Chapter Thirty-Eight: Who Wants Him Dead?

“What? Grandpa, I haven’t even warmed this chair yet! How is he back already?” Lu Ziyi shook off Shen Jingrong’s hand, instantly panicking.

“Why are you asking now? You should have thought about this earlier. If you hadn’t left any weaknesses, would he have had a chance to come back? Now both the shareholders and the elders are pressuring me—if we don’t let him return, they’ll withdraw their investments and resign!”

Lu Ziyi slumped against the back of his chair, his face frozen—finished!

Third Uncle was back to manage the company, and this office was no longer his.

Standing behind Lu Ziyi, Shen Jingrong looked at his dejected figure, a fleeting glint of disgust in her eyes.

What a useless man!

It seemed her decision was right—this man was simply incompetent at Lu Group!

She still needed to get close to Xie Jinchuan, to steal him away from Shen Qingli!

Once she became the president’s wife, she could sign whatever contracts she wanted!

No, there’d be no need for contracts then—she could just take the money directly!

Lost in her daydreams, Shen Jingrong nearly laughed out loud.

Xie Jinchuan’s return to the company set everything back on track, and all of Lu Ziyi’s previous reckless actions were swiftly corrected.

Projects that had been halted were restarted, and Lu Group’s stock price began to climb again.

The entire company was filled with joy—a sight that nearly made Lu Ziyi’s nose twist in anger.

“Thank goodness President Xie is back; otherwise, I really couldn’t keep going.”

“Exactly. All the upper-level infighting—it's always us down here who suffer.”

“Hey, did you hear? Actually, President Xie is an illegitimate child, while President Lu is the legitimate one. How can there be such a huge gap in their abilities?”

“Wow, you must be new! You dare say that out loud. Anyway, I don’t care about any family scandals—whoever manages better, I support. I’m not working for someone like President Lu.”

Secretary Zhao had been standing at the corner of the office, listening for quite a while. As the gossip grew more outrageous, he cleared his throat in warning. “Ahem—let’s not discuss irrelevant topics during working hours. Focus on your own tasks!”

Instantly, silence fell over the office; everyone pretended to be engrossed in their work at their computers.

Satisfied, Secretary Zhao nodded and headed toward Xie Jinchuan’s office.

Little did he know, as soon as he left, the chatter began anew.

Arriving at the president’s office, Secretary Zhao adjusted his attire and knocked softly twice.

A deep male voice sounded from within. “Come in.”

Secretary Zhao entered. The man behind the desk was absorbed in paperwork, his hair meticulously styled, dressed in a black suit with gold diamond cufflinks—his every movement exuding the commanding presence of someone long accustomed to power.

On the nearby sofa, a woman sat elegantly with her legs crossed, a magazine resting on her knee. Her slender, fair fingers moved slowly down the page as she read.

Secretary Zhao withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself that President Xie and his wife were inseparable—even at work, they had to be together.

Perhaps he’d stared a bit too long. Though Xie Jinchuan didn’t pause his work, he glanced up with cool eyes and spoke in his low voice, “What is it?”

Realizing he’d nearly forgotten his purpose, Secretary Zhao quickly reported, “President Xie, the land in the west part of the city—after the worker’s injury, the incident hasn’t dropped from the trending searches yet. Yesterday, another worker fractured his bone. Should we call in a master to take a look?”

It was simply too uncanny. Though Secretary Zhao was a firm atheist, the inexplicable mishaps at this site were truly startling.

First a worker fell from a height, then another broke a bone just doing routine work. The crew was increasingly anxious, and inspections revealed nothing.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jinchuan set down his pen. “I’ll go take a look myself.”

“Yes, President Xie. I’ll have the car ready for you.”

Shen Qingli, having overheard, put down her magazine, lost in thought. This really sounded like a supernatural event.

Noticing her interest, a faint smile rose in Xie Jinchuan’s eyes. “Want to come?”

Shen Qingli nodded honestly, the little tuft of hair atop her head swaying adorably.

A shadow passed through Xie Jinchuan’s gaze, and he went over to help her into her coat, gently pinching her cheek. With a sigh, he murmured, “I really want to hide you away forever.”

She rolled her eyes at him, but her heart was sweet as honey.

Soon, Secretary Zhao had the car prepared, and the two set off for the ill-fated construction site.

It wasn’t far—just a twenty-minute drive.

Shen Qingli looked around. It was a vast site, cranes constantly moving stone blocks, workers busy on high scaffolding.

Xie Jinchuan inspected various machines and equipment with the foreman.

Finding it dull, Shen Qingli wandered off to stand under a large banyan tree, idly twirling a piece of foxtail grass.

Xie Jinchuan glanced back at her playful figure, a trace of helplessness in his eyes. After making sure she was within sight, he continued his inspection.

Suddenly, chaos erupted. The crane hoisting a massive stone seemed to malfunction.

The load began to sway dangerously, on the verge of crashing down. From a height of ten meters, with the weight of the boulder, anyone caught below would be crushed to pulp.

The driver scrambled down from the cab, shouting in terror, “Run! The crane’s failed!”

Panic swept the site as people rushed to escape, but the stone was falling too fast—some wouldn’t make it.

Startled, Shen Qingli called out to the system in her mind.

“Cai Cai, quickly redeem an item—don’t let the crane drop!”

[No deceleration item available. Can topple another crane to collide and block it. Requires 20 Face-Slapping Points. Current points: -40. Proceed with redemption?]

Watching Xie Jinchuan run, anxiety welled up in Shen Qingli’s eyes. She was on the verge of tears. “Redeem! Quickly!”

[All right!] responded the system.

Just as the system’s words faded, the adjacent crane began to move at an impossible angle—directly intercepting the falling one.

The two cranes collided, shifting the boulder’s trajectory away from the crowd. The workers escaped to safety.

Shen Qingli immediately ran to Xie Jinchuan, clinging tightly to him. Overwhelmed by emotion, she buried her face in his chest, her voice trembling with tears. “You scared me to death! I was so scared!”

If she had really been an ordinary person, if she hadn’t been able to save Xie Jinchuan, the outcome would have shattered her.

Holding the woman in his arms, Xie Jinchuan’s heart softened. He stroked her hair, comforting her gently, “It’s all right, don’t worry.”

He had been quietly gathering spiritual energy in his palm. Even if the stone had hit him, he could have used a spell to divert it—but Heaven’s laws would have punished him, so he’d refrained.

When he saw the adjacent crane move, he realized that Shen Qingli had redeemed an item to save him.

Pulling the petite woman from his embrace, he wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. Seeing the dependence in her gaze, he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I’m sorry for worrying you.”

She said nothing more, only hugged him and shook her head. After such a fright, only his arms could calm her.

They stood there quietly, holding each other.

Xie Jinchuan gazed at the toppled crane, his expression thoughtful, lost in his own musings.