<strong><b>Chapter 10: Even Capitalists Would Shed Tears! Sleeping Next to the Protagonist’s Stepmother</b></strong>


    When Xu Hao returned home, Su Wanqiu had just finished eating and was carefully stepping toward her room.


    The moment she saw Xu Hao, her body stiffenedpletely.


    Last night’s events instantly resurfaced in her mind.


    <strong><b>[</b></strong><strong><em><b><i>Ding</i></b></em></strong><strong><b>… Su Wanqiu feels fear. Emotional value +666…]</b></strong>


    Xu Hao walked over with a smile.


    “If you’re not feeling well, stay in bed. Why are you up?”


    He nced at the maid, who had just finished cleaning up the dishes and walked out of the kitchen.


    “Didn’t I tell you to bring her meal to her room when she woke up?”


    The imposing authority Xu Hao carried naturally emanated from him, overwhelming the atmosphere.


    The maid trembled with fear and hurriedly exined.


    “I… I was following Sir’s instructions, but Madam… she…”


    Su Wanqiu interjected softly.


    “Don’t me her. I was the one who wanted to get out of bed.”


    She felt puzzled.


    She couldn’t figure out what had gotten into Xu Hao.


    Not only had he suddenly be “functional,” but he had also been unusually fiercest night, and now his attitude toward her had shifted dramatically.


    Xu Hao let the maid off the hook, rubbing his chin as he looked at Su Wanqiu with a yful expression.


    “If you can walk, it means you can handle it. Should we continue tonight?”


    As soon as he finished speaking, Su Wanqiu’s face turned pale.


    Her left foot gave out, and she nearly fell sideways.


    Xu Hao reacted quickly, catching her in his arms.


    “No… please, no, I’ll die…”


    Su Wanqiu struggled weakly, her face full of pleading.


    “Not tonight, okay? Let me recover, and then I’ll apany you…”


    She was genuinely terrified.


    How could she not be?


    That experience… it felt like she was going to be torn apart.


    “Alright, but remember—you said it. When you’ve recovered, you’ll make it up to me properly.”


    Xu Hao smirked, reaching out to pinch her soft, cogen-filled cheeks.


    In truth, Xu Hao had never nned to continue tonight.


    Although she was the protagonist’s stepmother, she was still his wife.


    He intended to take the sustainable approach.


    Breaking her in one go wouldn’t exactly be a practical way to live.


    Hearing Xu Hao’s promise, Su Wanqiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.


    It was only then that she realized she was still nestled in his arms.


    Her cheeks turned crimson in an instant, a blush rising rapidly.


    She looked utterly enticing.


    Though there would be no “pping of love” tonight, Xu Hao still went to Su Wanqiu’s room to sleep.


    From now on, there was no need for separate bedrooms.


    After all, who wouldn’t enjoy sleeping next to the protagonist’s gorgeous stepmother?


    <strong><b>The next morning—</b></strong>


    Noticing Su Wanqiu hadn’t fully recovered, Xu Hao decided not to bother her further and got up early on his own.


    Yesterday, he had called for a shareholders’ meeting.


    Today, he nned to confront those old-timers at thepany.


    He was determined to reim all the shares and consolidate them under his control.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Xu Hao intended to start with diplomacy, but if they refused to relinquish their shares and clung to them stubbornly, he wouldn’t hesitate to turn hostile.


    Don’t me him for being ruthless if they didn’t know how to cooperate.


    Just as he arrived at thepany’s entrance, he ran into a familiar face.


    It was Xia Qingge, the woman he had asked to report to thepany yesterday.


    Xia Qingge smiled brightly and greeted him sweetly.


    “Good morning, Uncle Xu!”


    “Good morning to you, too. Head straight to the HR department; I’ve already informed them.”


    “Alright, I’ll go right now…”


    “Wait a moment.”


    Xu Hao pulled out a delicate little gift box from his pocket.


    “I didn’t give you a weing gift yesterday, so I’m making up for it today.”


    This small gift, something girls typically like, was purchased on his way home when Li Kun came to pick him up.


    Xu Hao’s keen attention to this young female lead wasn’t just because she was a protagonist. Once she joined thepany, he could easily manipte her and harvest emotional value at will.


    But he had bigger ns—he wanted to fully “im” this young female lead, in every sense of the word.


    He nned to groom her into a reliable right-hand ally.


    A hundred billion yuan in assets was only the beginning.


    To survive and thrive in this multifaceted novel world, Xu Hao knew he needed to be even stronger.


    His vision was to build a conglomerate worth trillions. <em><i>[rting to a conglomerate, especially arge corporation.]</i></em>


    With the system’s assistance, he never had to worry about ack of entrepreneurial projects.


    What hecked was talent.


    Trustworthy talent.


    The growth of a corporation couldn’t depend solely on him.


    He even entertained a grand idea—<em><i>why not recruit all the female protagonists into hispany?</i></em>


    They wouldn’t just help him manage the business; they’d also solve his personal problems and generate emotional value for him.


    Even capitalists would be moved to tears.


    “No… it’s really not necessary…”


    Xia Qingge quickly waved her hands to refuse.


    But Xu Hao was firm. He grabbed her hand and forcefully ced the gift box in it.


    Her hand felt cool and smooth—quite different from Su Wanqiu’s warm softness. He realized this must be the difference between a young girl and a mature woman.


    Seeing that she couldn’t refuse, Xia Qingge reluctantly epted the gift.


    “Then… thank you, Uncle Xu…”


    Xu Hao smiled and patted her hand.


    “Work hard in thepany. If you encounter any difficulties,e to me. I have high hopes for you.”


    With that, Xu Hao walked away.


    Xia Qingge stood still, watching his retreating figure. She had never had much contact with the opposite sex before.


    She couldn’t help but recall the sensation of Xu Hao’s touch—warm, strong, and full of reassurance.


    <strong><em><b><i>Whoosh!</i></b></em></strong>


    She snapped back to reality, inwardly scolding herself.


    <em><i>“Xia Qingge, what are you thinking? That’s your uncle! Get a grip!”</i></em>


    Curious about the gift, she opened the box.


    Insidey a wless, exquisite bracelet, resting quietly.


    Her eyes lit up.


    She couldn’t stop admiring the bracelet, feeling an unexpected fondness for it.


    Thinking about how kind Xu Hao had been to her, Xia Qingge silently resolved to work hard.


    She didn’t want to let Uncle Xu down.