After going back into the coffin to get his things, Bo Yan was ready to head to the office.
He had only recently been transferred back to headquarters. Before that, he had been an ordinary employee at an unremarkable subsidiary of the Bo Group.
He was not curious about why his father had suddenly transferred him back. His father had once saved his life, even though he had never needed saving in the first place.
All he needed to do now was put this life of his to work for him. He could not be bothered to care about anything else.
Besides, what Bo Yan longed for was most likely beyond his father's ability to give.
His father was a businessman, and businessmen pursued profit.
His father was also a cold-blooded man. He could bring himself to hurt even his biological son, Bo Xubai, while Bo Yan was nothing more than an illegitimate son...
"Hubby, are you heading to the office now? How are you getting there? Why don't I drive you? I'm going out anyway." Wen Ning asked when she saw Bo Yan finish packing his documents and laptop.
Bo Yan put away his wandering thoughts and resumed that deadpan expression. His lips moved, and he was about to say-
"No need," Wen Ning answered first. "Right?"
Bo Yan choked on his words.
Wen Ning hopped off the bed with a beaming smile, trotted over, and hooked her arm through his. "Even if you don't need it, you're getting it! Look at the time. If you get a taxi now, you'll definitely be late. Didn't you say you just got transferred to headquarters? Making a good impression on your coworkers matters."
She moved fast, catching Bo Yan off guard as she took his arm. His lips tightened, and with an awkward expression, he started pulling his arm free.
Wen Ning simply wrapped both hands around it, refusing to let him pull away. "All right, all right, let's go. Any later and you'll be late even with me driving."
Unable to pull free, Bo Yan grew a little embarrassed and annoyed. "Wen Ning, keep your hands to yourself. Let go."
Wen Ning's eyes curved into crescents. "I won't keep my hands to myself. Or my lips, either." As she spoke, she rose onto her tiptoes and leaned toward his face.
A flash of panic crossed Bo Yan's face, and he leaned back, his expression stern.
Wen Ning's kiss missed its mark. Her sweet breath brushed his chin, close enough that she almost kissed him, but did not.
Bo Yan's pupils quivered, and his heart skipped a beat.
Just then, the corners of Wen Ning's mouth lifted. She went no further, looking up at him as she said, "All right. Like I said, I won't force you."
Finally, as she stepped away, she released his arm.
She jingled her car keys. "I'll get the car first. I'll wait for you at the entrance."
The moment she left, Bo Yan seemed to deflate. He reached out to brace himself against the doorframe.
Where were his defenses? His vigilance? In the ring, he could accurately predict every opening move his opponent made. Why did that suddenly stop working in front of this woman...
He was a little angry at his body for letting him down. How long had he even spent with this woman, for him to tolerate her getting close so easily?
Just now, he had even...
Bo Yan raised a hand and touched his chin.
Just like the breath that had brushed his forehead that morning, it had smelled of peaches.
The patch of skin on his chin felt as though it were burning. Then that fire spread to his forehead, until his entire face was alarmingly hot.
He was irritated, irritated with himself for being so useless, and with those two kisses of Wen Ning's that morning that had hovered on the verge of landing...
That woman must have done it on purpose!
If Wen Ning knew what Bo Yan was thinking, she would definitely have cried, "You've got me all wrong, dude!"
That morning, she had been reaching for her phone.
Just now in the coffin, he had dodged so quickly. Wouldn't she have been courting death if she had kept trying to kiss him?
Still, it would have been a little dishonest to say she had no other intentions whatsoever.
Wen Ning might never have dated, but even if she had never eaten pork, hadn't she seen pigs run?
Besides, she had a ride-or-die bestie who had devoured countless books and webnovels. Relationships needed a little push and pull. The same principle probably applied to being a simp.
Thinking of her best friend, Wen Ning sighed.
She had no idea what her situation in the real world was. Had her body vanished outright, or had she become a vegetable, like in TV dramas?
Either way, her babe would definitely be devastated.
Even her parents, who had long since stopped keeping a place for her in their hearts, would probably shed a tear or two for her.
She was wallowing in sadness when a lukewarm voice suddenly came from the passenger seat. "If you want to make me late, just say so."
Wen Ning's broken heart instantly glued itself back together.
She secretly rolled her eyes, then turned toward him with another radiant smile. "Of course not. Sit tight. Let me show you what the racing god of Mount Akina can do."
Bo Yan had barely opened his mouth when a powerful surge pinned him back into his seat, almost flinging him out of the passenger seat.
The corner of Bo Yan's eye twitched.
This woman really did still want to kill him.
Wen Ning usually drove to work too, but her car had only cost a little over a hundred thousand yuan.
The original owner had her own garage at the Bo Family home. Wen Ning had only found out when she went to get the car.
More than a dozen supercars had nearly blinded her.
After careful consideration, she had chosen a silver Ferrari. From its design to its driving comfort, her cheap little car that cost a little over a hundred thousand was no match for it!
Wen Ning had an absolute blast driving it!
After dropping Bo Yan off in front of the Bo Group building, Wen Ning waved at him from inside the car, smiling sweetly. "I'll bring you a lunch made with love at noon. Wait for me, hubby~"
As though worried Bo Yan would refuse, Wen Ning drove off as soon as she finished speaking.
Bo Yan stood where he was until the silver car vanished from sight, then walked toward the Bo Group building with his employee badge.
Several of Bo Yan's coworkers happened to witness the scene.
Bo Yan's identity had not been made public, but his looks and surname made it clear he was no ordinary person.
At first, his coworkers had thought Bo Yan belonged to some branch of the Bo Family, but they soon discovered that his clothes and belongings were not even as good as those of ordinary employees like them. He even squeezed onto the subway or took taxis to work every day.
He was so down-and-out that he hardly resembled a wealthy young master.
Later, a rumor had spread from somewhere that Bo Yan was the Bo Family's illegitimate son.
"Illegitimate child" and "mistress" were labels that would always draw scorn.
The way everyone looked at Bo Yan had changed instantly.
Just like now-
"Am I seeing things? Did that bastard get out of a Ferrari?"
"Since when could he afford to ride in a car that nice? Don't tell me he's just like his mother, being kept by some rich woman and playing the homewrecker!"
"He looks like a total fox spirit. Reeks of sluttiness. Having someone like that as a coworker is disgusting."
"Well, that's not necessarily true, is it? Didn't they say he married the Wen Family's eldest daughter? Maybe it's her car?"
"What are you thinking? Of course it isn't! Haven't you heard? She only married him to help our young President Bo get revenge on him. She hates that bastard as much as she loves young President Bo. See all those injuries on him? She gave him every one of them."
"Holy shit, isn't she sacrificing way too much..."
The men were gossiping behind his back when someone suddenly asked from behind them, "What are you guys talking about? What kept man? What fox spirit?"
Gossiping behind someone's back was hardly honorable, after all. They jumped, only to turn and find themselves face-to-face with the playboy He Cheng.
"Oh, it's young President He." They immediately relaxed.
Young President He was a friend of their young President Bo, a very close personal friend. The man they were insulting was the person young President Bo hated most. Young President He certainly would not hold it against them. He might even join them in spitting on that illegitimate son, Bo Yan.
With that thought, one of the more calculating male employees embellished the story as he spilled the news about Bo Yan getting out of a rich woman's car.
He Cheng looked surprised. "You're sure Bo Yan got out of a woman's car?"
The calculating employee said, "One hundred percent!"
Another chimed in, "That woman looked forty or fifty, easy."
"Yeah, judging by her clothes and appearance, she was probably some rich man's wife. I also vaguely heard her say she'd bring Bo Yan a lunch made with love at noon."
"Bo Yan really is just as disgusting as his mother..."
Seeing that they were about to keep babbling, He Cheng raised a hand to stop them. "All right, got it. Go back to work."
They nodded and bowed as they agreed, all inwardly proud of having made an impression on young President He.
He Cheng paid no attention to their petty schemes. As soon as they left, he excitedly pulled out his phone to tip off the Wen Family's eldest daughter!
With that young lady's temper, there should be quite a show at noon.
He Cheng had been about to head back to the He Group, but now he decided on the spot to stay until he had watched the show.
Meanwhile, Wen Ning was on her way to meet the original owner's best friend, Tian Xinxin.
When He Cheng's message arrived, Wen Ning happened to be waiting at a red light.
She took a moment to glance at her phone, and the sight nearly left her dumbfounded.
What did he mean, Bo Yan was cheating with a sixty-year-old married woman, and the two had arranged a secret rendezvous at noon, just waiting for her to come catch them in the act?
She understood every one of those words separately. Why couldn't she understand them strung together?
No, wait. This sixty-year-old woman He Cheng said Bo Yan was cheating with was rich...
Wen Ning's expression gradually twisted.
Thinking of Bo Yan's psychopathic personality, the kind that would threaten even a dog by the roadside with "Believe it or not, I'll kill you," and putting that together with certain words in the WeChat message, Wen Ning quickly confirmed it-
That married, sixty-something rich woman was none other than Wen Ning herself.
Someone had probably seen her driving Bo Yan to work that morning.
According to Bo Yan's characterization in the novel, everyone who appeared around him harbored malice. If this were not a society governed by law, with his malice-attracting constitution, Bo Yan could get inexplicably stabbed to death just taking a casual stroll down the street.
Wen Ning's expression cooled, and she clicked her tongue in irritation.
All she had done was drive Bo Yan to work, and it had stirred up so much bullshit. These people really had nothing better to do.
Usually, this kind of setup was reserved for the female lead.
The female lead would be maliciously slandered by her coworkers, and at her most helpless moment, the male lead would descend from the heavens, the hero rescuing the beauty.
Wen Ning checked the time. She needed to go back and prepare properly.
With that thought, she called Tian Xinxin. "Hey, babe, I might not be able to make it right now. Something's come up."
A mature, commanding female voice came from the other end. "What is it? Why the rush?"
Wen Ning stepped on the accelerator, her gaze resolute. "Saving my female lead."