Chapter 210: Chasing the Wife Across Ten Thousand Miles

"Heh..."

Zhu Yiwen sneered: "Do you take me for someone who scares easily? Do you think it's useless just because you say so? Whether it's useful or not, we'll have to try it to find out."

"Fine."

Sheng Hanyu said: "Since we are going to compete, let's not make it a dry affair; that would be quite boring. How about we put up a stake? What do you think?"

"Sure."

Zhu Yiwen said: "How shall we compete?"

Sheng Hanyu said: "Using the assets we've already accumulated isn't fun. How about this: each of us uses one thousand dollars, and we cannot use any projects we have already collaborated on. We'll see who earns more within a month. Do you dare to bet?"

"Of course."

Zhu Yiwen, unaware he had fallen into a trap, asked Sheng Hanyu: "What is the stake?"

"If you lose, you must tell me where my wife is. If I lose, I am at your disposal."

He shook his head: "You are making things difficult for me. I don't know your wife at all. Or perhaps you can show me a photo, and I'll see if I recognize such a person."

Sheng Hanyu unlocked his phone and showed it to him.

Zhu Yiwen's expression turned ugly in an instant.

"Where is she?"

Seeing his expression, Sheng Hanyu knew he had seen her, and it was likely more than just seeing her!

"I don't know her."

Zhu Yiwen returned the phone to Sheng Hanyu and turned to leave. Just moments ago he had been full of enthusiasm to compete, but suddenly he wouldn't even mention it.

"Stop."

Sheng Hanyu went over to block him: "You definitely know this person. She is still alive, isn't she? I knew she must be alive... Where is she? I beg you, tell me where she is..."

He lost his usual composure and calmness; whenever it concerned Shi Youxuan, Sheng Hanyu simply could not stay calm.

"Move aside, you irresponsible man."

Zhu Yiwen's face was as cold as ice, and he said word by word: "I warn you, from now on, you are not allowed to inquire about this person. Whether she is alive or dead has nothing to do with you. This is the first and last time I will warn you; otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

That afternoon, Zhu Yiwen left the United States and returned to L Country.

Sheng Hanyu disappeared.

Zhu Family Mansion.

On the green grass in front of the gate, a beautiful woman was chasing a pretty three or four-year-old girl with a rattan cane: "Xiaozhu, don't run, you stand still for me."

"How many times have I told you not to run toward the river? Are you treating my words as wind in your ears again?"

She was furious; she didn't know who this child took after.

The little girl was impossibly mischievous, never resting for a single moment every day.

She would climb trees and roofs, and jump over walls to get to the river.

There was nothing she wouldn't dare to do!

The girl called "Xiaozhu" looked back while running with a grin, her words sounding quite reasonable: "Mommy, have you been angered silly by Xiaozhu? If I don't run and you catch me, you will definitely punish me severely. The red marks from last time haven't faded yet."

"You still know the red marks from last time haven't faded? You still know that?"

The woman was usually sharp-tongued, but she was so angered by her own daughter that she couldn't even speak clearly: "You little thing who remembers the eating but forgets the beating, what did you promise last time? You forgot it in the blink of an eye."

The beautiful woman chased after her. The more she told her to stand still, the less the little girl would, running even faster instead.

She was panting with exhaustion. After suffering complications a few years ago, her body was far worse than before, and now she couldn't even catch up to a child of a few years old.

What to do in the future?

If she couldn't handle this child now, she feared she wouldn't be able to control her later.

Since she couldn't catch her by force, she would have to use her wits.

"Ouch! My head hurts!" She dropped the rattan cane and sat down on the grass with a thud, clutching her head with both hands, looking as if she were in great pain.

"Mommy, are you okay? I'll go call the doctor for you."

There was a resident doctor in the house, and "Xiaozhu" took off running toward the mansion.

The beautiful woman said: "Xiaozhu, stop. Mommy has medicine in her pocket; help me take it out."

"Okay."

The mud-monkey-like little person rolled into the beautiful woman's arms, her two dirty little muddy paws nimbly rummaging through the pockets, but she didn't expect to be pinned down by her mother, who landed a solid slap on her bottom: "You little rascal, are you going to run again?"

"Mommy is a bad egg, Mommy is a big bad egg! You used Xiaozhu's kindness to fake being sick, you're not a good person!"

"Xiaozhu" protested.

The protest was ineffective; she was still spanked by Mommy, then handed over to a servant to be carried back to bathe and change clothes.

Back at the mansion, Zhu Yiwen was sitting in the living room drinking tea.

"When did you get back? Is everything alright with A Ning?" She sat opposite Zhu Yiwen and instructed a servant to go to the kitchen to make sparerib and soybean stew.

"It's fine."

Zhu Yiwen summarized it in just two words, but his gaze toward the beautiful woman was filled with dissatisfaction, and he started by scolding: "Why did you hit Xiaozhu again? She's still young. Which child isn't mischievous? Children who aren't mischievous won't amount to much when they grow up."

"Do you know what kind of mischief she was up to?"

It would have been fine not to mention Xiaozhu, but as soon as the child was mentioned, the beautiful woman was filled with anger: "There were over a dozen servants watching her, and she still managed to run to the river. If she hadn't been discovered in time, she would have dived right in."

The Zhu Family Mansion occupied a vast area, and for safety reasons, an artificial river had been dug around the perimeter to keep out thieves.

Somehow, this river had been discovered by Xiaozhu, and she had shown a keen interest in it, always wanting to run over there.

The river current was swift and was a full three meters deep.

The problem was that to guard against thieves, many piranhas were kept inside. To prevent people in the mansion from accidentally falling in, there were railings and embankments along the river, and the protective measures were very thorough.

But despite all these precautions, they still couldn't stop this little one!

It was just a little bit off.

If the child had fallen in, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Zhu Yiwen's face darkened, and he finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

He turned his head and shouted, "Someone come here."

A subordinate arrived silently by his side: "Head of the Family, I await your orders."

"Go fish out the piranhas in the river and dry them into fish jerky, drain the river water, and fill it in."

The subordinate hesitated slightly and did not execute the order immediately: "Are you sure? Why don't you reconsider?"

This river of the Zhu Family had existed since the generation of Zhu Yiwen's grandfather, and over the years, it had warded off countless disasters for the Zhu Family; for him to suddenly say to fill it in was truly

too rash.

Zhu Yiwen gently blew away the floating leaves on his tea and said calmly, "Why don't you be the Head of the Family instead? Your ability has grown increasingly large; you are already able to make decisions for me."

"This subordinate dares not. Head of the Family, please do not be angry; I will take people to do it immediately."

"Wait."

The beautiful woman called out to stop him and said to Zhu Yiwen, "You spoil the child too much; this cannot go on. Tomorrow, I will take Xiaozhu and move out."

"No. You can leave, but the child must stay."

"On what grounds? She is my child."

Zhu Yiwen waved his hand to make all the servants withdraw, then stared into the beautiful woman's eyes and said word by word, "You had better not forget, she is not only your child but also mine; she bears my surname and calls me Daddy."

"But you are not..."

Zhu Yiwen waved his hand, interrupting the beautiful woman: "Sheng Hanyu is looking for you. Do you want to see him?"

"No."

The answer was very crisp, without a hint of hesitation.

"Hmm, then that is that."

Zhu Yiwen went upstairs to his room; he had not rested well on the plane, and he needed to catch up on sleep.

Shi Youxuan sat on the sofa, sulking.

Originally, according to the initial agreement, she and Zhu Yiwen lived in peace without interfering with each other, but ever since "Xiaozhu" could run and talk, the two of them frequently had conflicts, and all the conflicts were related to "Xiaozhu"!

It was not that Zhu Yiwen was not good to the child, but rather that he was too good.