The Cunning CEO's Contract Wife

Chapter 166 That's her promotion

"He...he's always been here? But why a few days ago..."

Lin Ran bit her lip, her tone full of doubt.

A few days ago, every time she returned to the villa, she saw that the study light was on. Could it be that Xiao Jingchen was there?

“A few days ago, it was quite early, so Mr. Xiao followed you all the way to the villa area before speeding back. As for what happened after that, I don’t know much about it.”

Lin Ran did not doubt Zhou Qing's words. She looked up at the villa and saw that the study lights were indeed on again.

Zhou Qing stopped there, stepped on the gas, and drove away from the villa.

Lin Ran's expression was complicated. She stood outside the door for a long time before walking in with heavy steps.

She had countless hopes for Xiao Jingchen, but various things caused her to lose all hope. However, as long as their marriage continued, they were like an unbreakable bond.

Lin Ran resisted her actions, but she obediently went to the kitchen, cooked a steaming bowl of egg noodles, and served it to the kitchen staff.

"Um, why don't you eat something before you start working?"

Xiao Jingchen's expression remained indifferent; his lips moved a few times, but he didn't utter a word.

Lin Ran instantly understood his meaning, and just as she was about to bring the noodles in, Xiao Jingchen stood up.

"Go downstairs."

"what?"

Lin Ran was startled, her expression suddenly tense, and she took a step to block the door.

"Well, why don't you eat here? I'll clean up after you're done, I promise I won't make a mess for you."

Xiao Jingchen stopped in his tracks. He frowned and looked at Lin Ran, then slowly uttered a single word under her expectant gaze.

"Do not."

Lin Ran's eyes were full of disappointment, but she still stood there, her tone even sounding pleading.

"Why don't you wait here for me for a bit, and then come down later?"

"Do not."

With just one simple word, Lin Ran could only lower her head and carry the noodles downstairs.

The aroma wafted downstairs as well, and a bowl of noodles sat on the table.

Xiao Jingchen narrowed his eyes slightly. Was this woman refusing to let him down because she had also made him a bowl of noodles?

The closer Lin Ran got to the dining table, the more nervous she became. By the time the two of them were seated and ready to start eating their noodles, Xiao Jingchen finally noticed something was wrong.

The bowl in his hand had a golden fried egg nestled on top, while Lin Ran's bowl had two!

Seeing Lin Ran's obviously guilty expression, Xiao Jingchen laughed out of anger.

"Lin Ran, is your family short of an egg?"

"Um, how about you have mine?"

Knowing she was in the wrong, Lin Ran blinked and whispered, but her gaze towards the fried egg still held a hint of reluctance.

"Okay."

Xiao Jingchen didn't stand on ceremony at all. He took the bowl of noodles in front of her and ate it bite by bite under Lin Ran's reluctant gaze until he had finished both fried eggs and the bowl of noodles.

"tasty."

Seeing Lin Ran's sullen face, Xiao Jingchen inexplicably felt much better, and even his steps upstairs became much lighter.

"It's just an egg, what's the big deal? You can have it if you want."

Lin Ran poked the noodles in the bowl with her chopsticks, muttering to herself.

Perhaps because she had finished her work, Lin Ran slept very soundly that night and didn't even hear her alarm clock in the morning. Luckily, she hadn't drawn the curtains at night, and the glaring sunlight woke her up as soon as the sun rose.

"Ah, the blankets are so comfortable."

Lin Ran stretched contentedly on the bed, picked up her phone from the bedside table, and looked at it. The smile on her face immediately froze.

"Seven...seven o'clock?"

Lin Ran closed her eyes briefly, looking unconvinced, then opened them again; it was 7:01.

The blanket was pulled off her body, and Lin Ran scrambled out of bed, went into the bathroom to wash up, and finished getting ready in five minutes before going downstairs.

Surprisingly, Xiao Jingchen was also downstairs, leisurely sipping coffee and flipping through the newspaper in his hand.

"Why are you still at home? You're going to be late."

"Yes, to be precise, you're already late."

Xiao Jingchen calmly took a sip of coffee and placed the newspaper on the table.

"Let's leave once you're awake."

Lin Ran was taken aback, and a strange emotion suddenly rose in her heart.

Is he waiting for her?

Before Lin Ran could think it through, her body had already followed her and sat in the car.

Although it was another time to clock in right on time, at least I wasn't late.

Lin Ran sat in her seat, slightly out of breath. Several colleagues around her, as usual, huddled together and whispered something.

"Having connections really makes a difference; you even arrive at work right on time."

"Yes, we can't compare."

Several people deliberately raised their voices, and the mockery in their words could be heard throughout the entire office.

Lin Ran frowned, about to retort, when another voice spoke faster than her.

"It seems you all have a lot of free time, and you even have time to meddle in other people's business."

"Haven't you guys ever done anything like checking in at designated times? What, you're unhappy because you see others doing it?"

Just as the group was about to retort, they turned around and saw that the person who came in was Xiao Yunsi, and their arrogant expressions immediately subsided.

"Shut up? So you're just bullies who pick on the weak and fear the strong."

Xiao Yunsi sneered and stood in front of Lin Ran, his expression full of protectiveness.

"But she bullied others, causing them to leave the Secretariat."

Even with Xiao Yunsi here, some people were still unconvinced and vividly described how Lin Ran had bullied Ye Chuchu before.

After speaking, she looked at Xiao Yunsi expectantly, as if waiting for him to speak.

"Really? Do you know that Ye Chuchu is now working in President Xiao's office, and her salary is much higher than here?"

"Oh, or do you not like high salaries and prefer to stay in the secretariat?"

Xiao Yunsi smiled and spoke with a hint of sarcasm.

Those who had just been dissatisfied were now stunned. After all, when Ye Chuchu left, she only said that she was leaving the secretariat, and they didn't know anything else.

"What you just did was bullying your colleague. According to the rules of our Xiao family, half a month's salary will be deducted. Song Nuan, remember to report it."

Xiao Yun made his decision decisively, and before they could even cry out in despair, he turned and left.

Regardless, he was a member of the Xiao family, and his status was naturally incomparable to these people. It was just a matter of deducting his salary according to the rules, which was nothing more than a matter of talking to Xiao Yunsi.

Several people's expressions changed completely. They looked at Lin Ran but didn't dare to say anything more, and could only suppress their anger.

Although Lin Ran felt that the deduction of her wages was a bit too much, when she thought about how these people had bullied her, that bit of soft-heartedness vanished completely.