My Contract Husband Won't Behave - Chapter 43

Bo Jiusi glanced at Feng Wu.

Feng Wu stepped forward. “Your sons and grandsons are resting in a second-floor private room. Master Jiu hosted them earlier. They couldn’t hold their liquor and are now drunk.”

“What?” The third granduncle shot to his feet. “What did you do to them?”

Nie Jingzhi smiled. “Don’t be nervous, Third Granduncle. They merely had a few drinks. Master Jiu remembered how much the elders enjoyed drinking at the last family banquet and thought the younger generation deserved some fun too. He prepared something only a tiny bit stronger than the serpent wine you enjoyed.”

Every granduncle changed color.

Old Master Bo gripped his armrest until his knuckles whitened. “You got all of them drunk?”

Bo Jiusi looked at him calmly. “Weren’t you selecting the Asia-Pacific head? All the Bo descendants are present. Why hurry to begin?”

An almost invisible smile touched his lips. “Oh, I forgot. One sip of that wine puts a person to sleep for three days. I’m afraid they won’t be able to come until they wake.”

Deathly silence filled the room.

Old Master Bo stared at him, chest heaving, unable to speak.

Nie Jingzhi stood proudly beside Bo Jiusi with her arm linked through his, thoroughly delighted by the elders’ defeat.

“Grandfather, I’m afraid you can’t choose anyone else tonight.” Her smile was gentle and impeccable. “Who else is left among the Bo family’s direct descendants?”

Old Master Bo’s lips trembled before he looked toward the wheelchair in the corner.

Bo Chenyi had remained silent throughout, as inconspicuous as a shadow.

Hope entered the old man’s eyes. “Chenyi, you…”

Bo Chenyi looked at Bo Jiusi and Nie Jingzhi, smiled politely, and shook his head. “Grandfather, I’m in a wheelchair. What do you expect a cripple to accomplish?”

Old Master Bo stiffened. He had not expected Chenyi to speak of himself that way.

“I can’t manage Bo family affairs. Don’t invite me to gatherings like this again. Leaving home is inconvenient.”

Bo Chenyi gestured for his caregiver to wheel him out.

Old Master Bo’s chest heaved. His mouth moved, but no words emerged.

He looked at Bo Jiusi with hatred and something less definable.

Bo Jiusi met his eyes calmly, as if looking at a stranger of no importance.

Nie Jingzhi remained at his side, calm and unbowed.

“Grandfather,” Bo Jiusi said with finality, “since none of the granduncles’ descendants can attend and my older brother has no interest in the post, I’ll take it.”

Old Master Bo glared, choking on his fury. The granduncles’ faces went livid, but none could answer.

Bo Jiusi stopped looking at them and turned to Nie Jingzhi.

She was gazing up at him, bright-eyed and smiling.

“Let’s go.”

She smiled and walked out arm in arm with him, her heels clicking crisply against the marble.

Not one person behind them spoke.

* * *

A cool wind met them outside the club.

Nie Jingzhi hugged herself and shivered.

Without a word, Bo Jiusi removed his suit jacket and tossed it over her.

She obediently wrapped it around herself, then looked sideways at him with teasing eyes. “Did you see Third Granduncle’s face? It practically twisted sideways. Hilarious.”

Bo Jiusi did not answer and strode ahead.

Nie Jingzhi hurried after him, her heels tapping down the steps, and expertly linked arms with him. “Why are you walking so fast? I don’t bite.”

Bo Jiusi stopped and looked at her beneath the cool streetlight, his thoughts unreadable.

“You didn’t need to come tonight,” he said.

Nie Jingzhi blinked. “What didn’t I need?”

“The Nie family’s problem is solved, and the contract is signed. The five hundred million yuan in your name will let you live extravagantly for life.” His voice was cold and unreadable. “You don’t need to keep acting beside me or involve yourself in these matters. You got the status and money you wanted. What else are you after?”

Wind scattered hair across her pale cheek. Nie Jingzhi tucked it behind her ear and laughed.

“Master Jiu, everything about you is excellent except that you’re far too suspicious.”

She released his arm, stepped ahead, and walked backward facing him, mischief in her eyes. “You’re my legal husband. Those elders were deliberately making trouble for you. Was I supposed to watch and pretend not to notice?”

Bo Jiusi frowned slightly.

“Besides,” she stopped and looked up, “you’re my baby’s father. If those old fossils destroy you and someone else takes the Bo family, the baby and I will starve.”

Bo Jiusi silently watched her.

“I’ve always been realistic,” she said frankly. “Marriage is an alliance built on shared interests. If you prosper, the baby and I prosper. If I’m secure, I can stay by your side and be there for you. Helping you is helping myself. Don’t overthink it.”

She lightly poked his solid chest.

Bo Jiusi lowered his gaze to her hand.

Moonlight wrapped them in quiet for several seconds before he asked, “Is that the only reason?”

Her finger stopped.

“Everything you just said was an excuse.” His deep eyes pinned her in place, seeming to penetrate every thought. “None of it was the whole truth.”

Her smile stiffened for a fraction, then recovered. “What else could there be?”

“You tell me.”

Under his sharp stare, Nie Jingzhi inexplicably lost confidence. She looked away. “You take everything too seriously. It’s irritating.”

She turned, but his hand locked around her wrist.

The grip was not painful, only inescapable. He pulled her back and pinned her against a streetlamp.