr. Liang's somewhat excited voice came from the other end.

"Dongsheng, you did very well this time."

Hearing that, Cheng Dongsheng felt as if he had taken a bite of delicious ice cream in the blazing heat of midsummer. His entire being was about to soar with delight.

He suppressed his excitement and said solemnly, "Naturally, I had to give my utmost to what you arranged."

"Good, very good!" Mr. Liang encouraged him. "Bring that girl to Mulan Villa tomorrow. I want to speak with her personally. Remember, keep a low profile. Don't let anyone know."

"Yes, yes!" Cheng Dongsheng nodded and bowed until Mr. Liang hung up. Only then did he look as though he had just crawled out of the water, tug at his collar, and collapse against the back of the sofa.

After a long while...

Click...

The heavy study door opened again, and Ji Baozhu sashayed in.

Her looks were ordinary, but her figure and bearing were exceptionally good.

She possessed both the gentle refinement of a wife and the sharp efficiency of a female martial artist. In addition, reaching Tier 4 had lengthened her lifespan and given her the art of preserving her youth. Though she was already in her forties, she looked only twenty-five or twenty-six, adding no small amount of charm to her.

She sat down on the sofa opposite Cheng Dongsheng, crossing her honey-colored long legs as her almond-shaped eyes fixed on her husband.

"Looking at you, I'd say it worked?"

"Mm..." Cheng Dongsheng nodded. "Half of it, anyway. It all depends on that final push tomorrow."

"Aren't you afraid your son will hate you?"

"This concerns the major affair of the Cheng and Ji families. Can we let him fool around?"

"Heh. What a black heart."

Cheng Dongsheng laughed. "Isn't this exactly the kind of me you like? Heh heh."

His spirit had been wound taut just moments ago, and now that it suddenly relaxed, seeing his wife's perfectly proportioned long legs made his lower abdomen burn. Desire abruptly flared within him.

With a lascivious chuckle, Cheng Dongsheng scooted over and forcibly squeezed in beside Ji Baozhu. Their bodies pressed together, and his hands began wandering as well.

Ji Baozhu shoved his fat hand away and asked thoughtfully, "The two children of Chairman Liang seem to be only in high school. I haven't heard of anyone going to the battlefield. Why is he in such a hurry to find a scapegoat?"

Cheng Dongsheng's hand reached toward his wife's thigh again as he answered perfunctorily, "Who knows?"

Ji Baozhu's face flushed, but she did not stop him again.

"I doubt he's finding one for his own children. Tell me, who would be worth Chairman Liang personally stepping in? And why set the standards so strictly?"

"Over the past six months, the Ji family recommended quite a few girls, but every one of them was rejected. I have a feeling this matter isn't simple."

"Ah~ You're going to kill me! The children are still outside."

"You locked the door when you came in, and you even changed clothes. Did you think I didn't notice?" Cheng Dongsheng chuckled. "Don't worry about other people's business. We're solving a problem for the people above us—could they possibly forget our contribution? If this succeeds, then when you return to the Ji family, who would still dare give you attitude? As for you and Ji Baoyue in the future, who's the legitimate branch and who's the collateral branch—that's still hard to say..."

"You make it sound as if I were the only one benefiting... Ah~ Ah... No, I haven't washed..."

"I just like the natural flavor. Heh heh."

Early the next morning, Li Wei held Li Cheng in her arms and waited on a street near the urban village until Cheng Dongsheng arrived in a beat-up van.

Cheng Hao sat in the passenger seat as well, his face ashen, as though every bone had been pulled from his body.

Seeing Li Wei by the roadside in her old school uniform, holding the "little silkworm cocoon," Cheng Dongsheng rolled down the window with a creak, removed his sunglasses, and grinned from ear to ear with a large cigar clamped in his left hand.

"Student Li?"

Li Wei looked at the battered van with some surprise, but still nodded politely in response.

Then she did not forget to wave at Cheng Hao, who looked half-dead. He did not even lift an eyelid.

"Don't mind him!" Cheng Dongsheng got out, opened the rear door, and invited Li Wei into the van. "I was afraid you'd take me for a con man, so I brought him along too."

Faced with such bluntness, what else could Li Wei say? She could only offer an awkward yet polite smile.

A light breeze stirred her hair, making her beauty seem unreal.

Cheng Dongsheng was dazed again. He hurriedly visualized his wife's honey-colored long legs, only then recovering from the beauty's devastating blow.

Damn, she's even more lethal in person than in the photo. With a classmate like this, what kind of fine food has Cheng Hao been eating?

The vehicle started moving again. Along the way, Cheng Dongsheng's chatter never stopped, while Cheng Hao remained silent.

"...You don't need to be afraid. The important person I'm taking you to meet today has status. He won't do anything to a little girl like you..."

"...Whatever they ask you, just answer. Tell them exactly what you told me yesterday..."

"...You must be honest. Don't try to be clever, understand..."

"..."