Chapter 80: Protecting My Wife, Confronting a Rival in Love

Song Kai quickly returned the greeting to Xiumin.

Soon after, the two of them accompanied Song Kai to the Greenhow Hotel.

During the meal, Song Kai turned to Zhang Hongjun and said, “President Zhang, you’re being far too polite. You could’ve just sent someone to deliver the bracelet, there was no need for you to travel all this way yourself.”

As he spoke, Song Kai’s gaze was fixed on the bracelet on Zhang Hongjun’s wrist.

Zhang Hongjun paused for a moment, then understood Song Kai’s intentions. He burst out laughing, pointed at Song Kai, and said, “You! You just can’t forget about it, can you? Here you go, take it. But you’ll need to prescribe something for me and my wife’s health problems.”

“No problem, as long as you trust me. You and your wife just need some nourishing medicine; even a small clinic could write the prescription.”

Zhang Hongjun handed the bracelet over.

Song Kai caressed the bracelet, grinning slyly. “Alright, then I’ll accept it. But if you regret it, just say so.” Though he said this, he clutched the bracelet tightly to his chest, determined never to give it back!

Halfway through the meal, Xiumin excused herself to use the restroom.

Zhang Hongjun immediately leaned toward Song Kai and whispered, “Hey, Song Kai, my wife… are you sure there’s nothing wrong with her?”

“What could be wrong?” Song Kai asked, puzzled.

Zhang Hongjun lowered his voice further. “I mean, how did she suddenly become so beautiful, and her voice has turned so sweet? The key thing is, she’s become wild in bed—she’s been seducing me nonstop, I feel like I’m being drained dry!”

“You don’t like it?” Song Kai asked.

Zhang Hongjun quickly waved his hands. “Of course I like it! Who wouldn’t want a wife like that? I’m just afraid she’s turning into a completely different person. If she starts acting loose and cheats on me, I’d lose face as a vice president, and even the Penguin Group’s reputation would be ruined.”

“That won’t happen,” Song Kai replied with a smile. “Don’t worry. She’s still the same wife you had before, just with a little more of that ‘model’ flair in her looks and personality. Honestly, I think you’ve hit the jackpot.”

“I think so too… heh heh…”

The two men snickered together.

Once the meal was nearly finished, Song Kai wrote out a prescription.

This time, it was truly worth it!

Song Kai said to Zhang Hongjun, “President Zhang, I’m going to use the restroom.”

“Go ahead, go ahead.”

Song Kai headed toward the bathroom.

The eighteenth floor of the Greenhow Restaurant was for luxury private dining rooms.

He hid in the restroom, stroking the blazing sun jade bracelet and grinning broadly.

He almost wished he could return home and begin cultivating immediately.

But he decided to see Zhang Hongjun off properly first. With this bracelet, he had truly struck gold.

Such a treasure was worth no less than that thousand-year-old ginseng!

As Song Kai exited the restroom, he was suddenly taken aback.

A woman in a long dress, carrying a small purse, was striding toward him.

What shocked Song Kai was that the woman was actually Xu Ling.

Even more surprising, Xu Ling was accompanied by a man—a very handsome young man!

Most shocking of all, the young man reached out as if to support Xu Ling’s arm!

Damn!

Xu Ling dodged the young man’s hand but didn’t get angry. She smiled and said, “It’s alright, Chang Qingyou. You can go back. I’m not even drunk.”

Chang Qingyou chuckled, “You’re still as stubborn as ever. That determination is why you were always top of our class.”

As he spoke, Chang Qingyou reached out again, trying to take Xu Ling’s arm.

This time, Song Kai couldn’t hold back.

Damn it!

She’s my woman!

How could I let you touch her? And such a handsome guy, too!

“Hands off!” Song Kai barked, striding over.

Chang Qingyou jumped, startled, and stared at Song Kai.

Xu Ling stopped and looked ahead.

Seeing it was Song Kai, she smiled, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m having dinner,” Song Kai replied, walking up with a grin and slipping his arm around Xu Ling’s. “Xu Ling, why did you drink so much?”

“We had a high school reunion today. Even our homeroom teacher came, so everyone persuaded me to drink a little more. But I’m really not drunk,” Xu Ling explained.

Chang Qingyou stood by, dumbfounded.

Song Kai was holding Xu Ling’s arm, and she didn’t object!

Song Kai escorted Xu Ling all the way to the ladies’ room.

“Alright, unless you want to come in for a tour,” Xu Ling teased.

“Uh… okay, just be careful. I’ll wait here for you,” Song Kai replied.

“Mm.”

Xu Ling walked in.

Chang Qingyou stared at Song Kai for a few seconds before asking, “Who are you?”

“Me? I’m Xu Ling’s boyfriend,” Song Kai replied. “Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Song Kai. To be precise, I’m Xu Ling’s fiancé. And you are?”

“Me?” Chang Qingyou suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He forced a smile and said, “I’m Chang Qingyou, her former classmate.”

“Nice to meet you. Oh, by the way, you can head back. I’ll wait here for Xu Ling. Don’t worry, I can take care of my own woman,” Song Kai said with a shameless grin.

Chang Qingyou nodded, trying to muster a smile but only managing a look close to tears.

He turned and walked back toward private room 1803. As he walked, tears began to stream down his face.

He was truly crying.

The hazy affection from high school, upon seeing her again, had indeed turned into despair.

Chang Qingyou pushed open the private room door and entered.

Inside, a dozen or so people—men and women—were chatting excitedly, drinking, and reminiscing about embarrassing high school stories.

“Hey, Chang Qingyou, what’s wrong? Where’s Xu Ling?” a guy asked with a grin.

Chang Qingyou walked over, picked up a glass of white liquor from the table, and downed it in one gulp. It burned fiercely, but it felt invigorating.

He poured himself another and drained it.

“Dude, stop drinking!” a short guy walked over and took his glass away. “What’s wrong? Where’s Xu Ling? Did you confess your feelings and get rejected?”

Chang Qingyou wiped his tears and cursed loudly, “Damn it! Don’t talk about it! Don’t mention it! At this reunion, you’re all either rich kids or children of officials—even our beloved homeroom teacher is a boss now! But me? I struggled for five years, won a top scholarship for four years, busted my ass for another year just to get by, and where am I? Just a sales manager, making a measly ten thousand a month. What good is that?”

He downed another shot.

“Stop drinking!” Sun Fan, sitting nearby, snatched his cup away. “What’s gotten into you? Has anyone here ever looked down on you?”

“But I look down on myself!” Chang Qingyou shouted. “Back in high school, I knew Xu Ling liked me, but I didn’t dare confess because she was the princess, so far above me! In college, I knew she was studying abroad alone, sometimes exhausted, but I could only comfort her quietly, still too scared to confess! I worked so hard, finally not so ashamed, and thought maybe there wasn’t such a gap between us anymore. I wanted to make a good impression tonight, but… but… she already has a fiancé… wuuuu…”

Chang Qingyou knelt by the table, sobbing bitterly.

“Fiancé? No way, she didn’t even have a boyfriend,” Sun Fan kicked him and said, “You coward, stop crying! Maybe you got it wrong!”

“I didn’t. That guy and Xu Ling were really close. He held her arm and she didn’t push him away. When I get close to Xu Ling, she always pulls away. I know that feeling, I’m not mistaken,” Chang Qingyou said, wiping his tears.

“What? When did the beautiful Xu Ling get a boyfriend!” Sun Fan shouted.

The others started murmuring.

At that moment, Zhao Xiaozi quietly said, “He’s not her boyfriend, just her fiancé. The son of the Song family, Song Kai.”

“The Song family? The one whose father, Song Shuisheng, went completely bankrupt and even lost his life? His son?” Sun Fan asked.

Zhao Xiaozi nodded.

Sun Fan burst out laughing, patting Chang Qingyou on the shoulder. “Hey, Chang, what are you afraid of! Listen, it’s just an old engagement, just words. I’ve heard about this too.”

“That Song kid, isn’t he a total loser? Even if his family hadn’t gone bankrupt, Xu Ling wouldn’t like him.”

“Yeah, relax. Tonight we’ll just get Xu Ling drunk, and then you can take her to a room downstairs.”

“Heh heh heh. Are you really scared of some broke nobody? You’re a top university grad, a manager at a big company, and you’re scared of that loser?”

Zhao Xiaozi frowned as she listened. Last time, Song Kai had helped her out, so she understood him a bit better. He wasn’t nearly as useless as the rumors claimed.

A group of guys began plotting with Chang Qingyou.

Meanwhile, outside, Song Kai was escorting Xu Ling back to the private room.

Xu Ling pulled her hand away, slapped at his hand, and said, “Enough, I don’t need your help. I didn’t drink that much. I know my limits. Go do your own thing; I can get back by myself.”

“No way! Darling, who was that handsome guy earlier, anyway? Why was he getting so handsy with you?” Song Kai asked.

Xu Ling nearly burst out laughing. “What nonsense. He’s just my high school classmate. He was even more handsome back then—smart, sunny, helpful. He sat right behind me and was quite charming.”

“Ahem!” Song Kai sensed a threat. “Now I really can’t let you go back alone. I have to defend my wife from rivals!”

“Stop being silly. If you want to come, fine, but don’t say anything out of line,” Xu Ling said. “We haven’t seen each other in years, so there’s not much feeling left, but it’s good to keep in touch for business in the future.”

“Don’t worry.”

Song Kai had completely forgotten about Zhang Hongjun and his wife, and even the blazing sun bracelet. Right now, the most important thing was to protect his wife and keep rivals at bay.

Damn it, it’s not easy finding such a beautiful wife!

With this thought, Song Kai straightened his back, pushed open the door, and strode into the private room…