CHAPTER 173: CHAPTER 173: ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT HIS THOUGHTS

Gong Xiaoyu finally noticed that Zhang Miaoyan’s hand was wrapped in a bandage. She picked up her hand to examine it: "When did you get hurt? You were fine just now."

Zhang Miaoyan said a bit embarrassedly: "I cut myself while cleaning the knife earlier. It’s just a small cut, nothing serious."

Yue Xiaoyang checked it and habitually pushed her head: "Xiao Yu doesn’t get hurt while cooking, how come you, the helper, are so careless? Pighead!"

Zhang Miaoyan felt a bit dizzy from his push.

Gong Xiaoyu hit him: "Miao Yan just got out of the hospital, why are you being so mean to her!"

Xie Yuchen also said coldly: "Doctor Yue really treats his patients with enthusiasm."

Gong Xiaoyu nervously asked Miao Yan: "Are you okay?"

Yue Xiaoyang almost forgot that Zhang Miaoyan had fallen and hit her head before, so he quickly said: "Miao Yan, are you alright? If you’re out of commission, who’s going to wash the dishes later?"

Gong Xiaoyu threw him a dirty look.

Zhang Miaoyan saw Xie Yuchen about to come over to check on her, so she quickly lowered her head to drink her soup and said: "I’m fine, don’t worry about me, let’s eat."

Yue Xiaoyang sat back down and tasted two dishes, constantly praising Gong Xiaoyu’s excellent cooking skills. He even asked Xie Yuchen: "How do you find my girlfriend’s cooking?"

Xie Yuchen thoughtfully took a couple more bites. Zhang Miaoyan occasionally stole glances at him and saw him nod: "It’s indeed pretty good."

She felt a sense of relief in her heart and her appetite improved.

She kept telling herself to forget him, but deep down, she still cared about his opinion.

Gong Xiaoyu, hearing their conversation, felt extremely guilty and said: "Eat more, talk less."

Zhang Miaoyan didn’t participate in their conversation at all. After the meal, Gong Xiaoyu insisted on washing the dishes. She had already taken over Miao Yan’s chore, how could she let her wash the dishes again.

Zhang Miaoyan found an excuse to go up to her room; she couldn’t stay in the hall anymore, always feeling like Xie Yuchen was watching her.

Xie Yuchen watched her flee upstairs and felt a dull pain in his heart. He didn’t stay long before leaving.

Gong Xiaoyu put the dishes in the dishwasher when her mother called. She answered: "Mom."

Mrs. Gong, with her well-meaning advice, said: "I’ve told you, your Aunt Yu and Uncle Yu like you so much. Why can’t you consider Yu Zheng? I saw your Uncle Yu at the academic exchange today. It’s so embarrassing for me."

Ever since she knew her daughter and Yu Zheng were already friends, Mrs. Gong was overjoyed, thinking she would hear some good news soon. But how would she know that after so long, the two still maintained the status quo? How could they not be anxious as parents?

Gong Xiaoyu walked to a corner and lowered her voice: "Mom, Yu Zheng and I are just friends, I really don’t feel that way. Please don’t force me."

She didn’t dare to tell her family she had a boyfriend, let alone that her boyfriend was Yue Xiaoyang, whom her mother had met at the mall. With her mother’s personality, she would definitely pressure her to get married.

She didn’t want Yue Xiaoyang to feel like she was using her mom to force him into marriage; that wasn’t her intention.

Mrs. Gong continued to persuade: "What’s wrong with Yu Zheng? He looks good, has a great character, and is capable. He’s the special assistant to the president of the Gu Group. Trust your mother’s judgment, I wouldn’t be wrong."

"Mom, I know Yu Zheng is great, but if there’s no feeling, there’s really no way."

Gong Xiaoyu felt very guilty towards Yu Zheng. That day when they met at the Wansu Technology Building, Yu Zheng saw her holding hands with Yue Xiaoyang. She would never forget the look of disappointment on his face.

She didn’t even dare to see Yu Zheng now, always feeling like she had let him down.

Seeing her daughter so stubborn, Mrs. Gong hung up the phone angrily: "Fine, I won’t care anymore, do whatever you like!"

Gong Xiaoyu felt dejected, wondering how she could make her mom understand.

When Li Chong found out that An Lingling had transferred most of the funds, he couldn’t find her anywhere.

He was furious, "That bitch dared to run away with the money, does she think Li Chong is a pushover?"

He had people search all the places An Lingling usually went, but couldn’t find even a trace of her.

He cursed out his subordinates, discovering that many of his people were missing and Lv Jing was also not around.

Only then did he realize something was wrong. How could living people just vanish into thin air?

He had people search all the nightspots again, but still, Lv Jing was nowhere to be found. He didn’t take it seriously because he thought there were plenty of women out there; losing one didn’t matter. However, the money that An Lingling took was not so easy to overlook. He would dig deep into the earth to drag that bitch back!

But what he didn’t expect was that while they couldn’t find An Lingling, his three casinos were raided by the police overnight. They were shut down permanently, the betting money disappeared, and from a big boss, he instantly became a penniless debtor, hunted down by debt collectors daily.

He hid everywhere, hoping to use the clothing company’s working capital to patch this hole, but unfortunately, his suppliers all withdrew at this time, signed orders vanished, and his savings were taken by An Lingling...

He had no choice but to auction off his properties at low prices, but it was just a drop in the bucket, far from enough to remedy this inexplicable disaster.

He had struggled for most of his life, was it going to end like this?

Li Chong was unwilling to accept this, cursing An Lingling every day. It must be her bad luck that dragged him down to this state!

He sought out every friend he had worked with before, hoping to borrow some money to get through the crisis, at least to sell off the stock in his warehouse. But those so-called brothers who used to call him brother didn’t even show their faces, let alone lend him money!

In a short few days, Li Chong experienced the coldness of human nature as his company headed irreversibly towards bankruptcy.

He was broke and hiding under a bridge, unable to fathom why things had suddenly turned out this way when everything had been fine.

Piecing everything together, it felt like a mysterious hand was orchestrating these events.

Finally, one day, he was blindfolded and taken to a strangely constructed house that felt like a prison, divided into many small rooms. In one room, he saw Lv Jing and three other subordinates who had been missing for days.

They were all imprisoned together, and Lv Jing was completely naked, filthy as if she hadn’t bathed in days. Her face was bruised, and her hands were shackled, like an animal being kept in captivity.

The smell of filth filled the air, making Li Chong vomit continuously. What kind of place was this?

He soon got his answer.

The door opened, and a man in his fifties walked in. Seeing him, Li Chong felt his soul leave his body, immediately falling to his knees and begging: "Mr. Jin, I don’t know how I offended you?"

Mr. Jin, a notorious gangster boss, was a name no one in the underworld hadn’t heard of.

As Mr. Jin sat down, with a glance from him, his bodyguards started beating Li Chong without a word, stopping only when he was barely alive.

Mr. Jin said: "You didn’t offend me; your woman offended someone you can’t afford to offend. How do you feel about your experiences these past few days?"