Chapter 42: He Wants a Child

Qin Xingwan collapsed onto the sofa.

Her mind was in complete chaos.

She knew very well that she had not leaked the formula, yet she could not explain how the final version, which she had personally tested many times, had fallen into the hands of the other party.

Where exactly had things gone wrong?

"Xingwan, it's okay, I'll be with you," Chu Li said softly. "Change your clothes, we're going to the Old Residence."

Previously, Madam Chu had called for them to return, and Chu Li had not agreed, but this time, it was the Old Master who had personally called for them to come home.

Qin Xingwan said "okay" in a hoarse voice, and she went upstairs to change.

Chu Li watched her thin back, his gaze complex; he opened his mouth, but in the end, he chose to remain silent.

Chu Family Old Residence.

Old Master Chu sat upright on the sofa, his expression stern.

He asked Qin Xingwan: "Explain."

He had personally gone out to bring her into the family, only for such a massive scandal to erupt.

The Old Master was feeling quite disgruntled.

Qin Xingwan stood there blankly; she could not explain.

She did not speak. Madam Chu could no longer restrain herself; she pointed at Qin Xingwan and cursed: "You ungrateful, cold-blooded wretch, our family has treated you well, yet you actually went and sold the formula—you deserve to be a natural-born pauper."

"Mom, that's enough," Chu Li frowned. "This matter hasn't been investigated clearly yet."

Madam Chu said angrily: "She took five million from them, after all."

Old Master Chu glared at his daughter-in-law with dissatisfaction. "Noise."

Madam Chu's face turned red and her neck swelled, furious to the point of death.

Old Master Chu silenced Madam Chu with a single word, then turned to ask Qin Xingwan, "You speak."

Qin Xingwan subconsciously pinched her palm, her voice slightly strained: "Jieqi Perfume is the brand I launched; I wouldn't be stupid enough to destroy the fruits of my own labor."

"Besides, you have already promised to let me take the entire Jieqi Perfume brand; I had no need to sell the formula."

Such an obvious logic was understood by everyone.

Old Master Chu nodded; he agreed with Qin Xingwan's words, but what he wanted was a result.

"Tell me, how do you intend to handle this matter?"

This time, the Jieqi Perfume was first delayed in its launch, and then the formula was leaked; it required a proper solution.

Qin Xingwan: "I will re-launch..."

"Get a divorce immediately."

Madam Chu interrupted Qin Xingwan's words; she did not want to miss this good opportunity to drive Qin Xingwan away.

Qin Xingwan pinched her palm and calmed down.

What she actually wanted to say was that she would re-launch a new Jieqi Perfume to recoup this loss.

But looking at Madam Chu's face, which showed she couldn't wait to sweep her out the door, she suddenly felt that if she could get a divorce like this, it would be for the best.

With Chu Li there to shield Qin Yunshu from the wind and rain, what would it matter even if she proved her innocence?

There would be this time, and there would be a next time.

She could not take Jieqi Perfume with her, and she could not fulfill her promise to that person, but if she launched a perfume even more popular than Jieqi Perfume...

That would also count as fulfilling the promise, right?

She made her decision quickly: divorce first.

She followed Madam Chu's words and said: "Although I did not leak the formula, I am the primary person in charge; since this has happened, I am willing to take full responsibility."

Taking a deep breath, she spoke the words she desired most from the bottom of her heart.

"I am willing to..."

Her lowered hand was suddenly gripped tightly.

Chu Li looked deeply at his wife and picked up where she left off: "Xingwan is already pregnant; she will no longer handle matters of research and development."

Qin Xingwan was stunned by his presumptuousness; it took her several seconds to react, and she wanted to pull her hand back in anger, but it was held firmly by Chu Li.

"You..."

Chu Li looked down at her, his thin lips parted, his eyes full of warning.

Qin Xingwan read his lip movements... Grandmother.

All the accumulated and suppressed emotions surged up, but she could only force herself to endure them.

Her anger was like a stone thrown into a lake; it only stirred a circle of ripples before she dared not raise any more waves.

"Pregnant?" Madam Chu froze, staring at Qin Xingwan's stomach, her eyes full of regret.

No matter how dissatisfied she was with Qin Xingwan, she still cared about the child.

Old Master Chu's stern expression softened, and he stood up, leaning on his cane. "Since you are pregnant, then just rest well at home."

He went upstairs, which meant that in the Chu family, this matter ended here.

Madam Chu put on her mother-in-law airs to lecture Qin Xingwan: "Since you are pregnant, just stay home and nurture the fetus properly. If I find out you are messing around outside again, I won't spare you."

Qin Xingwan felt a stifling discomfort in her chest; she found it ridiculous.

Chu Li said she was pregnant, but she had long been diagnosed by Tang Yisheng as unable to conceive.

"I..."

She wanted to disregard everything and state this fact, but the moment she opened her mouth, her fingers were squeezed hard by Chu Li.

That was a silent warning.

Thinking of Grandmother, she could only force herself to hold it in.

On the way back, no one spoke.

Qin Xingwan returned to the small bedroom, and just as she lay on the bed after washing up, the door to the small bedroom opened.

Chu Li tossed his keys onto the table, said nothing at all, leaned over to scoop Qin Xingwan up, and strode back to the master bedroom.

Qin Xingwan smelled the familiar scent of body wash on him.

He had taken a shower.

Almost immediately, she realized what was happening and began to struggle violently.

In an instant, she was pressed down into the bedding.

Chu Li kissed her forehead, raised his hand to take off his bathrobe, and revealed his lean, muscular upper body.

Qin Xingwan gasped for breath, her hands pressed against Chu Li's chest, her pajamas half-open, revealing her fair skin.

Under the lamplight, it shimmered with a cold, white-porcelain glow.

The depths of Chu Li's eyes were scorched burning hot by this cold light.

He scooped up his wife's snow-white neck and kissed her, half-forcing the intimacy.

His technique was provocative enough, but Qin Xingwan could not feel any passion.

It took her only two minutes to go from struggling to becoming still.

She lay flat, letting the man tease her however he liked, without responding.

Very quickly, Chu Li stopped.

In such matters, if one side is cold, the other side becomes bored.

Chu Li knew the reason; his movements became gentle again as he kissed the corner of his wife's mouth and coaxed her softly, "Xingwan, let's have a child."

With a child, she would not let her imagination run wild because of other women, nor would she think about developing her career.

Her heart would be at home, being his Mrs. Chu.

Qin Xingwan stared blankly at the ceiling, never having felt the light so piercing, piercing it so much that she wanted to shed tears.

She blinked, her face full of a mocking, cold smile.

"Chu Li, are you wanting to have a child with me for the sake of Qin Yunshu?"

How could she not see through his intentions? He wanted to use a child to trap her, to relieve Qin Yunshu of any future worries.

The surging tide of passion in Chu Li's body faded away completely.

His brows and eyes were deep, focused and tender, his voice as earnest as if he were taking an oath, "What I want is a child of yours and mine; it has nothing to do with Yun Shu."

Qin Xingwan acted as if she did not see the deep affection in Chu Li's eyes.

Her tears were brilliant and shattered under the light, "Chu Li, I can no longer bear children."

Chu Li did not believe her.

He thought his wife was still angry and was using this excuse to brush him off.

He felt a surge of anger.

"I showed you the surveillance footage; from beginning to end, Yun Shu never mentioned the formula to the other party, and privately, she has had no further contact with them."

"How much longer are you going to keep making a scene?"