My Contract Husband Won't Behave - Chapter 52
The afternoon sun blazed over the hotel entrance.
Nie Jingzhi stepped outside in high heels, narrowed her eyes, and raised a hand against the glare. Her other palm stroked her lower belly. Pregnancy really did make her body more sensitive. Standing too long left her back aching, and even a little sun made her dizzy and weak.
A white BMW stopped neatly in front of her. The window lowered, revealing Jin Song’s brilliant smile.
“Sister Zhizhi, get in!”
The moment Nie Jingzhi entered, cold air swept away the heat. She sighed in comfort.
“You’re the only sensible, reliable one.” Tossing her bag onto the back seat, she reclined lazily. “That Hermès bag suited you, I hope? Stick with me and you won’t lose out.”
Jin Song’s eyes lit up. “My friends’ eyes nearly fell out when I carried it! You’re too good to me, Sister Zhizhi.”
“Enough flattery. Drive to Bo Group.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Jin Song started the car. A flash in the mirror suddenly dazzled her. Nie Jingzhi was idly turning the diamond ring on her finger, its clear central stone scattering sunlight.
“Sister Zhizhi!” Jin Song nearly hit the wrong pedal. “What is going on with that ring?”
Nie Jingzhi glanced at the enormous diamond, a faint smile touching her lips. “It’s only a ring.”
“I can see that! A stone like that costs a fortune. Who gave it to you?”
“Who else? My hopelessly wooden husband.”
Jin Song inhaled sharply. “Master Jiu? And you said he had no romance in him. This isn’t romance—it’s pampering you with money!”
“That’s the one advantage of marrying him.” Nie Jingzhi raised her hand to admire it. “Our marriage isn’t particularly warm, but in public, he never lets anyone wrong me.”
“Honestly, Sister Zhizhi, he may be cold, but he’s responsible. Plenty of men have neither love nor money. At least you married into unimaginable wealth. You’re already far ahead of them.”
Nie Jingzhi turned toward the window, lips curving. She said nothing, but agreed wholeheartedly.
Minutes later, she spoke. “Turn around. We need a jewelry shop first.”
“What are you buying?”
“A return gift.”
“For Master Jiu? Cartier or Tiffany? We’ll choose the most expensive thing worthy of him.”
Nie Jingzhi did not answer. Jin Song stopped at a luxury mall, only to hear an unhappy question.
“Why did you stop here?”
“His diamond is worth over a hundred million. Your gift can’t be shabby.”
“Who said I wanted expensive?” Nie Jingzhi pointed ahead. “Drive into that alley.”
The lane held only cheap street stalls. Red cloths displayed jewelry worth ten or twenty yuan.
Nie Jingzhi got out and crouched to browse. Jin Song followed in disbelief.
“You aren’t buying Master Jiu’s ring here, are you?”
“This one.” Nie Jingzhi lifted a plain silver band into the sun, completely satisfied. “How much?”
“Twenty yuan.”
She paid by phone, pocketed it, and returned to the car.
Jin Song hurried after her. “He gave you a hundred-million-yuan diamond, and you’re returning a twenty-yuan street ring? That’s outrageous!”
Nie Jingzhi smiled with foxlike serenity. “It’s the thought that counts. Drive.”
Jin Song swallowed, already imagining the cold-faced tycoon’s dark expression.
***
In Bo Group’s top-floor conference room, executives sat rigid before quarterly reports, scarcely daring to breathe.
At the head of the table, Bo Jiusi wore a custom black suit. Cold, noble, and intimidating, he turned a pen between long fingers without expression, a layer of frost in his eyes.
The door suddenly flew open.
Every head turned.
A vivid red figure strode inside and called in a sweet, bright voice, “Mr. Bo—”
The pen dropped from Bo Jiusi’s fingers with a snap.
The woman had a narrow waist, long hair, and languidly seductive eyes. Like a dazzling little fox, she crossed the room in high heels with open, unhurried confidence.
Whispers sprang up.
“Who is she? Which department?”
“She’s unbelievably beautiful…”
Nie Jingzhi looked past everyone directly at the man at the head of the table. Her lips curved.
“Ah-Jiu—”
The intimate call was enough to make a man’s ears tingle.
The room erupted. Who dared invade Mr. Bo’s meeting and address him so affectionately?
Bo Jiusi’s black gaze settled on her. He frowned but said nothing.
Seeing his displeasure, Feng Wu rose. “Everyone, this is Madam Bo.”
Every executive looked horrified.
“She’s Madam?”
“I praised her beauty just now. I’m doomed—I actually dared to ogle Madam Bo!”
“But she truly is stunning. No wonder Mr. Bo dotes on her.”
Bo Jiusi’s glacial aura silenced the noise.
“Out.”
The executives fled as though pardoned. Feng Wu left last and thoughtfully shut the door.
Alone with him, Nie Jingzhi leaned against the conference table, smiling with her head tilted.
Bo Jiusi set down the pen and reclined. “Why are you here?”
“The reunion ended. I brought your return gift.”
She drew the plain band from her pocket and spun it around one fingertip.
“What is it?” He barely glanced over.
“A return gift. You gave me a diamond ring, so I’m giving you one. You’re not allowed to take it off.”
She circled the broad table and stopped before him. When he did not move, she seized his tie and pulled him closer.
Less than a fist separated them. Her long lashes almost brushed his nose, and her warm, sweet breath washed over his face.
“Lower your head, Master Jiu.” Her voice was soft, spoiled, and impossible to refuse.
He remained still, deep eyes locked on her.
Unhurried, she slid her fingers up his tie and hooked his collar, grazing his collarbone as though by accident.
His Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily.
While he was distracted, she caught his hand and slipped the twenty-yuan band onto his long ring finger.
He looked down. The plain, cheap silver clashed glaringly with his costly suit.
His eyes cooled. “Take it off.”
“No.”
She hid her hands behind her back and raised her chin. “Take it off and I’ll put it on another man’s finger. Plenty would fight for the chance.”
