Chapter 17: I Don't Take Out the Trash Here

Su Chaoxi opened the document bag, which contained a business proposal.

In her previous life, Xie Tianchen had risen from a manager to the person in charge of a multibillion-dollar project because of this business proposal.

And not long after, he had successfully replaced the president of the subsidiary, Xie Tianyin.

And this document was copied by Su Chaoxi from Xie Tianyin's computer.

Xie Tianyin bent down and pulled her beneath him.

The intense pressure made Su Chaoxi's heartbeat race.

She was forced to look up at him, "You..."

"Almost, I was nearly deceived by you," he said.

Xie Tianyin stroked her chin, speaking deliberately and mockingly, "That slap must have hurt, didn't it?"

His hand followed her snow-white jawline downward, gently rubbing her slender neck.

It was as if he could snap her neck at any moment.

Su Chaoxi's heart thudded wildly.

She feigned composure and said, "Xie Tianyin, what do you mean?"

Xie Tianyin's eyes were full of mockery, as if challenging her to make an excuse.

Su Chaoxi met his gaze defiantly and taunted, "Are you suggesting that today's events were all staged by me? That I conspired with Xie Tianchen, Su Nuannuan, including Su Zhiguo and Yang Yingrong, they all cooperated with me to put on a show?"

The Su Family's treatment of Su Chaoxi was clear to Xie Tianyin.

They only ever held Su Nuannuan in their hands.

Xie Tianyin's eyes darkened as he stared at her, "I'm not talking about today's events!"

"That slap just now wasn't it from today's events?" Su Chaoxi's eyes brimmed with ridicule, "As for that slap, I only regret not hitting you less hard. Believe it or not, I hate Xie Tianchen, and I wish he were dead!"

"As for this document..."

Su Chaoxi picked up the document bag in front of her, and looking at him resolutely, said, "Haven't you realized that I only gave him an incomplete version? I know, the detailed data is in another disk, and I didn't copy it fully to him, did I?"

A glint passed through Xie Tianyin's eyes as he studied her intensely, his brows furrowing.

She knew?

Su Chaoxi's heart raced.

In her past life, she didn't know that Xie Tianyin's business proposal was incomplete.

It wasn't until Xie Tianchen found it incomplete and approached her again for the specific data.

Only then did Su Chaoxi realise something was missing.

This time, she absolutely couldn't give Xie Tianchen the remaining data, but it gave her a chance to argue her case.

Su Chaoxi continued, "If I wanted to help him, I could have given him all the complete data. Why didn't I do that?"

Of course, it was because she hadn't discovered it.

After all, Xie Tianyin saved the files in two unrelated places with file names that had no apparent connection.

In her previous life, if Su Chaoxi hadn't searched them out one by one, she would never have found them.

But now, Su Chaoxi could only maintain her strong facade.

Xie Tianyin stared at the woman before him, sneering, "Your ability to make excuses has improved."

He jerked her chin up, grinding his teeth, "It seems Xie Tianchen is not as foolish as I thought, to notice so quickly that the data is incomplete?"

Su Chaoxi struggled to breathe and argued, "How could he possibly notice? If he had, would he dare to promote it so boldly?"

She reached up to stroke his face, speaking softly, "You also know, only if he climbs higher can he fall harder."

Xie Tianyin's gaze tightened, and he threw her onto the hospital bed, exasperatedly saying, "Stop putting on airs in front of me — Su Chaoxi, you're not qualified enough to manipulate me!"

Xie Tianyin abruptly withdrew and looked down at her coldly, "I don't care what you're up to, remember your place. I've warned you, I don't take back garbage here!"

With that, Xie Tianyin turned and left.

Su Chaoxi gave a wry smile.

It seemed that gaining Xie Tianyin's trust was going to be a long journey.

Just then, her mother-in-law, Wen Jingshu, rushed in anxiously, saying, "Oh, Chaoxi, why on earth did you end up in hospital? How is it, does it hurt?"

Su Chaoxi noticed that her mother-in-law was holding a paper bag.

Quickly explaining, the mother-in-law said, "Tianyin told me your leg was injured, so I brought some loose clothes for you. I picked out two sets, which one do you want to wear?"

Su Chaoxi's heart warmed, and she gratefully took her hand, "Thank you, Mom."

But her mother-in-law was too concerned to notice her feelings, asking, "Where is the injury, let Mom see."

Su Chaoxi revealed her bandaged wound and said, "It's just a minor injury, I'm fine."

"What do you mean 'fine'? Injuries on the leg can be serious or minor!" the mother-in-law disapproved with a frown, "You should stay in the hospital longer and not rush to be discharged. You can't just walk around on that foot, you know?"

Su Chaoxi was somewhere between laughter and tears but still insisted on being discharged.

When it was time for discharge, her mother-in-law even prepared a wheelchair for her.

Su Chaoxi was dumbfounded, "Mom, isn't this too much?"

"Not at all. You can't walk around carelessly with that leg; it might not heal properly. Listen to me, please sit down."

Su Chaoxi covered her face but couldn't stand up to her mother-in-law.

So her mother-in-law pushed Su Chaoxi into the elevator like that.

Just as they reached the first floor, Su Chaoxi caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye.

That figure was slim and graceful, not at all like the mother of a child in his twenties.

This was Xie Tianchen's mother, Cheng Meifen.

Cheng Meifen was well-maintained; she now clung to an old man's arm, laughing like a little girl.

And that man...

Wasn't he the disgusting husband of the mother-in-law, Xie Tianyin's biological father, Xie Changzheng?

The moment she saw Xie Changzheng, Wen Jingshu's hand gripping Su Chaoxi's wheelchair tensed.

Su Chaoxi noticed the anomaly in her mother-in-law and whispered, "Mom, let's go."

But Wen Jingshu kept staring at the couple, her lips tightly pressed, as if she hadn't heard Su Chaoxi's words at all.

Su Chaoxi sighed inwardly, realizing she still couldn't let go.

Suddenly, Cheng Meifen seemed to feel their gaze.

She turned her head to look over and appeared momentarily taken aback at the sight of Wen Jingshu.

Then she smiled provocatively, covered her flat abdomen with her hand in a defiant gesture, and nestled closer to Xie Changzheng's embrace.

Su Chaoxi knew that the reason Cheng Meifen and Xie Changzheng were at the hospital was because Cheng Meifen was pregnant.

Cheng Meifen's current actions and behavior were an unabashed provocation!

Wen Jingshu's knuckles grew white with tension.

As if masochistically, she watched them until they entered the gynecology clinic, then let out a self-deprecatory laugh, "The status of this mistress is really secure, isn't it."

Su Chaoxi felt conflicted.

How could it not be secure?

Willing to humble oneself.

Not asking for status or money.

Just demanding to be by Xie Changzheng's side.

With this meek attitude, she monopolized another person's husband.

No matter how Xie Changzheng indulged in luxuries outside, she had been his constant companion for decades.

What a crafty tactic.

Wen Jingshu remained silent all the way home.

Today's incident seemed to be just a minor episode.

Xie Tianyin had been away on business for three days in a row.

During these three days when Su Chaoxi had some free time, she would open her computer to write.

The rest of the time was spent with her child, doing homework and playing games.

With these three days of companionship, her daughter clung to her even more, insisting on sleeping cuddled up with 'mommy'.

Only Xie Xunzhi remained the same, guarding against her at every turn.

Su Chaoxi knew not to rush things, so she maintained a calm mindset.

While Su Chaoxi took a laissez-faire approach, her mother-in-law couldn't seem to sit still any longer.

She came to Su Chaoxi with a troubled look, hesitating for a long time before finally saying, "Chaoxi, have you and Tianyin had another fight?"

Su Chaoxi was caught off guard by the question. "Mom, why would you ask that?"

Wen Jingshu's face was full of worry, "Are you still keeping things from me? Tianyin hasn't been home for several days. What happened at your parents' house the other day?"

Su Chaoxi felt a warmth in her heart and was about to explain when Wen Jingshu added, "Chaoxi, I've seen in the past few days that you really have the intention to change and return to caring for the family."

"But in a family, it's not just the elderly and children that matter, Tianyin is the pillar you can rely on."

Wen Jingshu spoke with a deep meaning, "Sometimes, we women need to take the initiative too, don't you think?"