You, CEO’s Secret Wife

Huo Liancheng's eyebrows shot up in the air at his request, but before he could say another word, the man had already hung up. Although he was a bit disgruntled from the phone call, he still did as he was told and tapped on his WeChat app, not because he was curious, but because he wanted to see if Cheng Muze was fooling around again. After all, for disrupting his meeting, he needed to find something to get even with his friend. As the directors droned on about their plans, he looked over the photos that had been posted in the last hour.     

    

He didn't have that many friends in the app, so his wall only had images of his friends from the Alliance of Brothers group chat. All of them looked like a bunch of idiots, posting their random 'quotes for the day' and 'meals for the soul' with different emojis that could potentially blind him from the cheesiness. He had never been the least bit interested in what they had posted. After all, if it was truly something important, they would've already called him for it. What was so important that he needed to open his WeChat?     

    

Suddenly, he stopped scrolling as a few pictures caught his eye. Jian Yun's profile name was embedded on his screen, and he couldn't help but find himself entranced at the view in front of him. Maybe he shouldn't get even with Cheng Muze this time around.     

    

Huo Liancheng opened Jian Yun's photos one by one. The first picture was of her back under the shades of a green bamboo forest. The green shadows perfectly contrasted her pale silhouette as her dark shirt almost blended with the background. It was as if she was one with nature. The second photo was of her sitting by the lake and gazing at the clouds. This time, the corner of her face was exposed as the setting sun glowed around her like a halo wrapping her bodice. Only the third picture showed her actual face.     

    

There, she was standing in a sea of lilac flowers, naturally tilting her head towards the camera. Her eyes were crinkled as her lips widened into a full-blown smile. There was a certain animation to her movements and a sense of excitement in her features. She looked brilliant, like a goddess who had just woken up on top of a bed of flowers.     

    

A faint smile threaded across her lips as he tried to swipe for the next photo, only to see that there was no more pictures. Why were there only three?     

    

Why did she have to be so stingy in posting her pictures? Couldn't she have posted a few more? His mouth twitched in annoyance.     

    

"Uhm...President Huo? Are you still there?"     

    

Huo Liancheng was so distracted that he didn't notice that all of his executive directions had fallen silent. They peered at the screen and waited for a couple of minutes before speaking up, wondering if their boss had already forgotten about them.     

    

Huo Liancheng finally put his phone away and raised his head to face the screen, and almost all the directors were horrified to see their cold boss with a smile on his face! Was the world ending? "Continue!" He cleared his throat as if nothing had happened, but even then, there was a softer undertone to his voice–an aspect that almost all of them had noticed.     

    

The higher-ups shared glances before continuing their conference, too scared to point it out.     

    

However, a few seconds into the meeting, his phone vibrated once again. This time, Huo Liancheng spared no hesitation as he opened his WeChat, only to see dozens of photos from Cheng Muze–all of them featuring Jian Yun. The glimmer in his eyes returned, and the corners of his lips twitched upwards.     

    

"Where did you get them?"     

    

"I got it from Little Sister Wu's WeChat Moment," Cheng Muze replied quickly.     

    

"Is that it?" Huo Liancheng sighed. He hated the feeling of having to go around her to get the pictures. In fact, if anything, he'd rather contact her directly, but seeing as they still weren't in more comfortable terms, she may not respond very well to his request. He rubbed his forehead in frustration.     

    

"She posted so many pictures, but then she started deleting them," he responded. "I had to work fast to save most of them."     

    

"Hm." Not in the mood to hold the video conference anymore, Huo Liancheng ended it quickly with a few remarks. Fortunately, they had already glossed over all the important matters that concern their company. They could easily walk through all the minor obstacles along the way.     

    

Once everything had ended, Huo Liancheng logged into his WeChat using his computer to take a closer look at all the photos that Cheng Muze had sent him. In all those pictures, Jian Yun was wearing a simple sweater and a pair of jeans, but even that was enough to highlight her curvy figure. Her hair was loose, falling down to her shoulders in long waves as the soft breeze caressed her face. Almost all of them were candid, showcasing various emotions that ran through her mind–from annoyance to ecstasy as they traveled around the resort. However, if there was one thing he was sure of, it was that she's living in the moment with her bright movements and animated face. It was as if she was standing right in front of him.     

    

It was already getting late, and Huo Liancheng lit up a cigarette. A cloud of smoke surrounded him, and he took a deep drag. Exhaling, the smoke ring encircled around Jian Yun's face, shadowing over her soft features like a halo. Her smile had faded from afar, and her eyes had become even more glassy under the dim lights. His face softened at the sight.     

    

It had been so many years since he had seen her smile, and yet, it still wasn't directed at him. His chest ached at the sight as he took another drag.     

    

In the Green Valley Resort, Wu Wenjing had already given up her stretched out battle with Jian Yun. In the end, she had deleted most of her photos, leaving only a few which she had approved off. By then, they were already lying on the bed, exhausted from the pushing and pulling episode they had a few minutes ago.     

    

"Yun, I don't understand you anymore," she complained, throwing her hands up in the air. "Why do you have to be so down-to-earth? Have you seen that bitch Lin Lanlan? She posts almost every day! If it's not to showcase her new branded bag she got from Miami, it's probably to show all the make-up she bought from some stupid store! Oh, and don't forget her favorite topic for the day! Look at her posts! 'Oh, darling, my cute little alarm clock.' 'Oh, darling, please come back home, I miss you.' 'Love you for all eternity.' Ugh! It makes me want to vomit!"     

    

The moment the word 'darling' slipped past her lips, she gagged and shivered, leaving the other two women surprised by her outburst. This was the first time Wu Wenjing had ever openly complained about that woman in the past few weeks, and it seemed that she was bottling everything up on the inside.     

    

Luo Yanyan originally wanted to shush her friend in fear that Xu Haiyang's name would trigger Jian Yun, but seeing as she didn't have any reaction to the man, she had given up half-way. Besides, even if she tried, there was no shutting up a girl from Sichuan once she's spitting out fire.     

    

"Oh, wait, I remember something. I heard from Bai Yanran a few days ago that Lin Lanlan called all your classmates for a reunion and that you crossed paths. Is she right?" Wu Wenjing suddenly asked.     

    

"Bai Yanran?" She thought back to the day they had crossed paths, vaguely remembering a tall, long-haired woman standing beside Lin Lanlan's posse in the city square that night. That must be her. "Yeah, we ran into each other. Zhou Shaolong and I were dating that night."     

    

"Weren't you and Bai Yanran the top two in your class–with you being in the Literary track while she's in the Science track? I remembered both of you entering Qinghu University together," Wu Wenjing mused before wrinkling her nose. "How could she be associated with an idiot like Lin Lanlan–who not only failed back in her junior high school but could only pass a second-tier college? Her standards of friends must've dipped."     

    

Qinghu University was one of the top universities across China. Their acceptance rate was incredibly low, and those who were able to enter the university were only considered the top students all over the world. When Jian Yun entered the school, it had caused quite a sensation amongst her batchmates. Not only did she have the brains, but she was also beautiful and kind. Immediately, she was hailed as the school beauty in the university, and almost every guy had raced after her in hopes of getting her to fall for them.     

    

In comparison, Lin Lanlan had spent all her money on a second-tier school. Compared to her half sister, she was a failure. No one in Qinghu University bothered to care for her.     

    

During these times, Lin Lanlan would come over to their dorm to hang out with them. In the beginning, Wu Wenjing and Luo Yanyan had assumed that the two were sisters because of how similar they looked. However, when they found out her true colors and the fact that she was only a junior college student at a different school, they began to regard her differently. After all, a woman with no self-respect was truly not worth respecting at all–at least, in their eyes.     

    

This all started when they had caught her rummaging through Jian Yun's belongings and secretly stealing her clothes. Plus, whenever Jian Yun would go on a date, Lin Lanlan would tag along with them like some dog waiting for her master's leftovers. Whenever she and Xu Haiyang, she'd act all flirtatious by placing her head over his shoulders or by trailing her fingers down his muscles. The two had always hated her guts and had always advised their friend to stay away from her. "She may look innocent, but she's nasty," they'd say. "One second, she's on your side, and in the next, she'll be in Xu Haiyang's. You better watch out for her."     

    

Jian Yun doubted them. During that time, they were madly in love, and she trusted Xu Haiyang enough not to fall for anybody else. And with her own studies getting in the way, she never really had the time to pay any heed to her friend's concerns. Besides, having known Lin Lanlan since they were kids, Jian Yun had always assumed that the woman had good intentions and would never turn her back on her.     

    

However, when she found out the truth, it was already too late.     

    

Luo Yanyan washed a plate of fruits and placed them on the bed. Seeing that Jian Yun made no comment about the revelation, she took a bite out of her apple and asked, "Wait, how did you know Bai Yanran?"     

    

"Remember when I signed up for a pole dancing class? Turns out, she's also a student there, and she took the initiative to ask me about you," Wu Wenjing mumbled as she grabbed a bunch of grapes from the plate. "If you ask me, she's probably digging for some gossip. I didn't tell her anything, of course, not like I knew anything when it happened, but..."     

    

"Well, tell us what happened, Yun. Did you slap her or something?" Luo Yanyan leaned over, furrowing her eyebrows curiously.     

    

Wu Wenjing wrinkled her nose. "And what? Dirty her hands?"     

    

Jian Yun remained silent. That had happened around a week ago, and the event was still fresh in her mind.     

    

Seeing that she still didn't say a word, the two nudged her closely. "Come on, say it," they urged.     

    

Jian Yun sighed. She knew for a fact that if there was anyone who had hated Lin Lanlan more than her, it was them, and they definitely wouldn't miss the opportunity to hear about any gossip that concerned Lin Lanlan, especially if she was the one who was humiliated. Thus, she quickly relayed to them everything that had happened that night–from her date to the cutoff.