Disabled Childhood Sweetheart: A Humble Puppy Begs for the Young Lady's Pity

Qiaofan Industrial Company.

Zhou Jingchen stood downstairs and buttoned up a black suit jacket. As he did so, he slightly pulled up the cuff of his shirt, revealing a section of his pale, sturdy wrist and a silver-chain mechanical watch, understated yet sophisticated.

He glanced up at the building in front of him, his displeasure like a sword yet to be drawn, its cold light gleaming, ready to pierce the calm at any moment.

Immediately, he strode inside, with He Li and a lawyer following closely behind him.

Upstairs in the office, Qiao Yue was leaning against her desk.

The secretary's knocking suddenly sounded: "President Qiao, President Zhou from Xingyao is here and wants to see you."

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yue's eyes lit up instantly. She quickly stood up from her chair with a smile, grabbed a small mirror, and tidied her hair.

Speaking rapidly and with barely concealed excitement: "Quickly! Quickly, invite them in!"

She paced back and forth in her office, her heart pounding, her mind racing with thoughts:

He must have seen those damaging stories and become completely disillusioned with that woman, right?

Yes, who would want a dirty woman?

Especially since Zhou Jingchen's Xingyao Company is preparing for its IPO, he is even less likely to put his company in danger for a woman like that. Breaking up with that vixen is only a matter of time.

It seems I made the right move.

Thinking about it this way, she became so excited that her eyebrows twitched slightly and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up.

A moment later, steady footsteps sounded outside the office, and the next second, Zhou Jingchen appeared in the doorway, tall and handsome.

"Jingchen, what brings you here?" Qiao Yue was overjoyed and ran to him, taking his arm in her hand, her voice soft and sweet.

When his gaze swept over He Li and the strange man behind him, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

"Is there something you need?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him with gentle, innocent eyes.

"Miss Qiao." Zhou Jingchen raised his hand and brushed her hand away, disgustedly dusting off his suit sleeves. His cold, stern gaze pierced her directly. "I'm here today to settle accounts with you."

"What?" Qiao Yue was shocked and subconsciously took two steps back.

Before she could react, the lawyer behind her stepped forward, took out pre-prepared documents, and spoke in a cold and professional tone:

"Ms. Qiao, your organization of an online troll army to spread false information on a large scale, fabricating facts to maliciously insult and defame Ms. Wenxi, has violated the law. Our Zhenyu Law Firm, entrusted by Ms. Wenxi, is formally filing a lawsuit against you today."

Qiao Yue was taken aback for a moment, then sneered, "Zhou Jingchen, our Qiao family and the Lu family are old friends. You don't need to be so ruthless, do you?"

"I'm sorry." Zhou Jingchen stared at her, his eyes cold. "I have severed ties with the Lu family. Also, my surname is Zhou."

As soon as the words were spoken, several figures in uniforms walked through the company corridor and went straight to the office door.

The lead police officer's gaze fell on Qiao Yue, and he asked in a deep voice, "Are you Qiao Yue?"

"Someone has reported you to the police for spreading false information online and maliciously defaming others. Come with us to cooperate with the investigation."

Qiao Yue's face turned pale instantly. She looked at the police in disbelief, then at Zhou Jingchen, and said coldly and angrily:

"You dare treat me like this just because of that little slut? Do you know she can't help you at all? She's a hostess, a dancer, a womanizer in nightclubs and bars, she's already a slut. Her dark past will ruin you sooner or later!"

"Shut up!" Zhou Jingchen's face suddenly darkened like a cold pool. He stepped forward and grabbed her collar with one hand.

The ferocity in his eyes was almost savage, and he spat out the words through clenched teeth: "Qiao Yue, someone like you isn't even worthy of carrying her shoes!"

He released his grip, took out a handkerchief, and wiped his fingers, as if he had just touched something filthy.

Qiao Yue was intimidated by his ruthlessness, but she was still unwilling to give up. With red eyes, she uttered a harsh threat:

"Your company is about to go public, and you're treating me like this? Aren't you afraid of my second uncle? He works at the China Securities Regulatory Commission; he could make things worse with a flick of his finger..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Jingchen sneered, "What? Are you going to have your second uncle trip me up, obstruct the approval process, and prevent my company from going public smoothly?"

He Li stepped forward at the opportune moment, his tone calm but his words piercing:

"Miss Qiao, it seems you are unaware of this. Your second uncle, abusing his position in the China Securities Regulatory Commission's review and approval process, disregarded regulatory standards and laws and regulations, giving the green light to non-compliant companies, engaging in favoritism and fraud for personal gain, and seriously disrupting the order of the capital market. This morning, he was taken away by the police for investigation."

"Impossible!" Qiao Yue's pupils contracted sharply, and her whole body froze. "Zhou Jingchen, did you do this?"

She pointed at the man in front of her, "You're the one who reported my second uncle!"

Zhou Jingchen raised an eyebrow slightly, his cold eyes narrowed, revealing a chilling aura.

"Qiao Yue, I didn't pay any attention to you before, no matter how you acted hypocritically in front of me, put on a show in front of the old lady of the Lu family, or spread rumors."

He took a step forward, his voice carrying a chilling coldness and an overwhelming sense of oppression:

"This time, you've crossed my line."

A chill immediately ran down her spine; that cold gaze was one that Qiao Yue had never seen before.

In her memory, Zhou Jingchen was a gentle, refined, and reserved man.

For the first time, she sensed the chilling malevolence emanating from him, and the cold, sinister aura lurking beneath his outward appearance.

Ultimately, Qiao Yue was taken away by the police for investigation in full view of the company's employees.

Qiao Yue was punished with ten days of administrative detention and a fine for hiring online trolls to fabricate and spread false information, openly damaging the personality and reputation of others.

This punishment was merely a minor blow to her; the real damage was that, as the general manager of Qiaofan Industry, her actions had caused the company's reputation to plummet.

As the truth of the incident continued to unfold online, netizens launched a boycott.

Several shopping malls and supermarkets near Shenzhen successively issued announcements, removing all products from Qiaofan Industry's shelves and suspending all cooperation with them. Overnight, Qiaofan Industry's orders plummeted, and it faced serious losses.

Upon learning of their daughter's detention, Qiao's parents immediately called Mrs. Lu, appealing to her emotions.

They pleaded with the old lady to put pressure on Zhou Jingchen, considering the long-standing friendship between the two families, so that he would drop the case and not pursue the matter further, and prevent Qiao Yue from having a criminal record that would ruin her life.

Out of consideration for their past relationship, Old Mrs. Lu went straight to find Lu Zhenting, only to find that Lu Zhenting could only say helplessly, "That boy has hardened his heart now and has long since stopped listening to my discipline. I can't control this matter."

Grandma Lu went to Yushui Bay to wait for Lu Yuanyuan, but Lu Yuanyuan was on a long vacation and had gone out for a holiday. She didn't even see a trace of her.

Left with no other choice, Old Madam Lu had to swallow her pride and personally go to Xingyao Company to plead with her grandson, Zhou Jingchen.

Inside the CEO's office at Xingyao, Old Mrs. Lu sat upright on the sofa, maintaining the air of an elder, her tone cold and hard:

"Xiao Ze, as long as you agree this time and don't hold Qiao Yue responsible, I will forgive and forget your past actions of insisting on severing ties with the Lu family and disobeying me for that woman."

Zhou Jingchen leaned back in his chair and sneered, "Not going to pursue it? Then how will we settle accounts for the harm Wenxi suffered?"

Grandma Lu scoffed dismissively, "She was just criticized by netizens, what real harm could that do? She's still eating and drinking as usual, isn't she? But Qiao Yue is different. If she were locked up and had a criminal record, it would have a huge impact!"

"Grandma!" Zhou Jingchen interrupted angrily, "How could you say such a thing?"

"Wenxi was smeared by online rumors and subjected to unrestrained abuse from tens of thousands of people for nearly a month. Her work was forced to stop, and she didn't even dare to leave her home. She lived in fear and resentment every day. Is this what you call no actual harm?"

He gritted his teeth and said, "Do you know that words are the sharpest knife, sometimes more hurtful than real weapons! If she were any more psychologically fragile, she might not have been able to withstand this pressure and could have even committed suicide!"

"When it comes to you, you think you can just casually say 'no harm was done,' and expect me to swallow my anger, wrong her, and drop the case without pursuing the matter?"

Zhou Jingchen looked at her, his eyes full of mockery: "I almost forgot, you're a sharp-tongued and mean person by nature. The hurtful things you've said in the past are no less than those of keyboard warriors online. How can I expect you to empathize with her grievances and pain?"

The old woman's face turned a deep purplish-red from the rebuke. "You! You won't even give me the slightest bit of face?"

Zhou Jingchen was too lazy to waste any more words with her, so he looked up and called out to the door, "He Li, see the guest out."

The office door opened with a click, and He Li walked in, gesturing for him to enter: "Madam, our CEO Zhou has an important meeting to attend later..."

"Fine, very well indeed!" Old Mrs. Lu glared at Zhou Jingchen, her chest heaving violently. "I've wasted all these years of pampering you! For an outsider, you've even disowned your own grandmother, and disregarded the kinship of the Lu family!"

She glared at He Li fiercely, then turned and left angrily.

After leaving Xingyao Company, Old Mrs. Lu did not go home, but went straight to the detention center.

In the visiting room, Qiao Yue, handcuffed, tearfully recounted her story:

"Grandma, I did all of this with your permission..."

Grandma Lu patted the back of her hand to comfort her, "Don't worry, Grandma won't abandon you. I'm still an elder in the Lu family, and I'm not dead yet. I will never let a wretched woman turn our Lu family upside down."

Qiao Yue lowered her eyes and accused, "But Jing Chen won't listen to anyone now, he only has that woman in his eyes. If we want him to drop the case and not pursue it, we have to get Wen Xi to confess."

Grandma Lu immediately said, "I'll go find that woman in a bit!"

"No," Qiao Yue's eyes darted around, her gaze shining as she looked at her, "Grandma, you can go to Dingkang Private Hospital."