Chapter 37
Chapter 37
The missed calls had all come in two hours ago. Checking the time, Wang Ming decided not to call back tonight; he would deal with it tomorrow morning.
He stared at the television, but his mind wasn’t on the program at all.
He was preoccupied with the System task. First thing tomorrow morning, the rewards for completing it would be credited to his account.
Last time, the reward had been one million Daxia Coin, an office, and a Heart’s Flower Bouquet that increased Infatuation Value.
During dinner, he had chatted with Zou Shuqing and managed to fish out the general location of Liu Guohua’s family supermarket. As soon as the money arrived, he would put his plan into motion!
Time ticked by. As the clock struck midnight, Wang Ming began to yawn one after another.
Zou Shuqing’s bedroom door was tightly shut. He felt an itch in his heart, desperately wanting to go in.
He thought back to that Hanniu saleswoman who had proactively pulled him into her bedroom.
Even Zou Mengmeng had gone to a hotel with him back in their freshman year.
Sigh. Why was the gap between people so huge?
Wang Ming listlessly flipped through the TV channels, but not a single show could hold his interest.
He tossed and turned on the sofa. It was agonizing; how was he going to survive the night?
He stood up and headed for the fridge, intending to grab a cold drink to wake himself up.
The System task required him to stay up all night, so he absolutely couldn’t sleep. He just had to hold on for six more hours.
Juice in hand, Wang Ming returned to the living room. Just as he was about to lie back down on the sofa, his gaze landed on the door to Zou Mengmeng’s bedroom.
He wouldn’t take back the things he had given her, but he was definitely going to destroy them.
He gently pushed open the door to Zou Mengmeng’s room, switched on the light, and walked in.
The vanity was a cluttered mess of cosmetics, and the bed was piled high with socks and skirts – it was filthy. The trash can was overflowing too; it seemed Zou Shuqing had given up on managing her.
Wang Ming’s eyes wandered around the room until they suddenly snagged on a pink package sitting atop the trash.
He recognized that packaging. He had bought them for her while they were dating. It was a pregnancy test!
He strode to the trash can and crouched down, pinching the box between two fingers. Beneath it lay a used test stick.
Wang Ming stood up, pulled a Q-tip from the container on the vanity, and crouched back down. He poked at the test in the trash, flipping it over.
When he saw the lines on it, Wang Ming’s eyes widened.
Though the color had faded quite a bit, there were undoubtedly two lines! Zou Mengmeng was pregnant!
“That little slut!” Wang Ming cursed inwardly. “We were together for over three years, and she never dared to be careless with protection. I spent more money on condoms than I did on taking her out to dinner.
And now, how long has it been since we broke up? She’s already knocked up.”
Then a thought occurred to him: Wait, that means Zou Shuqing is going to be a grandmother. Doesn’t that make me the grandfather?
During New Year’s, am I supposed to sit on the sofa with Zou Shuqing and hand out red envelopes to Zou Mengmeng and Liu Guohua while they kneel on the floor? Hahaha…
Wang Ming tossed the Q-tip into the trash with disgust, his determination hardening.
He had to drive Liu Guohua’s family supermarket into debt. Even if they couldn’t keep the business running, he’d still chase them down and keep hitting them.
If you switch to selling chicken, I’ll sell chicken too-I’ll compete with you to the end. If you sell watermelons, I’ll lease land and grow them myself!
Zou Shuqing was also growing more and more disdainful of this adopted daughter. Once his relationship with Zou Shuqing progressed further, he would have her cut ties with Zou Mengmeng entirely.
When Zou Mengmeng’s baby was born, she wouldn’t even be able to afford diapers.
Thinking that, Wang Ming’s lips curled upward. There was no chance of him falling asleep now.
A cold smile tugged at his face as he left Zou Mengmeng’s room, gently pulled the door shut, and returned to the living room.
Back on the sofa, he took out his phone and began searching for information about Liu Guohua’s family supermarket.
Just from the delivery platforms’ data, their online sales alone amounted to tens of thousands of orders a month.
Fresh produce, daily necessities-a typical neighborhood grocery store.
He hadn’t expected it to be so profitable.
Wang Ming had searched online and found only one storefront for rent in the vicinity of the same street.
It was a four-hundred-square-meter ground-floor shop facing the street. The rent was sixty thousand per month, payable annually.
The rent alone would be seven hundred thousand.
With store renovations plus the initial inventory, he estimated it would cost over a million, perhaps even closer to two million.
Factoring in staff wages and miscellaneous expenses, he would need to come up with at least three million.
Time ticked by, and drowsiness struck again. Wang Ming fought it with everything he had.
Back in university, he never had enough money to spend the whole night at an internet cafe, so he had never pulled an all-nighter like this before.
His eyelids were practically glued shut, and he had to force them open with sheer effort.
Finally, it was six in the morning.
[Congratulations on completing the mission triggered by Bound target: Zou Shuqing.]
[Rewards have been distributed.]
The System’s voice popped up, and Wang Ming’s eyelids immediately drooped as he drifted off. He couldn’t hold on for a single second longer.
At seven o’clock, Zou Shuqing strolled out of the bedroom and saw Wang Ming snoring away.
An involuntary smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. She walked over to him softly and gave him a light peck on the cheek.
She turned to wash up, then headed into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.
Wang Ming slept straight through until nine o’clock, showing no signs of waking up.
Zou Shuqing sat at her desk, listening to the snores grow louder and louder.
She checked the time, then glanced toward the dining table; the breakfast had long since gone cold.
She stood up and walked slowly to the sofa. First, she tentatively patted Wang Ming’s body and called out softly, “Honey?”
After several pats, Wang Ming remained dead to the world, his snoring as cheerful as ever.
Zou Shuqing knit her brows slightly. She checked her watch again, gritted her teeth, and began shaking him vigorously. “Wake up, honey!”
Wang Ming was shaken awake.
Seeing his dazed expression, Zou Shuqing couldn’t help but laugh. “Did you really stay up all night? You look like a giant panda.”
Wang Ming’s eyes were bleary as he mumbled, “Zou Mengmeng isn’t coming back anyway. Let me sleep a bit longer.”
Zou Shuqing quickly reminded him, “Get up, quick. Mengmeng might be back any minute, and don’t you have a funeral to attend today?”
Wang Ming, who had closed his eyes intending to go back to sleep, practically bolted upright at the word “funeral.”
He rubbed his swollen eyes-which looked like walnuts-trying to clear his head, then picked up his phone to check the time.
It was already past nine.
His phone displayed several missed calls. Some were from the same unknown numbers as last night, and two were from Zheng Shushuang.
Wang Ming said with relief, “It’s a good thing you woke me up. I almost missed it.”
Zou Shuqing said tenderly, “Go wash your face and eat some breakfast.”
Wang Ming got off the sofa, slipped into his slippers, and headed for the bathroom. “No time. The funeral service has already started.”
He hurriedly splashed some water on his face. Just then, Zou Shuqing knocked on the bathroom door.
“There’s a new toothbrush in the mirror cabinet.”
Wang Ming walked straight out of the bathroom and said nonchalantly, “I’m not brushing. If I do, the taste of your kiss from yesterday will disappear.”
Zou Shuqing froze for a moment, her face flushing a shy red. She huffed playfully, “You really know how to flirt. Don’t you go fooling around out there. Behave yourself, okay?”
“Okay, okay, don’t worry.”
Wang Ming headed to the entryway, quickly put on his shoes, opened the door, and said “Bye-bye” all in one fluid motion.
Zou Shuqing had intended to grab an egg for him to take along, but by the time she turned around, Wang Ming had already closed the door.