As Wang Xiaoqiang infused the pond with Earth Element Spiritual Qi, the water level gradually decreased, revealing the BMW. Wang Xiaoqiang didn't dare make it too obvious and immediately stopped channeling the spiritual energy to avoid giving anything away.

Soon, Xia Guifang's mother called over a group of people. Although the cold winter water would be bone-chilling, the villagers were simple and supportive. Since it was Wang Xiaoqiang's matter, and some of them had family working in his company, they jumped into the water one after another to help with the rescue.

Wang Xiaoqiang also went down. He circulated Fire Element Spiritual Energy throughout his body, forming a scorching spiritual energy protective shield on the surface, which kept the cold of the water from penetrating his body.

The others weren't as fortunate and were shivering uncontrollably, smacking their lips. Nevertheless, they bore the freezing cold and, together with Wang Xiaoqiang, dragged Xia Sanwa out of the car and to the shore.

Xia Sanwa had passed out, his face white from the cold. His belly was swollen, which suggested he must have swallowed a lot of water. Wang Xiaoqiang pressed on his abdomen a few times, and water spurted from Xia Sanwa's mouth.

As Wang Xiaoqiang pressed down, he infused Fire Element Spiritual Energy to warm his body. Xia Sanwa gradually regained warmth, and after spitting out some water, he started to come to.

When he woke up, the first words out of his mouth were, "Little Qiang, my car, my BMW, where is it?"

"Just look at the state you're in and you're still worried about your BMW... How embarrassing," chided Xia Guifang's mother.

"Don't worry, I will have someone pull up the car tomorrow," Wang Xiaoqiang promised.

Xia Sanwa got up and looked at the car in the pond, his heart filled with regret. His brand-new luxury car was covered in mud and water. "Little Qiang, the car won't be damaged, right?"

Xia Sanwa asked anxiously, pointing at the car.

"No, it won't be. This car is well-made," Wang Xiaoqiang reassured him before calling everyone to head back to the village. Passing by Big Mouth Supermarket, Wang Xiaoqiang bought a bottle of baijiu for each person who had gotten into the water to warm them up.

Seeing everyone disperse cheerfully, Xia Guifang's mother said to Wang Xiaoqiang, "Little Qiang, don't mention this to Little Fang when you get back, to keep her from worrying."

Wang Xiaoqiang nodded.

After this minor disturbance, the Spring Festival arrived. On New Year's Eve, Wang Xiaoqiang took Xia Guifang and her son back to the old house. Although Xia Guifang was not yet legally Wang Xiaoqiang's wife, she had essentially already become part of the Wang Family.

Early on New Year's Day, Wang Xiaoqiang got up to paste door decorations, couplets, and "fu" characters. Little Bao ran around happily, sometimes even helping to pass things. He seemed very sensible. Nobody would have thought that such a young child could be so helpful, which surprised and delighted the family,

especially Liu Juyi, who had no children of her own and loved kids dearly. She would hold Little Bao and not want to let go. Unfortunately, Little Bao could run now and didn't like being held, which made Liu Juyi quite regretful. She sighed, "Such a worry-free child, only a few months old and already so independent!"

On New Year's Eve, just before dinner, Wang Xiaoqiang set off firecrackers. Little Bao was not afraid; when Xia Guifang tried to cover his ears, he refused to let her. He actually got excited upon hearing the firecrackers and danced joyously.

Wang Kuishan and his wife gave Little Bao an envelope with ten thousand yuan as New Year's money, and Liu Juyi contributed another thousand yuan. Although the amount wasn't much, it was the thought that counted, adding more flavor and celebration to the festival.

After the Spring Festival, Wang Xiaoqiang visited all the major factory areas of his company.

When he arrived at the clinic of the breeding factory, Little Xu Xiaoya cornered him. She insisted that Wang Xiaoqiang take her abroad, no matter what. Considering the dangers that Jiang Xiaoxin had faced, Wang Xiaoqiang shook his head decisively, saying, "It's not that easy going abroad, it's dangerous..."

"Jiang Xiaoxin went there, why can't I go? I'm not afraid of danger."

"You might say you're not afraid now, but when danger comes, it will be too late..." Wang Xiaoqiang spoke, then got up to leave. He had originally come to see how she was, but now he saw trouble brewing.

However, before he could get through the door, Xu Xiaoya pounced on him, grabbing Wang Xiaoqiang's arms, "If you don't agree, you're not leaving today..."

Unable to withstand her persistent pestering, Wang Xiaoqiang finally agreed, "Alright, I'll give you an answer before we leave the country."

Having got rid of Little Xu Xiaoya, Wang Xiaoqiang arrived at Zheng Shuang's place. After asking about the factory's situation and seeing that nothing major was happening, he prepared to leave. Unexpectedly, Zheng Shuang started pestering him at that moment. The Shunfeng Driving School run by the Zheng Family had been poorly managed and shut down last autumn. Zheng Shuang's sister, Zheng Ru, had gone from being the owner of a driving school to an unemployed individual. Despite Zheng Ru's gentle appearance, she was too proud at heart, disdaining ordinary work and unable to find a decent job. She had been in this unsuccessful state until even after the New Year without finding employment.

Zheng Shuang meant that she wanted her sister Zheng Ru to follow Wang Xiaoqiang overseas for some experience—of course, this was at Zheng Ru's own request. She was the one who wanted to go.

"No way!" Wang Xiaoqiang flat out refused. One Little Xu Xiaoya was enough of a headache for him, and adding Zheng Ru to the mix—with both as pretty as flowers—there was no guarantee that nothing would go wrong once they reached the United States. By then, he would be worried sick.

No sooner had Wang Xiaoqiang said no than Zheng Shuang started to play hardball, just like Little Xu Xiaoya had, immediately grabbing onto his arm, "Is that OK or not?"

"No... really not okay, it's not as wonderful abroad as you think..."

"Jiang Xiaoxin has already gone, why can't Zheng Ru go?" Zheng Shuang threw out the same reason as Little Xu Xiaoya.

Wang Xiaoqiang realized that they were all envious of Jiang Xiaoxin, who had gone overseas and was doing well, so they too wanted to try their luck abroad.

Zheng Shuang was just as stubborn as Little Xu Xiaoya and even more unreasonable. At this point, she started pinching Wang Xiaoqiang, "You say 'no' again..."

"Alright, alright." Wang Xiaoqiang couldn't bear this kind of threat.

"I'm telling you, if you don't bring my sister overseas, I'll quit! I'll take Zheng Ru and find you in the United States, hmph..." Zheng Shuang's eyes narrowed threateningly.

"Alright, you win," Wang Xiaoqiang shrank his neck. As the saying goes, "Women and villains are the hardest to raise," but it seemed the expression needed to be revised to "Women and villains are the hardest to deal with."

After leaving Zheng Shuang, Wang Xiaoqiang then went to the Provincial Capital and met up with Xu Jingxue at Riverside Villa. Reunited after a long time, the two were tender and sweet with each other. Xu Qingxue had now been promoted to the position of Director.

With the promotion came great joy and, at Wang Xiaoqiang's request, Xu Qingxue went back and returned half an hour later in her police uniform—her waist straight, her neck proud, her long legs taking firm and powerful steps. And the thing was, dressed and dolled up like that, with a formidable aura about her fair face, she exuded a lofty and unapproachable righteousness.

Wang Xiaoqiang, with his chin cupped in his hand, stared at Xu Qingxue and nodded in satisfaction.

"Are you satisfied now?" Xu Qingxue sat down and flicked Wang Xiaoqiang's forehead with her finger.

After spending a few sweet and loving days with Xu Qingxue, Wang Xiaoqiang went to see Qiao Zhi—the company's legal advisor was a key figure, and it wouldn't do to not meet with her.

In fact, Qiao Zhi was very eager to see Wang Xiaoqiang too.

This time, not only did Wang Xiaoqiang meet with Qiao Zhi, but he also saw Qiao Hui.

However, Qiao Hui looked very different from usual—weak, pale, distracted, seemingly lost in her own world. Far from the strong, elite businesswoman she was before, she now resembled an addict.

When Wang Xiaoqiang inquired, he learned that Qiao Hui wasn't addicted to drugs, but rather, something mysterious was going on. Knowing Wang Xiaoqiang's extraordinary abilities, Qiao Hui didn't hide anything and hoped that Wang Xiaoqiang could help her solve the mystery.

So, she revealed the whole story.

It turned out that Qiao Hui had been having sleep issues for the past half a month, suffering from insomnia night after night. As soon as she fell asleep, she would have dreams filled with ghostly shadows, clawing and lunging at her with nowhere to hide.

Each time she awoke from the dreams, she was drenched in cold sweat, filled with terror, and then unable to sleep again.

This recurring dream plagued Qiao Hui every time she slept. Unable to cope, she invited her sister Qiao Zhi to sleep with her. But then Qiao Zhi started having the same nightmarish dreams after sleeping with her sister, filled with ghostly shadows that scared her awake. Terrified, Qiao Zhi dared not share a bed with her sister anymore. When Qiao Zhi slept alone, the nightmare ceased, but Qiao Hui would have the dream as soon as she closed her eyes. It had scared her to the point of fearing sleep, resorting to alcohol to manage some rest. Her lack of sleep left her dazed, visibly thinner, and unable to concentrate on work. The Qiao Family's helmswoman was no longer just struggling to manage the family business but also on the verge of collapsing physically.

(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.