Xiao Hailong felt a loud buzz in his head as a surge of jealousy shot straight to his brain.


He hadn’t even held Dong Ruolin’s hand, yet now she had been undressed by some stranger, who had touched and pressed her thigh—maybe even other, more private areas!


How could he possibly accept this?!


Blinded by jealousy, Xiao Hailong gritted his teeth and spat, “That guy wasn’t trying to save you; he was taking advantage of you while you were vulnerable!”


As soon as he said this, all the members of the Xiao family turned to look at Dong Ruolin.


They all had the same thought—this situation sounded extremely suspicious. A beautiful woman lying half-dressed in front of a stranger, letting him touch her—it was bound to raise questions.


Dong Ruolin was so furious that she nearly staggered. She had completely lost all hope in Xiao Hailong!


Not only had he run away first, but now he was maliciously accusing her in front of everyone? This wasn’t just cowardly—it was despicable!


Coldly, she said, “Xiao Hailong, the man who saved me didn’t take advantage of me. I took off my pants myself! It has nothing to do with you!”


Then, gritting her teeth, she furiously scolded, “But you—Xiao Hailong—this entire mess was your fault! When those men came after you for revenge, you ran off so fast, leaving me behind to fend for myself! I got stabbed because of you, and now you dare to say such disgusting things? Do you have no shame?”


Xiao Hailong’s face turned red with embarrassment, unable to say a word.


Dong Ruolin couldn’t even bear to look at him anymore. She immediately got up, left the hospital room, hailed a cab, and returned to her hotel.


The rest of the Xiao family stood in stunned silence, realizing the true nature of what had happened.


So, it turned out Xiao Hailong had caused the trouble, then abandoned Dong Ruolin, which led to her getting stabbed…


As soon as she left, Old Madam Xiao, shaking with fury, slapped Xiao Hailong hard across the face.


Xiao Hailong was stunned. The old lady scolded, “What have I always taught you? I told you to win over Dong Ruolin, and what did you do? You abandoned her to save yourself! How could she possibly like you after that?”


“Grandma, I was wrong…” Xiao Hailong covered his burning cheek, suddenly realizing his mistake and regretting it deeply.


Only now did he understand—he had completely lost his chance with Dong Ruolin forever.


Meanwhile, Ye Chen returned home and chose not to mention the night’s events to his wife.


And since Xiao Churan’s family was always excluded from the Xiao family’s affairs, she had no way of knowing what had happened to Dong Ruolin.


The next morning, Xiao Churan received a call from Old Madam Xiao.


The old lady said, “Churan, I need you to go to Tianhao Building Materials Group today and see if you can negotiate with their boss to supply us with ten million yuan worth of materials on credit. We’ll pay them back once we receive payment from Emgrand Group.”


Xiao Churan quickly said, “Grandma, Tianhao Building Materials is a big company with strong financial standing. They have strict policies and never offer credit.”


The old lady sighed, “We have no choice. The Xiao family is facing cash flow issues. We can’t afford these upfront costs, and getting a loan is difficult. Our only hope is negotiating with Tianhao.”


Then she added, “Churan, the family is in trouble, and your cousin has proven to be useless. We’re counting on you. Please, try to talk to Tianhao’s boss, Zhou Tianhao. If he agrees, we’ll have a chance.”


Xiao Churan hesitated for a moment but finally said, “Alright, Grandma. I’ll give it a try.”


“Good!” Old Madam Xiao sighed in relief. “I know you can do it!”


After hanging up, Xiao Churan looked troubled.


Ye Chen couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”


She explained the situation to Ye Chen.


He nodded and said, “Why not just ask Emgrand Group for an advance payment of two million yuan for the project?”


Xiao Churan quickly rejected the idea. “That wouldn’t be appropriate. We’re already lucky that Emgrand Group agreed to work with us. If we ask for an advance, they’ll look down on us.”


Ye Chen wanted to say, Emgrand Group belongs to me! What’s two million yuan? Who would dare to look down on you?


But he held his tongue.


Instead, she said, “I’ll go talk to Mr. Zhou myself.”


Ye Chen offered, “I’ll come with you.”


“That’s not necessary.” Xiao Churan shook her head. “It wouldn’t be professional to bring my husband to a business meeting.”


Then she added, “You can stay home. If you’re bored, just go out and walk around.”


Seeing how determined she was, Ye Chen didn’t argue further.


He knew his wife was independent and preferred to handle things on her own.


So, he decided to let her try first. If she failed, he could secretly step in to help.


After breakfast, Xiao Churan scheduled a meeting with Zhou Tianhao, then drove alone to Tianhao Building Materials Group.


Tianhao Building Materials was one of the largest suppliers in Jinling and the Jiangnan region, specializing in aluminum alloy materials—an essential component of large-scale real estate projects.


Zhou Tianhao had humble beginnings, but he got lucky by marrying a woman from a wealthy and powerful family. With her family’s help, he gradually built his business into what it was today.


However, Zhou Tianhao was notoriously henpecked. His wife was known for being extremely unattractive, but he never dared to have affairs, which gave him a good reputation in the local business community. People praised him for staying loyal to his “plain” wife.


Tianhao Building Materials’ massive factory spanned thousands of acres on the outskirts of the city.


When Xiao Churan arrived at the office building, Zhou Tianhao was already waiting in the lobby.


As soon as he saw her, he put on an enthusiastic smile, walked up to her, and extended his hand warmly. “Ah, Ms. Xiao! What an honor to have you visit us today. I should have come out to greet you earlier—please forgive me!”


Xiao Churan politely shook his hand and replied with a smile, “Mr. Zhou, you’re too kind.”


She then tried to withdraw her hand, but Zhou Tianhao’s grip tightened instead of letting go.


She had to use force to pull her hand back, her expression turning wary. “Mr. Zhou, what are you doing?”


Zhou Tianhao quickly scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. “Oh, my apologies! I’ve always heard that Ms. Xiao is a stunning beauty, but seeing you in person, I was momentarily dazed. That was very rude of me. Please forgive my rudeness!”


Seeing him admit his mistake so directly, Xiao Churan relaxed slightly.


Zhou Tianhao then gestured toward his office with a smile. “Ms. Xiao, shall we continue our conversation in my office?”