Chapter 38: Challenging Authority

Although she knew Lu Fengzhou was the type to always follow through on his words, Qiao Jiu had no intention of backing down. She was not someone to swallow her pride, especially after being openly provoked today by his little green tea at home—how could she possibly endure that?

She raised her voice and shouted, “Go ahead, tear it down! If you’ve got what it takes, demolish the whole building!”

Through the peephole, she could see Lu Fengzhou sneer, and he actually pulled out his phone and made a call.

The hallway was quiet, making his voice carry clearly—he really was calling someone to come and take her door apart.

Qiao Jiu straightened and took two steps back, still shouting, “If you’re that capable, why don’t you just do what you did last time? Buy this entire plot of land. Every time I move, you buy the place, leave me nowhere to settle down. Only then would I be impressed by you.”

Lu Fengzhou didn’t respond. Qiao Jiu waited a moment and pressed her eye to the peephole again.

He had finished his call and was looking down at his phone, seemingly reading a message.

Qiao Jiu snorted coldly, “All for show.”

After a moment’s thought, she went to grab her own phone—if someone really came to take down her door, she’d call the police.

She refused to believe that, no matter how rich or powerful he was, he could truly do as he pleased without consequence.

The two of them remained at a standoff for quite some time. The crew to dismantle the door hadn’t arrived, but Lu Fengzhou’s phone rang first.

Qiao Jiu saw him answer, and within seconds his tone darkened. “What?”

He waited a bit longer, then let out a cold laugh. “Fool.”

Then he turned and looked directly at her door.

Though she knew he couldn’t see her, Qiao Jiu still lifted her chin defiantly.

A few seconds later, Lu Fengzhou gave a short reply, “Fine, I understand.”

He hung up, weighed his phone in his palm, glanced at the door again, and—quite unexpectedly—turned and walked away.

The sudden turn left Qiao Jiu momentarily stunned, but she couldn’t help but spit, “Ha! Serves you right.”

Still not satisfied, she raised her voice even more, “Get lost, bastard! Don’t let me see you again!”

...

Lu Fengzhou drove to the hospital. As he reached the entrance, he heard Song Wan crying inside, muttering about how much it hurt.

He pushed open the door; Song Wan froze for a moment, then looked up at him with a pitiful expression. “Ah Zhou…”

Lu Fengzhou’s face was unreadable. He glanced at her already bandaged foot and didn’t bother to ask how she’d managed to get hurt in such a short time. Instead, he brought up something else. “I’ve booked you a flight for tomorrow morning. I’ll talk to Director Zhou and ask him to make the upcoming scenes as easy for you as possible.”

Song Wan looked a little surprised and pouted, “I’m already like this, and you still want me to film? I can’t handle it.”

Lu Fengzhou turned and sat down on the sofa, signaling with his eyes for the others in the room to leave. They quickly exited, shutting the hospital room door behind them.

Once they were alone, he said, “It was you who insisted on this role and convinced me to invest in the show. You weren’t saying this back then.”

Song Wan looked at him, aggrieved, “But I’m hurt. It really hurts.”

Lu Fengzhou let out a brief, cold laugh, then abruptly asked, “By the way, who was it you told me spent the night at Qiao Jiu’s place? I forgot, tell me again.”

Song Wan blinked. No matter how naïvely she played the part, she could read the mood now. She licked her lips. “I really did see it. They were so close, hugging and even kissing. Then they went home together. As you know, I didn’t stay long—I left right away. Maybe he left soon after too.”

Lu Fengzhou said nothing, his face expressionless as he slowly crossed his legs.

Song Wan showed no sign of guilt. She gazed at him, eyes red and brimming with grievances, as if she had suffered all the wrongs in the world.