The Villain's Wife

The Villain’s Wife 241 A Sinister Tone

Mu Lihua woke up with a little smile of satisfaction on her face. Today is Friday and she can already feel the success of her plan. After choosing a very nice outfit, Mu Lihua immediately left for her office as soon as her secretary arrived to escort her. When she saw a group of reporters camping outside of their mall, she instantly plastered a cold look on her face.

Mu Lihua stepped out of the car and was instantly swarmed by the reporters. She had been expecting this as the news she’d released last night was considered a success for the Mu Group. She gave them a faint smile as she took off her sunglasses, revealing her beautiful dark brown eyes.

"CEO Mu, what is your opinion regarding the latest news about the orphanage issue?" one of the reporters asked.

"I feel that this is only the right thing to do. The Mu Group does not employ any heartless people. We took pity on the kids and wanted to give them something better, so we chose to buy the land, transfer the kids into a temporary shelter, and then enhance the orphanage," she commented in a stern and professional tone that left little scope for follow-up questions..

"CEO Mu, are you saying that this move was not meant to antagonize President Zhuo of Zhuo Capital?"

"Of course not. Why would I show hostility towards the person who saved Scarlet City years ago? I am not an ungrateful person," she answered.

"Then what can you say about the current events in the North of Hong Kong? Do you think this was the reason why President Zhuo did not accept any interviews? What about the fact that you don’t have a land deed for the temporary shelter of the kids? Are you perhaps just lying to get some attention and intentionally cause trouble for Zhuo Capital?" the slanderous words from the reporter left Mu Lihua speechless. She looked at the people surrounding her, and when she saw that everyone seemed to be waiting for her to answer she immediately put her sunglasses back on again.

"I will have a press conference tomorrow. That is all for today," she answered as she signaled the security detail to clear the path for her. She immediately went inside the mall while trying to avoid another yet another group of reporters who were rushing towards her.

"What is happening?" she asked the moment she boarded the elevator with her secretary.

"CEO Mu, look." Her secretary gave her a tablet. Mu Lihua’s beautiful eyes instantly widened dramatically as she read the online news article.

The featured photo above the article was an image of some people cutting a ribbon with lots of kids in the background. There were more captioned photos throughout the body of the article.

[Zhuo Capital on Orphanage: "Since they bought it, we’ll build a new one."]

[President Zhuo transfers hundreds of kids to a private mansion.]

[New orphanage sponsored by Zhuo Capital, amidst online drama .]

[President Zhuo refuses to be interviewed in spite of his good deeds.]

[CEO Mu of Mu Group found lying: There is no deed for the temporary orphanage.]

[CEO Mu accused of lying, using orphans for publicity stunt.]

[The truth about CEO Mu’s lies; Ungratefulness towards Zhuo Capital]

[CEO Mu ruthlessly attempted to destroy orphanage without proper temporary shelter for the kids.]

Mu Lihua’s hands shook so violently that she almost dropped the tablet. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. She could literally feel waves of cold travelling down her body from her head to her toes. Her heart seemed to stop beating as she thought about what she’d just read. What is happening?!

*DING*

"CEO Mu, we are here." Her secretary woke her up from her stupor. Mu Lihua instantly exited the elevator, her hands clenched, and her beautiful face dark as she walked directly into her office.

"Close the door when you leave," she immediately said after her secretary placed the day’s documents on her desk. After watching her secretary leave without another word, she rummaged through her bag to find her phone and quickly dialed a number. "Brother Xia, have you read the news?"

Mu Lihua heard someone yawn on the other end of the line, instantly making her more irritated. "Hm? What are you talking about?"

"Zhuo Jingren is set to ruin me! He will ruin me!" She gritted her teeth as she gave him the facts: "I can try and remedy this, but from now on I won’t be able to help you."

"What do you mean?" Qi Xia’s voice turned serious.

"He set up a trap and I fell right into it. He had all of this planned in advance. I am sure that there is more coming. The timing is just too coincidental. I know he..."

"Slow down. Let me check the internet," he answered. Mu Lihua could hear him typing on his keyboard. After a few minutes, she heard him sigh with exasperation.

"This is not Zhuo Jingren’s work," he said. "Zhuo Jingren hates the spotlight. Since when did you ever hear of him doing something like this?"

"Then who?"

"His wife, Lily Zhuo. This is straight up Lily’s MO," Qi Xia answered. "I’ll come by your office today. Don’t panic Lihua, we are already in this together."

"I was not planning to provoke them and you know that..."

"Don’t forget what you owe me, Lihua, he said cutting off Mu Lihua’s words. "I will arrive in less than an hour. Let’s talk then." He ended the call without waiting for her answer. In response, her grip on the phone tightened as her face reddened in anger. Qi Xia... how dare you put me in this situation!

Just as Qi Xia promised, he did in fact arrive at Mu Lihua’s office in less than an hour. The two began discussing their options.

"My father has been calling me since last night. You should know how much work I put in to make a name for myself and to build my reputation in Mainland China. I cannot let this ruin me!" she said. She had been working her ass off to prove that she deserves this position. She cannot let Zhuo Jingren ruin her.

"You should have thought about that before you agreed to help me," Qi Xia said calmly. "Not that you had the option to refuse me. I helped you with Mu Qingling before, remember? It is only fair that you do this to compensate me."

"That was different," she hissed.

"Is it?" he raised an eyebrow, rendering Mu Lihua speechless.

"You- " Mu Lihua wanted to say something but she ended up closing her mouth. "I have a meeting in an hour with my board members. I will fix this," she said confidently while wearing a serene expression.On the inside, however, all she wanted was to strangle the man in front of her with the chav gold chain around his neck..

....

"Oh?" Lily listened to Zhuo Jingren’s words, raising an eyebrow as her lips lifted into a self-satisfied smirk . "Qi Xia, huh."

"Should I assume that they are working together so he can try to get close to you?"

"Is President Zhuo jealous?"

"Not jealous. Just angry," he answered, earning a smile from Lily. "How could he think that someone like him deserves to get anywhere near being close to you?"

"So what are you planning now, President Zhuo?" Lily asked, mirth apparent in her tone.

"The plan continues. We will ruin Mu Lihua. Someone else’s loss will be another’s gain. Once Mu Qingling comes back, we will deal with her, and then we’ll lure their mother out."

"Then I will deal with that Qi Xia myself," Zhuo Jingren said in a sinister tone.