How Can a Construction Foreman Be the Public Girlfriend of a Top Celebrity? - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Zheng’s mother received the call and immediately scolded Zheng Ling, “Did Shu Xuan ask you to inquire about this, or are you acting on your own?”
“I just thought, now that we’re family, we should support each other,” Zheng Ling explained.
“Even family members need their own space. Xiao Xuan’s been in the entertainment industry for years, her mindset…” Zheng’s mother paused, then continued, “Anyway, you wouldn’t understand. You and your civil engineering stuff—what common ground could you possibly have?”
“In short, let me be clear: if Xiao Xuan asked you for help, then help her. If she didn’t say anything, then don’t stick your nose in it. You’ll just cause trouble for her,” Zheng’s mother concluded.
Then she abruptly changed the topic, “So, have you decided when to have a baby?”
“Mom! I’m hanging up now!” Zheng Ling slammed her phone shut.
She truly didn’t understand why her mom reacted that way. After terminating her contract with Xinghe, wasn’t Shu Xuan supposed to find a new agency?
The next day, Zheng Ling woke up early and found Shu Xuan already up, doing her makeup in the bathroom.
“Heading out?” Zheng Ling leaned against the doorframe, hair a mess, looking relaxed and lazy.
“Mm.” Shu Xuan applied lipstick while facing the mirror.
Seeing Zheng Ling still lingering, she added, “I’m going to meet with a few talent agencies.”
“You’re reporting to me?” Zheng Ling looked pleasantly surprised, her eyes lighting up.
Shu Xuan smiled without saying a word. She picked up a perfume bottle and spritzed her neck twice. The fragrant mist brushed past her hair and reached Zheng Ling’s nose.
“I probably won’t be home for dinner tonight,” Shu Xuan said as she walked out the door.
Zheng Ling was still savoring the scent lingering in the air. She scratched her head, smiling unconsciously.
After tidying up, she headed to the construction site.
That day, Director Hou brought the inspection team over. The reservoir was expected to be operational by mid-August.
This was the final inspection for the project, so everyone on site took it very seriously. Wearing matching hard hats and construction uniforms, they hung a banner across the office’s outer wall.
Director Hou led the group through the final spot-check of the reservoir, reviewing each aspect of the build.
By noon, Zheng Ling had arranged lunch for the team. After toasts and polite conversation, everyone sat down for a meal.
The weather in the southern city was stiflingly hot. Zheng Ling had prepared iced watermelon and mung bean soup in advance and headed to the kitchen to ask the servers to bring them out.
On the way, she made a stop at the restroom.
As she came out, she saw two men at the corner, both part of Director Hou’s inspection team.
They were holding their phones, bellies bulging, chatting about something. Zheng Ling thought to greet them in case they were feeling unwell from the alcohol.
But as she approached, she caught the names “Shu Xuan” and “Qiang Huai” in their conversation, causing her to freeze.
“I’m telling you, I could handle both Shu Xuan and Qiang Huai. One on the left, one on the right,” one man said smugly.
“Ha! You’re all talk,” the other man replied.
“Pfft, look at her legs—who knows how many guys have licked them.”
“How would you know?”
The man boasted, “I follow gossip all the time. These celebrities like Shu Xuan and Qiang Huai—they’re just for fun.”
“Bet her private parts are filthy. Plus, her mom’s a murderer. I heard her dad even…”
Before he could finish, BANG! A chair shattered at his feet.
A woman came charging like a rabid dog. Before he could react, she had slammed him to the ground.
Zheng Ling’s steel-like fists pounded his face blow after blow, every punch landing like a snowstorm.
“Boss Zheng! Boss Zheng!” the other man rushed forward to stop her.
Zheng Ling’s eyes were bloodshot. Her palm pinned the man down as she whipped around and growled at the bystander, “You wanna die too?!”
Terrified, the man froze. He’d never seen such a fierce woman. She threw punches like she was beating a sandbag. Then she grabbed the man off the ground and whoosh! flung him into a table, which collapsed under him.
Everyone from the private dining room came out to watch. Director Hou was stunned—Zheng Ling was beating up the head of the safety team!
“Boss Zheng!” Director Hou tried to pull her away.
Zheng Ling shrugged off his hand and charged forward like an Olympic hurdler. She kicked the man just as he was getting up—sending him crashing back down.
With no choice, the crowd called 110 and 120. Zheng Ling had completely lost it.
She’d injured her hand from the broken plates. Bl00d ran down her arm, and she casually wiped it on her shirt, making the scene even more dramatic.
As they loaded her into the police car, she shouted at the man in the ambulance, “You bastard! Wait ‘til I get out—I’ll kill you!”
The man in the ambulance trembled. The nurse couldn’t stop his bleeding.
The other onlookers were brought to the station for questioning, while Zheng Ling was locked in an interrogation room.
Director Hou explained to the officers that they knew each other but didn’t know why a conflict had started.
Once they completed statements, everyone learned that the man had insulted a female celebrity.
Zheng Ling, cuffed to the interrogation table, hadn’t imagined her first time in cuffs would be like this. No matter how wild she’d been before, it had never come to this.
“You really beat him up just for that?” the officer asked.
Zheng Ling nodded. “Yup.”
“Alright, call your family,” the officer said, then took her out of the room.
When Director Hou saw her, he rushed up, sweating profusely, clearly embarrassed by the whole situation.
“Boss Zheng! He just said a couple of things—it wasn’t that serious. Didn’t even hurt anyone.”
Zheng Ling’s temper flared. “Are you fucking kidding me? Just a couple of words?”
She looked possessed, like a rabid dog, going full battle mode.
Director Hou backed away in fear and ended up behind a police officer.
“Miss Zheng, this is a police station,” the officer warned.
“Boss Zheng, what’s this actress to you anyway? You’re defending her like you’re some crazed fan.”
Zheng Ling bared her teeth. “She’s my wife! Even if she weren’t a celebrity, is it okay to insult women like that?”
“Officer! She’s crazy! She needs to be institutionalized!” Director Hou, a big burly man, was nearly in tears from fear.
The officer rolled his eyes. “Just sit and wait for your family. If the victim agrees to mediation, that’s best.”
Zheng Ling leaned back in her chair, covered in dust and bl00d, looking like she was out for vengeance.
She gave them Shu Xuan’s number—her parents were too far to get there in time.
Shu Xuan arrived in the evening, wearing a pale blue dress. Her hair glowed in the light as she stood in front of Zheng Ling.
Zheng Ling squinted at her, too tired, and closed her eyes again.
“This way, please.” The officer initially planned to take her directly for questioning, but the family insisted on seeing her first.
Once they verified that Shu Xuan was indeed her legal family contact, even the police were surprised.
Director Hou was dumbfounded. Turns out the one who needed a psychiatric exam was himself.
The victim’s family refused to reconcile—they insisted Zheng Ling be detained for a few days.
Though she’d been aggressive, her punches didn’t cause major harm. The injuries were categorized as minor—just looked dramatic.
Shu Xuan sat across from the victim’s family. “Whatever compensation you need—medical bills, lost wages, transportation—we’ll cover it.”
“You think I care about your dirty money?” the family snapped. “Just because you people earn more, you think you’re better than the rest of us?”
“If anything happens to my son, you’ll be sorry!”
“You slutty vixen-looking people, doing perverted things. You lesbians are disgusting!”
Shu Xuan smiled politely throughout the tirade.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?!”
Shu Xuan smiled faintly. “Please, continue.”
The family had nowhere to direct their rage. The father pounded his leg in frustration.
Finally, Shu Xuan spoke, “Officer, is the on-site investigation complete?”
After taking Zheng Ling’s statement, the police had reviewed footage. A kid nearby had even given them surveillance video.
“I’d like to see the footage,” Shu Xuan’s voice was soft but firm—compelling compliance.
“Of course.” The officer pulled up the video.
She turned the volume up so the family could hear the men’s crude remarks. The insults were vile—everyone in the room cringed.
“I believe according to Article 246 of the Criminal Law, public insults through violence or other means, when severe, warrant criminal investigation. Listening to this seriously impacted my well-being,” Shu Xuan stated calmly.
“That’s correct. If deemed serious, a case can be filed,” the officer confirmed, surprised this celebrity knew the law.
“So, may we revisit mediation now?” Shu Xuan asked with a smile.
In the end, the family agreed to settle. Zheng Ling would only pay for medical expenses.
As she exited the station, Zheng Ling saw Shu Xuan in the lobby and shouted, “Wifey!”
Shu Xuan muttered, “Who’s your wife…”
“You are!” Zheng Ling threw her arm around her and strutted out confidently.
Inside the car, Shu Xuan pulled out a first aid kit to clean her wounds, saying nothing.
“I’m sorry,” Zheng Ling looked down, eyes full of guilt.
Still, Shu Xuan stayed quiet.
“I shouldn’t have fought,” Zheng Ling continued.
Shu Xuan threw away the trash, opened a bottle of water, and handed it to her.
“You mad?” Zheng Ling took a sip, smiling sheepishly. “Water from wifey tastes sweet.”
Shu Xuan’s expression remained unreadable. “I am mad. If you hadn’t been so impulsive, we could’ve used that footage to press charges.”
“That way, it wouldn’t have affected your construction project either,” she added.
Zheng Ling pouted, looking wronged. “I just couldn’t hold back when I heard him talk about you like that. I won’t do it again.”
“Mm.” Shu Xuan nodded, not continuing.
Zheng Ling realized Shu Xuan had heard the man’s insults. “But he didn’t apologize to you—I’m not okay with that!”
“Zheng Ling!” Shu Xuan’s tone was stern.
“I don’t care! Once I recover—and he recovers—I’m gonna make him apologize to you! I’ll apologize too!” Zheng Ling started writhing and fussing.
Shu Xuan couldn’t help but laugh.
Later that night, Zheng Ling fell asleep but developed a fever.
When Shu Xuan went downstairs to get water, she found her collapsed on the floor and rushed to help her.
She didn’t know where the strength came from, but she managed to drag Zheng Ling onto the couch.
Half-asleep, Zheng Ling kept mumbling, “You’re my wife… my wifey… I won’t let anyone bully you…”
In the moonlight, Shu Xuan sat beside her with a cold towel, gently lowering her fever.