Plunder-Chapter 229: Amulet

Work hours were over.

Qiao En glanced at the time, deliberately delaying for half an hour before heading downstairs. During that time, Zhou Jin’an had sent several messages, which she read with a mere glance and did not reply to.

Sure enough, when Qiao En reached the underground parking lot, Zhou Jin’an was already waiting at the elevator entrance.

"Wife, why did you work overtime again?"

His face showed concern as he approached Qiao En, taking her handbag and tenderly supporting her arm.

"Just a bit busy with work."

Qiao En responded perfunctorily.

She sensitively noticed that Zhou Jin’an was hiding something from her, what it was specifically he hadn’t said, nor had she intended to guess, but she was ready to probe indirectly, prompting him to open up.

"Not in a good mood?"

In the car, Zhou Jin’an looked at Qiao En. From the moment he had seen her, she hadn’t shown a trace of a smile.

"No."

"Then are you too tired? When we get home, I’ll give you a full-body massage."

He said, reaching out to rub Qiao En’s shoulders, only for her to gently push him away.

"What’s wrong?"

Zhou Jin’an asked, puzzled.

Leaning weakly against the seat back, Qiao En said, "Nothing’s wrong."

Usually, when a woman says nothing’s wrong, there definitely is something.

But Qiao En wasn’t talking, so Zhou Jin’an couldn’t guess.

The Maybach drove straight to Chu Garden. Zhou Jin’an turned his head to look at Qiao En countless times; she seemed tired, leaning to one side, her eyes closed, as if she had fallen asleep.

Not wanting to disturb her, he acted out a whole drama in his own heart but didn’t ask any questions aloud.

Qiao En deliberately intended to whet Zhou Jin’an’s appetite, hoping he would take the initiative to come clean, but who knew, as the epitome of a clueless straight man, Zhou Jin’an simply wouldn’t guess a woman’s thoughts, especially those of the woman he loved.

Once back at Chu Garden, Qiao En quickly finished eating and returned to the bedroom.

Zhou Jin’an had work to deal with, so he went to the study with Cheng Lu.

She lay in bed tossing and turning, her mind brimming with curiosity but she restrained herself.

Zhou Jin’an had gone out of his way to find Zhou Chucheng; there must be something fishy between them, but what could it be?

After Zhou Jin’an left, Zhou Chucheng also left the company.

Qiao En had a vague feeling that these two were up to something.

She trusted her professional intuition, but sometimes, intuition alone is useless.

By ten o’clock, Zhou Jin’an had finished his work and came upstairs.

Qiao En was leaning against the headboard reading a book, which he took from her hands.

"It’s late now, you should go to sleep."

He leaned in and kissed Qiao En’s forehead, but she turned away.

"What’s wrong?"

Only then did Zhou Jin’an realize that Qiao En seemed to be angry, yet after thinking carefully, he couldn’t recall doing anything to offend her.

"What were you doing at the company today?"

Talking to a clueless straight man sometimes meant getting straight to the point was better, so Qiao En decided to confront Zhou Jin’an directly.

"I was looking for Zhou Chucheng."

"What for?"

Qiao En asked the direct question, and this time Zhou Jin’an completely understood Qiao En’s little scheme.

He understood, yet he didn’t burst her bubble, only feeling smug inside.

"Nothing much."

He was good at controlling his expressions; his heart might be blooming with joy, but his face maintained an unaffected composure.

"Were you bullying him?"

Qiao En began her "interrogation."

Zhou Jin’an quickly denied, "How could I? How dare I bully him?"

"Then was he bullying you?" Qiao En asked again.

Zhou Jin’an flexed his arm, revealing his solid biceps, "Am I someone he can bully?"

Qiao En wanted to ask more, but Zhou Jin’an kissed her lips directly.

"Wife, a kiss."

His warm lips, swift yet tender like a gentle stream.

It seemed like ever since she became pregnant, Qiao En had grown more sensitive.

She knew him well; when he came close, all the codes of her body automatically unlocked.

At that moment, Qiao En’s mind went blank, she forgot what she wanted to know.

Thus, she completely relaxed, immersing herself in that kiss.

However, just as she was sinking into it, he chose to pull away.

"We should go to sleep, behave."

He lightly nibbled on her translucent earlobe, pulled her into his arms, and smoothly turned off the light.

His other hand rested on Qiao En’s shoulder, gently patting it intermittently.

A sliver of longing spread in Qiao En’s heart, but she found it difficult to speak.

The most crucial thing was, she knew that she had to be extremely cautious during the first three months of pregnancy.

She held herself back, and Zhou Jin’an was also struggling to restrain himself.

Embracing Qiao En, he had to behave properly, but images with mosaics started playing automatically in his mind.

The fire was lit by him, but in the end, it burned towards the characters.

In the latter part of the night, feeling unbearably restless, he got up and went to the bathroom.

However, Cheng Lu’s message came just at that moment.

"Director Zhou, Director Huang has sent word, An Kexin is pregnant."

Pregnant?

A trace of disbelief flashed through Zhou Jin’an’s mind.

After hesitating for a few seconds, he replied to the message, "Whose child is it?"

"We don’t know yet, but now that the news of her pregnancy is out, I guess the child’s father will show up soon."

Zhou Jin’an’s eyes darkened, "Let those who should know, know."

He ordered in a low voice.

That night, An Kexin was taken to the Central Hospital for a comprehensive examination in a special way.

She had not been there long when Ding Hao received the news.

"How’s the person doing?"

He approached the on-duty nurse to inquire about the situation.

"I heard she’s pregnant."

The nurse yawned as she spoke.

Leaning against the counter, Ding Hao’s hand, holding a coffee cup, paused involuntarily.

"Certain?"

"Of course, can there be uncertainty with this kind of thing? You should see who brought her here."

Ding Hao smiled wryly and said, "That’s true."

After saying that, he walked away with his coffee cup in hand.

He had only taken two sips of the coffee but now found it extremely bitter, so he casually threw it in the trash can.

The next day at eight in the morning, Ding Hao’s shift ended.

Unlike other days, he didn’t go straight home but went directly to the detention center.

An Kexin had been in the detention center for a month, and he had only visited once.

This was his second visit.

Seeing Ding Hao, An Kexin’s emotions became somewhat uncontrollable.

"Didn’t you say you wore a condom? Why am I still pregnant?"

An Kexin hissed at him angrily in a lowered voice.

Ding Hao leaned back in his chair, watching her hysterical manner with nonchalant amusement.

At this moment, An Kexin, without makeup, looked utterly disheveled, and Ding Hao squinted his eyes in disgust.

The image that flashed through his mind was of Qiao En, who was fresh and pure like a gardenia flower, always exuding a fragrance.

While An Kexin was accusing him, he was already regretting his lack of selectiveness at that time.

"Don’t you know whether I wore it or not? After enjoying yourself, you turn your face and refuse to acknowledge it? An Kexin, aren’t you despicable?"

Ding Hao bit back sharply.

"I’m despicable?" An Kexin scoffed.

"You just love picking up Zhou Jin’an’s leftovers, don’t you?" she jabbed mercilessly at Ding Hao’s sore spot.

But he was unfazed, striking back immediately.

"But you’re not even his leftovers, oh no, you’re the kind he wouldn’t touch even if he was dying."

Barb for barb, hurt for hurt.

Ding Hao’s gaze turned frigid as he stared at An Kexin.

She was like an enraged lioness, eager to counterattack but unable to grasp the opponent’s weak points.

"Aren’t you afraid I’ll spill that thing?"

An Kexin decided to go for broke.

The corners of Ding Hao’s mouth curled further, "An Kexin, no need to threaten me with that matter; you’re not clean yourself, are you? Besides, we had an agreement, didn’t we? If we can’t have it, then we destroy it all. What, you’re regretting it now?"

He asked in an eerily nonchalant voice.

The fury in An Kexin’s eyes began to die down bit by bit, "Of course I’m not regretting it. Tell me, how far along is your plan now?"

"Qiao En is pregnant."

Ding Hao spread his hands, sharing the "good news" with An Kexin.

Unexpectedly, her temper flared up instantly.

"That bitch doesn’t deserve a child. Have you gone soft? Knowing she’s pregnant and you’re still sitting here as calm as Mount Tai? Didn’t you say it? You wanted to make her regret."

"What’s the rush? You need to cast a long line to catch a big fish."

He stood up, his back to An Kexin, and then said, "Since you’re carrying my seed, go ahead and give birth to it. I promise to make sure you and the child will never want for anything in your lives. Also, don’t even think about aborting this child; he’s now your talisman."