The CEO's Porcelain Wife

A Bitter Taste

The Old Madam was still crying, with a runny nose and tears running down her face. Sima Chun knew that if he didn't give her a satisfying response today, the two of them wouldn't leave.

Just then, the clear sound of the phone ringing filled the room, and Sima Chun grabbed the phone as if it were his lifeline:

"President, the Malaysian Foreign Minister has arrived earlier than expected. The Public Relations Department has arranged for his group of twelve to go to Reception Room Number One on the 98th floor, and the meeting has been moved up to fifteen minutes from now, please come down as soon as possible.”

"Okay, please go and distribute the meeting agendas now. I'll be there shortly," Sima Chun said, feeling particularly grateful to hear the professional tone in Lin Yue's voice at that moment.

"Mommy, you should go back first, I have very important clients waiting for me,” he said as he stood up, preparing to go to the bathroom to shower and change. After cooking such a large meal in the morning, he felt that he smelled of grease.

Gao Suqing, supporting the Old Madam, slowly walked out. Looking at his grandma's stooped back, he felt that she and his mommy were truly pitiful:

“Grandma,”

“Oh, grandma’s fine, you should go get busy,” the Old Madam said, looking back at him, her eyes still wet with tears.

“Grandma, I’ll seriously consider this matter. I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long,” he said, as though comforting the two old women, and also as though he were trying to convince himself that he wanted to get married soon.

"Qing'er, I need to go downstairs for a meeting. You should clean up the kitchen and dining room first. I’ll take you shopping in two hours,” he said, as he knotted his tie.

She sat on the sofa with a stiff face, lost in her own thoughts, and not even hearing him speak.

“Little princess, did you hear big brother talking to you?” he said, bending down to kiss her small lips.

“You're not allowed to kiss me again, I hate you,” she said, glaring at him with her big, bright eyes.

“Little princess, what have I done to offend you again? Look at your face, you look so fierce,” he said, reaching out to pinch her soft cheeks, but Sima Qing slapped his hand away.

"I told you, you’re not allowed to touch me, or kiss me, and you’re not allowed to hug me!” she said, furious. Having overheard that conversation earlier, she knew that he already had girlfriends, even a large number of girlfriends. That playboy had stolen her first kiss! She now felt like kicking him out of her sight. But no, this is his house. If I want to leave, it should be me. But what floor is this again? How do I get to the hospital? She thought, frustrated, knowing that she didn't have any money with her when she left the hospital. She glared at him angrily.

"Little princess, big brother will take you to meet Grandma and Mommy sometime in the future, don't be angry. I need to go downstairs for a meeting. You should be a good girl here by yourself,” he said, and then left. In his heart, he saw Sima Qing as a well-behaved girl, and with the soundproofing in each room being so good, he never imagined she would eavesdrop.

Sima Qing, by herself, was getting more and more furious. She wanted to run to the hospital, but she couldn’t possibly go out in her pajamas in broad daylight. She looked all over the room for the clothes she had worn yesterday but couldn't find them. She didn’t want to stay here for one more second. What should she do? She was getting increasingly desperate. If I don’t leave now I’ll have to see that guy again, and just hearing his voice makes me want to throw up. He truly is a jerk. Is he really like a CEO in novels, keeping me like a mistress, a trophy wife? The more she thought about it, the more it felt that way. No wonder he didn't want me to meet his family. I was so naive, I almost became someone's mistress!

Sima Chun spent an hour finalizing the investment deal with Malaysia, before rushing back in. Seeing Sima Qing sitting on the sofa, looking blankly into space, he went into the kitchen and saw that the dishes were not washed, and the table hadn’t been cleared.

"Little princess, are you still angry?" he said, sitting down on the sofa opposite her.

"I want to go to the hospital," she said, the hospital being like her home. She wanted to bury herself in her mother’s arms and cry her heart out, and she did her best to hold back the tears. Her tone was extremely firm.

Little girls are so hard to please when they're upset, he thought. Maybe she’ll get better soon.

“Secretary Lin, tell An Da to bring the car around. I’ll be down in ten minutes. Also, find me two housekeepers, preferably ones who are really good at cooking.”

“Little princess, let’s go shopping first, I’ll take you to the hospital later, okay?” he said, trying to be gentle with her.

“I don't want to go anywhere, I just want to go to the hospital," she said, her tone firm.

Sima Chun felt that something was off, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. Do we really have such a generational gap? It felt like there was no communicating on a lot of things.

“Then we’ll go to the hospital first, and then go shopping, okay?" he said, trying to agree with her, knowing he should be with his clients to show them around the company, but he had pushed that aside, thinking she might be bored alone at home.

She didn’t respond. She stood up to leave when she heard she could go to the hospital.

An Da noticed that Lin Yue's voice was even colder than before. That one phone call they had shared had made him feel frozen all over. When they met in the conference room half an hour earlier, they had acted like complete strangers.

“An Da, let's go to the hospital first.”

Neither of them spoke during the car ride. Sima Qing kept staring out the window, not glancing at him even once.

As soon as the car came to a stop, Sima Qing jumped out, slamming the door shut, and ran towards her mother's hospital room. Sima Chun followed her, striding behind.

"Mom," she said, as she stood in front of her mother, desperate to cry but knowing she shouldn’t. She couldn’t let her mom worry.

“Qing’er, what’s wrong? Your eyes look teary,” her mother said, looking worried to see her daughter running back in her pajamas, her eyes welled with tears.

"It's nothing, I just missed you, Mom, and it feels like sand got into my eyes," she said, doing her best to hold back the tears.

“Young girls shouldn’t be running around in pajamas. You should go and change," Qing’er’s mother said, thinking that something must have happened.

"Auntie, how are you feeling?" Sima Chun said as he walked into the room.

“Oh, young master, you’re here. Please, have a seat,” she said, noticing that Sima Chun looked exhausted.

“Auntie, I’m planning on having Qing’er stay with me at my home, so she can go to school nearby. Would you agree to that?” he asked, hoping to get Qing'er's mother's permission.

“It’s up to Qing’er, I don’t have any objections,” she said, knowing her daughter was old enough to make her own choices.

“Mom, I’m just staying at the hospital. I don’t want to go anywhere...”