My Contract Husband Won't Behave - Chapter 41
Nie Jingzhi left the exhibition on Bo Jiusi’s arm, in an excellent mood.
He glanced down but did not pull away, allowing her to hold him.
They entered the car. Feng Wu sat in the front passenger seat while the driver pulled away.
Bo Jiusi leaned back and looked out the window. “I’ll take you home.”
Nie Jingzhi slid closer until her body pressed tightly against his. “Master Jiu, it’s noon. Won’t you have lunch with me?”
“I’m going back to the office.”
“At lunchtime? You don’t eat in the cafeteria. You’ll only starve there.” She shook his arm, her voice softening. “Eat first. I cooked for you this morning; the least you can do is have one meal with me.”
Bo Jiusi finally turned and studied her. “Feng Wu, make a restaurant reservation.”
Before Feng Wu could answer, his phone rang.
He checked the caller and answered. Whatever he heard gradually darkened his expression. He frowned, murmured, “Understood,” and hung up.
The car fell quiet.
Feng Wu turned toward Bo Jiusi, hesitant. “Master Jiu…”
“Speak.”
Feng Wu glanced at Nie Jingzhi.
“Say it. There’s no need to hide anything from her.”
Feng Wu obeyed. “Old Master Bo is holding a banquet at the Bo family club tonight, ostensibly to select the next Asia-Pacific head. The descendants of every granduncle were invited. The only person not notified was… you.”
Nie Jingzhi’s smile faded, coldness surfacing in her eyes.
Without looking at Bo Jiusi, she asked Feng Wu, “What do you mean, only he wasn’t notified?”
Feng Wu did not dare answer.
“I’m used to it,” Bo Jiusi said flatly.
“Used to it?” She turned on him, every word burning. “They exclude you, and you simply let them?”
His black eyes met hers. He had not wanted her to learn any of this.
Nie Jingzhi closed her eyes and drew a deep breath. “Jin Song told me you came back drunk from an engagement last time. Were these old bastards the ones who forced you to drink?”
Bo Jiusi did not answer, so Feng Wu did. “Old Master Bo joined with the granduncles to make Master Jiu drink century-old serpent wine. One cup overwhelms most people. Master Jiu drank three full cups.”
Nie Jingzhi could hear no more.
“They poured it, so you drank it?” She glared at Bo Jiusi. “Are you stupid?”
He still refused to respond, as though she were merely being presumptuous by taking offense on his behalf.
Frustrated, Nie Jingzhi turned toward the passing streets.
What did it have to do with her? Why was she so angry?
Bo Jiusi looked at her, then gently covered the back of her hand. “You’re pregnant. Don’t make yourself ill over this.”
Nie Jingzhi froze. Had those words truly come from Bo Jiusi?
When she turned back, her softness was gone, replaced by stubborn coldness. “You planned to take me home, then go by yourself tonight?”
“Look after your health. Stay out of Bo family affairs.” His tone was hard.
“Bo Jiusi.” She called his full name in earnest anger. “You’re my husband. If they bully you, they bully me.”
He raised his eyes. Something new seemed to stir in their depths.
“I’m going to the selection with you tonight. That isn’t negotiable.”
“You don’t belong in that kind of setting.”
“What setting haven’t I seen?” she cut in, pride blazing between her brows. “When have I ever embarrassed you?”
Bo Jiusi said nothing.
Nie Jingzhi took his hand and interlaced their fingers, her voice softening. “You’ve carried everything alone for too long. No one helped you before. You have me now.”
Bo Jiusi looked at their joined hands, his Adam’s apple rolling.
“I’m going with you,” she repeated, now coaxing him. “Husband and wife are one. We face trouble together. I won’t let anyone bully you.”
After several seconds, Bo Jiusi tightened his hand around hers and told Feng Wu, “Go to the club first.”
* * *
They arrived early.
In a dim private room on the second floor, closed to the public, Bo Jiusi occupied the head seat and slowly turned an empty teacup in his hand.
Nie Jingzhi sat beside him, leisurely drinking warm water.
The door opened again and again as bodyguards escorted people inside.
The first was a suited man in his early thirties still clutching a half-signed contract. He was furious. “What are you doing? I was meeting a client!”
A bodyguard pointed toward the head seat.
His expression changed when he saw Bo Jiusi, but he held his ground. “Master Jiu, what is the meaning of this?”
Bo Jiusi did not look at him, merely lifted his chin. The guards forced him into a chair.
The second arrived in worse condition: bathrobe, wet hair, lipstick on his face. “Fuck, you dragged me straight out of bed! Do you know who I had an appointment with—”
A guard expressionlessly pointed at Bo Jiusi.
His voice died. His lips trembled before he meekly sat in a corner.
The third had been intercepted at the airport and still dragged a suitcase. “I just got off a plane. What did I do?”
The fourth had been in a video meeting. His headset still hung around his neck, leaving the foreign client on his screen bewildered until he hurriedly ended the call. He glared at Bo Jiusi but dared not protest.
Then came the fifth, sixth, seventh…
Within half an hour, ten young members of the Bo family’s second, third, and fourth branches had been crammed into the room.
Only one remained standing.
Bo Yanzhou, the second granduncle’s grandson, had always challenged Bo Jiusi’s authority most fiercely. He arrived impeccably dressed and coiffed, disdain on his face.
“Bo Jiusi, what’s this grand performance for?” He sat opposite and crossed his legs. “Are you buying us dinner?”
Nie Jingzhi silently smiled.
He had guessed correctly.
Bo Jiusi continued playing with his cup without looking up. “I called you here for a drink.”
Bo Yanzhou paused. “A drink?”
Bo Jiusi lifted his chin.
Feng Wu took a bottle of dark-red medicinal wine from the cabinet and poured a small cup for each person.
The wine was thick and its medicinal scent pungent.
Bo Yanzhou sniffed his cup, paled, and slammed it down. “You expect us to drink this? Who knows what you put in it?”
Several bolder men joined in. “Exactly. What if it’s poisoned?”
“Master Jiu, we have no grudge against you…”
“I’ll tell my grandfather…”
Bo Jiusi said nothing. He picked up his tea and took a leisurely sip.
Emboldened by the silence, Bo Yanzhou rose and pointed at him. “Don’t think we fear you because you’re the family head! Your mother abandoned you, your grandfather despises you, and no one in this family gives a damn about you—”
