Chapter 30: Establishing Rules for Jing Zhuo

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Jing Zhuo lowered his eyes and fell into an unusually long silence.

As a man who had spent years navigating the business world, President Jing remained perfectly composed in a crisis. Whenever he encountered a question he could not answer, all he had to do was keep silent—stare at the other person without saying a word.

Seeing that he remained silent for so long, Zhang Hening found an explanation for him herself.

“You accuse me of ruining someone else’s family, but aren’t you doing the same thing? You’re interfering in someone else’s marriage.”

“That’s the tie Xibao gave her husband. Why are you wearing it? If Xibao finds out, she’ll be terribly upset. Besides, Brother, haven’t you always hated the color red?”

The reasoning was quite sound.

Jing Zhuo shamelessly adopted it.

“Do your job properly. Don’t ask questions that aren’t your concern.”

The elevator doors opened. Jing Zhuo toyed with the tie and walked out without looking back.

Watching his tall, smug figure retreat, Zhang Hening immediately sent Song Xi a series of messages.

“A man still needs to be disciplined. If you don’t set a few rules, he’ll forget who’s in charge.”

Song Xi had just finished her premarital medical examination and was leaving the hospital.

“?”

Zhang Hening: “I just saw my eldest brother wearing the red tie you gave your husband. My eldest brother’s lack of boundaries is one thing, but how can your husband be so careless too? How could he let another man use a gift you gave him? No matter how close the two of them are, that’s still inappropriate. A friend’s wife is off-limits!”

Afraid her best friend might be upset, Zhang Hening added two more comforting messages.

“But don’t worry. I’ve already educated my eldest brother. When you get home, you need to discipline your husband too and set a few rules for him. Got it?”

Song Xi was too busy to reply for a long time.

Zhang Hening returned to her desk and did some work first. After organizing the documents Assistant Chen had given her, she pushed open the door to the president’s office.

“Bro—President, these contracts need your signature.”

She knew perfectly well that she had to use his official title during working hours!

Jing Zhuo was typing with his head lowered. He merely nodded toward the desk beside him, indicating that she should put the documents there.

After setting them down, Zhang Hening’s eyes shifted. She stepped forward and tried to ingratiate herself with him.

“Big Brother, I’d like to take a few hours off this afternoon.”

“Sick leave or personal leave?” Jing Zhuo asked without looking up.

“Sick leave.” Zhang Hening spoke with utter seriousness. “I was poisoned by those mushrooms the day before yesterday, remember? I feel like there’s still poison in my body that hasn’t been flushed out. I’m dizzy, and my vision is blurry. I’d like to take the afternoon off and go home to lie down.”

“Lying down won’t flush out the poison,” Jing Zhuo said. “Get down right here and do two hundred push-ups. Sweating will help detoxify you. Come on, I’ll personally supervise you.”

Zhang Hening: “…”

Damn these capitalists! She did not want to do push-ups!

“…I suddenly feel better. I don’t need time off anymore. I’m going back to work. Goodbye, Big Brother!”

Zhang Hening turned and tried to slip away, but Jing Zhuo called out from behind her.

“By the way, I’m setting a curfew for you. From now on, you must be home before nine in the evening.”

Zhang Hening: “???”

“Eight.”

Zhang Hening completely broke down. “Why have you been picking on me lately?”

It was one thing to drag her into the company to work, but now he was even imposing a curfew on her. She was certain she had recently become the target of his scrutiny!

Jing Zhuo remained expressionless. “Because I’ve discovered that you’re too wild—and you’ve been encouraging others to be wild with you.”

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Eating hot pot in the middle of the night was one thing. She had even managed to choose poisonous mushrooms.

And being poisoned by mushrooms was one thing. The trouble was that when the poison took effect, she had wanted to grab a man by the crotch.

Fortunately, Song Xi had gone home when she was poisoned that day, so the victim had been him.

If she had stayed out a little longer… Jing Zhuo did not dare imagine whose crotch she might have seriously reached for.

The mere thought of it made him shudder with fear.

He simply sent her away. “All right, go out and reflect on your behavior.”

Zhang Hening was furious but did not dare protest. She left, both angry and timid.

The moment she reached her desk, she saw Assistant Chen, Jing Zhuo’s number-one lackey, approaching with a smiling face and one hand extended. It was time for the routine phone collection.

Jing Zhuo had ordered that she was not allowed to play with her phone during working hours. She had to hand it over and would get it back after work.

Zhang Hening took out her phone and collapsed facedown on the desk.

“Assistant Chen,” she said suspiciously, “is my brother going through menopause?”

“Men don’t go through menopause.”

“Have you noticed that he’s been unusually irritable lately? His temper is awful, and nothing about him seems right. Could he have been possessed by something?”

Assistant Chen thought about it.

“Not at all. The boss has been especially pleasant lately. His temper is mild, he’s eager to go home after work, and he’s even stopped attending drinking engagements.”

Zhang Hening thought, So he’s only bullying me?

This was ridiculous!

Inside the office, Jing Zhuo signed several documents and capped his pen. Then, without warning, he lowered his eyes and examined his tie.

As expected, there was an inconspicuous little emblem at the end.

It was one of a kind.

Song Xi had chosen it for him.

He ran his fingertip over the delicate floral engraving on the dark-red tie, and the secret satisfaction in his heart quietly deepened.

Setting aside his identity as the eldest son of the Zhang family, she did not have much prejudice against him. She could accept a man five years older than herself as her husband.

At least, he could tell from their kisses.

She did not resist him.

When the passion deepened, she would even respond to him.

It would only be a matter of time before their feelings developed.

Once Song Xi truly accepted him, he could reveal his identity and take her home openly and honorably.

With that thought, Jing Zhuo called for Assistant Chen.

“Chen Feng, send me my schedule for the coming week.”

Chen Feng entered with a tablet, brought up the schedule for the following week, and handed it to him.

Jing Zhuo glanced over it, swiped through several items, and began rearranging his work.

“Find someone to represent me at tonight’s drinking engagement. For the next week, avoid scheduling work after eight in the evening whenever possible. Don’t contact me after work unless it’s urgent. And keep both weekend days free.”

“Understood, Boss.”

Chen Feng was secretly delighted.

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Excellent. If the boss left work early, the office drones would be back in their pen early too.

Who said the boss had a bad temper?

He had clearly been very considerate lately.

Hopefully, the boss would maintain these admirable habits. Working people were very happy indeed.

Jing Zhuo decisively cleared all his extra engagements for the week, freeing every evening and preparing himself to cultivate his relationship with his wife.

His wife was busy during the day, but that was all right. They still had their nights together.

After work, he deliberately took a detour to a cake shop and bought two small cakes flavored with green grapes.

When he returned home, he saw that Song Xi had already come back from work.

Two large suitcases lay in the living room. She was crouched on the floor, packing her things inside them.

“You’re back~”

Song Xi glanced up at him when she had a spare moment and said casually, “I’m going on a business trip tomorrow for a week, so I won’t be home. Just letting you know~”

Jing Zhuo: “…A business trip? For a week?”

She would not be home for an entire week?

“Yes.” Song Xi explained as she packed. “A celebrity booked a photoshoot, but he’s in Sanya and couldn’t make room in his schedule, so our photography team has to go to Sanya to follow him for the shoot.”

“I need to finish packing. I’m leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”

The celebrity’s schedule could not be rearranged.

And now it had stolen his schedule.

Jing Zhuo pressed his thin lips together, a suffocating breath lodged in his chest with nowhere to go.

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Song Xi asked with concern when she noticed his poor complexion.

“No. The sun is strong in Sanya, so be careful about sunburn and heatstroke.” Jing Zhuo forced a smile.

“Mm-hmm, I know.”

Song Xi closed the suitcase and fastened the zipper. When she stood up, she finally noticed the green-grape cakes in his hand, and her eyes lit up.

“You even brought little cakes home?”

Jing Zhuo nodded and placed them on the dining table. “Yes. I bought them for you.”

“Thank you! I love them!”

Song Xi had a sweet tooth and especially loved fruit cakes. She occasionally suffered from low blood sugar, so she needed to replenish herself with sweets from time to time to keep up her energy.

She waited for Jing Zhuo to unwrap the cakes, then scooped up a bite with a spoon and sighed contentedly.

“They’re delicious. I was craving cake after seeing Hening eating it in the middle of the night last time.”

Mentioning Hening reminded Song Xi of something else. She looked up at Jing Zhuo.

“Were you with her older brother today? She said her brother was wearing the tie I gave you. Did you lend it to him?”