Chapter 24: How Dare You Bully My Wife

“This, this…”
Qin Yiren was utterly tongue-tied, cold sweat streaming down her face. “President Fu, I’m sorry! I picked up the wrong report—this one was prepared by Engineer Qiao…”

“The wrong report?”
With a sharp crack, Fu Yancheng slammed his steel pen onto the table.

Instantly, the entire conference room fell into a heavy silence.

Fu Yancheng’s voice rose, his dark eyes ablaze with fury. “At a core meeting, you even manage to bring the wrong core data report for your own team? Is this the so-called professional competence of Dr. Q?”

A wave of humiliation and terror drowned Qin Yiren in an instant. She trembled from head to toe, her cheeks flushed scarlet, wishing she could vanish into thin air. The perfect image and academic authority she had so painstakingly cultivated were shattered in a heartbeat.

“President Fu, I…”
Qin Yiren’s lips quivered, unable to say a single word.

“Meeting adjourned!”
Fu Yancheng tossed out the command coldly, rose from his seat, and didn’t spare her another glance as he strode away.

—

In the public area of the R&D department.

Qiao Xi was bent over her desk, immersed in data analysis.

“Qiao Xi!”

A shrill roar pierced the air.

Qin Yiren stormed up, face livid, eyes fierce with rage.

“This is all your doing!”
She jabbed a finger at Qiao Xi’s nose, her voice seething with anger. “Did you deliberately give me the wrong report just to embarrass me in front of President Fu? Hah… you really are vicious!”

The commotion immediately drew the attention of their colleagues nearby, who all turned to watch.

Stunned by the sudden verbal assault, Qiao Xi was momentarily at a loss.
“Dr. Qin, I didn’t!”
She stood up, trying to explain, “I was sure I—”
“Shut up!”
Qin Yiren cut her off, hysterical. “Who else could it have been? You did it on purpose! Just because President Fu shows you a little favor, you think you can plot against me?”

Her tirade grew more and more vicious, spittle nearly flying into Qiao Xi’s face.

Watching Qin Yiren lose her composure, Qiao Xi’s last shred of patience snapped.

She raised her head abruptly, her gaze icy and piercing as she met Qin Yiren’s eyes. “Dr. Qin!”

“If you weren’t always taking credit for other people’s work, you’d know which report you’re supposed to bring. How else could you make such a rookie mistake?”

The words struck Qin Yiren at her most vulnerable point.

She froze, all color draining from her face.
“You—”
Her finger shook as she pointed at Qiao Xi, her lips trembling, but not a single word came out.

At that moment—

“Qiao Xi, you’ve gone too far!”

Li Yan seized the opportunity and spoke up.

Her face radiated righteous indignation as she pointed at Qiao Xi, scolding loudly, “How can you talk to Dr. Qin like that?”

—

“Dr. Qin is an expert personally invited by President Fu. You make a mistake and still dare to talk back and slander her?”
Li Yan fanned the flames deliberately.

Looking at Li Yan’s insincere face, Qiao Xi suddenly recalled how Li Yan had helped her pick up her documents earlier. All at once, everything became clear.
It was her!
She must have switched the reports, framing Qiao Xi—then stood here playing the good samaritan.

“Li Yan.”
Qiao Xi looked at Li Yan, who stood before her now, smug and self-righteous, and let out a cold laugh.
She picked up the cup of warm water on her desk and, under the stunned gazes of everyone around, flung it straight into Li Yan’s face.

“Ah!”
Li Yan shrieked, completely caught off guard, water streaming down her face.
She stomped her feet in fury. “Qiao Xi! You bitch!”

Qiao Xi’s eyes were cold, her words sharp and warning, “Li Yan, keep your hands to yourself.”
“If you ever touch my things again…”
She stared into Li Yan’s terrified eyes, enunciating each word, “Next time, it won’t just be water.”

At those words, Li Yan shivered, her arrogance instantly vanishing, leaving only panic and fear.

Qin Yiren, too, was stunned by Qiao Xi’s sudden ferocity.
Looking at Li Yan’s miserable state, then at Qiao Xi’s icy gaze, she instinctively took a step back. The swagger she’d shown moments ago had evaporated without a trace.

The workspace was dead silent.
Everyone was shocked by Qiao Xi’s retaliation.

—

President’s office.

Zhou Ze stood before Fu Yancheng, quietly reporting the “incident” that had just unfolded in the R&D department.

Fu Yancheng leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping rhythmically on the desktop, his deep eyes betraying no emotion.

“Qiao Xi threw water on Li Yan?” he asked.
“Yes, President Fu. Li Yan accused Engineer Qiao of deliberately giving the wrong report. Engineer Qiao fought back and exposed Li Yan for switching the documents.”

Fu Yancheng’s hand paused on the desk, a faint hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

“Not bad. Well done. She truly is my wife.”

Zhou Ze: “…”

“And Dr. Qin’s reaction?”
He continued his inquiry.

“Dr. Qin was furious and accused Engineer Qiao, but after being refuted by Engineer Qiao and Engineer Lin, she lost control and left the scene.”
Zhou Ze reported truthfully.

Fu Yancheng asked no further questions.
He leaned back, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers to his brow.

Qin Yiren. Dr. Q…
A slight frown creased Fu Yancheng’s brow.
Compassion and anger surged in his deep eyes.
His woman, bullied like this right under his nose?

He couldn’t just let it go.

“Zhou Ze.”
Fu Yancheng spoke in a low, cold voice.
“President Fu.”
“Li Yan is a schemer. Maliciously tampering with critical files almost caused a major project disaster.”
He paused, his tone growing colder. “There’s no place for that kind of trash in the Fu Corporation.”
“Notify HR to terminate Li Yan’s contract immediately.”
“Yes, President Fu.”
Zhou Ze agreed at once, without hesitation. He knew full well that the boss was standing up for the boss’s wife.

Only after dealing with Li Yan did Fu Yancheng’s anger begin to subside.
But thinking of the grievance Qiao Xi had suffered, a fresh wave of tenderness and pain welled up in his heart.

He picked up his phone and tapped open the pinned chat.
Contact name: Wife.

Fu Yancheng typed out a line: [What do you want for dinner? I’ll have Zhou Ze make a restaurant reservation.]

He hesitated, then deleted it.
Too impersonal.

He typed again: [You had a rough day.]

[How about I take you to your favorite private kitchen on Old Street tonight?]

Sent.

Fu Yancheng stared at his screen for a few seconds, then added: [Or… we could eat at home. I’ll cook.]

After sending, he set down his phone, a gentle smile playing at the corners of his lips.
Coaxing his wife… it wasn’t something he was good at yet, but he was learning.

—

Qiao Xi sat at her desk, still feeling a little down, when her phone buzzed.
She picked it up and saw three messages from [Husband].

Looking at those lines on her screen—especially the last one, “I’ll cook”—her eyes instantly grew hot and misty.

She sniffled and quickly replied: [Let’s eat at home! I want your porridge.]

She even added a shy emoji at the end.

Just as she sent the message and before she could lock her phone, a colleague, Wang Lu—who she usually got along with—happened to walk by.

“Qiao Qiao, could you take a look at this data…”
Wang Lu’s gaze skimmed Qiao Xi’s lit phone screen and landed on the pinned chat at the top.
She paused for a heartbeat, a hint of surprise and curiosity in her voice.
“Huh? Qiao Qiao, your husband’s profile picture… why does it look so much like President Fu’s WeChat avatar?”