Treasure Hunt: Tycoon's Priceless Runaway Wife
Chapter 42: Too Foolish and Too Naive

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Too Foolish and Too Naive

The surprise in President Ji’s eyes did not escape Le Tong. She looked at the sweet potato in her hand, thinking nothing was amiss, "Yes, it’s my breakfast."

President Ji looked at her thoughtfully, "Are you short of money?"

In his memory, his secretary seemed to be quite a simple person; he hadn’t seen her use luxury goods much, nor had he noticed her pretending to be someone she’s not to climb up the social ladder. Moreover, Special Assistant Yang had mentioned that she was an orphan, so besides herself, her money shouldn’t have many other uses.

But why, recently, did he always feel she was quite short on cash?

"Uh, no! President, you’re overthinking!" Le Tong hastily denied.

If she remembered correctly, this was the second time Ji Rui had asked her such a question. The first was when he caught her eating bread to stave off hunger while in his car to buy groceries.

Seeing Ji Rui still seemed unconvinced, Le Tong continued.

"President, perhaps you don’t know? There are many benefits to eating sweet potatoes. They’re rich in sugars, proteins, various vitamins and minerals, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and anti-cancer substances that inhibit cancer cell growth. They also contain lots of dietary fiber, which can prevent constipation and colon cancer; at the same time, it reduces calorie intake, making it one of the best diet foods."

As Le Tong silently praised her strong memory and ability to recall scientific facts, Ji Rui scanned her up and down with his usual sharp gaze, like an X-ray machine.

"You’re dieting?"

Who would believe that someone as skinny as her needed to diet? Clearly, it was because she was short on money, so she saved wherever she could. As long as it filled her up, a piece of bread or a sweet potato would do for a meal!

Clearly, not a single word of Le Tong’s lengthy scientific knowledge was heard by President Ji, who only caught the last sentence.

Le Tong, at a height of 1.68 m, could barely weigh 100 pounds when holding a pile of groceries on a scale. In anyone’s eyes, she should be considered tall and slender, entirely unrelated to the word "fat."

"Haha, everyone in the company is dieting..."

Le Tong didn’t understand why Ji Rui suddenly cared if she was short on money or dieting—these small matters that had nothing to do with him. But she didn’t want to explain anything to him, so she randomly made up an excuse along his words to get by.

Ji Rui glanced at her, uncertain whether he believed her or not, but he didn’t press further and handed her the documents in his hand.

"Proofread these documents."

More than half an hour later, Le Tong brought the proofread documents into the office.

"President, the documents are sorted. Also, General Manager Zhuo called earlier to ask if you would personally attend the meeting this afternoon?"

The Ji Family and the Zhuo Family had a collaboration project to discuss that afternoon. Normally, such a call would be directly to Ji Rui himself from Zhuo Jiarui to confirm; calling Ji Rui’s secretary now made the intention most obvious.

Even knowing his ulterior motives, Le Tong had no choice but to relay the message to Ji Rui.

Ji Rui’s reaction was very calm, "It’s a matter for the promotion department."

In other words, such small matters didn’t require him, the President, to step in!

Le Tong responded that she understood, secretly relieved that the President seemed to be in a good mood today; he didn’t darken at the mention of Zhuo Jiarui as he had in the past.

Ji Rui looked up and called to Le Tong, who was about to turn away, "From now on, every Saturday afternoon, come to my house to cook a meal, and I’ll pay you overtime."

Ji Rui had pondered over this for two days, unable to make a decision. For one, he feared Ji Baby would become insatiable, pulling new tricks after this demand was met. For another, he worried Le Tong might use this chance to entangle herself with him.

But after seeing her using a sweet potato as breakfast, he immediately made up his mind.

Since his darling Ji Baby cried and fussed to eat the grandmother-made dishes and Le Tong seemed indeed short of money, why not have her come over to cook a meal every week? As for whether she’d cling to him or not, watching her cautious, walking-on-eggshells demeanor these days, she probably wouldn’t dare to provoke him again.

Just as Ji Rui thought he’d see surprise or even delight on her face, he was met with her firm response.

"No, I refuse."

Le Tong looked at Ji Rui. Logically, his proposal was quite favorable to her in terms of labor required. But after visiting Ji Rui’s apartment twice, she inexplicably felt a trace of inner resistance. Although she couldn’t quite pinpoint why, ultimately, she had no desire to have any private interactions or ties with Ji Rui outside work.

In fact, it wasn’t just Ji Rui; anyone with a similar status or position, like Zhuo Jiarui or Luo Yifan, she would unconsciously avoid. Conversely, towards someone like Zhang Yi among the common people, she felt an empathetic closeness.

Ji Rui was taken aback, thinking she’d be quite interested in this proposal and gladly accept the arrangement.

Who would have thought that she’d refuse his goodwill without even giving it a thought?!

"Why? Not enough overtime pay?" A trace of disdain flashed across Ji Rui’s eyes.

Le Tong did not notice the change in Ji Rui’s eyes, only shook her head, "President, it’s not about the overtime pay, sorry!"

Finishing, she didn’t wait for Ji Rui to speak, turning and leaving.

Le Tong indeed treasured her job, but Ji Rui had blurred the line between work and personal tasks too many times lately, making her sense something unusual and bizarre, instinctively wanting to evade and escape.

She wasn’t a flower grown in a greenhouse; she was far more aware of the complexities of society and the unpredictability of human nature than many others.

Even in a disciplined company like Ji’s, rumors would still occasionally surface about certain managers taking advantage of certain subordinates.

Previously, Ji Rui was a figure of abstinence in Le Tong’s eyes—a man indifferent to women, living a life of restraint. Combined with his decisiveness and aloofness towards famous socialites, she had virtually no feminine wariness towards him.

However, the incident on the night she was drunk completely shook and even overturned the abstinent image Ji Rui had in her mind. Even if the details of that night were a blur, from her physical condition after and the marks left behind, she could tell that Ji Rui had been very forceful and reckless with no compassion or tender regard!

Thus, she remained grateful that she remembered nothing of that night, or it would have left some indelible shadow!

She admitted that compared to Ji Rui, she wasn’t that smart, slowly unraveling and pondering the sequence of events and its nuances long after.

The first time Ji Rui ordered her to his home to help, she hadn’t thought much of it.

The second time, she already had notions but remained unsure.

And now, this was the third time. If she still believed Ji Rui’s request was purely out of love for his son, she’d be too naive!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.