RMM – Chapter 74 The Unlikable Neighbor

Feng Weijia walked into Liang Bo’an’s office with a stack of documents in his hand and a helpless look on his face.

“Bo’an,” he called as he reached Liang Bo’an, who was buried in work. He placed the documents down and continued with a bitter expression, “Auntie called me again.”

“Mm,” Liang Bo’an didn’t even lift his head.

“Hey, at least give me some kind of reaction, will you?” Feng Weijia sat across from him, clearly annoyed.

“What kind of reaction do you want? It’s still about the same thing.”

Liang Bo’an finally looked up at him, but hearing that made Feng Weijia wish he hadn’t bothered.

“You… I’m saying, can’t you at least go and take a look this time? Just humor Auntie a little, would you?”

“I’m not going. What’s the point?” Liang Bo’an finished signing a document, leaned back in his chair with arms folded across his lap, looking utterly indifferent.

“What’s the point? The point is to appease your mother so she’ll stop calling and pestering me to convince you.”

Liang Bo’an remained unaffected by Feng Weijia’s rising emotions and snorted coldly. “Didn’t I teach you how to block numbers?”

“…Damn it, I really picked the wrong person to be friends with. My whole life’s been ruined by you.” Feng Weijia muttered, frustrated.

Liang Bo’an glanced sideways at him, then tossed a stack of files across the desk. “I pay your salary. Your livelihood comes from me—get to work.”

Feng Weijia hurried to catch the documents, flipping through them roughly. After just a couple of pages, he snapped, “This much?! Do you think I’m your ox or horse, that you can just squeeze me like this? Do you pay me that much? I’m going on strike!”

“Fine. I’ll have dinner with He Wen tonight. I’ve got a few things I want to talk to her about.”

Liang Bo’an chuckled. But that smile had a distinct undertone of malice.

“You bastard! You’re such a lowlife. So despicable!” Feng Weijia cursed as he rushed out the door. Damn it, was Liang Bo’an dumping the entire company’s workload on him?

Crap, just because he was a bit wild and reckless in his youth, was it really worth being blackmailed and squeezed like this forever? He hadn’t even managed to win over He Wen yet. If she ever found out about all this, wouldn’t he be executed on the spot?

Back in the day, Young Master Feng had quite the reputation for being charming and flirtatious, always surrounded by beautiful women. But now he was paying the price for his youthful indiscretions. If he’d known back then that he’d one day fall hard for He Wen, he’d have never messed around.

After Feng Weijia left, Liang Bo’an sighed, turned his chair, and gazed out the window in a daze. He knew what his mother had asked Weijia—another matchmaking attempt. She’d mentioned it to him many times before, and he’d always dodged with excuses. Now she was roping in Weijia to try again.

He understood his mother’s urgency, and he knew there was no hope for anything with Su Ruo. But his heart was already completely filled with her. Why force himself into a marriage and drag down another innocent woman? Being alone wasn’t so bad.

Last time, Xi Yuechen had told him not to interfere in the Hong family matter—apparently he wanted to handle it himself. That cold and aloof man, who would’ve thought he’d ever care about someone so deeply? A seemingly heartless person, once they fall, it’s for life.

Liang Bo’an chuckled bitterly and forced himself to stop thinking about Su Ruo. He turned back to his desk to distract himself with work, but as he lowered his head, his eyes caught a file—about the Hong family.

Right. During his investigation into the Hongs, he’d discovered a force secretly working against them. The actions started right after the incident with Su Ruo, probably orchestrated by Xi Yuechen. But Xi had always been focused on the military. Given his career trajectory, it was unlikely he’d built any major influence in the business world. So where did this power come from?

Liang Bo’an knew the company targeting the Hongs had been publicly listed for a long time. It had always performed steadily—not great, not bad. But this time, it was acting extremely aggressively, creating crisis after crisis for the Hong family. He had only discovered this anomaly through a secret investigation and was surprised by the company’s immense power. It had been playing dumb all along.

If that power wasn’t Xi Yuechen’s, then whose was it?

Frowning, a sudden thought struck him—he remembered the call Xi Yuechen had made when looking for Su Ruo that day. Could it be… Gu Jiawei?

How could that be? That man had been in politics for years. Plus, given his personality, would he really let someone else use his power for free?

This Xi Yuechen… was becoming more and more unreadable.

Liang Bo’an tossed the file aside. Whatever—Hong’s downfall was inevitable at Xi Yuechen’s hands. No point in getting involved now.

That Hong Shirong… he’d get what was coming to him.

—

As usual, Xi Yuechen had left early. By the time Su Ruo woke up, the pillow beside her was already cold.

She glanced at the bright red national flag fluttering outside, then looked down at her hand with a frown.

The scab in her palm was about to fall off—it itched terribly, and she kept wanting to pick at it. It was driving her mad, like she had OCD.

With Xi Yuechen gone, the house felt especially quiet. Su Ruo was bored. She thought about going out, but walking around the military compound felt odd. Everyone else was busy with training. She, as a civilian, just wandering around aimlessly, stood out—and this wasn’t a place where she could just roam freely.

Maybe it was best to go home. She wasn’t of much use here anyway. She couldn’t even eat without help—it was all so inconvenient.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Who could it be at this hour?

She opened the door curiously, only to find the woman she’d met yesterday—the neighbor.

“Sister-in-law!” The woman greeted her warmly with an overly friendly attitude.

“Oh, it’s you. Come in, come in.” Su Ruo was surprised, but she still put on a polite front.

“I was planning to visit you yesterday, but you came back late, so I didn’t want to disturb you.” The woman entered the house, eyes darting around as she handed over a small gift. “Just a little something, don’t look down on it.”

“Of course not. I should’ve been the one visiting you. Please, sit—I’ll get you some tea.” Su Ruo didn’t like this woman much. Her eyes hadn’t stopped scanning the room since she walked in. What was there to look at? This wasn’t a palace.

“My name’s Lian Yunfen. Just call me Yunfen.”

She plopped herself right onto the sofa in the living room.

Su Ruo handed her a cup of water. “Alright then, you look a bit older than me. I’ll call you Sister Fen, and you can call me Su Ruo.”

“Sure! I’ll call you Little Sister Su Ruo then—just treat me like an older sister from now on!”

This was Yunfen’s first time inside Xi Yuechen’s place, and she was full of curiosity. Even though they’d been neighbors for a while, she’d never even seen him, let alone known anything about his home life.

Yunfen had a younger sister who was beautiful, proud, and nearing thirty but still unmarried. She only wanted the best.

Since moving into the military compound, Yunfen had noticed Xi Yuechen. So young yet already so accomplished—some people spent their whole lives unable to reach that level.

She’d also heard his family background was excellent—some high-ranking official in the capital. Tsk, a man like that was bound for greatness. Handsome, too. What a perfect match for her sister! If her sister married him, it’d be a dream come true—and her own family might benefit as well. Her husband couldn’t be a company commander forever.

She had all these calculations but no way to act on them. Though neighbors, they had no real connection. Her husband wasn’t even Xi Yuechen’s subordinate. She didn’t dare initiate contact.

She’d even considered bringing her sister to the compound to “accidentally” run into Xi Yuechen. Her sister was beautiful—surely he’d notice.

But before she could make a move, Xi Yuechen got married!

That really upset her. What a wasted opportunity. And the worst part? The bride was a young, pretty girl. What did she even have besides youth? Already the wife of a regimental commander—how lucky! Who knew what tricks she used to land the position?

When her husband got home, Yunfen couldn’t help but vent. Zhang Minqiang scolded her: “Stop your nonsense! Still thinking about your sister? Do you know who Xi Yuechen’s wife is? That’s General Du’s daughter! Don’t go provoking her.”

That had startled Yunfen. Such a powerful background?

She thought back to yesterday—had she said anything offensive? Not really, right?

Today she came over with some fruit, chatting aimlessly with Su Ruo. But not long after, Su Ruo already wanted to kick her out.

Why was this woman here anyway? First asking all sorts of questions about her and Xi Yuechen’s life, then rambling about her own affairs. Fine, ramble. But what she was saying now?

“Little Sister Su Ruo,” Yunfen said earnestly, “as your older sister, let me give you some heartfelt advice. You have to be careful with men. Otherwise, one day they’ll cheat and you won’t even know. Some men might not look like the type, but who knows what’s going on inside? Especially with all the beautiful women out there—after a while, they get tired of looking at the one at home. One slip, and they’ve got a mistress out there.” She took a sip of water and added with pride, “Men like my Minqiang are rare.”

Su Ruo forced a smile. This woman had clearly come just to piss her off. Everything she said was implying that no matter how pretty Su Ruo was, she couldn’t stop Xi Yuechen from cheating. Damn it…

Yunfen had originally come to build a good relationship. After all, both their families had powerful connections—getting on good terms could only help.

But seeing Su Ruo, she couldn’t help feeling envious. So young, so beautiful, such a powerful background, and married to Xi Yuechen—it should’ve been her sister!

She couldn’t help talking more than she should’ve. But hey, she was just telling the truth. Giving helpful advice!

Su Ruo was already in a bad mood from her itchy hand, and after Yunfen’s little speech, her temper was about to blow. She held back the urge to throw her out and forced a smile. “Sister Fen, I actually have something to do. I’ll visit you another day, alright?”

Yunfen wasn’t dumb. She realized she was being shown the door. She let out an awkward laugh. “Oh, I’ve been bothering you for so long. Don’t mind me. We should spend more time together in the future. I’ll be off then.”

Su Ruo smiled politely, saying it was no bother at all. But in her heart, she scoffed at her own hypocrisy.

Xi Yuechen, cheat on her? As if he even had the time!

Back in her own home, Yunfen frowned. Did she really say anything that bad? Why was that girl so temperamental? Rich girls sure are hard to please.