Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: What Is Mrs. Chacha Doing?

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Shu Xingruo glanced at the phone and immediately hung up.

He Hong kept calling, so Shu Xingruo simply put her phone on silent, letting him ring through.

An hour later, Shu Xingruo stretched lazily, opened her phone, and saw He Hong had called five times and finally sent a message: "I'm arriving in Haishi tomorrow. Xinxin has something to attend to; you must come pick us up at the airport."

Shu Xingruo deliberately did not add him on WeChat, not wanting to be bothered, yet this persistent man even sent a text message.

She cursed under her breath: "In your dreams!"

Her fingers quickly typed back: "I’m not available tomorrow!"

If she had time to pick them up, she’d rather spend it doing more experiments. Besides, she had no desire to see those two faces—He Hong and Tian Yufen.

The very sight of them made her nauseous, unable to eat.

He Hong replied: "What’s a housewife like you busy with? I know you’re in Haishi. You must come pick us up, or else you’ll regret it."

Shu Xingruo scoffed. Over the years, He Hong hadn’t improved one bit.

Before, when he asked her to get Ji Yanli to provide him with resources and she refused, he threatened her the same way.

She had no patience for this brainless man who relied solely on his looks.

Opening a food delivery app, she ordered takeout and continued working hard.

When the delivery arrived, Su Rongze showed up as well.

"So driven? You don’t even spare time to eat?"

Shu Xingruo opened the takeout while replying, "I have no choice but to work hard. I..." She hesitated, unwilling to discuss the custody matter with him since they weren’t that close.

She joked, "Men can’t be relied on; I have to depend on myself."

Su Rongze was surprised. "Ji Yanli is so stingy he can’t even give you living expenses?" He had seen Ji Yanli at business gatherings before and had a good impression of this business prodigy.

To find out he not only cheated but also mistreated his wife was truly distasteful.

Shu Xingruo didn’t want to discuss family matters and silently ate her takeout.

Su Rongze pulled up a chair and sat down. "I was at the resort all afternoon. My grandmother recognized me; I pushed her around for quite a while."

Hearing the patient was improving, Shu Xingruo felt genuinely happy, her smile brightening her face. "That’s wonderful. She might recover soon."

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Su Rongze said, "It’s all thanks to you. I’m truly grateful."

Shu Xingruo replied, "Mr. Su, you’ve thanked me many times already. There’s really no need to keep mentioning it. Like I said, I save every patient I can—that’s my duty as a doctor."

Su Rongze thought, "If I don’t thank you, you won’t even talk to me."

He glanced around Shu Xingruo’s office and asked, "Are you planning to open a pharmaceutical factory?"

"Yes," Shu Xingruo took a sip of soup.

Su Rongze said, "Our group has an investment bank. If you need funds, you can approach them or take a loan from Dongsheng Bank. I’ll give you a discount on the interest."

Shu Xingruo looked up. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Su. If I need anything, I’ll definitely let you know."

"You don’t have to be so formal; you can just call me Rongze," he said, watching her expression closely.

She remained calm and unfazed.

Shu Xingruo shook her head. "We’re not close enough for that. It’s more appropriate I call you Mr. Su."

As they spoke, she finished her wontons—only three or four small pieces left. No wonder she was so slim.

Su Rongze remarked lightly, "I’ve been reading medical books recently. They say eating less and staying busy isn’t a sign of longevity. You’re a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, yet you don’t take care of your health?"

Shu Xingruo sighed, "I’m a bit picky. The takeout here isn’t great—the wonton meat is mediocre. Eating ten of them means I’m starving. I’ll have a midnight snack when I get home."

She wasn’t lying—used to quality ingredients, most takeout didn’t appeal to her. But for work, she forced herself to eat.

"Alright, keep working. I’m off to enjoy my dinner," Su Rongze said, standing. He had planned to invite Shu Xingruo to dinner but found that this workaholic had already handled her meal.

Shu Xingruo worked alone in the lab until nine p.m., only video-calling Ji Zhixu once—the call was his initiative.

Ji Zhixu had overheard his grandparents talking about Ji Yanli taking He Xin on a private plane and was furious. He immediately called to scold Ji Yanli.

"Dad, Mom never got to ride your plane, so why did you take another woman? Are you out of your mind?" Ji Zhixu’s little face puffed with anger.

Ji Yanli frowned, displeased. "Did your mom teach you to talk to me like that? That scheming woman."

Wei Ying, standing nearby, said, "Xingruo didn’t even go out with us. Don’t just throw dirt on her for nothing."

Every time she heard Ji Yanli call Shu Xingruo scheming, she was furious. If Shu Xingruo had used any tricks, she wouldn’t have failed to win his heart for six years.

Not going out with them? Ji Yanli’s heart tightened. Shu Xingruo, who loved her child so much, didn’t even go out to play with him?

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What was she doing? Was she secretly meeting another man?

Ji Zhixu said, "Yeah, Mom has no time for you. You’re behaving worse and worse..."

Ji Yanli had no mood to listen to Ji Zhixu’s scolding and quickly ended the video call.

He then dialed Yan Yongfei: "Help me check Shu Xingruo’s recent whereabouts. I want to know what she’s really up to."

Ji Yanli vowed silently that if he found out Shu Xingruo was cheating on him, he would deal with them severely.

Shu Xingruo answered the video call and saw her beautiful son, smiling widely.

"Zhixu, did you have fun today?"

Ji Zhixu was distracted but asked with concern over the phone, "Mom, aren’t you mad that Dad took that woman on his plane?"

Shu Xingruo said, "There’s nothing to be mad about. Don’t be upset either. When you come back, I’ll take you to the science museum."

"Okay!"

Since Mom wasn’t angry, he didn’t bother scolding Dad anymore.

Ji Zhixu chatted with her about what he had seen and done that day. He was truly happy whenever he went out to play.

His lively personality brought joy to the Ji family and Wei Ying these past few days.

Wei Ying reminded Shu Xingruo to take care of her health before hanging up.

Throughout the National Day holiday, Shu Xingruo buried herself in the lab, shuttling back and forth. One drug trial showed very promising data.

She decided to have her team contact hospitals for clinical trials after the holiday.

Step by step, she was confident her pharmaceutical factory would succeed. Then she wouldn’t fear Ji Yanli anymore.

On the morning of the eighth, a recent itinerary of Shu Xingruo lay on Ji Yanli’s desk, tracing back to the day she moved out of the Ji family home.

Ji Yanli flipped through the pages, noting she rented an office in Dongsheng Tower, opened a corporate account at Dongsheng Bank, and treated Su Rongze’s grandmother. Su Rongze was always there.

Ji Yanli frowned deeply. "Is Shu Xingruo involved with Su Rongze?"