Financial freedom starts from graduation

Chapter 518 Let's assume you also have your reasons

The curtains block out light very well.

So good that Qu Peining couldn't even tell what time it was.

She was still curled up in Zhou Wang's arms, like an ostrich, choosing to bury her head in the darkness.

Her chin rested on Zhou Wang's chest, and through the thin fabric of his nightgown, she could smell his scent.

It smells like sandalwood burning in a temple. Although it's not a good description, it's surprisingly pleasant. It has a hint of tobacco in it, which is inexplicably addictive.

Qu Peining had never been in such close contact with other men before, so she was a little confused. Was it true that every man smelled like this, or was it just Zhou Wang who smelled like this?

A moment later, Qu Peining came to a conclusion.

It seems that only Zhou Wang is like this.

Although she hadn't had much contact with other men, her older and younger brothers in the family always smelled bad. Her grandmother would often force them to take a bath because she disliked it, but they didn't care. They seemed to think that body odor was a kind of "manliness"...

But Zhou Wang seems to be quite "manly" too.

Qu Peining could clearly feel the shape of his abdominal muscles under his pajamas; they weren't exaggerated, but they looked very strong.

If she weren't afraid to make a rash move, Qu Peining would have even wanted to reach out and touch it.

She felt like she was really going crazy.

At this moment, not only was she completely naked and embracing a man, but she also began to examine the various details of his body.

It's probably because I don't have the strength...

Qu Peining could only use this excuse to convince herself.

Or perhaps she had become numb, and after Zhou Wang had seen her most shameful side, it seemed that these things no longer mattered.

How much worse can things get?
Time passed, and after Zhou Wang fed her food and medicine in that special way, Qu Peining gradually felt her hands and feet regain strength, and her mind was no longer so foggy.

At the same time, Zhou Wang's breathing gradually became steady, as if he had fallen into a deep sleep again.

Qu Peining tried to move her hands and feet, but the man next to her didn't react. After a moment, Qu Peining slowly stepped out of Zhou Wang's arms, then took a deep breath and sat up.

She pulled a thin blanket over her shapely body, then quietly got out of bed. In the dim light, Qu Peining wandered around the room for a while, then found a needle and thread in the medicine box. After fiddling with the silver needles for a few moments, the handcuffs came off easily.

After rubbing her sore wrists, Qu Peining picked up the clothes from the tray and changed. After tidying up, she returned to the bedside and gazed at the sleeping Zhou Wang with a complicated expression.

She must have resented him.

Regardless of her initial reasons for coming to Shanghai, even after the humiliating experiences of the past two days, she had a million reasons to do something at this moment. Even if it wasn't to vent her anger, she could send this man to jail on a legitimate charge.

Given Zhou Wang's current unguarded posture, the best approach would be to directly strike his carotid sinus, also known as the "both sides of the neck." This area is also called the body's "barosensors," and with just a little force, it would be enough to make Zhou Wang completely faint.

Or, there are even more ruthless methods.

That means striking his temple directly, the area known in medical terminology as the "temporal region." Because the temporal bone is thin and the middle meningeal artery is located beneath it, a blow to this area can cause intracranial vascular concussion, or even a concussion, easily rendering Zhou Wang incapable of resisting...

Or perhaps the thyroid cartilage, axis, or solar plexus...

A quick glance revealed that Zhou Wang was riddled with fatal flaws, all within her reach.

Can……

Why do I seem to be resisting these thoughts?

At this moment, Qu Peining couldn't understand herself, just as she couldn't understand why she had allowed Zhou Wang to "intimately" touch her even though she was already awake.

Zhou Wang's hand was even brazenly squeezing hers...

Recalling the scene, Qu Peining's gaze became hazy again. She subconsciously raised her hand to touch her burning cheeks, then bit her lip and looked at the man on the bed.

Qu Peining raised her hand, but hesitated to lower it.

After repeating this several times, Qu Peining finally put her hand down. She spoke softly, as if trying to convince herself, "Let's just say... you have some kind of hardship that I don't know about."

Without further hesitation, Qu Peining picked up the kettle on the table, took a few more sips, and then picked out a few boxes of medicine from the medicine box and put them into her pocket.

Then she turned and went to the master bedroom, where she found her phone and ID card holder. But before leaving, Qu Peining saw the faint marks on the master bedroom bed and blushed.

A flash of shame and indignation crossed her eyes. She quickly stepped forward, ripped the entire bed sheet off, crumpled it into a ball, tied it in a knot, and carried it on her back.

After doing all these things, Qu Peining went to the living room. She didn't dare to look towards the guest bedroom again, as if she was afraid that she would do something else. She just hurriedly opened the door and left this place that she would remember for the rest of her life.

pat!

The moment he heard the door close, Zhou Wang, who was lying on the large bed in the guest room, opened his eyes.

He had just picked up his phone when a cheerful call came in.

Are you alright?

A happy, confirming voice came from the other end of the phone.

"fine."

Recalling Qu Peining's repeated probing actions in front of him earlier, Zhou Wang didn't feel any lingering fear, after all, he had "props" on him.

[Ramos's Heartguard: Greatly reduces physical damage taken for the duration of the skill, negating fatal damage.]

This "temporary item" from the Mysterious Shop, priced at 20,000 reputation points, is Zhou Wang's greatest source of confidence in being alone with Qu Peining.

When Miss Gu secretly came to his bed to offer herself, Zhou Wang also used this tool once. It had a three-day validity period and was a bit expensive, but it was still very effective.

However, both exchanges seemed to have been fruitless, as they were ultimately useless.

Zhou Wang could vaguely sense that Qu Peining's hatred for him hadn't diminished as much.

When Zhou Wang fed Qu Peining porridge, Zhou Wang knew she had woken up.

Qu Peining may have thought she had pretended very successfully, but as an inexperienced novice, there is actually a big difference between her unconscious and conscious states, such as the force of the wrapping, the degree of stiffness... cough cough.

In short, Zhou Wang realized she was awake immediately.

Zhou Wang had considered all sorts of her reactions, but he never imagined that she would cooperate silently.

Zhou Wang naturally wouldn't expose him, and the audacious scoundrel even tentatively reached out his wicked hand to see how far Qu Peining would tolerate it.

Finally, Zhou Wang was concerned that Qu Peining was still a "patient." Otherwise, he felt that let alone singing "The Hill," if he really wanted to take advantage of her vulnerability, he might have directly played a duet of "Itch."

Zhou Wang himself was quite confused about Qu Peining's mindset.

Just before Qu Peining left, Zhou Wang heard her whispered words, and he seemed to understand something, but he wasn't quite sure.

In any case, Qu Peining ultimately did not choose to harm herself, and Zhou Wang's efforts to take care of her all night were not in vain.

This was the first time in Zhou Wang's life that he had ever helped someone take a bath. "I saw her come out."

After confirming that Zhou Wang was alright, he continued his account.

Zhou Wang knew he was asking what to do now, so after thinking for a moment, Zhou Wang replied, "Follow her and see what she's doing and where she's going. I need to make sure she still poses any threat to me..."

Although Zhou Wang already had a preference in mind, it was always better to be cautious in such matters, since he knew that Qu Peining's background was probably not simple.

Some people have a certain air about them that clearly comes from being raised in a wealthy family.

I'll ask Xia Xiwei and Young Master Qiu another day, and then I'll be able to find out the truth.

"clear."

He happily agreed and hung up the phone.

With his business settled, Zhou Wang was no longer sleepy. He went to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains, only to find that dawn was already breaking; a whole night had indeed passed.

Ding Dong!Ding Dong!
Zhou Wang had just taken out a cigarette for aftercare and hadn't even lit it when he felt his phone vibrate twice more.

He initially thought he was happy, but when he took out his phone and looked at it, he was taken aback.

Two women sent him "Good morning" messages almost simultaneously.

One was just a simple greeting, while the other was accompanied by a picture of the sunrise.

It was 6:30 a.m. when he received the messages from Jiang Qingkui and Xu Wenqian.

Jiang Qingkui seems to always wake up at this time, very consistently, while Xu Wenqian's wake-up time has been getting earlier and earlier recently due to the initial establishment of the group.

Zhou Wang had just replied to the two of them and, unusually, sent a few more meaningless greetings when his phone started vibrating again.

My senior classmate is up too.

While Zhou Wang was still editing his reply to Jiang Mo's message, Qi Jiayi sent over the morning news, followed by Shen Yutong's message. A few minutes later, to Zhou Wang's surprise, Su Yajing also sent a "Good morning" message.

However, after browsing through the unreply chat logs, Zhou Wang noticed that Su Yajing, who was studying in Beidu recently, seemed to be working quite hard and had almost never slept in.

Zhou Wang grinned as he looked at the chat interface that had been refreshed all night.

"Holy crap, everyone's up this early..."

Zhou Wang belatedly realized that among this group of women, he, who didn't get up until eight or nine o'clock every day, had become the most lazy one.

It's strange too.

……

Friday, November 22, 2024, cloudy turning sunny.

The lunar calendar date for this day is "Minor Snow," which is auspicious for weddings, travel, moving, planting, and opening a business.

Jiang Qingkui woke up a little later than the previous few days, probably because she had some insomnia last night. It wasn't until the clock had passed seven o'clock that Jiang Qingkui opened her eyes with some difficulty.

Why do people suffer from insomnia?
It's probably because you're in an unfamiliar environment, or perhaps you're feeling burdened.

Looking at the pure white ceiling with warm orange light shimmering at the edges, Jiang Qingkui felt a moment of disorientation.

This is no longer the hotel she usually stays in, but from today onwards, a place that can be called "home".

Life is so wonderful and absurd; Jiang Qingkui actually has a home in Shanghai...

I sat up, casually pressed a button on the bedside table, and the electric curtains slid open to both sides, revealing the bright daylight and... a large terrace outside the five-meter-wide floor-to-ceiling windows.

Realizing that time was running out, Jiang Qingkui did not lie in bed to wake herself up for five minutes as usual. Instead, she got out of bed barefoot and walked a short distance, where a "fork" appeared in the spacious master bedroom.

To the right is a bathroom that extends over eight meters in length and includes a walk-in closet. The large bathtub in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows gleams with an ivory-white sheen. To the left is a separate walk-in closet with its own shoe rack, jewelry cabinet, and jewelry wall...

Unfortunately, the huge walk-in closet was completely empty.

Jiang Qingkui looked around and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

How long will it take me to fill this place?
This place, so empty it's almost frightening, is her "new home" in Shanghai.

With Zhou Wang's insistence and the accompaniment of Jiang Jiaxing and his wife, they settled on this house from among many options in less than a week.

China Resources Bund 9

This long-established high-end residential community in Shanghai is located on the southern section of the Bund, close to the Huangpu River, in the absolute core of Shanghai. It only takes 20 minutes to drive from here to the IFC, and that's only because you have to go through the Renmin Road Tunnel.

The entire building's facade is made of stone and glass curtain walls. The main apartment types are large single-level apartments and high-end duplexes. After much deliberation, they finally chose this large single-level apartment located on the top floor of the 28th floor.

...Actually, Jiang Qingkui wasn't worried at all, because the smallest of the main apartment types in this community is 200 square meters, and with an average price of 160,000 yuan per square meter, the final price would exceed 30 million yuan.

This price is enough to silence any ordinary person.

In Jiang Qingkui's own expectations, she could only accept a house worth a few million at most...

But Jiang Qingkui had no other choice, because this was already one of the cheaper apartments they had seen in many neighborhoods.

The sales consultants from Lianjia took them to see places like Tan Palace, COFCO Ocean View One, and Riverside Triumph Gate...

Each unit is priced exorbitantly, except for CR Land's Bund 9, which has a lower average price due to its age.

Ultimately, under the various persuasions of Jiang Qingkui's aunt and the urging of Zhou Wang, they had no choice but to hastily choose the one with the lowest total price.

The top-floor apartment in Building 2 of China Resources Jiuli is a single-unit apartment with one elevator. It has 4 bedrooms, 3 living rooms and 5 bathrooms, with an indoor area of ​​302 square meters and a 200-square-meter terrace with four corners.

After a quick wash, Jiang Qingkui went to the gym for a workout as usual before sitting down in the empty walk-in closet to get ready.

After applying light makeup and hesitating for a moment, Jiang Qingkui gave her hair a simple makeover. Then she changed into the new season Hermes business dress that had just arrived yesterday, put on flesh-colored thigh-high stockings, stood in front of the mirror, checked her outfit one last time, nodded in satisfaction, and then pushed open the door and went out.

After greeting her parents who were doing their morning exercise on the terrace, Jiang Qingkui opened the armored door and entered the entrance area. There, Xu Lingyue and another girl dressed in professional attire and wearing white gloves, with a capable appearance, were already waiting.

Upon seeing Jiang Qingkui appear, Xu Lingyue quickly stepped forward and introduced her: "President Jiang, this is Wu Lingling. She's a driver recommended by a headhunting company, and today is her first day on the job..."

Jiang Qingkui sized up the girl, lingering on her simple and honest appearance, and then nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, let's go."

Just as Jiang Qingkui was about to take a step, she remembered something, "By the way, have you managed to contact President Zhou?"

"I got in touch with him, and he said he'll be there today..."

"Hmph, he's disappeared for another week out of nowhere. If he doesn't show up again for the group's opening, I really don't understand what he's up to..."

Jiang Qingkui snorted and stepped into the elevator. From an angle where the two girls couldn't see, a hint of joy unconsciously appeared between her brows.

(End of this chapter)